Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Ken_Ohrn]

I have an annoying Wi-Fi problem.  My condo is long and narrow, so I have an Arris XB6 Gateway from local ISP Shaw Cable at one end (at the wiring closet) and three pods along the length.  Several devices are used or located at each end.

Roku Premiere at the far end regularly will not connect to the nearest pod but to the farthest pod and occasionally to the far-away Gateway, occasionally changing during use.  This results in slow connect speeds and poor streaming, often interrupted. When connected to the nearest pod, streaming is trouble-free, unless the Roku re-connects to a far-away pod or the Gateway. 

This can usually be cured by stopping Roku wi-fi and reconnecting. The ROKU Premiere will then connect to the nearby pod. But this is very annoying. 

The pods are SC1-A (supplied to ISP Shaw Cable by Plume & Sagemcom), the Roku is a Premiere 3920C.  They are all using up-to-date software and firmware, and have been re-booted regularly, as has the Gateway.  ISP Shaw locks down its wi-fi configuration so I cannot change the 2.4 Ghz settings back to b/g/n from g/n. 

When connected to the pod that is nearest to the Roku, my iPhone and Surface 8 usually show download speeds of 30-60 Mbps throughout the evening and during streaming interruptions, and they remain connected. 

How can I encourage the Roku to connect to the nearest pod and not the farthest?

[TrooperDada326]

I have 1500 sq ft apartment. My COX Panoramic gateway give me a signal even 75’ outside of my apartment. I have full control of the gateway through the COX app. You shouldn’t need to use Wi-Fi extenders such as those pods which is basically what they are. If you can relocate the modem to a more central location that will be good. But any modern modem should be able to reach at least 2000 sq ft. Your best bet is to probably get your own router. Most newer gateways, modems or routers broadcast the 2.4 and 5.0 simultaneously. And they’re configured so you don’t have to choose one. Your device such as the phone will connect to whichever single is stronger. They do this for convenience for most people. But you usually can go in and split them up. That’s what I did. So now I have the 2.4 and 5.0 completely separate. There must be a way you can get in and reconfigure your modem. If not with an app the going to 192.168.1 or something like that. If you look up the make and model of your modem you should be able to figure it out by googling it. I gave 6 Roku devices. I can make any of them use 2.4 or 5.0. . 5.0 is faster but does not travel as far. 2.4 is slower but travels further. Those pods are just WiFi extenders. Your better off with a router or a mesh system. But in all honesty you shouldn’t need any of those devices. Unless your condo is over 3000 sq ft

[cwcheese]

Trooper,

It depends on the construction of the apt/condo; I reside in a 1500sqft condo as well, it is long and narrow so there should be no problem with line of sight coverage. But I found out some years ago that the building had significant rebuild after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and a lot of the walls were restored using steel studs instead of pine. So my home has lots of internal interference. My solution has been to use old style wifi extenders, and finally 3 years ago I bought Netgear Orbi mesh system (2 unit) to fix the problem. I eschew the cable company modem, have a Netgear DOCSIS router, which the Orbi is connected to extend the network from the origin side of my home to the far side with only 2 hops. I hook my entertainment devices to the Orbi LAN and my work/productivity computers to the main router so as to separate heavy streaming from work.

[Ken_Ohrn]

Hi CWCheese:

Thanks for your thoughts. Our situation is similar, with my suite having a steel frame, steel stud construction on interior walls, plus an elevator shaft and an awkwardly located refrigerator. 

Likewise I have a mesh extender net, with 2 hops from ISP router./access point to entertainment devices (TV and Roku box). My problem is that these entertainment devices will regularly skip the nearest extender and connect to the intermediate extender and sometimes to the router/access point.

When this happens, streaming can be a hit-and-miss situation. 

[rbrusseau]

It looks like this is still unanswered. I have a similar problem. Ruko pauses and had pixilated quality while trying to connect to gateway that’s far away, instead of nearby pod. When it’s connected to the pod it’s 4K and beautiful. I’m also searching for a way to encourage it to connect to nearby pod. 

[RokuDanny-R]

@rbrusseau

Thanks for the post.

This would appear to be an issue with your wireless network. Have you tried contacting your wireless network hardware manufacturer to see what insight they can provide?

Please keep us posted what you find out.

Thanks,
Danny