Fix Bad Mac Address on ROKU TV

by ScottK29 in Circuits > Wireless

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Fix Bad Mac Address on ROKU TV

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I bout a ROKU TV and about 6 months into it I could no longer connect to the INTERNET with it. Showed a Mac address of All ZEROS. frustrating as it is the fix is pretty simple. After doing some research I found out that all ROKU TV's had something in common all of them have the same WI-FI card made at ROKU. I decided to dig deeper looking at the chip itself and discovered a lack of or not good enough grounding so I decided to try this .....

Unscrewing the Back

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very strait forward 1st unscrew the area where you put your connections in then undo the screws were the speakers are located. This is where the card is located

Identify the Chip

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The chips look the same throughout the different devices.
on it will identify ROKU and a Mac address and you should see an antenna

Solder a Ground to the Chip Housing

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Yes you read correctly. Get a piece of braided wire (make sure you tin the end before soldering to housing). lightly sand the metal to scuff up the chip housing for better connection. then do a quick solder connecting wire and housing being carful not to over heat the chip. (if you damage you can get a new one online @ e-bay for about $10) I also coted connection with a few licks of Fingernail polish to prevent oxidization in the future.
Then on the other end of ground I created a loop and tinned it to create a hole the screw can go through.

Put It All Back Together

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I put the screw back into the plastic housing and threaded the wire on to the screw.

Then I reattached everything

Your Set to Go

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you will now be able to find wi-fi connection and be able to log into your account again. YAY

Thank you for looking at my very first instructable hope I can get better and share more with you in the future.