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patricka02's avatar
patricka02
Streaming Star
5 years ago
Solved

Connecting to 5 GHz Wifi - Roku Stick+

The Stick+ is dual band, but it seems to only connect to the 2.4 GHz band.  I have the same SSID for the 2.4 GHz and the 5GHz radios. (I know they can be different SSID, but my ISP said to use the same for both.)  Is there any way to get the Stick+ to prefer 5 GHz?

TV & Player WiFi
  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    5 years ago

    The Roku will never connect on 5 GHz as long as the router insists on using a DFS channel. My suggestion is to add a separate access point on your network for 5 GHz. I have a UniFi WAP as one of my access points. By default it too uses DFS channels, so I manually assigned the channel and all my 5 GHz capable Roku players can connect.  I didn't need to add it for the reason you need to, but it's still a valid choice. 

  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    5 years ago

    After looking into it some more, it appears you are not even bound by ATT to use that router (assume you are renting it).  Some ISPs require you to use their own.  Looks like plenty of routers compatible with ATT and fiber.  Changing my vote to ditch that router all together, save on the rental fees, and buy a fiber compatible, configurable router that allows you control over your network.

  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    Community Streaming Expert
    5 years ago

    Check the channel assignment on the 5 GHz radio. If your router has assigned a NFS DFS channel (49-148) a Roku device will never see it. You would then need to manually assign a channel number below 49 or above 148. Many routers don't have NFS DFS channels, but some still do. My UniFi access points auto-assigned an NFS DFS channel and I had to change it manually. 

      • atc98092's avatar
        atc98092
        Community Streaming Expert
        5 years ago

        Thanks. Busy day, my brain has shut down... :P

  • StreamerUser's avatar
    StreamerUser
    Roku Guru
    5 years ago
    patricka02 wrote:

    The Stick+ is dual band, but it seems to only connect to the 2.4 GHz band.  I have the same SSID for the 2.4 GHz and the 5GHz radios. (I know they can be different SSID, but my ISP said to use the same for both.)  Is there any way to get the Stick+ to prefer 5 GHz?


    No, there isn't (some devices have such user-configurable band-preferring functionality, Roku isnt one of them).

    Regardless, your ISPs "advice" is ill-advised - you should give each band its own SSID, preferably with an indicator of the band usage in the name so that you can easily and clearly know which band your devices are connected to, can allocate different devices/device types to one band or the other, and there wont be any stealth band-switching etc.

     

     

    • mwyson's avatar
      mwyson
      Channel Surfer
      3 years ago

      I hate that Roku doesn't give the option to turn off one or the other.

      • atc98092's avatar
        atc98092
        Community Streaming Expert
        3 years ago
        mwyson wrote:

        I hate that Roku doesn't give the option to turn off one or the other.

        I am not aware of any WiFi devices that have such an ability. For the access point/router, yes in virtually all cases you have control of the radios. But for the device that connects to the WiFi, I've never seen any such ability. 

  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    Community Streaming Expert
    5 years ago
    patricka02 wrote:

    The Stick+ is dual band, but it seems to only connect to the 2.4 GHz band.  I have the same SSID for the 2.4 GHz and the 5GHz radios. (I know they can be different SSID, but my ISP said to use the same for both.)  Is there any way to get the Stick+ to prefer 5 GHz?

    Just curious if you have same SSID for both bands why you are assuming it is connecting to 2.4gz.  Are you seeing a 2.4gz channel in the Roku's NETWORK....ABOUT Connection info (low channel 1-11)?

    EDITED...

    For troubleshooting, you can try disabling the 2.4gz and see if your stick connects. Then check that same Roku Network Connection Box and see what channel it is using (assuming it connected).  Then you would at least know if/assume  the 5gz band at router was configured properly if you can't find a way to manually change the 5gz channels.  Normally the routers pretty good in AUTO at 5gz, not so good when assigning 2.4gz. (just so many devices use the 2.4gz can get easily congested/interference(even from a microwave).

    • StreamerUser's avatar
      StreamerUser
      Roku Guru
      5 years ago

       

       

      AvsGunnar wrote:
      patricka02 wrote:

      The Stick+ is dual band, but it seems to only connect to the 2.4 GHz band.  I have the same SSID for the 2.4 GHz and the 5GHz radios. (I know they can be different SSID, but my ISP said to use the same for both.)  Is there any way to get the Stick+ to prefer 5 GHz?

      Just curious if you have same SSID for both bands why you are assuming it is connecting to 2.4gz.  Are you seeing a 2.4gz channel in the Roku's NETWORK....ABOUT Connection info (low channel 1-11)?

      EDITED...

      For troubleshooting, you can try disabling the 2.4gz and see if your stick connects. Then check that same Roku Network Connection Box and see what channel it is using (assuming it connected).  Then you would at least know if/assume  the 5gz band at router was configured properly if you can't find a way to manually change the 5gz channels.  Normally the routers pretty good in AUTO at 5gz, not so good when assigning 2.4gz. (just so many devices use the 2.4gz can get easily congested/interference(even from a microwave).

      The gateway's UI may display the info in a "connected devices" section (many do).

      • patricka02's avatar
        patricka02
        Streaming Star
        5 years ago

        I have lots to report.

        I turned off the 2.4 GHz radio (good suggestion AvsGunnar), however, to my surprise, when I committed the configuration, my PC also dropped off the 5 GHz network. (I'm guessing that turning off the 2.4 GHz radio caused the whole router to reboot with its new configuration.  I didn't expect this.)

        However, when the Router came back up, the 5 GHz radios were now on channels 52 and 149 and the Roku Stick is on channel 149.  I can tell by the device list in the router.  You can clear the CAM table and it will rebuild.  See below.

        I'm not sure if rebooting the router with the 2.4 radio off causes it to choose non-DFS channels or if this was just the luck of the draw.

        One other thing:  I'm pretty sure that this is a custom Router firmware load for AT&T because there are holes in the firewall that you can't close (for AT&T support, I assume) and there are other things like the DNS addresses that can be changed.

  • brtilak's avatar
    brtilak
    Channel Surfer
    3 years ago

    I was mystified by this same problem and learned something which I will post here in case it helps someone.

    ASUS routers have settings for the control channel to be used for wireless (both 2.4 and 5 GHz). This allows one to pick a specific channel from a list or to select "auto." When selecting auto there is a checkbox for "Auto select channel including DFS channels." I had that checked. By unchecking it, all went back to normal (after waiting for things to settle down). Perhaps other routers have a similar setting. 

    What had me really confused at first was that all the other 5GHz devices in my house were working fine -- as was the Roku until it suddenly stopped working. I must have checked that setting at one point and, perhaps, existing connections were unaffected until there was some sort of reset.

    • dsohunter's avatar
      dsohunter
      Reel Rookie
      3 years ago

      Honestly, I'm moving away from Roku after many years just because of this issue.  I recently upgraded my wifi with Eero because I just don't want to tinker with networking at home anymore.   Of course, in a crowded neighborhood, Eero chose a DFS channel outside of Roku's vision.   My network is running great, but my Roku's will now only connect to 2.4ghz, and on one in particular, it's just slow enough to be problematic.  I'm moving my streaming to a WiFi 6 enabled solution.  It sucks because I love Roku, but their poor network implementation needs to be fixed.

      • brtilak's avatar
        brtilak
        Channel Surfer
        3 years ago

        It should be pretty easy to select a non-DFS 5GHz channel in your Wi-Fi router. That should at least hold you for a while so the need for a Roku replacement isn't as urgent.