Wi-Fi & connectivity

[GroundhogPhil]

I’ve got a weird issue.  I’ve got a couple TV’s set up with Roku streaming devices.  Recently I’ve had on and off internet issues.  Got Xfinity out to check my signal strength, speed, etc.  Now everything ‘should’ be working fine…but, NO.  
I can connect the first TV—no issues.  All other devices connect to router and internet per normal.  BUT, when I try to connect second Roku device (a ‘Model 4200x’ with a big “3” on top) it can ‘see’ the network, confirm there’s ‘excellent’ signal strength—but when I try to connect, it not only won’t connect, but also locks up my router—so I have to reboot that and get internet restored to the rest of my devices.  Then I try again to connect this Roku “3” again and the same thing happens again (and again).  I feel a little like “Phil” (Bill Murray) in “Groundhog Day”.  Help?

[DBDukes]

@GroundhogPhil 

Model 4200 is a Roku 3, introduced in 2013, upgraded and replaced by the 4230 Roku 3 in 2015. Your device is 7 to 9 years old.

You say it locks up your router. I'm not sure what that means, "locks up." Describe that. Pretend we're on the other end of the Internet and can't actually see what's going on. Describe it for us.

Gotta ask. Since your Roku 3 is 7-9 years old, when did this issue start? What changed? Is your router also 7-9 years old? Did you get a new one around the time the issues started? Any details you can share?

[GroundhogPhil]

When I say ‘locks up’, I mean the router (a NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900) stops working properly—all the lights on the Modem/Router ‘freeze up’ and are locked ‘on’ with no blinking/flickering (which is how they present when working properly) and internet access to any of other connected devices (iPad, phones, MacBook, PC) stops working until I reboot the router.  

the issue started this past weekend  (perhaps related to a brief power outage?)

[DBDukes]

@GroundhogPhil 

Unplugging the Roku 3 doesn't resolve it within a minute or two? You have to power cycle the router?

[GroundhogPhil]

Correct.  After trying to connect the Roku 3, the modem/router ‘locks up’…and I have no internet to other devices—so I have to reboot router.  Then all works fine until I try to reconnect (and repower) the Roku 3.  Then the whole thing locks up again.  Guess it’s time to upgrade to a newer version of the Roku and see if that doesn’t provide the fix.  It had been working so seamlessly that I have just trusted that to continue.  

[DBDukes]

@GroundhogPhil 

You could try connecting the Roku 3 via ethernet cable. Perhaps there's a flaw in the current firmware and forcing an update via LAN connection would resolve. You'll have to do a Network Reset on the Roku 3 so it won't try to connect to your wireless network after the next reboot of everything, but this may be worth a shot.

[Strega]

For sure, it sounds like you have a rather old Roku that might be "due" for an upgrade.  On the other hand, I would say that any router that can be crashed by a connected device, probably has its own issues.  Sometimes brief power outages come a with spikes/dirty power that can mess devices up.

[cwcheese]

Have you logged in to your Netgear router to run the diagnostics? It seems you may have suffered some impact from the power outage. Also, how old is your AC1900? I ask because home users don't often replace their routers because it is essentially an appliance to them, which operates silently day after day. However, because they run 24x7 the chips and circuit board will eventually face material degradation due to the constant heating. In essence: routers do burnout eventually. I've gone through a half dozen consumer type Netgear routers over the past two decades, due to burnout. Typically I know it because of flaky, random connection behaviors.