ROKU acting up

[Jerry1]

When I turn on my tv (with the ROKU remote) it comes on but then my tv turns off then back on again maybe a couple times. Then, sometimes the tv stays off after a couple cycles and sometimes it comes on and the ROKU Home Screen is there.

It kinda looks like it’s going through an update like when my computer reboots a couple times when it’s doing an update. I’ve tried making sure my tv and the ROKU device are both up to date and all appearances are that they are running the latest update but this “process” keeps happening.

Is anyone else seeing this with your ROKU? Or, any ideas what could be going on?

FWIW, it’s doing this on both my TVs which obviously have their own ROKU sticks (same model).

 

[Qs Laptop]

When I turn on my tv (with the ROKU remote) it comes on but then my tv turns off then back on again maybe a couple times. Then, sometimes the tv stays off after a couple cycles and sometimes it comes on and the ROKU Home Screen is there.

It kinda looks like it’s going through an update like when my computer reboots a couple times when it’s doing an update. I’ve tried making sure my tv and the ROKU device are both up to date and all appearances are that they are running the latest update but this “process” keeps happening.

Is anyone else seeing this with your ROKU? Or, any ideas what could be going on?

FWIW, it’s doing this on both my TVs which obviously have their own ROKU sticks (same model).

Odd that it's happening with both Roku sticks. Are you using the same remote on both TV's?

Try replacing the batteries in the remote.

I had something similar happen with my Hisense Roku TV (built in Roku, no stick.) The TV would turn itself on in the middle of the night! I replaced the batteries in the remote and no more ghostly power ups in the middle of the night.

 

[Car-Guy]

Just checked mine. Working perfectly.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I had a similar problem with my Roku TV remote a couple of years ago, the TV just went crazy and it had done an update the day before if I remember correctly and it was changing channels and powering off and on on it's own. I ended up downloading the Roku remote app onto a spare phone to check if my remote was the problem and it was, the app version worked perfectly. I jumped on Amazon and ordered a generic one for $7 and had it the next day and am still using it to this day. Resetting your TV might also solve the problem but I was not willing to try that and lose all my settings.
Strange that both TV's are doing it though.

 

[Jerry1]

Different remotes but both TV’s are Samsung. One remote is only a couple months old because I had to get a new stick as the old one went bad (had trouble connecting). The new remote has an internal rechargeable battery. The old one uses batteries (I use Eneloops).

The only other thing I can think of is that I might have an internet connection problem. I’ve been noticing lately the my internet is dropping out intermittently - for very short times. Maybe that’s causing issues. I don’t know. I may try resetting everything. Thankfully, I don’t have much on my tv or ROKU that would make it too difficult to just reset.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Different remotes but both TV’s are Samsung. One remote is only a couple months old because I had to get a new stick as the old one went bad (had trouble connecting). The new remote has an internal rechargeable battery. The old one uses batteries (I use Eneloops).

The only other thing I can think of is that I might have an internet connection problem. I’ve been noticing lately the my internet is dropping out intermittently - for very short times. Maybe that’s causing issues. I don’t know. I may try resetting everything. Thankfully, I don’t have much on my tv or ROKU that would make it too difficult to just reset.

Internet connection problems would not cause your TV to turn off and on.

Try this: Pull your Roku stick out of the HDMI input on the TV. Then power on your TV with the Samsung remote, just to see if the TV turns off and then turns on/off again. If it continues with this on/off cycling with the Roku stick not attached then it's likely not the Roku stick.

 

[Jerry1]

Internet connection problems would not cause your TV to turn off and on.

Try this: Pull your Roku stick out of the HDMI input on the TV. Then power on your TV with the Samsung remote, just to see if the TV turns off and then turns on/off again. If it continues with this on/off cycling with the Roku stick not attached then it's likely not the Roku stick.

Good idea. I’ll do that and report back. Since it doesn’t happen every time, it might take awhile to confirm.

 

[MissMolly]

You can also try disconnecting the Roku from its power source. Wait 15 minutes and plug it back in. That has worked for me in the past when having a Roku issue.

 

[target2019]

Turn off Roku device (or remove stick). Unplug the TV. If you have the Roku box then unplug that too. For your case, put the stick back in and boot.

I remember that dying batteries caused problems in my Roke remote for days, then gave up completely. So replace those batteries. Might be a reset button on the remote to pair again.

About a month ago I had problems with LG TV. We had a power failure and it must have had a lingering memory effect. Only unplugging it really cleared memory. That remedy was nowhere to be found.

 

[Jerry1]

I’m pretty sure it’s the remote. It started experiencing other issues like dropping the ability to adjust the sound intermittently. Got in touch with ROKU and I should have a new remote in a couple days.

I also did some troubleshooting by turning my tv on with the original remote and when doing so, I did not experience the on/off/reboot issue.

 

[JoeWras]

My only problem with Roku has been low batteries on the remote. Things get really weird. New batteries and unplugging and replugging fix it.

There is one other very important thing to think about.

Roku has a proprietary way to build apps. Companies like Paramount, NBC, Netflix, and Disney can and will "turn off their app" on Roku.

This is a problem. I am not happy about it.

I am a huge Roku fan. It is my most reliable streamer. But I keep a Google and Fire device available as back up because of this nonsense. The disputes are very similar to the dispute going on with Disney and Comcast right now. It can happen with a streaming device too! That's not OP's problem, because they don't turn it off for one person.

Here's a bit about Roku's dispute with Disney last year: https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/09/disneys-ad-supported-plan-unavailable-on-roku-devices/

 

[disneysteve]

The only problem we have with one of our two Roku TVs is that sometimes when we turn it on, there’s no sound. We have to unplug it or use the “secret” remote code I learned on YouTube to get the sound back.