Network - Wireless & Wired Connections

[ThoMacy]

we have 3 TV's. To replace Directv, I purchased 3 ROKU Premiere's. Our router and 2 TV's are in the basement. The main TV is upstairs. I connected the first ROKU to the upstairs TV and everything worked as expected defining and connecting to streaming services. We played with it for 4 hours watching TV and trying various features. Then I went to our big internet enabled TV in the basement. When that ROKU started up, it connected to the wireless network and the Internet correctly and started downloading updates. In the middle of that the connection went away. From that point on, when restarting that ROKU, the TV would stay on the purple screen for about 4 minutes before giving the "select Language" screen. Then connection to the wireless network would continually fail (014.40) though the router is 20 feet away through an open door. (I re-entered the password numerous times.) Eventually, I brought the upstairs ROKU down to see if it would work in the basement. It connected to the TV but no wireless connection was made. So I took it back upstairs. Then, where it had been working, it failed to connect to the wireless network. I reset the upstairs ROKU to factory settings using the Settings menu option. When it started up after the reset, it found the wireless network and the Internet but, like the second ROKU in the basement, it then failed before updates could be downloaded. Now both ROKU's continue to fail with 14.40 connecting to our wireless network. Any ideas would be great, I would rather not return the devices..

[ATT347]

I just received the new Roku Express. It is not connecting to my wireless network. I get a message about blocking unknown MAC addresses. My router/modem is not restricting addresses. So I go (with tech support from Arris) to reserve an IP address for Roku's MAC address. We still cannot connect. 

 Roku needs to tell me what to do to get this device added unless someone here knows. I will return this device if Roku cannot address this issue. Any suggestions?

[boogernose]

@ATT347 

I'm not an expert on Arris.

In my opinion for a home network you really dont need to block MAC addresses at all. So you shouldnt need to whitelist any either. I would get back into the Routers settings And set None somewhere to accept all connections in the firewall or whatever Arris calls it.

Once done make sure its set and done. Does yur smart phone have a problem with wifi at home?

Reset (unplug) the Roku and try again. This guy @atc98092   would know best if you care to send him a private message

[boogernose]

@ThoMacy 

Well if you can move the Router around put it next to one of the Roku's and see if that helps. If so you can get Routers with a much stronger Broadcast signal. They have Repeaters as well but I cant vouch for them I just dont know.

Good Luck

[atc98092]

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@boogernose wrote:

I'm not an expert on Arris.

In my opinion for a home network you really dont need to block MAC addresses at all. So you shouldnt need to whitelist any either. I would get back into the Routers settings And set None somewhere to accept all connections in the firewall or whatever Arris calls it.

Once done make sure its set and done. Does yur smart phone have a problem with wifi at home?

Reset (unplug) the Roku and try again. This guy @atc98092   would know best if you care to send him a private message

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@boogernose  thanks for the complement!

I know nothing about Arris, but yes I do understand networking a little. If you received a message that said your router was blocking MAC addresses, there must be some setting in there you've overlooked. I wouldn't think it's necessary to reserve an IP address either. I agree that on a home network whitelisting and MAC address control usually isn't necessary. Unless you're concerned that someone is hacking your WiFi, or somehow tapped into your Ethernet. 

For Error 14, some users have had success with using one of the Roku hidden menus to disable Network Pings. Use this page to see the remote button sequences to enter the hidden menus. I found the correct one by entering the Platform menu, and the selecting the System Operations menu. Disable Network Pings is one of the choices there. 

[RokuDanny-R]

@ThoMacy 

Thanks for letting us know about the issue that you are experiencing.

Try taking a look here for more tips about troubleshooting that network error code: https://support.roku.com/article/208755728-what-should-i-do-if-i-cannot-connect-to-my-home-network-o...

We recommend rebooting both your wireless router and your Roku device. Alternately, I'd also recommend trying to connect your device to an alternate network or mobile hotspot. If you are able to connect without issue, this usually indicates an issue with your network or password. In that case, you might also try changing your network password to see if that resolves the connection issue. 

Keep us posted with what you find out.

Thanks,
Danny

[ThoMacy]

@RokuDanny-RThanks for the reply. I had already gone to the suggested page. In all my searching and trying of suggested solutions, I could not identify a specific cause to the problem. So what I did to resolve the issue was the following:

1) I tried to analyze what happened. I recalled that I first got the upstairs roku to work in the morning. The failure recurred in the afternoon.

2)Assuming it might be time related (load, devices,...) I tried to connect the next morning. Everything worked.

3) So I turned that roku off (not sure required) and then setup one of the basement rokus. It to connected as expected.

4) I turned on (plugged it back in) the upstairs roku. It restarted perfectly.

5) With 2 working rokus, I decided to leave well enough alone.

However, I still have a third TV to set up on ROKU.

[ThoMacy · Accepted solution]

@RokuDanny-R Here is the solution. I found a spare router and installed it to eliminate the router as the problem. Well, the router is the problem. The Linksys Wrt32X router has "Use Combined WiFI Names" option under "More Settings" in the management admin "wifi settings" screen. This is the default. I chose to not use that setting and thereby separated the 5 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz modes to two separate networks. THAT TURNS OUT TO BE THE PROBLEM. When I accepted the default, the ROKU's all attached and operated seamlessly.

[boogernose]

Interesting. I believe many problems are caused by quirky settings.