Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Wraith01]

I have two Roku Smart TVs and a Roku Express+ stick connected to an analog TV. To provide uniform WiFi coverage throughout the house, I purchased an Eero Mesh Pro system from Amazon. It did not work with my Roku devices. According to Amazon’s Tech support, Roku is incompatible with ALL mesh networking brands. Is this correct?

[AvsGunnar]

As long as the router allows you to change the Wireless Channel settings to ones compatible with Roku while the router is set to Mesh mode, then your Roku devices should be able to work.  Many users on this forum use mesh systems.  Some are a little more finicky than others (some limits on end-user configuration) because Mesh mode uses some basic automatic settings during band steering.

A mesh router system basically allows the router to "steer" the connected wireless devices to either the 2.4 ghz or 5ghzs band of your network.  The "mesh" is basically an amplified antenna/extender system so you can get better wireless coverage throughout your home.

All your listed Roku devices should be able to connect at least to your 2.4 ghz band of your network if you have your Wireless Settings configured to reflect...

1. The 2.4 ghz radio is Enabled and broadcasting

2. The 2.4 ghz channel is set between 1 and 11 (default preferences are 1, 6, and 11)

3. Protocol/Mode set to N or g/n.  Bandwidth/Channel Width set to 20 mhz

Additionally, if you look at your Wireless Settings for the 5ghz band, the most common problem for the Roku not connecting is the router is using Automatic/Auto channel selection.  The Roku cannot use channels 52-140.   You just have to be able to manually assign Wireless Settings for the 5ghz band to use 36-48, or 149-161.  The Eero Pro is a tri-band so you have two  5 ghz bands  (a lower and upper band). the 36-48 would be lower, the 149-161 would be upper. Many routers require a lower Bandwidth/Channel Width here also to allow a wider range of channels.  Generally set to 20 mhz initially.  Then try 40 mhz or 20/40.  Normally 80 mhz is faster, but is also narrower so you don't the wider array of channel availability.

If you can verify what your current settings are for your Eero regarding the above information, happy to see if we can get your Roku devices connected.  Feel free to post screenshots of settings.  Additionally, is the Eero the only router you are using or are you also using one supplied by your ISP provider? (Is this a one router situation or a two router situation).

[Wraith01]

Thank you for your prompt and thoughtful reply. In all honesty, I understood about half of what you explained. I returned the Eero system when it didn’t work and after Amazon’s Tech Support advised me that Roku was incompatible with all mesh brands. 

I purchased the Eero Pro system on the advice of a networking specialist for its reported ease of setup (“plug it in and in 10 minutes you’ll be up and operating”). That description of plug and play was repeated in the advertising.

For context, I recently bought a floor-standing fan. It, too, was advertised as requiring no more than 10 minutes to assemble. The entire instruction manual was two 3 inch pages long. There were unillustrated pieces, other pieces that weren’t mentioned or shown in the YouTube video and fittings that ..well.. just didn’t fit. I NEEDED a fan after sweating over that demonic creation for more than 3 hours. 

I expect that the next car I buy will be delivered in a box with stenciling on the side saying, ‘Some Assembly Required.’

When I write a book, I don’t expect customers to sprout bookbinding skills or to proofread it or to protect it from copyright infringement. I just hope they’ll read it. 

God forbid I ever need surgery. The hospital will probably hand me a few pages of instructions and a list of required instruments. 

I do not want to sound ungrateful, but I’m not an electronic engineer. As an undergrad, the furthest I strayed from the Arts and Letters section of the university was the sorority house on Friday nights. If the fate of the world depended on my mechanical aptitude or electronic skills, I’d recommend sincere prayer accompanied by the Last Rites. 

Nothing… absolutely NOTHING ever works the way manufacturers claim. The distance between compatibility and compliance makes the Grand Canyon look like an itsy-bitsy crevice. 

A second internet line at the other end of the house would cost about $40 a month. At $480 a year, that would still be cheaper than the mesh system by about $150. AND it would constitute a continuing tax deduction. Two networks covering the entire house seems a whole lot simpler. 

Thank you again,

Rick

[AvsGunnar]

That is the selling point of these mesh systems. (Plug and Play).   They are, as you discovered, pretty expensive.

For simplicity sake, mesh routers are compatible with Roku.  Some will work right out of the box, others need to be configured to communicate with Roku.

But you can get wireless coverage throughout your house by also using some $50 routers and "bridging" them to act as signal repeaters/extenders.  Even very old routers from another ISP can be used for this purpose. (you just use them to broadcast a wi-fi signal).  Or, if you can justify the annual expense, you can go your route and add an additional internet line.

Any router you buy gives you instructions how to access the administrative settings.  The settings above I mentioned in above posting look like gibberish, but once inside the wireless settings section, you just make the changes to reflect the ones I posted (you don't have to really understand them, you just look for similar settings and make the changes ).

If you need more help, feel free to post back and will try to simplify as needed.