Forum Discussion

dgg9's avatar
dgg9
Streaming Star
6 years ago
Solved

To everyone having the same "suddenly no wifi" problem

We're all having the same problem. 

Here's where I think we all stand. Roku had done a standard background software update, to a "93" version, but that version somehow trashed the wifi detector, so now the all these units can't connect to the network. The usual industry approach is to have the previous stable software rev (92?) sitting already on the device, so the user could switch back to it. But in a lot of cases, like mine, this v92 is NOT on the device.

So now the device can't connect to the network AND can't be fixed because all fixes would come from that network. In short, this is a screw up called a "truck roll" where the only way out is to physically mail new devices to people. Except that requires diligent customer service, and here there's zero.

Class action ______ appears the only way to go.

tv & player wifi
  • RokuDanny-R's avatar
    RokuDanny-R
    6 years ago

    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your posts and concerns.

    A couple of things to touch on here:

    1) If you are having issues with connecting to your wireless network, we would strong recommend first taking a look at our Support page for troubleshooting steps here: Tips for improving the wireless connection to your Roku® streaming device

    2) If you are having issues with a Roku Express or Roku Premiere device, have you ensured your router is broadcasting a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network for the device to connect to? The Roku Express/Premiere is only compatible with wireless b/g/n networks on the 2.4 GHz spectrum. This is commonly overlooked and not checked.

    3) If you are having issues connecting to your wireless network and are only able to connect to once the device is in the same room as your router, this would point to a router wireless strength issue.

    If you are still experiencing issues connecting to your wireless network, please answer the following questions so we can get a better understanding of what you are seeing:
    - If you have a Roku Express/Premiere, have you ensured your router is broadcasting a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network for the device to connect to? 
    - Have you tried changing the wireless broadcast channel on the router to see if this will allow your device to connect? 
    - Have you tried moving the device closer to your router to see if you can get connected? 
    - How long have you been experiencing this problem?

    If you have followed all of the above troubleshooting steps and are still experiencing your issue, feel free to send me a PM with your Roku account email address, the Roku model number, and the serial number of your Roku from Settings>System>About along with the answers to the above questions and I'll be able to assist you further from there.


    Thanks,
    Danny

  • RokuDanny-R's avatar
    RokuDanny-R
    6 years ago

    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your posts and concerns. As stated in my previous post:

    1) If you are having issues with connecting to your wireless network, we would strong recommend first taking a look at our Support page for troubleshooting steps here: Tips for improving the wireless connection to your Roku® streaming device

    2) If you are having issues with a Roku Express or Roku Premiere device, have you ensured your router is broadcasting a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network for the device to connect to? The Roku Express/Premiere is only compatible with wireless b/g/n networks on the 2.4 GHz spectrum. This is commonly overlooked and not checked.

    3) If you are having issues connecting to your wireless network and are only able to connect to once the device is in the same room as your router, this would point to a router wireless strength issue.

    If you are still experiencing issues connecting to your wireless network, please answer the following questions so we can get a better understanding of what you are seeing:
    - If you have a Roku Express/Premiere, have you ensured your router is broadcasting a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network for the device to connect to? 
    - Have you tried changing the wireless broadcast channel on the router to see if this will allow your device to connect? 
    - Have you tried moving the device closer to your router to see if you can get connected? 
    - How long have you been experiencing this problem?

    If you have followed all of the above troubleshooting steps and are still experiencing your issue, feel free to send me a PM with your Roku account email address, the Roku model number, and the serial number of your Roku from Settings>System>About along with the answers to the above questions and I'll be able to assist you further from there.


    Thanks,
    Danny

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  • C_I's avatar
    C_I
    Roku Guru
    6 years ago
    dgg9 wrote:

    We're all having the same problem. 

    Here's where I think we all stand. Roku had done a standard background software update, to a "93" version, but that version somehow trashed the wifi detector, so now the all these units can't connect to the network. The usual industry approach is to have the previous stable software rev (92?) sitting already on the device, so the user could switch back to it. But in a lot of cases, like mine, this v92 is NOT on the device.

    So now the device can't connect to the network AND can't be fixed because all fixes would come from that network. In short, this is a screw up called a "truck roll" where the only way out is to physically mail new devices to people. Except that requires diligent customer service, and here there's zero.

    Class action ______ appears the only way to go.

     I have a Roku Express + 3900 series, and I had zero problems with my WiFi connection after I updated to 9.3. Maybe it's because there might be an issue with your networks? If you have Windows 10, you can go to the notification center and check your network settings. You can even go to your settings in Windows 10 and run the network troubleshooter. Make sure that your computer can connect to your network. 

    • dgg9's avatar
      dgg9
      Streaming Star
      6 years ago

      No, there's no issue with my network, same as a hundred other people posting here.  One minute, the Roku is working, then a software update, and then it doesn't work.  Nothing else changed; everything else still works.

      • dizzydinah's avatar
        dizzydinah
        Binge Watcher
        6 years ago

        The maddening thing about this buffering is it is intermittent. Sometimes the connection is great with no interference and when it's bad I can't watch the TV. In my experience I've gone down the route of company instructions on how to establish the internet connection and it will go down within seconds. I can establish a connection, but in one of the bad periods it will go out. So I don't feel that I need instruction on how to connect, I need to find out whose dropping the ball and that could turn into my life's mission. Just now the living room TV is going in and out of connectivity and the bedroom TV, on the same channel, performing well, both Rokus. During connection checks the Roku has a download speed of 1 and labels that good? Seriously Roku, you need to help with this issue!

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

      [post edited] You as the end user will see at best a $5 coupon for a new Roku. I've seen far too many of them that get virtually nothing from them. Not worth the aggravation. 

      • dgg9's avatar
        dgg9
        Streaming Star
        6 years ago

        "Not worth the aggravation. "  Your opinion is duly noted.  Meanwhile, hundreds or thousands of people coughed up money for a device that stopped working.

    • ShogunOfHarlem's avatar
      ShogunOfHarlem
      Channel Surfer
      4 years ago

      Just got the voice remote pro and try to use it on a livingroom and a bedroom tv. If I turn on the bedroom tv it turns the living room tv too. I can not navigate on the bedroom tv. I go out and turn the LR tv off come back to use bedroom and the remote stops working and the wifi in the entire house shuts off. I unplug the bedroom tv and try to use the livingroom tv but have to reset the router. When it comes on the wifi is spotty at best and the picture quality is awful. This started the moment I began using the voice pro. What is going on and why is it doing this? 

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

        ShogunOfHarlem, are these both Roku TVs?  Some of what you're experiencing I can't explain, but the remote can only be paired to one Roku device - you can't move it back and forth and expect it to work.  If they're not Roku TVs, the remote can only be configured to control one brand of TV, so if they're different brands the TV controls probably won't work on both.

        Give us more information about your setup and we can provide more guidance.

  • L1ghtbr1nger's avatar
    L1ghtbr1nger
    Channel Surfer
    6 years ago

    If you are bent on not switching to Amazon, go to the roku support page and submit a ticket for a more expensive device, that will at least get you in contact with an actual person, they're replacing my device, but they didn't even know there was a problem so I encourage you all to flood the **bleep** out of their messages so they can't plea ignorance. They pay no attention to community pages

    • icelips's avatar
      icelips
      Channel Surfer
      6 years ago

      OK, so I tried to contact customer support. All that did was give me yet another online forum to discover. My aggravation level is to the point where I just want to smash things and throw them out my window. I won't do that because it's probably not "techno correct" and I am sooo afraid of offending people. I just need these things to work and perhaps be a bit more user friendly. Is that so much to ask for?

  • Bob_7924's avatar
    Bob_7924
    Newbie
    5 years ago

    I found you have an option for a factory reset. The reset is accomplished by getting to the Roku Secret screen. The Secret screen is activated by clicking the Home button five time next the fast forward button three time times  and then the rewind button  two times. You will have the option do the factory reset which means you have reactivate your Roku thru the website, Also, you can do a software update even though the Roku say there no internet; it will show a percentage update being performed.

    • Rdjntx's avatar
      Rdjntx
      Binge Watcher
      5 years ago

      There are easier ways to get a factory reset .. but it might be different between Roku Models.  I simply went to settings - advance settings - factory reset.   Not that it did any good.  

      I spent several hours with the folks over in SW Asia over this.  both spectrum and Roku. they were equally worthless in solving this problem and they like to blame each other rather than truly looking at the problem and coming up with a viable solution.  

      All evidence suggests that Roku pushed an update that broke older modems. I don't know what their testing of new product involves (or even if there is one) but this one they missed something.  Over multiple threads there is one common theme  roku models of every stripe suddenly quick working.  They show a strong wireless connection but no internet connectivity.  a fair number of problems involve Spectrum ISP.  

      The one solution that so far seems fairly universal is to swap out your modem for a newer one.  when I took mine back the lady said they don't even carry that model anymore.   I have been messing with computers for most of my career both as a hobby and as a job. All the troubleshooting Roku gives you on their website and in this thread is worthless for this particular problem. Their service desk is unhelpful they will lead you through all the same trouble shooting that "Danny" says to do in the early responses and then will say"contact your ISP).  your ISP will lead you through a bunch of equally worthless exercises and say "contact roku" and back and forth you go.  

      Do what most of the rest of us did,  Swap out your modem for a newer model. and if that doesn't work "fade back 10 yards and punt" as my father used to say. 

      • Jimkeir's avatar
        Jimkeir
        Newbie
        5 years ago

        Yet another one. I had a Premiere+ fail about a month ago and have just had the replacement fail in exactly the same way. Both will connect to a phone hotspot if I hold the phone within a few inches, but nothing further away than that. Going back to Amazon Fire. Buyer beware, Roku hardware simply doesn’t last more than a few months.

  • nancy65newsome's avatar
    nancy65newsome
    Newbie
    5 years ago

    I still do not have service I have done everything on my end Are you still working on the problem on your end to get this fix   Nancy newsome   email [personal information]

    • NateTruth's avatar
      NateTruth
      Binge Watcher
      5 years ago

      nancy65newsome

       

      I posted on other threads in this forum for the past 3 days. I have had no success. This thread also has no real solution has been given except possibly replace your modem. What really surprised me is that this thread (and others) was started over a year ago... I guess when it suddenly happened for the first time. Mostly it has been between Spectrum users and Roku ..weird that this is the same time Spectrum and Roku had an official "falling out" in their business relationship.

       

      I have only guessed that this problem happened to us now because Spectrum increased their wifi speed. It went from 40mpbs to 250. I haven't gotten anyone to confirm this do you know if your wifi speed changes recently?

      • Keroppilee's avatar
        Keroppilee
        Reel Rookie
        5 years ago

        My wife has a TCL 32S327 in her office.  It worked fine for a while. Then it stopped connecting to her work internet. It can still see the SSID and it has excellent signal strength but it will not connect. We thought maybe we got a dud and tried a different tv same model. This time it connected on setup, updated software, downloaded all the apps and promptly could not connect again. I think it must be on the router side but as this is her work office I can't manipulate anything on the router side. 

  • sircals's avatar
    sircals
    Newbie
    3 years ago

    Yeah, I had that same problem.  I called them the very next day, explained the problem and told them I

    wanted to return the item, [ Roku Ultra ].  Guy said he would email me a return postage paid label.  I never 

    got the label, I called again, some other guy said I would have to pay for the postage.  I mailed it back, cost me $17.05.  I emailed Roku to ask for them to pay me for this, I got the run around.

    I have emailed and texted copies of the receipt, that they asked for.  I keep getting some email asking me what the problem is.  It has been a month now, and nothing.  Everyone I talk to, from now on, will know how I was treated by Roku.  There are other alternatives to Roku, quite a few actually.