Not haunted, networked. Something on the same HDMI chain or the same Wi-Fi is waking it, and there are three usual suspects.
HDMI-CEC first, because it is the commonest. A TV or streaming stick waking at 3 am for a background update sends a power-on command over HDMI, and the AVR obediently follows. Every brand calls CEC something different (Anynet+, Bravia Sync, Simplink, HDMI Control), which is why people do not realise it is on. Disable CEC on the device you do not need it on, usually the streaming stick or the TV, and see if the night-time wakes stop. If you use CEC for one-remote convenience, keep it on the AVR and TV and turn it off on the sources.
Network standby and app control second. AVRs with streaming platforms listen on the network while "off". A phone app opening in someone's pocket, a stray cast attempt from a guest's phone that remembers your Wi-Fi, a smart-home routine that turns on "all devices" at sunrise: any of these can wake it. Check the network-standby and auto-play settings; most AVRs let you disable wake-on-network without losing the app entirely.
Scheduled features third. Sleep timers and wake timers set accidentally while looking for something else. Worth a look through the timer menu once.
The systematic way: note the time it happens for a few days, then check your TV's and streaming devices' update schedules and your smart-home routines. The correlation is usually obvious once written down. Nothing here damages anything; it is a settings hunt, not a fault, and the AVR is not wearing itself out by waking.
Send us the full device chain (TV, sources, streaming devices, any smart-home hub) and we will point at the likely waker. It is almost always the newest device in the room.
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