Media player won't work for my roku 3 after the last update

Have the RMP version 11 and my WD 256GB external drive no longer works. It has worked for over a year until the new version was released. then overnight it stopped working. very frustrating as my kids have a lot of shows on the HD that are no longer available to us. 

I didn't check the existing drives. However, I did format a different 32GB drive as NTFS and it didn't work. Formatting it again as FAT32 did make it work.

Willyb88 what model Roku player do you have? Not the name, the model number please. And the latest RMP version is 5.5 build 13. I believe you mean you received the Roku OS 11.0 update.

As a workaround, you could plug your hard drive into a computer and use DLNA to stream the media. Under Windows, the functionality is built into their Windows Media Player. It's a lousy DLNA server, but since you could play the media directly from a connected drive your media must all be in a Roku supported format, so transcoding wouldn't be needed. You could also use Serviio (free DLNA server), Plex (free, provides its own Roku channel or it can serve via DLNA), Emby (uses its own Roku channel), or some other free DLNA servers available on the Internet. If you don't use Windows, there are many options for Mac and Linux available, including the three I mentioned above.

As a possible benefit for you, serving your media from a computer makes it available to any compatible player on your network. Almost every Smart TV has DLNA functionality built in, they virtually all have Plex apps, and many Blu Ray players support DLNA as well. There are also many player apps for phones and tablets. That way you can watch any media on the drive from multiple devices at the same time.

atc98092 Thanks for the response. My model is 4230X-Roku 3. 

you are right about the OS. Apologies for my error. 

As for the dlna, i can set that up at home but the issue i am running into is we are traveling soon in an RV and i was going to take the roku 3 to use on the tv in the RV. plug the hard drive in and we have the kids shows. No i am looking to spend money on a work around for the trip as most of it we will not have access to wifi. 

Looking for something that can create its own network without the need to connect to wifi. That way we can set up a server of sorts in the RV. Not sure if that all makes sense but that is the route i am currently headed. Just need to find the device. 

No, it makes perfect sense. I completely understand your need. While your Roku is still "officially" supported, it is now seven years old, and some channel providers no longer support it. Still, you're stuck with finding a solution for your travels. If you have any sort of Internet available wherever you are, you could connect to Plex from your home system. I use a Roku Stick for that exact purpose when I travel. But if you don't have a connection, that's no help. 

The only player that I have personal knowledge would work is the Nvidia Shield Pro, but that's $200. I did a quick look on Amazon and found this player. It's less than $40, and being Android based it should run any of the freely available player apps in the Google Play store. Kodi is a bit of work to configure, but is an outstanding player. VLC is a great player with a less than stellar user interface. It has the following listed for video media support:  Video: MKV, AVI, TS/TP, MOV, VOB, and M2TS files using H.264/AVC, VC1 or MPEG2/4 codecs, up to 1920x1080p resolution, 30 fps, and 10mbps. MP4 and M4V files are supported up to 4GB file size. NOTE： 4K and H.264/HEVC videos are not supported! You would have to determine if your media is supported, but if they played fine on a Roku, the only issue might be the file size for a MP4 container. From the description, it doesn't even appear you need to install any separate media player, as it seems to have one already. However, I just scrolled down to the comments, and there are some less than satisfied users. 

The only current Roku player with a USB port is the Ultra. It's currently on sale for $70, and you can probably get that price at a local Best Buy or other retailer that carries Roku. There are several other Roku models that have mini-USB ports for power, but I have no idea if any of them would support connecting a USB hub and a connected hard drive. The same goes for the Fire TV: I don't know if the mini-USB port is also capable of being a data source. And unfortunately, there's no way to roll your Roku 3 back to the previous OS version. There is a hidden menu that sometimes permits a single rollback, but it's less than reliable and unless you then immediately take it off any network it's going to self-update back to 11.0.

after updating my roku 3 to the current version of the software my roku cant recognise my usb drive. any help or better still please fix the bug

Hi,

I'm just adding this to the mix too as I've had my Roku box disconnected from internet/ethernet for the past few months and my external hard drive has been playing fine through the RMP app.

I connected back to the internet on Tuesday and the RMP app hasn't worked since.  Every other app is fine.

And I'm on Roku 2, running software 11 (Build 4180-04) and RMP 5.5 (Build 13)

I can also report that after whatever update, the RMP app went from being at the top of my app list to the very last one.

Similar issue here after the update: I can no longer us a 64GB drive in my Roku3. However, a 32GB still works in my other Roku3. When the 64GB drive is inserted, the Roku recognizes it as a drive and prompts to launch RMP, but once that's done the drive isn't listed as an option to play from.

Hi Explor202.  What formats are these drives?  Some people same FAT32 drives still work but NTFS drives do not.

Rick_Dagless_MD what model Roku 2 do you have? There are five different versions, and only two are still officially supported by Roku. And even those two are getting quite old. Need to know the model number.

OK, I tested my external hard drive, a Western Digital 1 TB drive formatted as NTFS. The only media files on the drive are all DVD rips, so MPEG2 video, AC3 audio and MKV container. Every file I tried played fine. This was with my Ultra 4800 using RMP and 11.0 build 4000something. I don't have the exact build number, as there was an update available after I tested and I went ahead and installed it. My version now is build 5003. 

You might check and see if there's a new OS update available for your device. I don't know if b5003 is specific to the Ultra 4800 or if it's good for other devices as well. Perhaps this update will fix the USB issue.

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atc98092 wrote:

...This was with my Ultra 4800...

 

The problem is being reported for Roku 3 (e.g., 4230) and older.

Also, the suggestion to format with FAT32 is less than ideal, as this will limit playing videos that are less than 4 GB in size.  Even when using an "aggressive" re-packing scheme, many 1080p H264 videos that are ~ 2½ hours or longer will exceed 4 GB.

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Phorrest wrote:

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The problem is being reported for Roku 3 (e.g., 4230) and older.

Also, the suggestion to format with FAT32 is less than ideal, as this will limit playing videos that are less than 4 GB in size. 

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Yeah, I don't have that old of a player, so can't test it. But my drive is NTFS, so perhaps it's a hardware limitation of the older players.

I just don't have a player old enough that would have a similar CPU as the Roku 3. My 4640 would be the oldest thing I have, other than a 2 XS, but that player is completely unsupported any longer so it wouldn't be a valid test. Its OS is probably still in version 8 or an early version 9, in no way comparable to the new OS 11.

I did add a few MP4 files to my portable drive, and RMP played them as well. Hopefully this information will provide the Roku developers some insight on what needs to be addressed. 

My 4230X used to play NTFS-formatted thumb drives until this latest update.  Contrary to what I said earlier, I have confirmed that reformatting this same drive to FAT32 allows me to use the drive at least in some capacity with my Roku 3.  However, the fact remains that I can't play videos greater than 4 GB in size any more.

Forcing an OS update on users that then bricks a basic hardware feature borders on the malicious in my opinion.  Do they no longer teach the concept of "inheritance" to software developers?  In addition, the fact that Roku's screen saver has also started displaying a "special offer to upgrade my Roku 3" just as an unnecessary OS update degrades my Roku's performance at least appears suspicious.

I'm not willing to go to the intentional side of things. Due to the lack of USB ports on the majority of Roku players, I think it's possible they simply forgot that some users still connect a hard drive for playing media. Hopefully this is a wakeup call to the developers to consider how some users might still make use of the USB port. In fact, it's the only possible use of the USB port, so it's something they better remember from now on. 

I use a DLNA server, which makes my media available on every device on my network at the same time. And that's what I recommend for anyone that is solely using their Roku at home. But Roku needs to remember the use case for people that travel and want to use their Roku without a network connection. 

Oh God! Why should we have to jump through all of these DLNA hoops!? 🙄

Roku needs to get off their laurels and fix this problem! 😡

I am aware of this option though I have yet to be successful with casting my PC.  My PC and my home theatre (with the Roku) are on different levels of the house.  When it worked for this purpose, I preferred the Roku as I had a remote to control the playback of the MP4.  I would prefer a device directly connected to the TV monitor with remote control.  

My model is 4205EU- Roku 2 (UK)

I've just tried a second external HD, which I believe is FAT32 (I think the one I currently use is this NTFS) and that didn't work either.

With all due respect, old model or not, supported or not, my Roku Media Player app and Hard Disk worked one day and then didn't after the update happened.