Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Kat6]

So I went to the Xfinity store today and swapped modems, roku works now...but of course at 330 am my xfinity internet went out again like it always does about that time, so it's their signal knocking out internet. Not sure how long before it makes my roku no longer function again.

[AvsGunnar]

@Kat6 

As a troubleshooting technique, this is where changing the DNS servers is often useful.  Since many of the Xfinity modems and routers are generally not user changeable/configureable, you may have to have Xfinity customer service do this for you.  Otherwise, you can place the Xfinity into Bridge Mode, and then use your own purchased router to control your network and set your own DNS servers to use.  Alternatively, you can just use your own router completely and not use Xfinity modem/router at all.

Not knowing your particular setup, it may or not make sense for you to do this.  If you have Xfinity pods or the like, setting to bridge mode will disable them.  Xfinity kind of tries to make it difficult to use all their features and steers you to using their own equipment, but if you are not experiencing poor wireless coverage issues in your house, then may me an easy solution to internet connection stability issues.

Generally, I like to use a basic ISP supplied modem/router for internet connection in bridge mode, and then another router where all the configurations are made for the network. I don't want to confuse or over-complicate things for you, so essentially, if you are losing internet daily, it may be that the DNS servers used by Xfinity are unstable.  By changing the DNS server addresses, to faster/more stable public google DNS such as 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, you may find that it is actually the modem settings, not the modem itself, causing the disrupting service.  If the internet connection is fine, but you lose wi-fi connection to your devices, then that is seperate issue.

Hope the above makes some sense.  Feel free to post back if you have any questions.

[Bewildered_Bob]

My Ultra worked well using wireless connection until earlier this year when especially starting around 5 PM there were multiple unacceptable delays while the device "refreshed" over the internet.  When it became apparent that Roku could not resolve the issue I switched to wired connection to the router. Normal service has been restored. But for those folks who cannot switch to wired connection, sorry 'bout that !!

[atc98092]

Bob, that's a pretty good indicator of WiFi interference. Somewhere near you there's something that is kicking in late in the afternoon and interfering with your WiFi. Some devices can handle interference better than others. For use users, Roku doesn't seem to handle it well. If you have a laptop, or other wireless device that supports adding an appropriate app, you can scan the WiFi signals in your home and see if there are other access points that on either on your channel or one adjacent. For 2.4 GHz, the best WiFi channel to use is 1, 6 or 11. These are the only three channels that don't overlap each other. On the 5 GHz band, Roku devices will only work on channel 48 or below, or channel 149 or higher. 

[mmortal03]

Yep, for example, one thing that recently knocked out my 2.4GHz WiFi was a USB 3.0 hub that was connected to a laptop in the vicinity of my router. I moved it further away and the problem went away.

[Bears1]

This worked for me and my wife, wifi was working for everything other than the Roku 

[NateTruth]

I am NOT having a interference problem.

My wifi has not connected all week (since last Saturday).

I have tried multiple solutions throughout multiple threads here. 

I am hoping to find someone who had a recent change in speed from their ISP, cause I really need to start actually troubleshooting. Right now I have multiple theories but no way of testing or verifying I'm even looking in the right direction.

[atc98092]

Nate, let's walk through some steps. Roku devices work on the 2.4 GHz WiFi band, and some also work on the 5 GHz band. In each band, there are channels that are unsupported by Roku, usually because of regional use restrictions in some locations. On 2.4 GHz, the channel must be between 1 and 11, with 1, 6 or 11 as the most preferable channels to use. On 5 GHz, the channel must be below 49 or above 148. 

When your ISP increased your speed, it's possible (and has been reported happening with other ISPs) that they turned your 2.4 GHz radio off. Why they would do that, I don't know. But multiple users have reported finding this was done. So, ensure your 2.4 GHz radio is enabled, and if the channel is set to auto, manually assign 1, 6 or 11. Now, check the permitted WiFi protocols enabled on the radio. If 802.11b is enabled (either as a listed protocol or a check box that might say something about legacy support), turn it off. Unless you have something really, really, really old on your WiFi, .11b shouldn't be needed. It's also unlikely that you need .11g, but it's possible. So set the allowed modes to .11g and .11n only. If channel width is set to something other than 20 MHz, change that as well. 

Assuming your Roku supports 5 GHz, let's check some settings there as well. First of course is the channels mentioned above. Check the channel width here as well, but on this band 40 MHz bandwidth should be fine. If it's set higher than that, it could be what is hiding the Roku. It does lower the potential max speed of your WiFi, but if I recall your Internet speed is now around 200 Mbps, and 40 MHz bandwidth will provide much higher speeds than that. Now restart everything and see if your Roku can see and connect to your network. 

[Kat6]

"So I went to the Xfinity store today and swapped modems, roku works now...but of course at 330 am my xfinity internet went out again like it always does about that time, so it's their signal knocking out internet. Not sure how long before it makes my roku no longer function again."

And the answer is....4 days. Roku is out again. and Atc, probably only a couple people know what you're talking about, I know I have no friggin idea....assign stuff? "manually assign 1, 6 or 11. Now, check the permitted WiFi protocols enabled on the radio. If 802.11b is enabled (either as a listed protocol or a check box that might say something about legacy support), turn it off."

[anode505]

I've had internet connection issues with *wired* also (Roku XS). Rebooting the router works for me.

Now, when it has issues, it IS connected to the network, just can't get passed the gateway.

If you guys have a Mac or linux (raspberry pi?) on your LAN try this in a terminal inserting the IP of the roku and without the brackets:

curl -d '' http://<ROKUIP>:8060/keypress/home

followed by a

curl -d '' http://<ROKUIP>:8060/keypress/right

See if the Roku responds.  If so, it is connected to the LAN, just not getting out of The LAN. The Roku is DoS'ing itself.  (some magic packet.)

Also try manual IP settings: static IP, subnet mask, gateway IP, and DNS servers.

(I have yet to try this, but do assign DHCP reservations for all devices on my LAN. It is almost the same, but not really.)

Does Roku have a bug bounty?  Might be worth investigating this a bit more deeply.