Wi-Fi & connectivity

[atc98092]

Almost all Roku players come with a WiFi RF remote. Only the basic Roku Express and the older Roku Express 4K (3940) came with IR remotes. That said, you can certainly use an IR remote on any Roku player except the Roku Stick players, which are RF only. But you don't want IR remotes, because they WILL control both Rokus and there's no way to stop it.

RF players are normally only paired to a single player. It's probably an accident that one of the was programmed to control both. You can go into the Settings/Remote menu and remove the unwanted RF remote from that player, so you can have control of each device separately.

No, the switch will not work without power. It's possible they linked up to your WiFi before you powered the switch on.

No problems with the difference between WiFi 5 and 6. The Rokus don't support WiFi 6, and honestly it's still something that isn't supported by a lot of devices. The only real difference between 5 and 6 is the maximum possible connection speed. Since your Internet is around 100 Mbps, WiFi 5 is capable of far more than that.

Glad you got the new router up and running easily. You should be good to go now. 🙂

[JKasten]

atc98092:

I can understand having multiple antennas for field-shaping or "steering" the signals.  When I saw the various Routers with varying numbers of antennas, I was thinking in terms of the antennas being Wi-Fi "ports" - like each antenna was comparable to an ethernet port (that is, RJ45 jack).  This misled me into thinking there was some one-to-one correlation between antennas and the number of Wi-Fi devices that could be supported.  Oh, well...  Shows how much I know about Wi-Fi ops.  :-{

Thanks for the help and all the info!  As noted in my previous reply to AvsGunnar, things seem to be working, after no significant problems during ethernet set-up and Roku activations - although unexpectedly the Rokus worked even without the Switch having its power turned on.

[JKasten]

atc98092:

Regarding the Roku remotes, the Express came with the non-audio remote that has what appears to be an IR "window" under its nose, while the audio remote included with the Express 4K+ has no such "window" in its housing.  Also, both Expresses have what appear to be IR "windows" on their faces, with a strip-off sticker showing a bullseye to aim the remote at.  At some point during the set-up, at least one (if not both) of the Rokus presented a selection screen for IR or CEC (or some such - no idea what that is), with the IR mode selected.  Even though I accepted the IR selection, it sure appears the remotes are not operating via IR.  Not sure how to alter that.

Also during its set-up, the Express 4K+ presented a pairing step for the audio control and then also had a step for selecting the TV to be controlled.  In any case, it appears that the audio control is not paired with only the Express 4K+ (because it controls both Expresses).

In any case, I'm wondering how to select which of the Rokus a remote will control - so they can be used concurrently without both of them responding to all remote commands.  If one actually worked via IR and the other via RF... and if one Roku could be configured to respond only to IR and the other only to RF, then I assume the Rokus could be controlled independently.  Or, perhaps there is some other way to deal with this?  (It appears that only one remote is associated with each Roku in its respective settings, and both are set as IR mode).  Puzzling.

Too bad the Switch has to be powered... but good that WiFi5 is appropriate for my network. 🙂

[atc98092]

OK, it appears you have IR remotes. There is no way to separate them from controlling both devices at the same time. You have to have at least one RF remote, and then you could block the IR window on the Roku that you pair it with, and it won’t respond to the IR. I thought both of your Roku players were express 4K+ models which come with RF remotes. Every Roku player has an IR window except for the Stick models. Even models that come with an RF remote. 
CEC is a protocol that can control devices through the HDMI cable. With mine, that means the volume buttons on the Roku remote can control my AVR or TV without requiring code learning. Some people like it, some don’t. 

[AvsGunnar]

@JKasten 

Your Roku Express 3960 comes with an IR remote/IR receiver. (this will be the remote lacking the microphone/voice button).

https://www.roku.com/products/roku-express

Your Roku Express 4k+ 3941 comes with the RF remote/Voice Remote.

https://www.roku.com/products/roku-express-4k-plus

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If you are setting up the devices while they are near each other, then make sure to unplug one of them from power while setting up the remotes.

Set up the 3941 with the Voice remote.  When the screen asks for IR or CEC, that is asking for TV control preference. (volume, mute,power).  I normally just select IR.

I'm actually not sure if once the Voice Remote is paired to the 3941 if it will still control the 3960 due to the IR receiver issue.

Setup the 3960 with the standard remote (simple remote, now known as Players Remote).  Since an IR device needs no pairing, it will just automatically work with the 3960.  You wont have any TV controls with the standard remote.

https://www.roku.com/products/accessories  (differences between remotes here),

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Once you place the Roku devices into seperate rooms, you shouldn't have an issue with conflicts.  If they remain side by side, you may.  May want to trade that 3960 in for another 3941 so you can get another Voice Remote.  When Voice Remotes are paired to the device, they are tied to that device and will not conflict with each other. (ie. will only control the device they are paired with).

[JKasten]

AvsGunnar & ats98092:

The remotes situation is baffling:  Both behave as if they are using RF (or perhaps both RF and IR) in the sense that shading the Roku units, or aiming the remotes away from the Rokus, or otherwise obstructing the IR path between the remotes and the Rokus, has little or no effect on whether the Rokus respond to a remote.  As you said, the specs claimed that the Express's basic remote uses IR, while the Express 4K+'s remote uses RF - and this appears to be confirmed by the presence or lack of IR "windows" on the respective remotes, so I don't understand the behaviors that I'm seeing.

As far as my Roku application goes, I have two TV's in a "living room" and two TVs in an upstairs bedroom.  In each case, I may operate both TVs in the given room at the same time - mainly in the case of using one to monitor bad weather while watching a show on the other TV, or in the case of trying to follow two NFL games or other shows at once.  My expectation was to install a Roku on each of the four TVs, so the two Rokus in a given room would be active at the same time in the situations I mentioned.  Hence the issue with a Roku remote controlling both Rokus instead of only one.

One of the reasons that I got an Express and an Express 4K+ to try out was to (hopefully) avoid this sort of conflict since one Roku would be controlled via IR and the other via RF.  But with things behaving as they do, it makes me wonder if the Rokus are receiving commands by both IR and RF.  Also, I expected that the audio remote, being paired with the Express 4K+, would operate only the 4K+, and not control the Express.  Frustratingly, both remotes control both Rokus - despite the pairing, and in spite of my attempts to block the IR path.  No idea what's actually going on nor how to resolve the unwanted dual control behavior.  Theoretically, two of the audio remotes could be used, each paired with only one Roku, thus avoiding conflicts - but from what I've observed, I have my doubts about this working either.

Any ideas how to determine what's happening and to get each remote to control only its respective Roku? 

[JKasten]

Guys, revisiting the Router business, I'm wondering what recommendations you may have in terms of setting security options.  On my new TP-Link Router, I didn't see much of any "adjustments" for Firewall, but I wondered about a couple other security aspects that I ran across:

First, there is an option to have two separate (Wi-Fi) networks, one for each frequency, and with separate SSIDs and passwords - or to use the same SSID and password for both networks.  Is there any particular risk with using the same SSID and password (PIN?) for both frequency networks?  (This is mainly from curiosity and for future reference as I don't think this has any bearing on the wired ethernet operations).

Second, there is an option for "linking" the IP and MAC address (apparently for each device - not sure).  This option is disabled by default but is claimed to provide more security.  What's the best choice for this?

Also curious whether there is any benefit in adjusting the subnet masks - for either security or performance?

Anything else that should be "secured"?

Thanks!

[atc98092]

The RF remotes still have the "window" on the end of the remote, because they are still IR capable. Go into the settings/Remote menu on both Roku players and see if they show more than one remote linked to the Roku. If so, you can remove one from each, if you can be sure you're not removing the same remote from both. I can't say how they are labeled in your player to tell them apart.

An IR remote is going to control them both, even the 4K+, because both are IR capable. Whichever Roku you want to use for RF, just cover the IR window on the Roku to block the signal. Black electricians tape works well, but anything that blocks the IR signal works fine. I have a piece of paper blocking the IR window on a TV that I use as a PC monitor, because it reacts to the remote I use on another TV in the same room.

There's no issue using the same SSID on both radios. I use a different one on each band myself so I can be certain which one I'm connecting to, as I favor the 5GHz radio for its higher speeds. 

By "link" the MAC and IP address, I believe you are referring to ensuring the device always gets the same IP address. This is referred to as an IP Reservation. Some routers have it enabled to lock a MAC address to the same IP address, while others require you to manually create a reservation for each MAC address you want to keep the same address. I believe the TP-Link is the latter, but can't say for certain. For some devices it's preferable to retain the same IP address, but for most uses it's not necessary. I like it on my media players because my DLNA server assigned a profile to each device according to its capabilities, and if the IP address is always changing it might not get the profile I desire. It also clogs up my DLNA server device list with the same device listed multiple times because the IP address changes. 🙂

[atc98092]

Oh, you asked about subnet masks. Don't touch that unless you really understand what you're doing. The netmask of 255.255.255.0 provides 254 distinct IP addresses on your network without requiring special routing rules. Altering that netmask changes the number of addresses available, and if you don't understand what you're doing it can really mess things up. You should be just fine with the default number.

[JKasten]

atc98092:

Re the Roku remotes:

I think that I shaded the Rokus enough to block the IR (hard to tell).  If I succeeded, then apparently even the Express's basic remote is using RF - cause the Rokus still respond to it.

As for the remotes "linked" to the Rokus, I didn't find any listed - on either Roku.  (Perhaps I overlooked some settings screen, but it wasn't obvious).  I did see the IR/CEC selection screen on each Roku; IR was selected on both Rokus.  (Apparently, there is no option for RF (wireless)).  I also didn't see any indication of a paired remote in either case.  (Not sure there is any such indication anyway). 

Just an FYI, a lot of the vinyl electrician's tape isn't all that opaque - so it may require two or more layers to block an intense IR light.  Gaffers tape might be more opaque, although it has other disadvantages.  When I've needed to block IR remotes (such as for dual Spectrum cable TV boxes), I found that "flaps" of something like a plastic card or cardboard was adequate to block the IR, and the "flap" was easy to prop open when I intended to access the shaded device.  Unfortunately, that method didn't block the Roku remotes.  :-{

Re the Router Security settings:

If I was using the Wi-Fi mode, I'd likely use separate SSIDs for each network (frequency) - although I might be lazy and use the same PIN for each.  Interestingly, something is producing a hidden Wi-Fi network; if it comes from the Router then I'd guess it is for the "other" frequency - apparently when the Router uses the same SSID for both frequencies, it auto-selects the optimum frequency for the device, so probably both networks are present but only one is labeled.  <Just speculation>.

Unfortunately I can't recall the wording of the option for linking IP and MAC, but it was something about reducing the ability to spoof (the IP, I think).  Not something that I'm familiar with.

About the subnet masks, I know only enough to be "dangerous" (like with most aspects of networking).  But I was wondering if there would be any benefit in reducing the range of subnet addresses to only the six that I will be using at this point - that is, mask of 255.255.255.248.  (Thought it might have some benefit for either performance or security).  If I recall correctly, the Router's current settings were 255.255.0.0 - and I doubt I'd ever need 65K+ subnet addresses. 😉

Anyway, mainly interested in making sure that I do everything reasonable to impede hackers.