Solving playback issues

[PeterF]

I just received and installed a Roku Ultra. I also have a Roku Streaming Stick 4K+. The Stick works totally fine over WiFi on my TV. The Ultra is very unreliable on the same TV over both WiFi and hard-wired 100 Mb Ethernet. Various apps start up fine and allow program selection, but then they frequently spin forever when the actual stream is requested. I’ve tried system reset, router reset, app deinstall and reinstall, etc. No improvement. I reinstalled the Streaming Stick 4K+ on the same TV and it works great. I’m thinking this may be a faulty Roku Ultra. Thoughts and suggestions? 

[PeterF]

Further on this report -- I tried the same tests on a second HDTV just to eliminate that as a potential cause. Same result. 

[PeterF]

Further on this report -- I tried the same tests on a second HDTV just to eliminate that as a potential root cause. Same exact result -- Streaming Stick works perfectly, Ultra has issues with spinning (or completely black screen) when attempting to play a stream. I am suspecting a hardware problem with this particular Ultra. Would welcome feedback or additional things to test.

[renojim]

You didn't mention if you tried a different HDMI cable.  I know it doesn't seem like it could cause network issues, but stranger things have happened.  If you have access to another network you might want to give that a try - even your phone's hotspot, although keep in mind that streaming video uses a lot of data.  Beyond that, I'd suspect a faulty unit.

Are the stick and the Ultra on the same software version?  Check under Settings->System->About.

[PeterF]

Hi @renojim  and thanks for the suggestions. I’ve tested both Roku devices on two different TV’s with two different HDMI cables and on two different network connections. The Stick always runs perfectly, but the Ultra continues to display the streaming issue I originally reported.  Both devices have been updated to the latest available software release.