I have a TCL Roku TV that works well with every streaming app except the Roku streaming app. After watching any program via the Roku app, the app cycles at 99% perpetually when I select another program to view/ stream. If I switch over to any other app, they too are now stuck cycling. The workaround is a System Restart, but this does not fix anything as the underlying problem comes back upon any usage of the Roku app. THE ROKU APP IS THE ONLY APP THAT CAUSES THIS TO HAPPEN ON MY ROKU TV. All the other apps on my Roku TV cleanly enter and leave apps/ programs/ streams correctly and in any order. There is something that the ROKU APP does to the underlying Roku System that affects all other apps until one does a System Restart. THE ROKU APP IS BUGGY or touches something in the underlying Roku System that makes it buggy from that point on. Again, all other apps work fine and in any order until usage of the Roku app.Thinking out of the box. Perhaps the Roku app has some unique access to the underlying Roku System that other apps do not. Or perhaps the Roku app is not allowing the underlying Roku System to cleanup Roku app resource usage. Whatever it is, it causes the Roku System to become unstable/ broken. If true, the guidance, the limits and the testing Roku requires of other app developers also needs to be adhered to by the Roku app developers -- what is good for the geese should be good for the gander.

RokuTakashi What do you not understand about this issue? It is NOT about a particular channel, that we can simply delete, then add back again, it's THE ROKU CHANNEL, period, that is the problem. And trying to play any of the suggested movies or tv shows may work for awhile, so we can view some trailers before selecting a movie to watch, and watch it. But eventually, when we try to view a trailer, or the show itself, all we get is the spinning 99%, and can do nothing until we do a system restart.One of the users above laid out a very logical, technical prognosis of this very frustrating behavior, did you not read that? And for another Roku employee to come back with the same automatic script, asking for all certain specific details, "so they can be relayed to the team", and then we'll be notified of any updates, is at this point, like a slap in the face, treating everyone like children, as if we don't see this as an avoidance tactic, since no one EVER gets back with updates! And issues linger for many months, a year, or two years longer.This issue has been quite clearly and fully explained already, and if non-IT savvy users, as myself, can understand it, surely the Roku IT "whiz kids" can.

StevenCee Thank you. Your response hits the nail on the head. I see that RokuJohnB addressed the Roku app situation in this thread as far back as February 2024. My research also uncovered a thread on regarding this same issue back in 2022, where RokuKarla stated to delete the channel and reinstall it.After other thread complaints, RokuKariza-D responded with the template response that Roku needed more details to address their concern. At this date, I find no evidence that the Roku Wizards have chosen to address this tech issue, or have not escalated their users' concerns here, and rather just tossed out hardware workarounds for us rather than having Roku coders or their network architects create an update fix for us, so we who purchased TV's with Roku or even Roku's stick can utilize the channelClearly, this long-term known issue causes problems for their users. By ignoring it, many users like myself cannot use the Roku Channel option without continually having to reset their TV with a manual workaround fix. It's frustrating to utilize my personal time and energy on this matter and even take the bandwidth to research this issue and write this entry, it's not my job it's those who are paid at Roku to do. More details, the option of resetting the software via the app doesn't even work in my case.I find Roku not officially addressing this issue frustrating. It's difficult to imagine if every time one watched a preview of a HBO, Hulu, or Netflix show and then selected the corresponding show, the 99% pinwheel of death appeared their coders wouldn't fix the issue. Mostly, I'm disappointed I didn't get a receive any response from RokuTakashi or another Moderator's response on this issue, when I asked for assistance.I've been a ROKU user since its beginning when I received a complimentary unit. My most recent purchased this year was a TCL 65" Class - R635 Series. I received the very last Roku TV available at Costco available. I mean I went so far to locate their very last physical TV in their entire inventory. Call me a fan.I also found a previous Roku community thread from 11-1-2023 where renojim shares the TCL 65" Class - R635 model needed not a weekly hard reboot and states "Sometimes Roku devices, like pretty much any computer, need to be rebooted. You can try getting rid of apps you don't need, but I don't know if that will help. Another thing that may or may not make a difference is "Fast TV start" under Settings->System->Power. Try it both ways. Finally, do you really have to unplug the power? A "System restart" under Settings->System->Power should do the same thing." You can use the TV but I suggest not utilizing the Roku channel for shows if other options are available. What are the best actions for me to take forward or just resign myself and give up? To anyone like myself who finds this tread - I'll just sum it up to you, just keep unplugging your TV and then plug it in again to watch or just accept the Roku channel doesn't work (they sell it to you, but you can't access it) so give up and best off don't click on a show there, or your other channels won't work as well.

pipi You're right, we shouldn't have to reboot the TV so very often, just to be able to watch a preview, or the movie or show itself. I wondered if this is an issue of cache buildup, and asked if there's a method of emptying the cache, but as usual, received no answer back... I mean come on, it's a simple question. So, it ends up causing me to think twice, or three times, before browsing movies & shows, especially since it also ends up impacting our use of Netflix or Prime, which also end up doing the spinning 99% and nothing...

Same issue. I have been working with support. Not resolved yet. Have to get past all the "is it plugged in?" questions first. For me, the issue seems to start after browsing/previewing ROKU shows/Live TV etc. Very annoying. They might as well put a RESTART button on the remote.

The Roku app is the only app that causes the problem. When watching any movie or series and upon exiting the movie or series I can't go back to watching any movie or any series -- the app cycles at 99%. If I try to switch to any other apps, they too are now stuck.When watching any movie or series in ANY other app and upon exiting the movie or series I can go and watch ANY movie or any series -- the other apps are well behaved. If I switch to ANY other apps, they too are behaving correctly. The moment I switch to the Roku app and watch anything, then from that point on everything becomes stuck.It took me dozens of random tries to figure out this behavior pattern. At first I considered a hardware problem. But it became clear that the problem is the Roku app.

Roku app not working correctly -- cycles at 99% after any program -- requires tv restart to fix

17 Replies

bradtvx
Channel Surfer
2 years ago
Same issue. I have been working with support. Not resolved yet. Have to get past all the "is it plugged in?" questions first. For me, the issue seems to start after browsing/previewing ROKU shows/Live TV etc. Very annoying. They might as well put a RESTART button on the remote.
- bradtvx
  Channel Surfer
  2 years ago
  TV was serviced with new main board and WIFI board. The issue continues.
  - RokuJohnB
    Community Moderator
    2 years ago
    Hi CarlosMT bradtvx,
    
    From the Roku Community, welcome and thanks for keeping us posted!
    
    We'd love to investigate evermore about the issue that you're having with the Roku channel. Can you please provide the following information below?
    
    Could you elaborate on the troubleshooting steps that you have taken so far?
    
    Is this the only channel that you're having issues with?
    
    We look forward to hearing from you soon.
    
    Thanks, John
stuckintheinbet
Channel Surfer
2 years ago
This has been an issue for a year or so now. Like you said, it's the only app it happens with. But once it happens with the Roku app, it happens with other apps. Only unplugging the TV for 10-15 seconds fixes it, but it'll come right back after messing around with the Roku app for any amount of time (scrolling, clicking on movies, etc). I can't believe this still hasn't been fixed. Get it together, Roku.
- RokuTakashi
  Community Moderator
  2 years ago
  Hi, stuckintheinbet
  
  Thanks for posting here in the Roku Community.
  
  We appreciate you for sharing with us the issue you've experienced on The Roku Channel, and we're sorry for the inconvencience this has caused. We have noted this information and would like to investigate further. For us to proceed in that action, certain details are needed by our team. Can you please provide the following information below:
  
  When did this issue first start occurring?
  
  Was there a software update?
  
  Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version. (These can all be found in Settings > System > About).
  
  What channel and what version/build is the channel that is having the issue? (This can be found by selecting the channel on the Home screen and pressing the * button).
  
  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).
  
  Once we have this information, we'll be able to forward it to the appropriate Roku team for further investigation.
  
  Your response would be much appreciated.
  
  Best wishes,
  Kash
  - pipi
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago
    Roku App stops at 99% on Roku TV, affects other apps from streaming
    
    I also own a 4-month-old TCL TV with Roku with the latest software update. I have the exact same problem as well. When I try to watch a TV show on the Roku Channel, the app repeatedly keeps spinning at 99% and gets stuck. I power the TV off and then on again, and when I attempt to watch on Roku, it happens ago
    I then attempted to watch any other show on every channel, and I got a hiccup on those channels; the other channels just flashed off quickly, then back on, and then the screen goes completely black. The TV goes dark, which is scary. Nothing else can stream.
    I tried for a couple of hours to fix it, but finally found this string and know I am far from alone with the problem. I unplugged the TV and the channels work but something is wrong with the software. I now get the spinning wheel before a show and the channel hiccup.
    It's clearly a well know internal technical software bug/issue, I found other older online forums where people actually not only continually reset their TVs but someone even changed out their hardware to no avail. It's frustrating to not being able access the ROKU Channel when I spent considerable energy hunting down a Roku TV, Have been a loyal Roku customer and big fan since 2012.
    Can you please help?
bradtvx
Channel Surfer
2 years ago
Right. And it's like "cache" or something. It's like you were saying, resources being utilized are not initializing correctly.
Hendrix
Newbie
2 years ago
My connectivity is glitching when trying to connect to wifi for a Internet connection, I need help with this issue?

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Roku app not working correctly -- cycles at 99% after any program -- requires tv restart to fix

17 Replies

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