Hey LDF
Thanks for the update!
You can try these steps during playback: Press the pause button. The status bar will appear with options for captions and audio tracks. Select that option and turn off the captions. Then let us know how it goes!
Thanks,
Roku Community Team
And How come nobody from Roku responded to my post ???
I use Roku through a smart TV app and cannot turn off the closed caption.
Edit (updated):
Unfortunately, I didn't see your original post bmhoward3 in which you stated that you did use a Roku APP version 1.0.73 until after I replied to this post; perhaps in the future, LDF can reply on the same thread to avoid confusion. So I have deleted my original reply post. I didn't realize that Sony TV's were able to download Roku channel apps after seeing that streamable article. Now I'm wondering if this article is more recent than your TV's, meaning Sony may no longer support the Roku channel on its TVs, but I don't know how old your TV is or how old that article is.
I also didn't realize your original post was almost a year old.
If your app hasn't been fixed or updated and is still on version 1.0.73 after this amount of time -- this is the potential problem with smart TVs (especially older smart TVs) in which the channel apps on them can stop being maintained as they slowly become outdated with no newer updates to fix issues, and after a while, the channel app may stop working.
This closed caption issue may have been the first sign that this app is no longer being maintained on your smart TV as 1.0.73 may have been the final update. This is what happened to my old smart TV which just lost app functionality over time. I fixed my app issues by purchasing a Roku device that I plug into my TV, and all of my channels continue to stay up to date, and if there are issues then they are usually resolved quickly.
Even if the streaming device goes out of date (which has yet to happen to my Roku 3 which I've had for over a decade and it still updates just fine, while my older Roku 1 is now a brick) then it's still cheaper to purchase a newer streaming device than a brand new smart TV when a company may decide to stop updating it to goad the consumer into purchasing a newer model.
If you don't want to purchase a streaming device because it's just this channel giving you issues and the rest of your channels update fine, then as I said in my original post, you can use a computer or a smart device such as a tablet to cast the Roku channel to your TV if you don't want to see the closed captions. But after a year and no replies means that this issue probably won't be fixed, unfortunately, and over time you may end up losing the ability to use this app on your smart TV. You either have to use workarounds or purchase a streaming device that you can connect to your TV like I had to do.
Why would I buy a streaming device when I can save money and use the ROKU TV app on my Sony smart TV for free ?
I started this post a year ago and somebody else replied they are using a Sony Bravia smart TV as well and are having the same issue. What was the response? First a year to respond but we were told on on our Roku remote which myself and the other user clearly sated that we are using the app on our smart TV and not a ROKU streaming device.
Thanks for clarifying your post bmhoward3, and I'm sorry no one responded to you all for nearly a year.
While I was writing this, I saw that RokuRhea-V posted about a potential solution that you all could have overlooked by being able to turn off closed captioning after pressing pause while watching the channel's content, but you said LDF, "I can find captioning but it doesn't have an option to turn off the captioning." I may have misinterpreted what you wrote, but I understand this to mean that when you tried this after pressing pause, the closed caption option may not have been functional due to a technical issue. Am I wrong about that? Perhaps doing this will fix your issue after all.
However, if I'm not wrong, my assumption, as I stated above, backed up by an article I posted a link to in my post above, is that after a year of you all having this issue, this may be because your Roku channel app may no longer be supported by Sony. If I'm right, this would mean that the app is not being updated and therefore the issue cannot be resolved remotely since Roku can't send you an update patch. Hopefully, I'm wrong as perhaps the issue can be resolved if the above solution has worked for you all. But I'm assuming, especially after a year of you all having this issue, that this hasn't been resolved because the version may be stuck on 1.0.73.
I hope I'm wrong and you were able to resolve this with the above suggestion from RokuRhea-V, but if what I'm saying is true, then you have a few options; none of them are great.
1) If pausing the app's content and changing the closed captions setting doesn't work for you all, you could do nothing and try to ignore the closed captions because at least you can continue using this app to watch free TV.
2) If your smart TV has a browser, you can try this workaround by typing in therokuchannel.roku.com and see if that works. Unfortunately, you won't be able to use your TV remote and have to rely on a mouse and keyboard which could be clunky.
3) If your smart TV's browser isn't all that functional, there might be a way to connect a computer directly or wirelessly to your TV, then go to the website therokuchannel.roku.com and watch it that way. Again, you would need a keyboard and a mouse.
4) If you have a smart device like a phone or tablet, you could download the Roku Channel app on that and allow that to wirelessly connect to your TV. Unlike your TV (unless I'm wrong about the Roku Channel app no longer being supported on your smart TV), the smart device (unless it's ancient) will be able to support newer versions of the Roku Channel app. Then at least you could use the tablet or phone as a remote.
5) Find a different FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) app that allows you to watch free TV (and is supported by your Sony TV with current updates). The Roku Channel app was nice at one point, but now, if I'm right about this -- especially after a year of you all having to deal with this issue, the app might not be supported anymore on your Sony TV (if the above solutions failed to work for you all), so there must be other FAST apps on the app store that you can use to watch free TV. The problem with this is that the shows you watch on The Roku Channel might not be on those other FAST apps.
6) If all the above solutions have failed you all, you have to make a decision: If you find other FAST channels aren't to your liking because they don't have the shows you watch on the Roku Channel, can you live with your free current setup even though you have to deal with closed captions?
The problem you all may have run into (if I'm right about this) is that over time with smart technology, even though there is plenty of free (FAST) content, devices stop being supported and you have to buy a new device by paying a one-time fee so that you can continue to use that technology. There are other options such as OTA (over the air) in which you can purchase an antenna and watch free TV that way, but again you won't be able to watch Roku Channel content, and I've heard that OTA technology may be changing, rendering my OTA digital TV converter box obsolete in the upcoming years, so I would have to purchase a new one to continue watching free TV that way.
If all the above solutions have failed you, I see on the Roku website (as of 4/9/25) that you can get an express for $19.99 (not including tax). Would a one-time fee of $20 be suitable for you all to be able to continue watching The Roku Channel for free without the hassle of seeing closed captions? Another option is to buy an antenna, so you can watch free TV over the air, but again you won't be able to watch the Roku Channel, and that might be more costly than $20. If you just don't want to fork out the $20, perhaps you could find someone who could give you a free used Roku or other such streaming device. I was fortunate enough to get my Roku 3 for free through my cable provider, but that deal is long gone, so I'm not sure how you would go about doing that.
If the above potential solutions have failed you, you might have to resort to one of those options, and if you decide not to do anything, I hope you don't have the same issue that I had with my (now) ancient smart TV in which the channel apps just stopped working.
I'm sorry I can't give you a better option that would stop the closed captioning from appearing if all other solutions from above have failed, but that's unfortunately how it is unless I'm wrong and it really is just a matter of either pausing the app and finding the closed caption option (which perhaps you all overlooked) or having to uninstall the current app and then downloading a newer version of that app if that option is now available after almost a year has passed since the previous thread on this topic was posted.
It's the channel does not have the option is the number one solution and second to wait a year for a response is unacceptable plus why would I go out and but a box when I can just watch it through the free TV app.
