Roku Antenna 2 Reporting 0 Signal – What does it mean?

You might find your way to Roku’s Wireless Secret Screen to find that Antenna 2 is showing a value of zero.

Does 0 signal strength mean the Roku device is broken?

The answer is no. Read on to find out more.

Roku has a number of streaming devices. All of them support Wi-Fi connectivity.

However the Roku Express 3930CA only supports 2.4 GHz band while the Roku Express 4K 3940CA supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

Since the Roku Express supports only a single 2.4 GHz frequency band with the 802.11 b/g/n standard, it only has one antenna. This is why Antenna 2 is reporting a power level of zero (0), while Antenna 1 is showing a non-zero power level.

The Roku Express 4K and other products including Streaming Stick, Streambar and Ultra support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Therefore they have two internal antennas – one for each band. The secret screen will therefore report power levels for both antennas.

Why is a different antenna required for each frequency band?

The physical dimensions of an antenna depends on its frequency range. An antenna for 2.4 GHz will be larger than one designed for 5 GHz. A single antenna cannot be used for both frequency ranges.

Use the Dipole Antenna Length Calculator to find the difference in lengths between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz antennas.

Frequency (MHz)Antenna Length (inches)
24502.29
50001.12

Related reading