Channel Issues & Questions

[Hey2019]

Is there anyway to get this older Roku Express wired directly to my modem? It has no ethernet cable port on it. And streaming with it connected wireless and only on 2G it buffers amd buffers. Some days are worse then others. Should I just do away with this old roku and upgrade? Or is there some sort a way of converting Ethernet to HDMI and also have a HDMI plugged into tv at same time.? If I do have to upgrade What newer Roku has an ethernet cable port on it? I'll probably have to have whatever I buy land lined straight to modem in order to get a better connection. Can someone/ anyone help,me please. I have searched Google and watched YouTube videos but never got the answer to my question. I did see small comment that said all roku,devices support wireless or wired internet. Never mention the roku that has no cable ports. I eben tried reaching out to roku support but its impossible to speak to a live rep.

[DBDukes]

"Hey2019" wrote:
Is there anyway to get this older Roku Express wired directly to my modem? It has no ethernet cable port on it. And streaming with it connected wireless and only on 2G it buffers amd buffers. Some days are worse then others. Should I just do away with this old roku and upgrade?  Or is there some sort a way of converting Ethernet to HDMI and also have a HDMI plugged into tv at same time.? If I do have to upgrade What newer Roku has an ethernet cable port on it?  I'll probably have to have whatever I buy land lined straight to modem in order to get a better connection. Can someone/ anyone help,me please. I have searched Google and watched YouTube videos but never got the answer to my question. I did see small comment that said all roku,devices support wireless or wired internet. Never mention the roku that has no cable ports. I eben tried reaching out to roku support but its impossible to speak to a live rep.

The Express is WiFi only, and only connects at 2.4 GHz (not 2g; that's something different).

The only current Roku model that sports an Ethernet port is the Ultra, which also supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi.

The Roku Streaming Sticks also support dual band wireless (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), if you're looking for a cheaper device that supports something other than 2.4 GHz.

I wouldn't suggest abandoning the Express just yet. Perhaps you're experiencing some interference on the 2.4 GHz band. Your router is likely using channel 6, 11, or 1 for that. If possible, look into that, and see if changing to one of the other channels improves things. At one location I manage, changing to channel 11 helped. At another, channel 1 was best. And, at another, channel 6 offered the best performance. Routers set to "auto" don't always make the best choice.

[Hey2019]

I actually just spoke with our internet provider and was shown how to change channels for both the 2g and 5g. He told me to only use channels 1,6,11 for the 2G and I think it was channel 36 and 149 for 5G. Said he recommended only those channels of I'm changing them manually. Let me ask you another question, is it possible from different neighbors Wi-Fi to be somehow competing with one another? I live in a side by side duplex with only thin wall in between us and they just recently got Wi-Fi hooked up over there. Since then my bedrooms connection is poor on both my smart phone and that roku. Whats crazy is that the roku starts,doing all the bad buffering when my neighbirs get home, and start watching Netflix in their bedroom. I also learned how to see what devices are hooked to our Wi-Fi soive not caught that they may be stealing our Wi-Fi. Or nothing but theres something going on when she gets home over there and starts steaming..

[Hey2019]

Its not fair for us who have been loyal paying costumers for 5+ yrs to now be dealing with this crazy connection all of sudden and its since our neighbors got same provider of internet that we have. I know these company's aren't going to tell all their downfalls but their about to have to,do,something or we'll be going to different provider

[DBDukes]

"Hey2019" wrote:
I actually just spoke with our internet provider and was shown how to change channels for both the 2g (sic) and 5g (sic).

Let me stop you right now and tell you what I told you before. It's not "2g" and "5g" when talking about WiFi. Those are cell phone technologies. Unless you're connecting to a hotspot on an old cell phone (or have a really weak Verizon or T-Mobile signal) you aren't using 2G. And, unless you are in one of AT&T's early test markets, you aren't using 5G. Your WiFi is using 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. GHz and G are not interchangeable things.

"Hey2019" wrote:
He told me to only use channels 1,6,11 for the 2G (sic) and I think it was channel 36 and 149 for 5G (sic). Said he recommended only those channels of I'm changing them manually.

Yes, those are good channels for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz respectively. Channels overlap. Channel 1 overlaps with 2-5. Channel 2 overlaps with 1-6. Channel 3 overlaps with 1-7. And so on. Channel 1 and 6 do not overlap (channel 6 overlaps with 2-10). Channel 6 doesn't overlap with channel 11 (though 11 overlaps with 7-10; higher than 11 isn't available to consumers in the U.S.). So, channels 1, 6, and 11 are often the only ones mentioned. An "auto" setting often picks 6, which may be good, or it may be the worst. It depends on your location.

"Hey2019" wrote:
Let me ask you another question, is it possible from different neighbors Wi-Fi to be somehow competing with one another? I live in a side by side duplex with only thin wall in between us and they just recently got Wi-Fi hooked up over there. Since then my bedrooms connection is poor on both my smart phone and that roku.

That's exactly it. You've nailed it. Those signals all around you can cause interference. Keep in mind that Bluetooth is also a 2.4 GHz band, though short range. All kind of things are transmitting on that band (and all over, really). So, yes, that could very well be causing issues with your network. And, it won't necessarily affect everything on your network, but it could have impacts on many devices or impact your WiFi performance. That's why trying another channel (1, 6, or 11 of the 2.4 GHz band) may sometimes resolve issues.

"Hey2019" wrote:
Whats crazy is that the roku starts doing all the bad buffering when my neighbors get home, and start watching Netflix in their bedroom. I also learned how to see what devices are hooked to our Wi-Fi soive not caught that they may be stealing our Wi-Fi. Or nothing but theres something going on when she gets home over there and starts steaming..

As long as you have a good password on your WiFi router, you'll likely not have anyone piggy-backing your network. But, their proximity can still interfere, as you suspected. Your gut feeling is the same as mine: something nearby is interfering. It could be a device in your home, but a new neighbor's equipment is a more likely cause.

[DBDukes]

"Hey2019" wrote:
Its not fair for us who have been loyal paying costumers for 5+ yrs to now be dealing with this crazy connection all of sudden and its since our neighbors got same provider of internet that we have. I know these company's aren't going to tell all their downfalls but their about to have to,do,something or we'll be going to different provider

It's not the ISP. It's the local networks, yours and your neighbor's. Switching ISPs wouldn't necessarily solve anything. If I were interfering with my neighbors (as far as I know, i'm not) and suddenly dropped Comcast for AT&T, nothing would change. My WiFi is my WiFi.

If you're using a router supplied by your ISP, then yes, it's whatever settings they default to, but there's no guarantee that another ISP would have any different setting. And, if it did, it's no different than what you'd accomplish by changing the settings yourself. Conversely, if your new neighbors had a different ISP, they may still have the same settings on their WiFi, and would be causing the same problems.

If you're dissatisfied with their service, then heck yeah. But, you may be able to fix this issue yourself and not have to deal with returning equipment and waiting on some service tech to show up in a four-hour window.

Good luck.

[Hey2019]

Fix it myself!!?? It's all been so confusing so far but ive learned a lot in short time. But I'm running out of ideas on how to fix it lol... The past 2 times that ive called our provider and complained they said that it was all b/c that roku was only 2g and that 2g is awful anyways. Said if i could somehow get roku on 5G that it would do better. The rep did a small web search for me then and said rhat there is a converter that would work. Told me to contact roku support for exact detail but i can't get to talk with live person at roku support. Lol .. I mentioned that eveny smart phone has funny Wi-Fi connection in my bedroom as well. Amd i know its 5G capable. It will switch from our 2G to 5G if one of them have a bad connection. It only does that in my room though. Guess its avoiding bad connection like its supposed to but theres no Wi-Fi when its switching and it sometime gets stuck. Oh man its all a mess.

[Hey2019]

I seen that another member had replied to my question about being able to,convert roku. But whats your opinion? If there was a converter that took ethernet cable that's coming out of modem and turned it into HDMI cable that would go in back,of roku. Doing that would get the net that i need to roku but how would I connect roku back to,my tv. So I was thinking that maybe if that same converter,had an extra HDMI port on it as well then I could use different HDMI that would go,from that converter to,my tv again. Lol what do you think?

[Basil]

"Hey2019" wrote:
I seen that another member had replied to my question about being able to,convert roku. But whats your opinion? If there was a converter that took ethernet cable that's coming out of modem and turned it into HDMI cable that would go in back,of roku. Doing that would get the net that i need to roku but how would I connect roku back to,my tv. So I was thinking that maybe if that same converter,had an extra HDMI port on it as well then I could use different HDMI that would go,from that converter to,my tv again. Lol what do you think?

You can't do that. There is no way to connect a Roku Express via Ethernet. It's a 2.4 GHz WiFi only device. Your best bet is to log into your router and change the channel. You mentioned in an earlier post in this thread that your ISP service person suggested 1, 6, or 11 as the channel for 2.4 GHz. If you can log in to your router, change the 2.4 GHz channel to one of those, or to a different one if one of those is already selected. Don't mess with the 5 GHz settings, as the Roku Express can't connect on the 5 GHz band, so there's no reason to touch that.

Are you able to log in to your router?

[Hey2019]

That's what I,mean, I said 5G,and 2G but i meant GHz. I can't keep up with all the abbreviations with todays technology that i have a hard time understanding anyway lol. So what do you think I should try to do next then? Since the 1st day we moved in here the cell phone reception was awful. I couldn't talk and,move one way without cutting,out or if weather outside is extreme then reception in here is worse. I talked with Verizon about that as well. Said older homes with a lot if different wires running through walls can have reception issues. So theres always been some sort of connection blocking weather it is cell or Wi-Fi. Something about this house I guess. I had Verizon semd someone to my area to do a check and if it was found that the area I luved in just had bad reception then the I wpuld just give me a signal booster but if issue was in house then their signal booster was like $400 at that time. Of course they found no issue in my local area. Ive just kind of learned to deal with that and watch out dead drop areas of our house. Phine has a 4G signal in house but right outside its a 5G