Wi-Fi & connectivity

[qujary]

I've had a Roku Express 4K+ hooked up to my downstairs TV for about 4 months.  Everything was fine until a few days ago when we had a power blip (power went out for about 2 seconds then came back on).  Now the Express won't hold a wireless connection.  It lasts about 5 to 10 minutes & then it drops the connection.  I keep reconnecting but it will not retain the connection.  I've tried everything suggested & nothing is helping.  We've had power blips before (quite often) & those didn't affect the Express device.  I have an Xfinity gateway with about 8 devices connected to it.  The gateway is downstairs about 5 feet away from the Express.  I also have a Roku Ultra upstairs and it's doing fine.  I'm getting highly frustrated with the Express & about to throw it in the trash.

[qujary]

I've been reading more posts on this page.  Looks like I'm not the only person with this problem.  Let me add - I have other Roku devices in the house (Ultras) & they are further away from the router than the problem device.  Those Ultras are working find.  Moving the Express closer to the router isn't going to do anything - and it's the closest to the router to start with.  The TV that I hooked the Express to is a smart TV.  I was able to get into one of the apps and watch programs with no problems.  It's the Express device - plain & simple.  If it's not the power blip that happened a few days ago that fried it, then I don't know what the problem is besides the Express device being a piece of junk.  Guess I wasted my money on that.

[jontalk]

I wouldn't give up quite yet. Is the Express logged into the 2.4 or 5 gHz band and which channels have been selected on both? The 2.4 band has greater range, but is much slower than 5 gHz. The Ultra probably has a better WiFi radio than the Express and location/channel makes a difference. When devices drop connections its often due to WiFi channel congestion and the best way to know is by using a network analysis app like WiFi Analyzer for Android. If you have an iPhone look for something similar.  Once you have it installed look for the SSID's (names you've given for each band, aka Secure Socket ID) for your router and look at the graphs which will show how strong your signal is in comparison to others as well as which channels are best to use. I'm going to assume you've secured both bands with a password; if not, make sure you set it up. Once you've identified the best channels for each band, change them

Hopefully you know how to log into the Gateway and change channels. The other factor is bandwidth selection which is best when set to Auto 20/40/80. If you're using the Auto selection for channel as well, I'd suggest you change it to manual so you can monitor the best channels and use them.

I'm an Xnfinity user too though I quit 'renting' the equipment ages ago and use my own modem and router. As a result I get 20% MORE speed, have FAR more control over the network and never have these kinds of problems in spite of living in a condo building. Hope that helps

[AvsGunnar]

@qujary 

Try restarting your router and unplug the Roku device for a few minutes.  When you boot the Roku device back up, try performing a Network Connection Reset on the Roku device. (Settings/System/Advanced System Settings/Network Connection Reset/Reset Connection).

If the above does not help with the disconnections, try the last resort Factory Reset.  Press and hold Reset button for 30+ seconds.

Since your device is under a year,  look into exchanging it under warranty. (especially if this is the only Roku device acting up on your network.  I have the Express 4k+ (3941) and have had no issues.  Sometimes these little devices just fail.  Here is the link for warranty. https://support.roku.com/article/208757058