Wi-Fi & connectivity

[ahumanperson]

The new Roku express 4K is advertised as dual band yet doesn't see any 5ghz connections.

How can I get it to join my 5ghz network?

[MilesT]

Is your router also broadcasting 2.4ghz on the same SSID? Roku may be seeing/preferring that frequency instead of 5ghz.

Apart from that check that the router settings for the security standards (letters after 802.11, also things like PSK) are in common with Roku spec. 

Try the setup closer to the router in case it is signal strength problem.

[ahumanperson]

Thankyou for your reply.

I have seperate SSIDs for 2.4/5Ghz from the same AP

The Roku can see the 2.4ghz but not the 5Ghz networks, the access point is 3M from the device.

[MilesT]

Another recent post here had the complete checklist for 5ghz setup, not all channels/bandwidth are supported.

[ahumanperson · Accepted solution]

Found in another's post

"5gz network band..... Radio Enabled/On, set channel 36-48 or 149-161, not Auto or any channel 52thru140, Protocols/Mode set toN /AC, Bandwidth 20mhz or 40mhz(preferred) or 20/40."

So essentially a consumer product sold in the UK which doesn't even work on most of the legal 5ghz channels!

These really shouldn't be advertised as dual band when most of the 5ghz channels they support are Band C.

[MilesT]

Sadly typical of many cheap globalized devices claiming 5ghz support.

[Panos]

Had the same problem on my Roku express 4k. Would not find my 5Ghz network.

After Roku system reboot it was able to identify the 5G network and now works fluently.

Good luck.

[Boonediggity]

To further clarify its the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) on the 5 Ghz spectrum that are causing the issues. Roku and a number of other devices that claim to be 802.11ac compliant still don't play nice with those. Just like @ahumanperson said, DO NOT USE 5Ghz channels 52-140.

I have a Ubiquiti Unifi network in my home and was experiencing all sorts of oddities that people are mentioning. As soon as I disabled the option to use those DFS channels and rebooted the AP's the network functioned like a dream. Instead of loading 30 devices on a distant AP (skipping over two closer AP's using DFS at the time) on the 2.4Ghz spectrum they all connect logically and to the closest one. They also prefer 5 Ghz now too.

I would highly recommend everyone experiencing these issues with smart devices to not use these channels if at all possible. Cheers!

[atc98092]

It is illegal to use DFS channels in some localities. This is the reason Roku simply doesn't support those channels. It's the same with channels 12-14 on 2.4 GHz. They aren't legal in all locations, so Roku only supports channels 1-11. 

[ahumanperson]

It's got nothing to do with legality of channels, the Roku doesn't create the networks it merely joins them, the router/AP does and they should comply with the local regulations.

Band C for example isn't legal in the UK without a license but Roku supports that.