And now for something completely different... At least for me.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

I have several Rokus but there are two that are really important to me. One in the TV room and the other in the bedroom. Both were wireless until this problem cropped up. My bedroom Ultra has started having slight connection problems but it does not disconnect and, usually, does not even fail to play selected items but, for some reason, it has started to take a long time to load some movies. The diagnostics report nothing wrong with my connection and I do not get errors, mostly, just long loading times. I have checked and the Rokus involved are configured exactly the same and the Emby apps are also setup exactly the same.
I only have one user, me. And I use that user exactly the same on both devices.
I have even switched the Rokus and the problem follows the bedroom.
I have suspected for some time that there is some kind of interference that reaches my bedroom but does not extend as far as my TV room. The reason for that suspension is that the wireless remote for the Roku works very poorly in my bedroom but it functions normally in my TV room. Again I have switch the Rokus and the problem follows the bedroom.
I have tried, without success, to find the source of the interference but I have had no success. I have changed TVs and all other devices in my bedroom and the problem of the poor remote functionality persists. :Note-I had a Fire Stick in the bedroom for a while but its remote was also quite problematic.
I use an ir remote in the bedroom so that problem is negated.
I just switched the bedroom Ultra to wired and I hope the problem goes away but I cannot be sure for a few days at least.

I have an issue where after I take my bedtime meds I am unable to do much of anything (dizzy and unable to concentrate) and the problem always shows up halfway through the night so checking things is difficult at best.  

What I want to know is there any suggestions for improved streaming? Or to actually find and defend against whatever is generating the interference or how to make the streaming better.

Of course, if my switching to wired cures the problem then I am content. But I have tried many things in the past and nothing seems to help.

Should the problem reoccur what can I do to help diagnose the problem and what settings in the Emby app might help.

Once again: Both my Roku Ultras have the problem but only in the bedroom. 
Thanks. 

[Luke 42077]

Hi, can we please see the server log from when this happens?

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

2 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, can we please see the server log from when this happens?

Sure. Of course I may have cured it with switching to wired but, if it happens again, I will send a server log. 

I really do not think this was a server problem and it cannot be the Roku (unless it is both) it cannot be the Emby Roku app so it is probably something in/on my network. 

The wired setup is where i have my hopes now. We'll see.

[rotational467 43]

It definitely sounds like you have an interference source either in that room, or in between it and your WAP.  You noted that the IR remotes work which makes sense if it's WiFi interference, the Roku remotes use WiFi and if the Roku itself is connected via WiFi, the remote uses that same channel.

If your WiFi network supports both 2.4ghz and 5ghz, depending on the nature of the interference one may be more stable in that room than the other.  The Rokus seem to prefer 5Ghz if it's available, even if 2.4ghz might be more stable.

Anyway a list of things to look for off the top of my head - lights (esp. fluorescent), any kind of unshielded electric/power, any kind of appliances, cordless phones, cell repeaters, table lamps...anything like that immediately near the TV/Roku or in-between line-of-site of it and the access point...this includes cable/sat set-top boxes, I had a FiOS DVR that hosed anything wifi within a few feet of it.  My son had a PC on the opposite side of the wall of a refrigerator at his place, and that entire side of the room was a total dead zone.

There's a bunch of wifi signal measurement smartphone apps, you don't need anything fancy, just a free one that'll let you walk around the immediate area and "see" any dead spots to help locate the interference source.  -70db is more or less your bare minimum for connectivity, but particularly for video streaming you'd want to see it a good bit higher.

FWIW while this doesn't necessarily sound like your problem, I've also noticed issues with an older-gen Ultra (4640X) that had been problem-free on wired LAN, but just will not play nice on my WiFi.  The newer gen Rokus use a different wireless NIC, and swapping the old Ultra out in the exact same location with a 4K Stick resolved the connectivity issues.  The fact that you had a Fire stick experience the same issues says it's probably signal and not NIC compatibility, but if you are using older gen hardware AND can't identify any problems with signal levels, a current-gen Roku might be worth a test.

[ginjaninja 605]

ive had success with

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en_GB&pli=1

great for seeing what else is transmitting on what channels...5ghz has many more non overlapping channels but is worse at walls/obstacles..

if you have line of sight or just thin partition and no free 2.4ghz channels, 5ghz can be better

if you have a free 2.4 ghz channel, and no line of sight, thats often better.

I find  now very badly behaved devices which transmit across multiple channels (sometime all of them) which i think contravenes the standard. if they are your devices i would try to turn that off.

If you can get non overlapping channels then wifi can work well i find, otherwise you are fighting an uphill battle.

[tedfroop21 86]

On 04/06/2024 at 12:30, rotational467 said:

I've also noticed issues with an older-gen Ultra (4640X) that had been problem-free on wired LAN, but just will not play nice on my WiFi. 

Yup.  That's a problem in that roku buys the cheapest bits and pieces to build their stuff.  I had one of those ultras and upgraded however,  even the new unit switches to 2.4 constantly, but my new Sony TV does that too so....I ended up splitting 2.4 and 5 ghz across two different units.  My ISP supplied router handles 2.4Ghz, my newer Asus (configured as an AP) handles 5Ghz.

The word "should" shows up far too often when talking about wireless and though "smart connect" feature "should" direct clients to the correct network,  there is no accounting for the fact that clients in tv's, streaming boxes, and other non computer devices usually connect as they wish, and as often as not connect to 2.4Ghz when they should connect to 5Ghz.  (Note also my TV and Roku are less than 5 feet from my Asus RT-AX86U router.)

As for the rest - my moto for networking has always been "plan for wired and hope for wireless"....