Call 1-866-662-0397 | Roku Support - Roku not connecting to WiFi

When trying to connect to the Wifi, the Roku device shows you a list of all available WiFi networks. You need to pick your network and then type in the password for your WiFi. However, sometimes the WiFi might not connect or Roku players that have been working fine in the past might start showing “Not Connected” on the home screen. These devices would then give you an error code when trying to connect to your wifi. So, if your Roku is not connecting to wifi, here is a list of all Network related Error Codes followed by best practices on how to resolve the Roku Error Codes and finally resolve roku not connecting to wifi issue.

Error codes like 001, 003, 005, 009, 011, 012, 013, 014, 14.20, 14.30, 14.40, 14.41, and 14.50, 016, 017, 018 are most common and pop up on your screen in case if there are any issues with the Internet connection.

These error codes try to reflect for us the primary cause of the Roku not connecting to wifi. We need to identify these error codes and accordingly sort the issue. Please look below to find the roku error codes and what they mean. Further down, you will find the proper way to resolve Roku wifi error codes.

What to do if your Roku is not connecting to the wifi?

If your Roku device is not connecting to the wifi, please refer to the following guide to diagnose and fix the issue.

Check the signal strength of the wifi: On the network selection screen, there is a wifi symbol next to the wifi name, this symbol demonstrates the network strength and quality that the Roku is able to receive from your router. Please make sure to select a network with at least medium quality or you will have playback issues on the Roku. If the 5G network has a low quality, shift to the 2.4G connection, the streaming will work just fine. It is possible your Roku is placed in a Wifi dead spot. Try and move the Roku a few inches and see if the signal strength changes. If it does not, you need to change the location of the Roku player or your router or you can use a wifi range extender or repeater to increase the signal strength in this location.

Verify you are using the correct WiFi password: I know it sounds silly and a bit insulting but, we are humans after all and can make mistakes. So just to ensure we don’t spend a lot of time trying to troubleshoot the wifi, please cross reference the Wifi name(SSID) and password(pre-shared key or passphrase) from the WiFi router. You will find a sticker on the back of the router with the default Wifi name and password printed on it. And I have noticed in my career that people will often just use the default name and password. Also check if the case you are typing in is correct as the wifi password is case sensitive.

Check if other devices on the same network have internet access: Before troubleshooting the Roku, I advise you to check your other devices, preferably a computer or cell phone that is connected to the same internet connection or the same wifi and confirm if it is able to access the internet by opening a public website like www.roku.com. If your other devices are able to access the internet, move on to the next step.

Restart your devices: The most basic troubleshooting for any electronic device is to power it down and then restart it. In this case unplug the power cable for the Roku player, unplug the power cable for the internet router or the home gateway. Wait a complete minute. Plug in the power cable for the internet router, wait for all the lights to stabilise. Check that your other devices are able to connect to the wifi and have internet access. Plug in the power cable for the Roku player and try to reconnect the wifi. In most cases, this is all the troubleshooting you would need. If this helps, I recommend you to make it a habit to restart your router once a week. However, if you are still not able to connect, move on to the next step.

Check the Roku Error code displayed on your screen: If even after a reboot of your devices, you are still not able to connect the Roku Player to the wifi, you might have to work a bit more on the connection and things are about to get technical. The Roku device will display a wifi error code on your television screen. Make a note of this error code and also note the MAC address or the physical address as written in the message. The MAC address will be an alphanumeric string in the format “XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX”. You need to assign this Mac address a permanent local IP and probably DMZ it. Read on.

Get on a computer and do the network setup: Refer to our Ultimate Home Router Setup Guide where we explain router setup and configuration from the ground up to understand how you need to work through this. Or you could just call the ISP and holler at them for an hour and get a technician to visit you.

Roku Error Codes

Roku Error codes give us an insight into the primary issue behind the roku not connecting to wifi. Here is a list of the error codes and why they generally appear according to our experience. Please not that our explanation might not match what Roku says as we explain things from our point of view and that is normally not what companies believe to be true.

Roku Error Code 001

Roku error code 001 indicates that the Roku player was able to connect to the internet but was not able to update the software of the player, either due to a loss of connection or due to connectivity issues. If you face Roku error 001, please restart your router, wait 3 to 5 minutes and then restart your roku. Attempt the connection again and you should be able to get the update. However, if the error code persists, i recommend changing the DNS on your router to a public DNS. This should resolve the issue. However do a speedcheck of your internet connection as well. A general rule of thumb, based on regular usage ensure you have enough bandwidth (internet speed) for all devices together, estimate that each device uses atleast 5Mbps of bandwidth when on. So if you have ten devices on your wifi, make sure you have a 50 Mbps connection.

Roku Error Code 003

Roku error 003 also comes up when trying to activate a Roku device or when trying to update one. This is not a well documented error but from my experience check the following three:

Network signal strength: Make sure your roku is getting adequate wifi signal strength or it would just keep throwing random errors and be a bit moody. Also do not use the guest network.
Network Encryption type: Ensure the network is using WPA2-AES as encryption type for the wifi. Well that will improve both wifi speed and security but yes any ancient device manufactured before 2006 might fall offline.
Domain Name Server: Well for every internet transaction, DNS is the first step, so DNS speed matters.

Roku Error Code 005

The Roku error code 005 comes up during a software update, if the update process gets interrupted by either a loss of connection of a sudden and sever degradation of internet.

This can also be fixed by restarting the router and trying again.

Roku Error Code 009

The Roku Error code 009 means that the Roku is able to connect to the router but, it is not able to connect to the internet. The code itself implies that you are using the correct password for the wifi but, either the network setting are incorrect or, your internet is not working. However, this might also be evidence of throttling of media streaming devices by your internet provider. This could be true in cases where the internet provider is also a large cable service provider.

In order to fix Roku error 009, first check if your internet is working on other devices on the same wifi. Go through the general troubleshooting of restarting all devices and retrying. If you are still getting Roku error code 009, get on a computer and open the configuration for your router. Here make the changes according to our Home Router Setup guide and also change the DNS to some public DNS and you will be able to rectify the issue.

Roku Error Code 011

Roku Error code 011 denotes an inability to update the system software of Roku due to the update server being unreachable. This can have two reasons behind it.

The Roku update server is down. To check it, visit www.roku.com and you would see a notice there that tells you that the software update server is down indeed.
The router configure or a network firewall is blocking the roku from accessing the update server. Incase if you have a network firewall active, please check its settings else follow our home network guide to rectify this issue. This guide will tell you exactly how to setup the router to allow all devices to connect properly.

Roku Error Code 012

Roku error code 012 is purely seen when trying to connect to internet using an ethernet cable. Due to limited documentation from Roku on this error and limited real world experience with this, I will list only the most obvious troubleshooting for this error code. If you face Roku Error Code 012 and are not able to resolve it, consult with us in the comments section and we shall work with you to rectify the issue and also learn about it and publish here for others to benefit from it.

In order to resolve the Roku Error Code 012, first check the same ethernet cable with a desktop and laptop and see if internet is available through the cable. If the computer connects fine using this cable then you need to do some network setup on your router. However, if even your computer is not able to connect using this able, please try another cable. This should resolve this issue.

Roku Error Code 013

Roku error code 013 is purely seen when trying to connect to internet using an ethernet cable. Due to limited documentation from Roku on this error and limited real world experience with this, I will list only the most obvious troubleshooting for this error code. If you face Roku Error Code 013 and are not able to resolve it, consult with us in the comments section and we shall work with you to rectify the issue and also learn about it and publish here for others to benefit from it.

In order to resolve the Roku Error Code 013, first check the same ethernet cable with a desktop and laptop and see if internet is available through the cable. If the computer connects fine using this cable then you need to do some network setup on your router. However, if even your computer is not able to connect using this able, please try another cable. This should resolve this issue.

Roku Error Code 014

Roku Error Code 014 is the most commonly occurring error code on Roku and Roku enabled Televisions. This error code denotes a problem with the wifi connection. There are a number of sub-errors like error code 014.10, error code 014.20 etc. All these denote different reasons as to why the connection to wifi failed. The most common reason for the connection to fail is that the wifi password entered is incorrect. Please recheck the password once before going further. If you are still facing issues connecting to the wifi ensure the following:

Recheck the wireless name: It is entirely possible you are trying to connect to the wrong wifi. Please recheck the wireless name from the router
Recheck wireless password: The common reason why people face error code 014 is because of an incorrect wireless passphrase. Please recheck it before doing anything else
Restart your Router: In cases where the router is over burdened, the router can stop assigning new local ip to devices or simply the DHCP server of the router can fail. Restart the router to rectify this issue.
Check to Router Firewall: Please tune down the router firewall once to check if you have a firewall issue.
Enable UPNP: UPNP is a router feature that allows the router to automatically manage port opening and closing for different devices and applications. You can enable it in the router settings.

If you are still facing the error code 014 on the Roku, please read our home network setup guide in order to rectify it.

Roku Error Code 016

Roku error code 016 comes on the screen if you abruptly loose wifi connection. This error will most often come up on a working Roku. Most of the time, it can be resolved by restarting the router. Also check, if the other devices have internet service on the wifi. It may be a case of your internet being down.

Roku Error Code 017

Roku error code 017 represents a low wireless signal. WiFi is a radio signal and can be easily blocked by the surroundings of the router or the Roku. In case if you get error code 017 try to move the roku a few inches and see if that resolves the issue. The Roku might have been in a dead zone. Second, you can invest in a wifi range extender. This device helps amplify the wireless signal by repeating the WiFi and is often called a WiFi Repeater.

Roku Error Code 018

Roku error code 018 comes up when the Roku identifies a drop in internet speed. The Roku realistically needs about 5 Mbps of speed individually. If you have too many devices using the same internet, the speed then drops and this causes the Roku to throw error code 018. Please check your current internet speed by visiting www.fast.com or www.speedtest.net.