Roku is a brand that manufactures digital media players and as a result of that, millions of users around the world obtain access to streaming media content from popular online services, apps, and channels from different countries. Their devices have proved their usefulness multiple times when customers from many locations don’t want to upgrade their old TVs or monitors in order to enjoy popular platforms like Netflix, Disney+ or channels and apps that require a smartphone or intelligent devices, and thanks to Roku’s digital media products, it’s possible to enjoy modern services with older devices.
However, not everything is as good as it sounds. In order for Roku devices to stream content and access their large list of features, an internet connection is required, and it should be a high-quality signal to avoid any issues that could interfere with the experience. Thanks to their intuitive software, fixing a connectivity problem is a piece of cake in most situations, but when it isn’t like this then it’s better to be prepared for some basic troubleshooting. In the next article, a whole troubleshooting guide will be introduced to learn why the Roku devices disconnect from the WiFi, what should be done on those occasions, and most importantly, how to solve this situation as fast as possible.
Roku Won’t Connect to Wifi
The Main Reasons Why the Roku Device doesn’t Connect:
Before jumping to premature conclusions, it’s important to understand the multiple reasons why Roku’s media devices can’t connect to the WiFi. In this modern era of digitalization, having connections issues isn’t something uncommon as there are many reasons why these errors can develop, with the Roku device the situation isn’t any different as their whole functionality is dependent on a constant connection, so getting disconnected will stop any media playback and on most times, cause performance issues as well.
Some of the most common issues that cause connection problems in Roku devices are:
- Poor WiFi signal will freeze playback and cause performance issues in the long run.
- In regions where power outages are common, service interruption will mostly happen on a regular basis.
- Having a bottleneck on the network bandwidth plays a big role in many disconnection cases, as many other devices like consoles, smart TVs, or computers require the usage of WiFi as well, and if all are connected to the same network, then maybe the Roku isn’t getting a good share of the connection to work as intended.
- Before thinking that the Roku device is malfunctioning, it’s important to discard other factors as this case is extremely rare.
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How to Reconnect the Roku Device to the WiFi:
1. Check the Roku Device Connection Status:
The first step will be the start of an interesting troubleshooting adventure, and this step is done to re-affirm that the device can’t connect to the internet for whatever reason. Sometimes, you might get lucky and the connection is reestablished right away after following this step.
From the home screen, press left on the remote to enter the side menu and then proceed to scroll down until you find the Settings option. Once in the Settings menu, press right again to go to the Network menu.
In this menu, there will be two options, but the important one will be the About page which shows information (on the right part of the screen) about details like the connection type, IP, signal strength, download speeds, etc. If for any reason, this information doesn’t appear then it means that the device isn’t connected to the internet.
However, if the issues continue to appear even when the device claims to be connected to the internet, then use the Check Connection tool by pressing Check Connection, and then proceed to the test. Normally, this test provides detailed information about the step in which the device fails to connect to the internet.
After checking both options, try to play media in any streaming app to see if it’s true that everything has gone back to normal. In most cases, this is all that’s required to reconnect the device, but if for any reason the problem persists, then proceed to the next steps.
Also Read: How to Mirror iPhone to TV without WiFi
2. Connecting the Roku Device to the Internet:
Reconnecting the Roku device to the internet it’s the next step, as this will provide further information in case it fails to connect once again. Thankfully, nothing in this troubleshooting guide will prove to be difficult, especially to individuals who aren’t that deep into modern technology, but due to simple interfaces and steps, everything can be understood without any problem.
First, (starting from the home screen) press left (on the remote) to enter the side menu, and just like in the previously explained step, proceed to the Settings menu. Once inside, find the Network menu and focus on it.
Now, go to Set Up Connection > Wireless and press OK to make the system perform a wireless scan on the nearby networks. After the scan has finished, all the available networks will be listed, make sure to select the one that is yours and press OK.
Finally, enter the correct password of the network and press Connect, in theory, this will make the system connect to the internet. If the connection is successful then all the menus will disappear and the About page (that was previously discussed) will contain all kinds of relevant information.
However, if the connection fails once again or the Roku device is unable to connect to the internet, then basic troubleshooting methods will prove to be unsuccessful. That means that some additional steps will be required, but before getting to that point, it’s important to understand why the device isn’t finding a way to connect to the network. In this way, it won’t matter if something like this happens again in the future, as the issue will be addressed thanks to having a basic understanding of how the device’s functionality is linked to the internet and network connection.
3. Analyzing the Situation and Understanding the Issue:
If a Roku device can’t connect to the internet the main issue could be a low-quality signal or issues with the signal that exclusively depends on the region rather than being a problem derivated from the device. The most common situations are caused by an issue with the modem, maybe it’s fully active but it’s not connected to the internet, or maybe the internet service provider is suffering from temporary issues.
Nowadays suffering from internet problems could be a serious annoyance, especially in technology like Roku devices that are extremely dependent upon an active internet connection to work properly. That’s why in many homes, placing the Roku in a close location to the router or in a spot where the connection is strong could be a decent measure to boost and improve the network bandwidth of the device, obtaining faster speed and higher quality playbacks.
The reason why this information matter is because Roku devices normally have a preference for strong signals and often this proves to be an issue even with decent WiFi. Maybe other technological devices have good connectivity to WiFi but the Roku fails to do so, and this is common as even the most unnoticeable change in the connection’s stability can make the device develop strange and unusual readings. However, since those sudden changes on the network don’t last long, the device should implicitly reconnect without issues. Sometimes this doesn’t happen, meaning that the user will have to manually perform this task (which will be covered in the final step).
4. Restarting the Roku Device:
Sometimes is considered a joke, but restarting modern devices prove to be more than enough to fix various problems, including the ones derivated from WiFi issues. Luckily, Roku devices work in this way as well, so it’s important to discover how to perform this standard troubleshooting procedure.
First, start from the home screen (like in all of the previous steps) and press left to enter the side menu, and once again, go to Settings. Proceed to the System menu and focus on it, then scroll down to System Restart > Restart and press OK to continue and wait until the Roku completely reboots.
Normally, this should get rid of any connectivity issue as while the device starts, it tries to connect to the configured WiFi network, and since it’s freshly rebooted, everything should go as expected. However, if for any reason this doesn’t seem to work then there’s a huge chance that the problem is being caused by something external to the Roku device.
External Troubleshooting Steps to Try if the Roku Wont Connect to WiFi.
Sadly, not managing to troubleshoot the issue with the device’s tool means that maybe something external is being the true culprit. In most cases, a non-working router, modem, or issues in the network could be the main problem. In these cases, the first step will be focused on manually connecting an Ethernet Cable to the Roku device, just keep in mind that this option isn’t available for the Roku Stick, but for other devices like the Roku TV and Roku Player, it will prove to be an excellent temporary solution. After connecting the internet cable, proceed to the Network menu and select the Wired option to set up everything. Follow the instructions that display on the screen and everything should be good to go.
However, if even that ends up in failure, then it’s recommended to:
- Check all possible connection issues with the WiFi router by using any other technological device to try the connectivity.
- Restarting the router and modem at the same time can prove to be the last useful resource in troubleshooting.
- Does nothing happen? Then maybe it’s time to get in contact with Roku support to discard other advanced issues, maybe the device is one of those rare cases where faulty hardware is causing problems or the Roku is faulty.
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FAQs
Q. All Roku Devices be Rebooted?
The vast majority of Roku devices have a restart option in the Settings menu as it’s a valuable resource in troubleshooting. However, keep in mind that Roku TVs do not include an option to explicitly restart the system, in fact, all the user has to do is just press the power button or unplug the TV.
Q. Are Technicians Required to Fix Roku Devices Connection Issues?
Not at all, as the connectivity issues are more targeted to a network-software point of view, and even a technician wouldn’t be able to do anything if the internet provider service is facing issues. Also, the Roku UI (User Interface) is the same across all devices, and since it’s extremely intuitive, even individuals who don’t deal with modern technologies will be able to move through the device’s settings to perform everything that was deeply explained before.
Q. My Roku wont Connect to WiFi, Should it Be Replaced?
Before jumping to conclusions, it would be ideal to try the recommended troubleshooting steps that were provided in the previous guide. However, if after doing everything the issues still persists and Roku customer services doesn’t seem to be useful by any means, then probably looking for a replacement could be ideal, or if a warranty is still appliable then it will be a no brainer as all that’s required is go and apply it to receive a fully functional Roku device.
Q. Is it Possible to Reset Network Settings?
Absolutely. Sometimes it’s recommended to just discard any possible setting change that might be causing issues in the device. To do so, just go to the Settings menu, then proceed to System, Advanced System Settings, and lastly to Network Connection Reset. Finally, just select Factory Reset and while that sounds scary it will only restore all settings to the default.
Q. Should the Internet Supplier be Changed to Solve Connectivity Issues?
While Roku devices are extremely dependent on high-quality signals, changing your internet supplier isn’t something ideal for everyone. Probably switching suppliers could be useful for the future as it could mean more effectiveness thanks to an improvement of the signal speed (which is beneficial for Roku devices) but if the problem is caused by the device itself, then it won’t be enough to solve connectivity issues since it could be a hardware issue or maybe the device came faulty.
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