Roku devices and TVs are a great solution to meet your streaming needs if you don’t have a smart TV. The devices especially are so popular because they’re portable, convenient, and only require an HDMI port and a Wi-Fi (or ethernet) connection to turn any TV into a Smart TV.
But Roku isn’t always without its problems! Sometimes, you may have to reset your Roku to clear out runtime errors or resolve a pairing issue. You may find that after this reset, your Roku won’t connect to Wi-Fi.
If you’ve had this problem, you know how frustrating it can be. Everything you need is there, you just can’t get online!
Read on to find out what causes this issue and how to solve it.
Table of Contents
Why Roku Won’t Connect to WiFi After Reset
When you reset your Roku, you would expect it to connect to the WiFi automatically, especially if it had been connected successfully only moments ago, before you reset it.
But sometimes, that just doesn’t happen – even if your WiFi is functioning correctly.
This issue usually stems from settings that get restored to default, or an otherwise incorrect configuration, during the Roku’s reset.
It can also be caused by a weak WiFi signal, too many network pings, or the currently selected WiFi channel.
How to Fix Roku Not Connecting to WiFi
So, now for the important stuff! Let’s take a look at some of the different ways to solve this issue.
Hopefully, one of these fixes will work for you. If not, keep going through the article and trying each solution to try and get your Roku back online.
Check your WiFi Connection
This sounds obvious, but the first step before you go fiddling with any settings should always be to make sure your router is actually functional! Remember, it may be in the middle of an update or experiencing a temporary outage.
Power cycling your router is the fastest and most reliable way to get it up and running again. Simply turn it off, wait 30 – 60 seconds, then turn it back on.
Disable Network Pings
When your Roku is trying to connect to WiFi after resetting, it will send pings (packet internet or inter-network groper) to the router to try and establish a connection. Sometimes, these pings can overwhelm the connection and make it fail.
There is an easy way to stop this from happening, and it involves accessing a ‘secret systems menu’ on your Roku device/Tv.
To find this menu, use your Roku remote. You have to press a certain combination of buttons, a certain number of times, one after the other, in this exact order:
- Home x 5
- Fast Forward x 1
- Play x 1
- Rewind x 1
- Play x 1
- Fast Forward x 1
If you’ve followed these steps correctly, you should see a menu appear on your screen. Select System Operations and press OK.
Next, select Network Menu, and enter. Finally, select Disable Network Pings. Press the Home button to exit the secret menu.
Your Roku should now be able to establish a secure connection to your router! If it’s still not connecting, repeat the process but this time you’ll be selecting Enable Network Pings. Turning the network pings off and then on (and maybe even off again!) gives the Roku plenty of chances to connect to the internet without overloading the router.
Power Cycle Everything!
Now, you may have already power cycled your router if you followed the first step. If you’ve tried both fixes so far, and you still get online, it’s time to power cycle everything else!
If you have a Roku device or a Roku TV, these steps are essentially the same, with a few less steps if you have a Roku TV.
- Turn off your Roku stick/TV
- Unplug your TV from the wall socket
- Unplug your Roku device from the TV
- While your TV is unplugged, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds
- Wait for 30 – 60 seconds
- Plug everything back in and turn it all on
Power cycling is a very efficient way of eliminating runtime errors and software glitches by forcing everything to boot up from scratch again. Holding the TV’s power button will drain all residual power from the capacitors to ensure this happens.
Reset the Roku
You can use Roku’s inbuilt reset code to force the device/TV to reboot itself, which works in a similar manner to a power cycle.
Using your Roku remote, press Home to bring up the main menu. Wait a couple of seconds, then enter this combination of buttons exactly as it appears here, with no pauses in between button presses:
- Home x 5
- Up x 1
- Rewind x 2
- Fast Forward x 2
The Roku device/TV should now reboot itself, which can restore faulty connections.
Check and Reset Connections
If you’re still not online, you can force your Roku to check its internal connection settings and reset any previous connection information. To do this, follow these steps:
- Press Home to open the menu, then select:
- Settings
- Network
- Select Check Connection
If you’re having trouble connecting, you’ll likely see a message that says the connection test was unsuccessful. If so, try resetting the connection by following these steps:
- Press Home to open the menu, then select:
- Settings
- System
- Advanced System Settings
- Network Connection Reset
- Reset Connection
Now that all your previous connection info has been erased, the device/TV will restart itself. When it turns back on, it will automatically attempt to connect to the internet. This will prompt you to manually connect to your WiFi again, just like the first time you connected.
Change Wireless Network
If your router has capabilities to offer 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless connections, you may want to double-check which one your Roku is attempting to connect to. Some models can only operate on a 2.4GHz connection, so if you have one of these models, and it’s trying to connect to the 5GHz network, it will never work.
Adjust the selected network in settings and try to connect again.
Alternatively, if your Roku model is capable of connecting to a 5GHz network, and it’s connecting to a 2.4GHz, then you will be suffering from worse connection speeds and poor quality!
Update Roku
To do this in your current situation, you’ll have to connect your Roku to a wired connection, or an alternative network if you have one available. You can use your mobile device to create a hotspot, but be wary of data usage!
Once you’re connected, navigate to the menu by pressing the Home button. Select Settings > System > System Update > Check Now.
Roku will now check for any updates that haven’t yet been downloaded and installed. If there are any, it will install them automatically.
To Summarize
Hopefully, you manage to get this issue fixed right away, as a Roku device or TV without an internet connection is not much good for anything! Don’t forget to update your devices if they’ve been unused for a while, or if you’ve installed a non-certified channel.
If you still struggle to get online, there may be a fault with your Roku device or Roku TV. Contact Roku support for more information in this case. Good luck!
