Forum Discussion

Rewop's avatar
Rewop
Reel Rookie
2 years ago
Solved

Roku Ultra connection speed

I have a recently purchased roku ultra box that is wired into the router. My previous roku ultra, about 5 years old, had a wired connection speed of about 90-93 Mbps which is exactly the same as my new roku. My current 5-year old roku TV, 43", has a wireless connection of over 200 Mbps. I thought a new roku ultra would be speedier than my old box but it's not and lags way behind my wireless TV connection. Why is that? Have I missed some setup items?

TV & Player WiFi
  • Rewop's avatar
    Rewop
    2 years ago

    Thank you renojim for your response.  I did not realize that the ethernet connection was limited to 100Mbps.  Since my roku TV has a wireless connection with a speed of 200+ Mbps I set up my roku ultra with a wireless connection instead of a wired connection.  I now have a speed of 210 Mbps for my ultra box.  I'll see if it makes any difference connecting to the web and with streaming. Thanks again.

    Rewop

  • renojim's avatar
    renojim
    Community Streaming Expert
    2 years ago

    Roku only has 100Mbps Ethernet ports in their devices, so the maximum you'll get is around 93Mbps.  93Mbps is more than enough for any streaming provider.  What do you mean by "lags behind"?  Are you just speaking of the reported speed?  Even with a lower throughput the wired connection will probably be more reliable.

    • Rewop's avatar
      Rewop
      Reel Rookie
      2 years ago

      Thank you renojim for your response.  I did not realize that the ethernet connection was limited to 100Mbps.  Since my roku TV has a wireless connection with a speed of 200+ Mbps I set up my roku ultra with a wireless connection instead of a wired connection.  I now have a speed of 210 Mbps for my ultra box.  I'll see if it makes any difference connecting to the web and with streaming. Thanks again.

      Rewop

  • andyross's avatar
    andyross
    Roku Guru
    2 years ago

    Unless you plan on streaming local 4K video from a home server, it will make no real difference. 4K streaming tops out at about 25Mbit. I would take what would typically be more reliable Ethernet over WiFi for any fixed-location device.

    • makaiguy's avatar
      makaiguy
      Community Streaming Expert
      2 years ago

      Rewop-

      I wouldn't expect the speed increase to be evident when streaming over the internet.  It only downloads at the speed it needs to display the stream.

      Where you might see a difference is when downloading and installing a new channel, or when going to a channel you haven't used in a while that has to be reloaded from the server.

       

      • Rewop's avatar
        Rewop
        Reel Rookie
        2 years ago

        I think you and others are right about wired vs. wireless connection.  I can't tell a real difference between the two when using the Roku box.  I'll probably continue the wireless connection just because it frees up an ethernet connection on the router.

    • ricky_b0bby's avatar
      ricky_b0bby
      Reel Rookie
      2 years ago

      What about if you are trying to stream 4k from a local server? Should I replace the Roku Ultra with something else?

      • renojim's avatar
        renojim
        Community Streaming Expert
        2 years ago

        ricky_b0bby, my opinion is that if your main purpose for a streaming device is to stream your own media from your own server then there are probably better options out there.  Roku has shown little to no interest in that use case and it seems to be barely supported.  Look at the last time the Roku Media Player app was updated for an example.  Basically, it appears that if they can't find a way to monetize something (i.e., force ads on users) then they're not interested.

    • Dr_Praetorius's avatar
      Dr_Praetorius
      Newbie
      12 months ago

      I'm streaming content at 130 mb bitrate.  My local network can spike to over 200 MB/s to play it.  Obviously, I needed to switch my Roku Ultra to WiFi.  Less obvious is my disappointment with Roku.