Request for WiFi 6E or WiFi 7 on Roku Ultra
It's 2024 and we haven't see a refresh in awhile. I am using an old Ultra 4670R streaming player and would love to upgrade to one that supports WiFi 6E or WiFi 7. I'd also like HDMI 2.1, Dolby Visio...
Forum Discussion
As noted in other similar posts: Roku uses 3rd party chipsets in their hardware. It's up to them to add features that Roku can use.
WiFi 7 is VERY new, only finalized last month. Currently, I assume it is little more than flagship phones that support it. WiFi 7 routers are VERY expensive.
Remember that Roku's, even the Ultra, is mainly a mass market device. I assume 6E may come with whatever hardware upgrade comes out, but I wouldn't count on WiFi 7 on general consumer devices for a few years. To be honest, the processing speed of the Ultra is still competitive with many other upper-end consumer streaming devices. It's also cheaper than some of them, like the Cube or Apple TV. Unless you are streaming local ripped 4K material, you only need 16-25MBit for Internet streaming.
Thanks for the info. I've been a Roku user for about 11 years now. I started with the Roku 3. Every future iteration of their streaming player became better and better. I expect the Ultra to do the same. It's very good but not excellent.
Your response suggests that Roku should be complacent and leave well enough alone. I say no.....make a very good product and make it even better. A product refresh with new tech.
And yes, I own a WiFi 7 router (which also has 6E and slower bands) and I am playing local 4K content.
This forum is a 'Suggest A Feature', which is exactly what I did.
I personally would love to see ROKU make their players or at least the ULTRA player with WiFi 6 or WiFi 6E option. The WiFi 6E option would be preferable since many advanced networks these days are 6E networks that are by their design, able to carry significantly more data over their wireless connections and thus would allow for less interference from the plethora of other devices that connect to wireless networks and this would also help many who are in an apartment type situation where there are a ton of 5G network devices nearby and so 6E would offer a great advantage! It's sad to see that ROKU's Main competitor has already come out with WiFi 6 connectivity! You'd think that ROKU would be on top of things and stay competitive but that doesn't appear to be the case? unfortunately....
SK
Don't forget about WPA3. Roku forces you to have a less secure environment. Wireless 6 came out in 2019 and brought WPA3.
I hope some Roku senior managers are reading this thread. It's PATHETIC that Roku hasn't upgraded any of its streaming devices to WiFi 6 or higher. My wife and I like the Roku usability more than Apple TV and Amazon Firestick. We have 2 TVs in our home to switch to Roku streamer stick or Ultra. But it doesn't make any sense to buy very old technology, no matter how inexpensive, even on Amazon Prime Day!
Get with the program Roku and invest more in your streaming hardware, not just your Roku TV's and advertising projects...
Don't forget about WPA3 security that came out with Wi-Fi 6. I want to be able to get away from a less secure environment, but Roku does not seem to care about security, sooner than later.
As far as you saying wifi 7 products are expensive is not true. I got WiFi 7 phone for free, since I traded in my old phone. I have seen Wifi 7 laptops online for about $1200 not on sale. My guess is when verizon fios releases a wifi 7 router the cost will be $399, My current laptop has wifi 6 card and my laptop is 3 years old. I might upgrade my wifi card. USB 3.0 wireless adapters are very cheap too.
Your phone is not free, it is "free". It is probably locked to your carrier, and if you don't keep that service for 2-3 years, you will have to pay the remaining balance. You then have to go through a procedure to unlock it if you want to use another carrier.
