Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Gryf56]

I have a Roku Ultra 4800 and 4802. After the most recent firmware update to 12.5.0 they no longer work properly. They will not connect to the Roku server as the time no longer shows up in the upper right corner. The Hulu, Amazon Prime, AppleTV, and YouTube apps no longer work. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the apps several times and that doesn't work. Netflix, Paramount+, Disney+ all work fine.

I have reset the modem and the router on multiple occasions and sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

The only thing that does work consistently is factory resetting the Roku's AND the modem and router and after a few tries everything works for a few days and then it starts over.

I recently upgraded to fiber internet but all my other devices are connected fine and I have no connectivity issues.

[AvsGunnar]

@Gryf56 

Verify that your router is not using "DFS Channels" (52-140) under your 5ghz Wireless Settings.  Roku cannot currently see or use DFS so either need to Disable DFS usage if you currently have "Auto" set under Wireless Channels, or manually set the 5ghz to use a channel between 36-48, or 149-161.

If you find that your router is not using DFS, then try lowering the Bandwidth/Channel Width in your 5ghz Wireless Settings to 80mhz, and see if that helps. (many fiber setups are set to 160mhz and can cause issues with Roku devices as it narrows the available channel selection to the network).

I would also check with ISP to see if your 2.4ghz band is Enabled.  This would at least give you an alternate network band to connect to when you experience a 5hz disruption.  However, manually configuring the 5ghz band to the above settings should help minimize the disruptions.

Feel free to post back with ISP and router model number if still having issues.

[RokuERey]

Hi @Gryf56,

Thanks for reaching out, and welcome to the Roku Community!

We'd like to help you out with this and for further assistance. I have sent you a PM for more information.

Thanks,

Rey

[Gryf56]

After I reset everything last night it still didn't work but my settings were 2.4 and 5 GHz bands were separated and the Roku's were set to the 5GHz band with the DFS channels disabled.

When I got up this morning everything was working and is still currently working. The wireless settings are still on automatic to switch between 80 and 160MHz.

The ISP is i3 Broadband and the router is a a TP-Link AX10000 with the latest firmware offered by TP-Link.

The Roku's still have build 12.5.0 4178-C2 as they did yesterday.

Nothing else was changed between last night when it didn't work and today when it did however this has happened before and works for a few days and then has issues again. 

[RokuERey]

@Gryf56,

Thanks for the update!

This has been communicated with the appropriate Roku team, and they are currently investigating this.

We'll make sure to forward any update here, once we have it available.

Best regards,

Rey

[Gryf56]

As of yesterday evening, around 730pm central time, the issue has occurred again with the same apps being affected. Other apps work fine and my other devices that are on wifi and connected through ethernet are working fine. 

I have attempted to switch 5GHz channels and still not getting any results. System restarts do nothing to solve the issue and switching to the 2.4GHz band don't work either.

The firmware for my router is: 2.1.6 Build 20230907 rel.65510(5553) but hasn't updated recently. 

The solution can't be factory resetting every week and then hoping it stays connected and works.

[AvsGunnar]

@Gryf56 

Are you able to bypass the modem and just use your TP-Link?  Or vice versa, can you exclude the TP-Link and just use the modem (either via ethernet or wifi if capable/multi modem and router) and access the problem channel/apps?

Sounds like a conflict is occuring (first glance is between ISP modem and TP-Link) and certain channels/apps seem to not like how the Roku is connecting to them.

If you can use an ethernet cable with one of your Roku Ultras while leaving the other on wireless and can use the affected channels/apps (either connected to the modem or to the TP Link), may help narrow down to configuration issue.

I thought the original issue was though the wireless (wifi) connection was lost at times and you could not reconnect.  Reading your postings again, sound like you can connect/remain connected to wifi, but just lose access to those same channels/app you mentioned but can still watch others via the Roku devices.

-----

Instead of performing a Factory Reset, try the following while you continue to troubleshoot.

1. Restart both the modem and the TP Link.

2. On the Roku device, perform a Network connection reset. (Settings/System/Advanced System Settings/Network connection reset/reset Connection).

[Gryf56]

I have conducted those resets and still no luck. Even direct connecting to the modem itself doesn't work.

The only apps that don't work are hulu, prime video, youtube, and apple TV+.  It also doesn't connect to the Roku server as it doesn't display the time or have any of the adds on the side of the screen. Not that I miss the adds but I know it doesn't work when they aren't there.