Wi-Fi & connectivity

[mast]

Recently set up Roku to run HULU.....  noticing some odd connectivity problems.....

I recently checked connectivity test from the Roku.... it showed a download speed of  7 mbps.

But....  I tested my download speed on  " speedofme" website and it showed a download speed of  62mbps.

How is that possible???

[hornakapopolis]

You're comparing two different end points traveling through two different routes, but still, that is a huge difference.

You didn't mention how the either device (I'm assuming the other is a PC) is connected to the internet, so it's hard to come to any sort of conclusion. To troubleshoot why one is one speed and the other is another, you need to match circumstances each step of the way.

Barring any overly complicated issues, your speed is typically going to be the same coming from your provider to your modem. From there, I'm not sure if you have a separate router, but if you do, I'd swap everything between devices each step of the way, including the ports where each is plugged in. Although, it being caused by a cable is most likely. Without having any details, my guess would be that the Roku is connected to the internet via wifi and is in a location where it's not receiving a good signal (which you might be able to confirm in the network settings. I think they have a line for the strength of the wireless signal) or the really easy fix would be that it's connected via ethernet cable and you have a bad ethernet cable.

Otherwise, the slowness could be caused by any step along the way... bad modem/router port; bad modem/router where either wifi or wired is functioning poorly; bad cable between modem & router; bad cable between modem/router and Roku; or even bad Roku. Obviously, there are a ton of other possible configurations, but hopefully that will help start to narrow things down.

[mast]

Thanks !!

Both my MacBook and the Roku are both connected via wifi... via the same modem...

The TV/Roku stick is about  10 feet away from my  laptop.... so I doubt it is a location issue.

Every test I have run on the Wifi shows excellent wifi connection.... even the ones I have run via  Roku  say the connection is excellent.

Wondering if the Roku  extender might be of help..

Maybe I've got a bad stick ?!?!

[mapmaker]

I have been fighting this issue for three months.  I have 4 Roku tv's built in and two older tv's with Roku express and Roku 3.  Started streaming 3 months ago and this problem of buffering/poor video arose.  I even upgraded my internet speed from 100Mbps to 400 Mbps and upgraded to a new router too--a Linksystem Velop tri band mesh router with 3 nodes from a Linksys dual band router Model 1900ac.

The download on the ROKU TV's and Roku Express is usually about 15-20 Mbps which lends fairly frequent buffering and picture and voice quality poor.  I do have an older ROKU 3 that works good with 40 Mbps download.  When I run a speedtest on my cell right next to the ROKU Tv's and Roku Express the bandwidth is at least 250 Mbps, yet the ROKU's download speed is 15-20Mbps which offers poor quality streaming at times.

I have been on the phone with Linksys and they are good and can't help me.  ROKU tech support is **bleep** and they arent even taking phone calls now.

I can only surmise one thing--the WIFI internet adapter cards. in both TCL ROKU TV's and newer ROKU devices is **bleep**.

In theory ROKU is good but in reality it is **bleep**.  And their technical support is even a bigger pile of **bleep**.

If they had wifi cards that allowed download of at least 25-30 MBPS video streaming with them would be ok.

[atc98092]

I've never found any Roku device, wired or wireless, that will reasonably match my actual Internet speed. Partially because I don't think they report the speed accurately, but also because I don't think their wireless drivers are all that great. 

I have 87 Mbps DSL, so it's never affected by use by my surrounding neighbors. My computers will report 83-84 Mbps reliably, while my Roku Ultra (wired) rarely shows any higher than 72 Mbps. If I switch to 802.11ac wireless, my speeds almost never show higher than mid 60s, and is often reporting 40 Mbps or less. This is with a brand new .11ac access point within 5 feet of the Roku. I can even attempt to play some test videos from my DLNA server, and encounter issues once bitrates go above about 70 Mbps, while the same files play fine as high as 160 Mbps when using a USB drive plugged directly into the Roku. My laptop connected to the same WAP will report 75-80 Mbps without a problem. So, it's the Roku devices. The upcoming release of OS 9.3 may have some improvements, but we'll have to wait and see.  

[Mikeb123]

I have the same issue on 4 roku’s. Two are on Ethernet connections with cat 5e cables, one is WiFi 5ghz, one is WiFi 2.4 ghz. None deliver faster then 60 MBs yet WiFi standing next to all of them is 100 mbs on 5ghz. Two are roku ultra with Ethernet, I’m fairly certain it is a roku issue but it works ok and I’m living with in yet disappointed.

[atc98092]

Remember that the Ethernet connection on the Roku is Fast Ethernet, not Gigabit. So even connected to a Gigabit network you still won't get anything faster than 100 Mbps. And that is a theoretical number, as there is network overhead that reduces total bitrate. Normally, a Fast Ethernet connection tops out around 90 Mbps. Since my Internet connection speed is 87 Mbps, I can't say for certainty the upper limited of the Roku Ethernet connection, but I have reached upper 70s with the internal measurement.

Also, remember the primary purpose of a Roku player. It was developed to stream media from the Internet. None of those sources in general ever exceed 20 Mbps, so the Roku has all the speed it needs for that purpose. Streaming from a home media server wasn't added to Roku until somewhere around '14 or so, first with 3rd party channels and then with Roku Media Player adding full DLNA support. Even then, a ripped and uncompressed Blu Ray movies generally has a bitrate of 20-25 Mbps, with peaks reaching 50 Mbps. Only with the release of 4K UHD Blu Rays has the content exceeding the network ability of a Roku. And many users have reported no issues with using 802.11ac wireless to stream UHD movies. I can't do it, but I believe that's the fault of my access points. Since I have my Shield players for UHD, I'm not overly concerned that I can't play my UHD movies on a Roku. But it would be nice if Roku would offer an Ultimate version of a player with Gigabit Ethernet and support for lossless audio bitstreaming. 

[jazznjerrell]

I’m having the exact same issue. Upgraded cable internet to 400 download. But on the Roku it says 25 download. Buffering is constant especially on YouTube TV. WiFi signal is excellent. Brand new router also. Haven’t found any answers anywhere. 

[carl0147]

All wired Roku connections are through the built-in 10/100 ethernet adapter.  As such, no wired Roku connection will ever clock over 100Mb/s given the hardware limitation.  I've got a Gigabit connection at home and my wired Roku boxes max out around 90Mb/s with the built in speed test

[retrorter]

I'm in the same boat. I have my TCL Roku TV connected via Ethernet to a gigabit switch and 200 Mbps connection. Speed test reports 230+ Mbps, latency below 4 Ms usually. What does Roku report? ~60 Mbps/Good. I'm not sure how the Roku calculates the speeds, because it drops to Poor at times, while I'm still reporting low latency and above 200 Mbps on wired or wireless devices elsewhere.