The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsRoku - I think we just got played by Spectrum.
Our problems began when a young technician dropped a hard line to our kitchen t.v. They couldn't fix the problem so they sold us on ROKU. The price seemed like a good switch because we would save money over time.
Well, we just installed two ROKUs and discovered that there is too much interference to run our regular t.v. I was dropped five times from HULU watching the latest episode of the Hand Maiden's tale. Just for kicks, I googled, ROKU is a piece of crap. LOL.
The problem could just be that our router can't handle all these new wireless units, but, it doesn't look promising.
Does anyone have good experiences with Roku?
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)Superior to the Amazon fire stick.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)May be the layout of the house. Router is on one end of the house and everything is in line from there. I think there's too much interference.
JCMach1
(27,574 posts)teach1st
(5,935 posts)No problems with the Rokus. No problems with Spectrum streaming TV.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)It sounds to me like a router problem. It must have enough bandwidth to handle the streaming. And a good wifi signal level.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)sweetloukillbot
(11,070 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)sweetloukillbot
(11,070 posts)I have a lower-end Nighthawk and it still pumps out an amazing wifi signal.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)It may be that we're putting all the wireless gadgets on the lower ghtz.
sweetloukillbot
(11,070 posts)Nighthawks are REALLY good routers and also very expensive routers. The last thing I'm going to suggest is upgrading equipment like that since it can handle the load, your stream shouldn't require more than 15-20 mbps.
One other thing to check - if your stream is too hi-rez, that can cause issues as well, if your plan or modem can't handle the bandwidth. That's not usually an issue anymore though. But it would be a setting in the Roku, sometimes it will try and stream at 4K, even though your TV doesn't support it...
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)Taraman
(373 posts)I've had a couple for a few years and set up a half dozen people with them, and that's using wireless router. Sounds like you've other IT problems. Where's the interference from?
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)cvoogt
(949 posts).. love it. Have had no issues. HAVE had issue with Hulu specifically, which I dropped. But Roku itself has been fine.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)It ain't as pretty as wifi, but it works with nary a glitch. Once in a blue moon the software glitches, but not very often.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,110 posts)YMMV.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)techne7319
(173 posts)We have 2 Rokus (models 3 and 4) and have used them regularly for several years now. They are our only TV source. We have very few problems with them. They have been more reliable than any cable tv sevice Ive previously had. Certain apps can sometimes act up though. Hulu has trouble continuing to the next episode of a show sometimes which can be annoying. We did spring for the biggest and fastest modem/router though and that may be something for you to consider.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)We may need to upgrade the router. And Hulu may have been the big issue.
forgotmylogin
(7,532 posts)It works great, but I actually have it connected with an ethernet cable.
For years and years I used a $25 Belkin wireless router. When it broke, I decided to drop the money and get an Airport Extreme and was shocked how much of a difference a good router made. I was broadcasting extremely fast WiFi to the street. You may not need to drop the money for an Airport EX, but if your router is old, it might be worth upgrading to one with latest technologies. Gs and Ns.
DUgosh
(3,058 posts)Right now! No problems
sweetloukillbot
(11,070 posts)1) Disclaimer - this is a couple-year old issue. So it may have been fixed by Roku...
It could have something to do w/ your router and the Roku remote. Roku's remote works on a wifi signal, on the 2.5ghz frequency. It will interfere w/ WiFi near the Roku. If you have a dual band router, you should be able to use the 5ghz frequency without issue, though.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)It's so underused.
sweetloukillbot
(11,070 posts)I don't know if there is anything that can be done, however, other than switching to Ethernet or 5G. This was a common issue, my company did an incentive where they gave away Rokus for new subscribers and it drove a ton of calls.
Like I said, it's been a couple years so Roku may have come up with a fix.
yellowdogintexas
(22,270 posts)I was advised by Spectrum (then Charter ) to do this when I was having upload issues with my work from home station.
Outcome: I was way out of warranty, of course but the extremely helpful CSR checked the date of my serial # and started me on a long series of updates to the device. We had to start with the oldest one and go forward. She walked me through each step, told me exactly what to do each time; there were 5 of these updates, and the whole process took about 3 hours. It was absolutely worth it!!! It happened on a day when the master system at my employer was down and we could not work anyway.
Sometimes when I am playing Farmville, with my big TV on, and my husband is in the other room playing with his virtual reality mask and his new phone, our internet gets r e a l s l o w and we start to lose stuff, usually the ROKU goes first, then my laptop. It is worse on Hulu, though
I have no cable, cut it 2 years ago when HBO Now became available on ROKU. We have Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and HBO Now. I love it.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)dembotoz
(16,839 posts)dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)Kaleva
(36,354 posts)Didn't have a problem ever using Roku on the tv in the living room but using Roku with the tv in the bedroom was frustrating until I got a Wi-Fi range extender. No problems since.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)I think we might have to consider an extender. Thanks for the advice.
csziggy
(34,138 posts)Acorn TV and Britbox both have had lots of buffering. One day I couldn't even get to the Netflix menu.
I suspect that it might be from a close lightning strike that knocked out my DSL and landline. Since my PrismTV and my internet come in on the DSL along with the landline, I think something got messed up in the box down the street.
I'm supposed to get 40mbps, DSL Reports says I am getting about 20.
I'm about to call Centurylink tech support - I have to wait until my husband is off his computer and the TV upstairs or I get a lecture from the tech about how many devices we have on. Fuck that - 40 mbps should be able to handle two computers doing basic web surfing and two TVs not running HD!
Before I call I will reboot the dsl modem/router, reboot my computer, turn off the TV and unplug the Roku.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)csziggy
(34,138 posts)Their Speed Test is at: http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest#
It gives you a lot of information - download, upload, bloat (latency), and quality of signal.
Also check your ISP bill - it should say what speed you are being billed for.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)duforsure
(11,885 posts)But I did get a wifi signal amplifier which did help some in further area's.
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)with a new Spectrum separate modem and separate router devices. Spectrum has had problems with the older combo units. I am running both Roku and Amazon Firesticks at multiple locations with the New Spectrum separate modem and separate router devices with excellent and reliable performance. You can swap out your old gateway device for the new equipment at a local Spectrum office; the installation can be done by you and is very easy. If you prefer, Spectrum can provide a service technician to swap out the equipment. I would also recommend the replacement of your single TV set top box to the most current version.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)We did get an upgrade with the machine next to the t.v., but I don't think we upgraded the Spectrum router.
And, I suspect my old plasma has to go. We made a mistake when we purchased it eleven years ago.
Fla Dem
(23,761 posts)Haven't had any problems and had it for about 5 years.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,474 posts)amazing anything worls.