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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Unwanted WiFi

Hi,

Is there anyway to operate the smart box without the powerful, interfering 5Ghz WiFi it outputs? I mainly purchased it so I could use Ethernet. I'm just looking to use the remote on a basic basis eg. I'm not looking to use voice search or anything like that.

11 REPLIES 11
gavs82008
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User 

As long as you plug in the Ethernet cable to the box this should then default as the Internet source.

FYI that I do not work for NOW, just a NOW customer trying to help
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@gavs82008  - Yeah it's using Ethernet to stream but at the same time it's broadcasting a powerful 5Ghz WiFi signal which kind of swamps my router & access point signals.

RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

 

The wifi from the smart box is broadcast as part of the Hotel and Dorm Connect feature which allows the NOW TV box to connect to wireless networks that require http authentication, such as hotels, student accommodation etc. 

 

I understand you can turn this off by going to Settings/System/Advanced System Settings/Device Connect - I don’t have this box, and my Roku does not have this setting, but try it.

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@RoyB - Thanks. I tried but it says I cannot disable it as I have a Roku  Voice remote paired. I did unpair the remote & try disabling it from there but it said I cannot disable it either if I'm using a Roku remote app on my phone. It said to try again with 'standard' Roku remote which I don't have access to. I guess even if I got one it's not certain whether the box will work from IR commands?

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @Anonymous User 

 

I don't know why you wouldn't want to use the newer smart remote with your NowTV smart box (even if you don't want to use the voice search).

 

Where i like the idea of the on/off TV standby and television volume adjust buttons on the smart remote.

 

Though i could see a situation where the smart remote is a bit flaky and unresponsive over wifi and also tends to eat through batteries compared to the older remote.

 

i have a NowTV 4K smart box and can confirm in my setup the older IR remote from the NowTV black and older Freeview smart box works with the newer 4K Smart box.

 

You will still need to keep safe the smart remote if you ever factory reset the NowTV 4K box to set it up, then once the 4K smart box is ready to use if you wish you can swap over and use the older IR nowtv remote if that's what you want.

 

From my testing the only button on the older style remote that doesn't work is the quick direct Access NowTV button (The Sky Store direct access button works fine).

 

Edit - i don't think using the older IR remote will prevent the NowTV smart box outputting a 5ghz wifi transmission signal where to be honest i have never checked or looked into if there is an option to disable it in the menu settings.

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @Anonymous User 

 

 

Is this what you are after  ?

 

I don't know if the instructions still works because it refers to the older Roku Players & Roku sticks.

 

https://www.netconsonance.com/2016/06/how-to-prevent-roku-wifi-direct-breaking-5ghz/ 

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@schnapps  - Thanks for the info on that hidden menu. 

 

Alas most of the wireless options didn't seem to do anything. Power did seem to cut the power of the transmitter a little for a while but I think it reverted to whatever the original setting was after a bit (I'm guessing after it had been in standby) 

 

It seems a strange behaviour on Roku's part to set a WiFi transmitter to continually hunt down & out power your router.

 

I guess I need to live with it or pick up one of the standard Roku IR remotes so that I can disable wireless on the box. It's a shame as with the Ethernet I'm getting the full 720p on the Now TV channels & the 4K HDR on Netflix.

RoyB
Legend

@schnapps @Anonymous User 

 

He doesn’t want to use it because he want to turn off the powerful 5Ghz WiFi signal the box is broadcasting, because this swamps his router and his access points, and Roku are telling him he can’t turn it off, as it is needed for the operation of his Smart remote.

 

I am utterly confused; I’m running three Sticks, one of them a Roku 4K Stick, all on smart remotes, and all are working without a peep of broadcast WiFi from any of them.

 

So why would the NowTV 4K box require this?

 

@schnapps , is your 4K box putting out WiFi? (which can be seen as an SSID with DIRECT in the name, on other devices which can show candidate networks you can join?

 

And if it does, does that WiFi swamp other devices? I thought the whole point of the 5Ghz band was that you got many more separate channels than on 2.4Ghz, and so a search with WiFi Analyzer or a similar Android app (as Apple don’t let iOS apps do this) would show the various signal strengths and channels in use, and if it turns out there is more than one device on a given 5Ghz channel, then the channel could be changed, on one or more devices, to separate them.

 

Then it wouldn’t matter what the smart box is doing.

 

The third thing that confuses me is that I’m pretty sure one of my NowTV Sticks, when I was setting it up for the very first time and we happened to be in a hotel, put out a DIRECT signal that I used in setup; but once I was setup, it ceased to be.

 

And I’m wondering if @Anonymous User @has a box that hasn’t quite completed setup, hence this signal still going?

 

So many questions, so much confusion.....

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @RoyB 

 

Just scanned for wifi networks on my tablet and yes i can see a SSID name with Roku direct on it.

 

My NowTV 4K Smart box is in the Living Room about 3 metres away from my NowTV Router and the wifi seems pretty stable to me on the various devices that are dotted around the house.