Remotes

[TheBaron]

I have a Roku Ultra LT. About 1 in 15 times or so I turn on the TV and Roku seems to "hang up" at the initial screen saver. That is, I can't get to the home screen. The fix is to unplug and then replug in the Roku which fixes the problem. I would like to avoid this because I have to move a piece of furniture to get to the plug. Anyway to improve the performance/reliability during this start-up?

Thanks.

[renojim]

It sounds like the remote may be losing its pairing.  Try removing a battery from the remote briefly and reinserting it.

[TheBaron]

Renojim,

Yes, I occasionally have previously done the temporary battery removal approach. Its been a bit since I did this last so I don't specifically remember how successful it was. However, the thrust of my question was how to prevent this situation from occurring. 

Thanks.

[renojim]

@TheBaron, that's not so easy to answer.  I suspect a remote connection problem.  If it were me, I'd try setting my router to a different Wi-Fi channel (especially if it's set to "Auto") since the remote uses the same Wi-Fi channel to connect to the Ultra LT as the Ultra LT uses to connect to your network.  You can also try a 2.4GHz vs. a 5GHz Wi-Fi channel.  After that, the only other things I can think of are a factory reset, which I generally only recommend as a last resort, or a new remote.  A "simple" remote will always work, but you'd lose a few features of the voice remote.

I'm not necessarily suggesting it as a solution, but I'm wondering if the mobile app works as a remote when it's not responding to the voice remote.  If it does, that would be another indication that it's the remote.  If it doesn't, the Ultra LT is losing its Wi-Fi connection.

Roku Mobile App - Free for iOS® or Android™ | Roku

[TheBaron]

Sorry for the delay in my response. One additional piece of info. The problem of the remote not controlling the Roku occurred a couple of days ago. I removed the battery for a short time and replaced it to no effect. I guess that means the problem is more likely the loss of Wi-Fi to the Roku. When this happens is there anyway to confirm that the loss of Wi-Fi is the root cause of the problem?

Thanks.

[renojim]

@TheBaron, once the Roku device powers up it will display either the correct time or "Not connected" in the upper right hand corner of the Home Screen.  If it shows the correct time, it must have an Internet connection (and therefore a Wi-Fi connection) and you may be able to use the mobile app I mentioned previously.  If the app works and your remote doesn't, that would point to the remote.

To clarify, the remote uses Wi-Fi Direct to connect to the Roku device.  The device doesn't have to have any other Wi-Fi (or Internet) connection for the remote to work, but it must have a Wi-Fi connection (and not necessarily an Internet connection) for the app to be able to control it.