Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Mike56]

None of your directions help - no idea what you're talking about. Bought a new t-mobile hot spot (nor inseego) woks with roku tv, not conventional roku unit

[AvsGunnar]

@Mike56 

What is the model number of your non-working Roku device?  You can either find this in the Roku Settings/System/About, from the box the Roku device came in, or on the device itself.  Als0, what is the model number of your new T-Mobile Hotspot device?

Where exactly did you get lost in the instructions above?

For the most part, if you go to https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/t-mobile-hotspot, should give you step by instructions for making changes to your T-mobile hotspot.

However, since the RokuTV is working and your other Roku device is not, I am assuming you may have a 2.4ghz-only Roku device.  If that is the case, then go into your hotspot's Settings and under the Wi-Fi settings for the 2.4ghz band, verify the 2.4ghz band is still enabled (it is by default) and try changing the mode to b/g/n.

Perhaps this manual will help you https://manuals.plus/t-mobile/wifi-hotspots-manual.

[rebelhead]

I had the same problem and THIS IS THE SOLUTION.

[rebelhead]

I had the same problem and creating a new apn with ipv4. this IS THE SOLUTION!

[jt240z]

One thing that bothers me about this solution.  Isn't IPv4v6 supposed to support both IPv4 and IPv6?  I thought it was a dual stack implementation.  Seems that T-Mobile didn't implement it properly if you have to revert to a IPv4 single stack.

Getting ready to purchase a T-Mobile 5G Hot Spot device and now I'm curious if they've fixed this or is it Roku's implementation that's broken.

[AvsGunnar]

@jt240z 

When set to IPv4v6, you are correct that both IP protocols should "technically" be supported.  

Some of the TMobile hotspot devices are handling this correctly and others were reportedly not.  Since some were also set to IPv6 by default, would lead me to believe TMobile and some other ISP companies are jumping the gun here a bit with their desire for IPv6 implementation. (I am sure others will feel they have been too slow).

Would try the IPv4v6 setting first and see if it works on your hotspot device with Roku (and any other streaming/network devices you currently own).  If you find some work, some don't, can always create two APNs to cover your bases. 

Eventually, everyone will get on the same page and better compatibility will result.

In order to keep device costs down and offer a little better stability and compatibility, the Roku devices do tend to use a little older, proven hardware, rather than the "latest and greatest", but need to keep in mind that the primary purpose of the device is to simply stream content from/over the internet.

The hardware implemented really only needs to support the device requirements, not the latest or newest technological standard released.  Takes a little while for Roku (and other similar devices) to catch up, and only when they need to.

[jt240z]

The T-Mobile 5G Hotspot device should arrive in a couple of days.  I know then if it will require a change to IP4v or not then.  It's their self-branded unit that's new so it will be interesting to see how they programmed it by default.

[jt240z]

I just received my T-Mobile 5G hotspot in the mail.  Have not verified with Roku yet but checking the profile, I did find that it was set to IPv6 only by default.  This would indicate that, by default, the hotspot would not work with a Roku device.  I created a new profile under the name "Roku-enabled" with IPv4.  I kept everything else the same and then set it as default after saving it.  So far, I've only checked my laptop, but it seems to be working fine.  I'll report back once I've connected my Roku to it.  Since this is going to be used in my RV, I'm planning on picking up a new Roku device.  That way I don't have to keep swapping out devices between home and the RV.  Just need to decide on which device to use in the RV.

[jt240z]

OK, got my Roku Streamer Stick 4K today.  20 minutes later, Roku connected to T-Mobile 5G hotspot, Roku connected to Paramount+ and video is streaming.

Set the Roku to 720 resolution to limit data usage.  Again, confirming that, setting the hotspot to broadcast IPv4 only solves any of the connection issues using the T-Mobil hotspots.  Will verify that IPv4v6 will work as well.

[jt240z]

Just received my second unit as a backup.  This time I set up the profile to IPv4v6.  Seems to connect to the internet faster and, the most important part, the Roku is still happy.  No issues with connecting it to the internet.  I'll set up both to the same settings.  If one craps out, I have a backup.  The other thing this gives me is the ability to have two separete data plans.  This will give me 100Gb if I need it using two 50Gb plans.  Under T-Mobile, you can do a monthly plan for a set amount of highspeed data.  The problem is, if you go over the limit you get throttled down to 3G speeds and can't purchase any more highspeed data for the month.  With the second device and a second data plan I can load it up with another 50Gb plan and off I go.