Wi-Fi & connectivity

[kesarmiya42]

This is actually my 2nd Roku with this problem. A few months ago my dad changed the router, on the very day he did that my old Roku stopped connecting with the Wifi. I had to factory reset the Roku to get it to connect, even with an "excellent" signal strength.

I was certain that it was the router then due to the fact it happened literally the day the router was swapped. (I don't even think it was a new router, it was implied to me that he just used an old router we had or something). But then a few days later it stopped detecting any other wireless networks, with a very weak signal strength. Like normally there was a long list with all the wifi networks in my area. So I thought then it was the Roku itself and got it replaced under my warranty since my dad's 2 Roku Express models were working just fine.

I got my replacement Roku, but now this one is having a similar problem to before, but it is detecting all networks properly. It's like the only way I can get it to connect to the wifi at all is to do a factory reset and then pray that it doesn't get disconnected. I've tried everything to get it to connect, it can see my wifi, but it can't establish the connection until I factory reset, which is a pain. I try everything I can think of and more to get it to connect, disabling network pings, restarting the roku, rebooting both the router and the roku, Network connection reset, ect.

For some reason it is only my Roku, even though it is the same model as the other 2 in the house. The only difference is that they are on different accounts. I find it incredibly unlikely that they sent me a defective model with the same problem. My initial instinct with it being something with the router seems to be the most likely answer, as I hadn't had any problems until this particular router was installed. But since the other 2 Roku's in the house work fine, my dad refuses to acknowledge that it could be the router and claims that it must be an issue with my account itself which seems completely unlikely to me.

Basically I'm writing this post because I'd like some help figuring out what the issue could possibly be. Like it can't be anything like my Internet isn't working or that the wifi signal is weak because I have done tests swapping out my roku with the livingroom Roku that works 100% fine. When it is connected there isn't any problems with the connection, it's almost like it just can't sign back into the network or something.

I'm pretty sure the issue is on the network side but I need to be able to explain why mine is the only one effected in order to be able to get my dad to look into the issue. I can't really tamper with it without permission, and for some reason he always kind of avoids admitting when there us an issue with the router and my only guess is that he's just really cheap and doesn't want to buy a good model or something. Is it a network issue or could my account really be somehow be involved?

I'm thinking about taking it to a friends house to see if it can connect to their wifi network.

It's just like I'm super annoyed with the issue because I'm constantly having to like sign into all my accounts over and over everytime it happens, and I spend a lot of time fiddling with it trying to get it to work properly.

[renojim]

I don't have any definitive answers for you - it seems some people/Rokus have Wi-Fi issues and some don't and nobody knows why.  I sincerely doubt the Roku account has anything to do with it, but since you keep performing factory resets it's easy enough to try if you have another email address you can use to create an account.

One thing you can try instead of a factory reset is a "Network connection reset".  You can find it under Settings->System->Advanced system settings.

Finally, it's been my experience that Rokus are happiest if everything is static.  That means set up a DHCP reservation in your router based on your Roku's MAC address so that there's no chance of its IP address getting used by another device and setting your router's Wi-Fi channel to a fixed channel.  I believe using "Auto" is just one more thing that can trip up a Roku and there was at least one report of a Roku not seeing a network until the channel was changed from 11 to 8.

Good luck!

[Dfrede1]

I’m unable to connect to my WiFi 5g network at all this annoying a frustrating. It no longer appears in my WiFi connection. I can’t get any support this almost like having a faulty product and closing the door in customers faces by saying due to covid there is no customer support only a community bulletin to post your frustrations. 

[renojim]

If you have an Express it doesn't support 5GHz.  What's the model number of your Roku?

[lmskirb]

I am having the same issue. I have tried a number of supposed fixes to no avail and am looking for some more support. What I’ve tried so far: 

- restarting the Roku, restarting the cable modem router, and factory restarting the cable modem router.

- Roku network connection reset. 
- Turning off the Roku, turning off the cable modem router, powering both on one by one. 
- Accessing the cable modem router channel settings, changing the 2.4ghz network channel from 6 to 1 to 11, applying changes, and testing the Roku network connection each time. 
- Unplugging the Roku and waiting 10-15 minutes, and replugging it in. 
- Moving the Roku away from the cable modem router (it was directly next to the router) 

I have been pouring over support pages to find answers. I have been experiencing this problem for about a week now. This Roku has worked for years prior to this, and has logins to apps that we have lost the login information for, so I hesitate to factory reset the Roku. If any help can be provided, please let me know. 

@RokuDanny-R 

[renojim]

@lmskirb, try changing your router's wireless mode to b/g/n if it's set to g/n.  If you need help with that, post back with your router's model number and/or your ISP.

[lmskirb]

Hi,

@renojim I just attempted to do this, after researching how to change the wireless mode. When I accessed the settings, the modes available were up to 300 Mbps, Up to 145 Mbps, and Up to 54 Mbps. That is for the 2.4Ghz network. My router's model number is C6250 from Netgear - it is the cable modem router. My ISP is Xfinity.

[renojim]

@lmskirb, it looks like they don't spell out what wireless mode it's really using.  I'd try each of the settings for their "mode' and hopefully one will work.  You'll probably want to restart the router and Roku after making the change.