Wi-Fi & connectivity

Having Roku connectivity problems? Get the help and troubleshooting tips you need for Roku wireless connection issues, ethernet connections, and more.
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mike_s
Roku Guru

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

"John Small" wrote:
"mikebdoss" wrote:
I hate to break it to you, but the sun gives off more EM radiation than any electronics you have in your home.

Indeed it does. Thankfully, it also happens to be 93 million miles away! 🙂 Proximity is everything, ...there are government regulations about limiting the amount of time people put cellphones against their head

Well, no. The power emitted is the other half of the equation. Peak solar irradiance at sea level is about 1000 W/m^2.  Roku output would be measured in milliwatts, so even sitting right next to one you'd get only a tiny fraction of what you'd get from simply being outside on a sunny day. Further, WiFi radiation is non-ionizing, but some small fraction of solar radiation is ionizing. What do you do about all the broadcast TV, radio, cell phone, etc., signals which are constantly going through your home? Tin foil hat? Heck, the AC wiring in the walls surrounds you with an electric field.
And I'm sure no one here holds their Roku to their head when using it.
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twiceover
Roku Guru

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

1. Get a roku that has ethernet
2. Find exactly where the IR sensor is on the Roku
3. Encase Roku in foil leaving only the spot for the IR sensor
4. Get IR Remote.
5. Live a long healthy life
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John_Small
Visitor

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

I'm not a nut, just health-conscious and don't want a radio transmitter in my house. The experts have recommend a precautionary approach to such technology (eg this report) so I defer to their wisdom. I'm also careful to avoid putting electronic fields near my body, since close proximity to fields gives me a nasty headache (I had it all my life, long before I heard about EMFs, bought a meter and saw the clear correlation between headache strength and field size).

Thankfully, TV, transmitters, etc, are not being broadcast in close proximity to me, and I have no choice but to trust the governments' determination that they are safe for the public. But what we put in our homes and use on our bodies is a personal choice, like smoking.

It may well be the case that Wi-Fi radiation levels are so low as to be perfectly safe. I really hope that is the case. It would be nice to live in a world where we knew Wi-Fi was definitely safe. But as yet, we don't know. It's way too early. Maybe in a few decades' time we'll have a clearer view, but this stuff is brand new, and personally I'm just not interested in taking risks with my health. I've lived over 40 years quite happily without wireless devices or cellphones and don't need them.
atc98092
Community Streaming Expert

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

John, I understand your concern, and don't disagree with being cautious. But the frequencies used by wireless devices have already been in use for decades. There are many reports on both sides of the issue, so I don't personally take either side as final. The power output of a wireless device in your home is insignificant once you're a very short distance away. I've been an Amateur Radio operator for almost 40 years, and have read many reports on RF radiation, at various frequency bands. The higher the frequency the closer you have to be to encounter radiation levels that begin to have an impact to human tissue. Of course, once you get really high (x-ray, gamma ray, etc.) then it's a different matter, but that is way above what will ever be used in a home environment. The highest frequency band used by home Wi-Fi is around 5 GHz. Home microwaves actually use lower frequencies than this, but they are also extremely high power (600+ watts, compared to a home router under 1 watt) and focused within a Faraday cage.
.
It's your decision, and I certainly don't want to come across as negative towards you. You do what you are comfortable with. That's what is nice about free will.  😄
Dan

Roku Community Streaming Expert

Help others find this answer and click "Accept as Solution."
If you appreciate my answer, maybe give me a Kudo.

I am not a Roku employee, just another user.
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MEMOM
Channel Surfer

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

I hear that other brands streamer stick remotes use bluetooth instead on newer remotes which is not on wifi. Not sure if that is better for your health. The remote for most popular other brand that has the volume and mute on the remote is blue tooth one.

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atc98092
Community Streaming Expert

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?


@MEMOM wrote:

I hear that other brands streamer stick remotes use bluetooth instead on newer remotes which is not on wifi. Not sure if that is better for your health. The remote for most popular other brand that has the volume and mute on the remote is blue tooth one.


Bluetooth is still 2.4 GHz, the same as the standard WiFi band. It might perhaps have a little lower power, since BT is supposed to be for nearby device communication. The Nvidia Shield uses Bluetooth. I believe the Fire TV does as well. But since it's in the same band as "normal" WiFi, there's likely any detectable difference to humans. That doesn't include people that are hyper-sensitive to radio waves, since if WiFi affects them then BT most likely would as well. 

Dan

Roku Community Streaming Expert

Help others find this answer and click "Accept as Solution."
If you appreciate my answer, maybe give me a Kudo.

I am not a Roku employee, just another user.
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MEMOM
Channel Surfer

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

Oh ok. I do know the good thing about a remote using bluetooth instead of wifi though is it does not use your wifi signal! My older firestick I found out was using the same channel as my internet router. Every time I changed my internet router's channel... the remote followed! I have VERY slow speed internet which is just hardly fast enough to stream. I do not need any interference.
I tried a newer firestick that was bluetooth for this reason. I found out though ridiculously they do not sync my watched shows together from one tv to the other on the SAME account! All their tech people say this is normal.
My 2.4 ghz is not working anymore. So my beloved Roku 1 is not working due to my router and the 2.4 problem  =( 

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MartyPA
Streaming Star

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

Get an RF meter and, I hate to break it to you, but you'll see that it's you who is absurd.

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cliffwp5
Newbie

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

Wi-Fi Direct can't be turned off BUT, you can set it to a clear channel. Scan your 
Wi-Fi- channels with a laptop that can detect both 2.4 and 5Ghz bands. I use
www.nirsoft.net, WifiInfoView. It's free and gives me the channel, signal strength, signal
quality, etc. I use channel 161 as my primary channel for 5GHZ and I want to use
channel 48 for my Roku direct. As we all know, Roku will follow your primary channel
to also configure your Wi-Fi direct. (In my case channel 161)

So, find a clear channel in your area. (In my case channel 48) Now the "side-step" process. Configure your home wireless router to that clear channel. 
(In my case 48) Reboot your wireless router. Reboot your Roku device. It will follow to 
wireless router channel (In my case 48). Now go back and change your wireless router
to the original channel (In my case 161) Reboot your wireless router. All of your devices
will return to channel 161, in my case. However, Roku will stay on the previous channel
(48) when it was reset, and stay there until you reboot or reset the Roku device.

Check your channels periodically with WifiInfoView to make sure that the Roku hasn't auto-updated or reset. If it has, you'll see that Roku has gone back to your router's 
primary channel...

 

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MartyPA
Streaming Star

Re: Can "Wi-Fi Direct" be turned off?

A IR remote only emits when a button is pressed.  A RF emits constantly.  Even if the Roku base is unplugged the remote will constantly search for it and therefore wear down the batteries.  The only way to stop that is to take the batteries out of the remote and unplug the Roku.

Luckily an IR remote does work with the Roku Ultras.  I set mine up from day one using an IR remote, also disabled screen mirroring and a few other things.

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