Forum Discussion

KM2424's avatar
KM2424
Channel Surfer
11 months ago
Solved

Roku Ultra 4802R need to disable wifi

Does anyone know if you can turn off the wifi signal on the ultra 4802R?  We use Ethernet connection for internet. We have medical equipment in the house and wifi signals interfere with it.   We don'...
tv & player wifi
  • RokuTakashi's avatar
    RokuTakashi
    11 months ago

    Hi, KM2424 

    Greetings, and welcome to the Roku Community.

    We understand the preference of the setup on your Roku Ultra wherein you'd like to keep the Wired connection due to interference with Radio Frequencies on the Wireless connection. In this instance, let's follow the steps provided below to set your Roku Ultra connected with only the Wired network.

    Reset the network connection

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote
    2. Scroll and select Settings
    3. Select Advanced system settings
    4. Select Network connection reset
    5. Select Reset connection

    Once this has been performed, you will need to set up your Roku Ultra for a Wired connection.

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote.
    2. Scroll and select Settings
    3. Select Network
    4. Select Set up connection
    5. Select Wired

    This will detect your Wired connection and your Roku Ultra will only be connected with the ethernet.

    Additionally, you can purchase the Roku Simple Remote Control to use its Infra-Red function to lessen the interference of the Radio Frequency.

    We hope you find this information useful, and feel free to let us know if you have further concerns to inquries.

    Best wishes,
    Kash

atc98092's avatar
atc98092
Community Streaming Expert
11 months ago

KM2424 I don't think Takashi's suggestion will actually disable the WiFi radio in your Ultra. To my knowledge there's no way to turn that radio off completely. There are hidden menus that can be found online (can't be mentioned here) that might have a radio off switch, but I haven't looked at them in quite some time, and since they aren't officially supported by Roku they can change at any time.

KM2424's avatar
KM2424
Channel Surfer
11 months ago

I guess we will have to buy the Roku, turn wifi off and then test for the RF signal with a meter.  On our tv, even though the wifi was turned off, it still kept emitting the RF signal so we had to open the back and disconnect the wifi module.  That worked perfect.   Do you know if there is a separate wifi module in the Roku ultra and can it be disconnected?  We would then just use the Ethernet port.  We are not concerned about warranty and would just like to be able to stream a few apps.    Thanks for the hidden menus suggestion, although because they can be updated at any time by Roku, we're looking for a more permanent solution. 

 

 

  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    Community Streaming Expert
    11 months ago

    I've never opened up any of my Roku devices, so I'm making a guess here. To my knowledge the Roku is basically an "everything on a single board" device, and it's unlikely to have a WiFi module that can be removed/disabled. You might be able to locate the antennas used by the WiFi radio (I'm pretty certain there are two of them) and disconnect them, which should reduce any RF emissions to virtually nothing. 

    • KM2424's avatar
      KM2424
      Channel Surfer
      11 months ago

      Hi Dan,

      Found a picture and there are two wire antennas and metal PCB antenna.  It looks like the two gray wires can be disconnected where they meet the gold prongs (not sure what they are called).  I found this info here https://www.microcontrollertips.com/teardown-the-new-roku-ultra/       you seem technical,  do you know where the PCB antenna is?   and if we dicsonnected just the two gray wires, do you think the Roku would still work?     

       

       

       
       

       

       

      • atc98092's avatar
        atc98092
        Community Streaming Expert
        11 months ago

        I can't say for certain if those two grey wires are the connections to the WiFi antennas. I hurt my eye this morning and can't wear my contacts, and my glasses are terrible looking at a computer monitor. 🙂 But they do appear to be the most likely candidates for it. The Roku should still work with them disconnected, as long as you have an IR remote available. Of course, with Ethernet connected you could use the Roku app on a phone or tablet to control it as well.