Hello @David_Proud,
Thank you for following up.
To answer your question, Background Work refers to the automated tasks Roon performs behind the scenes, such as analyzing your music files for volume leveling and scanning for metadata.
- You can find this by opening your Roon Remote app and going to Settings > Library.
- Look for Background Audio Analysis Speed and On-Demand Audio Analysis Speed.
- If your Nucleus is working hard to process a lot of local files, setting these to “Throttled” or “Off” can free up resources and immediately speed up your app’s performance.
Regarding the network issues Connor mentioned, we pulled a fresh set of diagnostic logs today to see how things are looking. We are currently seeing specific network errors, namely Network is unreachable and No route to host, when your Nucleus tries to communicate with Roon’s cloud servers.
In plain English, this means the Nucleus is asking your Xfinity router for a pathway to the internet (to download artwork, metadata, and load pages), and the router is failing to provide that pathway. This perfectly explains the greyed-out artwork and slow loading times you are experiencing.
04/20 13:25:52 [Local 04/20 08:25:52] Warn: [easyhttp] [5686] POST https://api.roonlabs.net/metadata/1/tracks/translate?c=qobuz-us&tidal=max check network configuration: socketerr (NetworkUnreachable): Network is unreachable (104.20.47.62:443)
04/20 13:23:50 [Local 04/20 08:23:50] Warn: [easyhttp] [5678] POST https://api.roonlabs.net/device-map/1/register check network configuration: socketerr (HostUnreachable): No route to host (104.20.47.62:443)
Since you mentioned there are no mesh systems or secondary routers, and the Nucleus is plugged directly into your Xfinity modem/router, let’s do a basic “plumbing” check on that connection:
- Reboot the Xfinity Router: Unplug it from power for about 30 seconds, then plug it back in. This clears out its routing tables and often fixes lingering connection hiccups.
- Swap the Ethernet Port: Try plugging the Nucleus into a different LAN port on the back of the Xfinity router. Occasionally, a single port can become faulty.
- Swap the Ethernet Cable: If you have a spare Ethernet cable lying around, please try swapping it out to rule out a physically damaged wire.
Additionally, such behaviour may be caused by the failed DNS path.
Here’s a step-by-step on how to change the DNS settings on your Nucleus:
Open a web browser on a device connected to the same network as your Nucleus.
- Enter the IP address of your Nucleus in the address bar.
- If you don’t know the IP address:
- Open the Roon app.
- Go to Settings > Setup > Find Nucleus.
- Note the IP address shown for the Nucleus.
- Alternatively, use
http://nucleus.local/ (on macOS or Windows with Bonjour installed).
- Log into the Web Interface:
- Once the web page loads, you’ll see the Nucleus web administration interface.
- Change the DNS Settings:
- Scroll down to the Networking section.
- If the Nucleus is using DHCP:
- Note that you cannot directly edit DNS settings under DHCP. You will need to switch to a static IP to specify custom DNS servers.
- Switch to a Static IP:
- Click on the Configure or Edit option under networking.
- Enter the current network settings for your Nucleus (IP address, subnet mask, gateway) manually. These can often be found in your router’s settings or your current DHCP lease information.
- Specify Custom DNS Servers:
- Add DNS servers in the relevant fields. Common choices:
- Google DNS:
8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
- Cloudflare DNS:
1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
- OpenDNS:
208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
- Save and Apply Changes:
- Click Save or Apply to confirm your new settings.
Restart the Nucleus (make sure Roon Server is stopped) and let me know if you continue to experience stoppages when streaming
Please give these steps a try and let us know if the UI speeds up and the artwork populates!
