Orbi RBR20 Roku Problem

Hey all,

My apologies if this is a duplicate post. I thought I posted this question already, but must have never hit submit because I can't find it now.

So, I recently bought an Orbi RBR20 with 2 satellites and they work great for everything except for my Roku Ultra's. For some reason, when I try to connect a Roku to the Orbi, it thinks I'm either in a hotel or college dorm. If I tell it I'm home it will connect to the network, but not the internet. My ISP IS Google Fiber. I have full connectivity through the Google WiFi router, but not everywhere in the house, which is why I bought the Orbi.

I have scoured the Internet for the last couple hours and appears I'm the only one experiencing this problem or I'm too dense to figure it out.

I put a similar post on the Roku Community site about a week and a half ago and still have no replies.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

cobra427dan
Feb 20, 2020
CrimpOn,

I THOUGHT I replied, but don't see my reply now, SO, the factory reset worked perfectly!

After the reset I went through the connection setup and when the "college/dorm" or "home" question popped up I selected "home" and BINGO, streaming beautifully.

I thank you and so does my son since it's in his room!

SOLVED!

9 Replies

CrimpOn
Guru - Experienced User
Feb 15, 2020
My Roku is in a box (somewhere). I do not remember this question coming up when I used it last. However, when I searched for "Roku college dorm", this popped up: https://support.roku.com/article/215058118-how-do-i-use-hotel-dorm-connect-to-connect-to-the-internet-

What I gather after reading this, is that Roku has an option to carry it away from home and use it at various places. This guide (above) leads me to believe that "Hotel or College" is a question and what you want to do is ignore it.

My Roku worked great on Orbi, and the only questions people have raised recently are in the context of Bitdefender Armor causing problems for Spectrum Cable users.
- cobra427dan
  Aspirant
  Feb 15, 2020
  OK, hmmm. The problem is there is no way to ignore it because I can't get past the "college/dorm" pop up. If I just close out of the process I end up with no connection. I'm not a hardcore tech guy, but I can usually hold my own. I'm wondering if it might have something to do with the MAC addresses?
  
  Well, the mystery continues.
  
  Thanks for the info.
  - plemans
    Guru - Experienced User
    Feb 15, 2020
    You put that it works fine on the google router?
    Are you running a google fiber router plus Orbi? What model google fiber box do you have the orbi connected to?
    If so you either need the google fiber box in passthrough mode/modem only mode or you'd need the orbi in AP mode.
CrimpOn
Guru - Experienced User
Feb 15, 2020
cobra427dan wrote:
For some reason, when I try to connect a Roku to the Orbi, it thinks I'm either in a hotel or college dorm. If I tell it I'm home it will connect to the network, but not the internet.
This seems inconsistent with a later post:
cobra427dan wrote:
I can't get past the "college/dorm" pop up. If I just close out of the process I end up with no connection.
I am trying to imagine what could cause the Orbi to pop up the question in the first place. I have a hunch that the Roku has connected to WiFi and is not able to reach "Mama Roku" to check in (ask about firmware updates, etc.) and has concluded, "Oh. I must be connected to one of those WiFi networks where the user has to check some box or something to get access."

When "Access Control" is turned on and the default is to "Block all new devices from connecting", the device will actually connect to the Orbi and get an IP address, but will be prevented from accessing anything (internet and other devices on the LAN).

Could you please humor an old geek and check on the Orbi web interface "Attached Devices" screen and see (a) if Access Control is on or off, and (b) if there is any mention on the Roku of being Blocked (or "Paused").

Thanks
- cobra427dan
  Aspirant
  Feb 18, 2020
  CrimpOn & plemans,
  
  On the Orbi interface the Roku shows as being connected and having internet access and isn’t blocked or paused.
  
  Oddly enough we have our 5th wheel parked on our property with a cat 6 cable running to an old NETGEAR WiFi extender and I get the same popup out there, but I can select “Home” and it works just fine.
  
  Does being on 2.4GHz versus 5GHz have anything to do with it?
  
  I’m stumped and incredibly frustrated.
  
  I really appreciate
  - cobra427dan
    Aspirant
    Feb 18, 2020
    plemans,
    
    Sorry I forgot to address your question.
    
    Yes, the Orbi is connected via cat 6 to the Google router.

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Orbi RBR20 Roku Problem