Wi-Fi & connectivity

[JimiRules]

Back in December I received a free Roku streaming stick with a Slingtv membership and I use it on my living room tv. A few days ago I decided to buy two more streaming sticks. One for the bedroom and one for the kitchen. The two new ones are getting poor signal strength, while my original one is getting good signal strength. I tried rebooting both the router and roku units, but no luck. Then I figured it had something to do with the location of the router in relation to the roku units, so I took the one with good signal strength and put it on the other tvs and took the poor ones and put them on my living room tv. They each had the same strength as before, so I would assume that would rule out the router location. None of the units have the wifi extender. They all show channel 6 as their wireless channel. I'm not really sure what the problem would be.

[Basil]

Different devices work well or not depending on how crowded the channel is. In the US, there are 11 channels, of which 1, 6, and 11 don't overlap. 2 overlaps 1 and 6, 10 overlaps 6 and 11, and so on, but those are the most common and don't overlap each other. 6 is a common middle ground setting, and often the default for WiFi routers.

If it's easy enough to change the channel, pick 1 or 11 (for me, I needed 11) and see if that clears things up.

[JimiRules]

I tried changing channels, first 1 and then 11. No change. I wonder if it is a router problem? I figured since I moved the units around to different televisions and the connection remained the same that ruled out the router, but I really can't think of anything else. My router is getting up there in age (over 10 years old) so maybe it needs to be replaced.

[atc98092]

"JimiRules" wrote:
I tried changing channels, first 1 and then 11. No change. I wonder if it is a router problem?  I figured since I moved the units around to different televisions and the connection remained the same that ruled out the router, but I really can't think of anything else. My router is getting up there in age (over 10 years old) so maybe it needs to be replaced.

That old of a router is likely no better than 802.11g. I would strongly suggest replacing it, and make sure you get a dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) model, preferably one that supports 802.11ac. I think you will find that everything wireless will work better. You have to get pretty old devices that don't support at least 802.11n, which is far superior to .11g. And I'm pretty sure all of the Roku Sticks you've mentioned support .11ac. It doesn't have to be a $200 router, as there are a number of good ones available for under $100.

[Basil]

While I don't disagree about updating the router, you've got a working setup as is. I am surprised, though, that the Express is showing better signal strength than the Sticks. If I saw that with my devices, I'd be curious myself.

But, I have to ask. You say "poor signal strength." Are you actually seeing a difference in performance? That is, do you only know that because you looked at Settings > Network > About ? If you didn't see that the strength was different, would you know?

If not, I would hold off on spending any money, unless you simply feel it's time. Or find a heckuva deal. But, it's your setup and your money. What I would do might not match what you would do. If your current setup is working, it's a matter of want, not need. But "want" is always good enough if you got the money to spend.

[JimiRules]

"Basil" wrote:
While I don't disagree about updating the router, you've got a working setup as is. I am surprised, though, that the Express is showing better signal strength than the Sticks. If I saw that with my devices, I'd be curious myself.

But, I have to ask. You say "poor signal strength." Are you actually seeing a difference in performance? That is, do you only know that because you looked at Settings > Network > About ? If you didn't see that the strength was different, would you know?

If not, I would hold off on spending any money, unless you simply feel it's time. Or find a heckuva deal. But, it's your setup and your money. What I would do might not match what you would do. If your current setup is working, it's a matter of want, not need. But "want" is always good enough if you got the money to spend.

I don't have an express. They are all sticks. I'm guessing my 2 new ones are a next gen stick as they have the newer remotes that control the tv as well as as voice commands.

The one in the bedroom is having performance issues and that's what lead to my discovery of the poor connection. Slingtv is streaming pretty bad, all the channels on the guide aren't showing up and there are times when it just shuts off all together with a prompt that says "check your router". I went into the network settings on the roku and saw it was poor. I checked my other two, which are performing fine, and saw that my other new one is showing a poor connection as well.

My dad just got a new router and his roku went from good to excellent connection. I am going to take my poor connecting roku sticks to his house and see what type of connection they get at his house. If it improves then I'm going to say it is most likely my router.

[Basil]

Sorry about the Express/Stick thing. You wrote Stick, but then the "Free with Sling TV" changed it in my head to Express, since that's their current offer.

Yeah, with a performance issue, I'd consider upgrading a router that age. Personally, I went with the Google WiFi 3-pack when they had it on sale. Setup is easy and the mesh covers the entire house easily. But, if a single wireless point would do the job, no need to spend the extra money. Even the cheapest today are better than just about any 10-year old router, so you're looking at an upgrade in performance no matter what you do.

[JimiRules]

"Basil" wrote:
Sorry about the Express/Stick thing. You wrote Stick, but then the "Free with Sling TV" changed it in my head to Express, since that's their current offer.

Yeah, with a performance issue, I'd consider upgrading a router that age. Personally, I went with the Google WiFi 3-pack when they had it on sale. Setup is easy and the mesh covers the entire house easily. But, if a single wireless point would do the job, no need to spend the extra money. Even the cheapest today are better than just about any 10-year old router, so you're looking at an upgrade in performance no matter what you do.

No worries. I just wanted to clarify that all three mine are sticks in case it made a difference in troubleshooting.

Today is the first time I have priced any routers since I bought my current one. I couldn't believe some of the prices! I did see the Google 3 pack and that does look good. I do agree though, anything new has to be better than what I have.

[aglaranna]

Hello ,

I'm having connection issues myself with my Roku TV and Roku stick, and also suspect my router. Did you notice an improvement at your Dad's? 

[wilgom]

Two month agou I bought two Roku Premier which worked very well until one week ago when one of them had problem to connect due to poor signal streng, I changed it location, restarted it to factory condition, but the problem persists, so now one device have excelent signal and the other a poor signal, no matter how close to the router it is. I have read that this has happened after a software update, but they both have the exact same update. I'm afraid it could be a hardware failure.