Wi-Fi & connectivity

[chrblack]

I just purchased Streaming Stick 4K's to replace all my Roku devices and have a question regarding the Wifi Antenna. My current setup is wall mounted TV's utilizing the very short antenna cord plugging into a USB slot right beside the HDMI the stick is plugged into. No need to worry about cable management. I noticed that the new sticks no longer have the shorter piece with an optional extension piece, but instead opted to have one long cord with the antenna built in. Can I used the short antenna that came with my streaming stick + with the new 4K? And if so will I still get the benefit of the upgraded wireless speed?

[renojim]

You're the first one that I've seen mention the different antennas.  Perhaps you should try it and report back.  I would think the antenna wouldn't make a difference since they are both dual-band devices, so the antenna should work equally well on both devices assuming they didn't change something with the connection.

[chrblack]

Sounds Good, I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't sure if the antenna had anything to do with the upgraded reception. I'll give it a go and report back. Looks like my new devices are arriving today.

I am really hoping this update solves the issue I am having streaming my collection of ripped Blue-ray's. Currently when I want to watch one of my ripped 4K movies I have to switch over to my Sony Android TV.

My current Roku Streaming Stick+'s show a link speed of 173Mbps on the router, and a speed of approximately 50Mbps on the Roku itself.  My Sony Android television shows a link speed of 866Mbps on the router, and gets approximately 280Mbps

Not really sure why Roku's AC implementation is so poor.

[chrblack · Accepted solution]

Soo... I was not able to use the antenna from the Streaming Stick+. It is a mini USB, and the Streaming Stick 4K connects via micro USB.

The stick's wireless performance is still not as good as my Sony Android televisions, but the good news is that I do appear to be able to stream full uncompressed 4k Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos movies with no pauses due to buffering. This make me very happy as I enjoy the Roku OS far better than any smart TV interface.

The new sticks seem a little buggy (OS freezes, app crashes). I'm hoping it is due to the new OS and will be patched soon.

[renojim]

Thanks for reporting back!  Several people have complained about the slow speed of Roku's AC implementation, but they all seem to be like you - trying to play their own rips.  Roku has shown little to no interest in supporting this kind of use.  I think the cheap Android 4k streamers that are available now are probably a better solution.  I just picked one up for $20 and it will at least play a 4k video and scale it for my 1080p TV where the Ultra I have just gives me an HDCP error.