It looks like the first generation Apple TV units are unable to connect to iTunes. Users from around the world seem to be facing this issue. This was first reported on April 17th when a thread was started on Apple’s official support forums. By now that thread has become quite lengthy with repeated complaints by first-gen Apple TV users who are unable to make their set-top boxes connect to iTunes. The first generation Apple TV was released back in 2007 and the company sold it until 2010, so there are quite a few of them out there.
One poster described that this simply happened out of nowhere. He had full access to iTunes Store the night before, but in the morning it started displaying an “iTunes Store Not Available” message. Access completely disappeared, except for movie trailers, after he unplugged the Apple TV.
In the thread, users say that they have gone through a variety of processes to try and get iTunes back. Rebooting and even restoring the software doesn’t help, the first generation Apple TV is simply unable to connect to the iTunes Store.
Apple hasn’t commented on this as yet, so it is unclear if the company has already started working on a fix or not. We’ll keep our eyes peeled and will let you know as soon as we hear more.