Forum Discussion

grabo's avatar
grabo
Binge Watcher
2 years ago

Live TV does not work in Guest Mode

I have five TCL Roku TVs at a vacation rental property - all are in Guest Mode.

I have a Roku Streaming Stick here at home. I also have a much older Roku at another location.

All devices exhibit the exact same behavior below.

When devices are in Guest Mode, and ONLY when they are in Guest Mode, no "Live TV" channels work. The error message is simply "There is a problem connecting to the network. Please check your network settings." with no error code.

However, I can install other channels (youtube, plex, etc) just fine and they work fine.

If I disable Guest Mode, Live TV works fine.

I started a support chat and the only suggestions were to restart my routers (at three locations?) and reset the network connections on the Roku devices. Obviously, that's not the problem.

As an aside - I noticed when installing Plex in Guest Mode that it doesn't allow me to 'activate' using a sign-in on my mobile device - the error that comes up says something along the lines of 'this is not supported in guest mode', and I have to sign in using the plex app on Roku using username/password. Perhaps related or perhaps not, but it's also an issue with Guest Mode. I think I remember seeing this with Pandora, too.

6 Replies

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  • RokuERey's avatar
    RokuERey
    Retired Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi grabo,

    Thanks for reaching us here in the Roku Community! 

    Live TV is available in guest mode. It looks like we need to take a closer look into this, and we'll need your help. We recommend first accessing it using an alternative network, such as a mobile hotspot. If you see the same issue, please get back here and report the details below (at least one report details). 

    We look forward to hearing back from you.

    Thanks,

    Rey

    • grabo's avatar
      grabo
      Binge Watcher
      2 years ago

      Hi RokuERey,

      Thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand what you're asking here.

      I've already tried on multiple networks. In three different locations (in different cities). With multiple different devices (old Roku, new Stick, and five TCL TVs). When in Guest Mode, the error pops up and Live TV doesn't work. When not in Guest Mode, Live TV works fine.

       

      • RokuERey's avatar
        RokuERey
        Retired Moderator
        2 years ago

        Thanks for the update, grabo!

        We'll forward this case to the right team, and we'll get back to you. In addition to the statement missing, see the details below.

        • Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About) 
        • Tracker ID when this issue occurs (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button 5 times, followed by the Back button 5 times, and provide us with this ID).

        You can provide any of those reports on your Roku devices.

        Thanks,

        Rey

  • RokuERey's avatar
    RokuERey
    Retired Moderator
    2 years ago

    Thanks for the update, grabo!

    We also reviewed your account, and we have made an update about this issue. We'll forward this to the appropriate Roku team for further investigation.

    In the meantime, your patience and understanding is much appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Rey

    • grabo's avatar
      grabo
      Binge Watcher
      2 years ago

      Thanks for the update.

      While I'm not sure if your comment "we have made an update" means that any changes on the backend were made, I tried putting my Streaming Stick into Guest Mode (via the Roku webpage) and try it again.

      It wouldn't go into Guest Mode. It would repeatedly restart, say it was installing updates, and then restart with a "networking error". Even after successfully connecting to WiFi, this loop kept going.

      "Factory Reset" was also an option, so I chose that, and the device came back up as normal. I then put it in Guest Mode from the UI, and Live TV worked while in Guest Mode.

      Is this "fixed"? I won't be able to check my other devices anytime soon.