Remotes & Accessories

[mmr61]

Before I share any gory details, has anybody had a problem with their enhanced remote staying paired with or not controlling their Roku device when it was paired and determined that the problem was with the Roku device itself and not the remote?

[azurenepsa]

The Roku Ultra 4640 I previously had would lose the connection with the remote overnight.  The next day I couldn't get the remote to work unless I power cycled the Ultra.  I bought another Ultra and that one had no problem staying connected to the remote.  I determined that the first Ultra I bought had defective wireless hardware as the remotes for both Ultras worked just fine with the second Ultra.

[mmr61]

"azurenepsa" wrote:
...I determined that the first Ultra I bought had defective wireless hardware as the remotes for both Ultras worked just fine with the second Ultra.

Thanks for the feedback... I have a Streaming Stick+ and am wondering if I'm experiencing something similar.  I thought the remote was the problem and ended up getting a warranty replacement, but that didn't resolve the issue.  Things seem to work fine when the remote is very close to the SS+, but at TV viewing distance (8-10 feet) it's not reliable. The system settings showed the remote battery charge at 65%, so I tried fresh batteries but that hasn't helped.

[azurenepsa]

I've seen people say that the free Roku HDMI extender cable can sometimes help with possible EM interference from the TV.  Although, I don't think the cable is very long, so not sure how much it could help.

Are you able to try the Streaming Stick+ on another TV to see if it exhibits the same problem.  If it does, it's almost certainly defective.

Changing your wireless router to broadcast on a different channel could be something else to try (only if you're comfortable making changes to your router's settings).  I think the remote uses the same channel that the Roku uses to connect to the wireless router.  However, if your Roku isn't also having issues streaming video content, you likely wouldn't want to change the router channel.

[mmr61]

I've seen people say that the free Roku HDMI extender cable[/url:3iq22vjl] can sometimes help with possible EM interference from t...

I've tried the extender (about 4" long), as well as a 3-4 foot cable, with no detectable change.

Are you able to try the Streaming Stick+ on another TV to see if it exhibits the same problem.

Unfortunately, I have no other device I can check it on.

Changing your wireless router to broadcast on a different channel could be something else to try...

I've logged another request with Roku Support and they've recommended doing that.  I'm going to give that a try although I'm not sure why that might help -- the phone-based app works fine.

[mmr61]

Things had been going well with my remote for several days after changing my wi-fi network to use a fixed channel; unfortunately, that didn't last. What seems to restore the remote's functionality has been to briefly use the phone app to control my SS+ (by, say, hitting the "home" button).  After that, the remote works fine -- until the next day.  It's like the remote and the device get "out of sync" after an extended period of non-use.

I fear that I'm experiencing a consequence of using wi-fi direct. It might be that in my neighborhood -- although not densely populated -- there's enough interference from nearby networks to cause me problems. I'm beginning to wish I had reliable IR remote control rather than unreliable enhanced remote control.

Is there a reason to avoid using a fixed channel on a 5GHz network other than 161 (the one that Roku suggests)?  I might try another channel to see if that has any effect.

[azurenepsa]

"mmr61" wrote:
Is there a reason to avoid using a fixed channel on a 5GHz network other than 161 (the one that Roku suggests)?  I might try another channel to see if that has any effect.

It wouldn't hurt to try other fixed 5GHz channels.  This link discusses which 5GHz channels are best to try.  I use the free WiFi Analyzer app from the Windows 10 Microsoft store to see which channels are the least congested.  Have you also tried using the 2.4Ghz band?  Or is there just too much wifi congestion in your area?

There's also a Roku secret menu where you can access advanced settings if you'd like.  You can get to this menu by making the following button presses on your remote in quick succession: HOME-HOME-HOME-HOME-HOME-FFWD-PLAY-REWIND-PLAY-FFWD.  But messing around with these settings probably isn't worth the hassle.  If you could get your hands on another SS+ that would be a quick way to test for a defective SS+.

In my case, I made some changes in the wifi secret screen while trying to establish a more stable Wi-Fi Direct screen mirror connection between my Windows 10 PC and Roku Ultra.  I changed my Roku Ultra's radio power to low and turned off interference mitigation (you can't really tell what the current settings are though).  Changing these settings seemed to help in my case on the 2.4GHz band but obviously may not be appropriate adjustments in other setups.  Here's a link[/url:28x5ewmj] where someone made different changes.

[mmr61]

"azurenepsa" wrote:
It wouldn't hurt to try other fixed 5GHz channels.  This link discusses which 5GHz channels are best to try.  I use the free WiFi Analyzer app from the Windows 10 Microsoft store to see which channels are the least congested.  Have you also tried using the 2.4Ghz band?  Or is there just too much wifi congestion in your area?

Thanks for all the info, azurenepsa.

I loaded a wi-fi analyzer and see that there really isn't very much going on around me.  In fact, I'm the only one on channel 165 right now, and the only others are on channels 149 (2-3 weak signals that come and go) and 157 (one solid, but 10-20 dB down from me). I might try the 2.4 GHz network, but there's a lot more action around me.

Fortunately, Roku has been working with me and has offered to replace my SS+ if I continue to have trouble.