Forum Discussion

reinvent01's avatar
reinvent01
Newbie
11 months ago

Roku cannot read external Hard drive NLNA USB can't read issue

10119725 roku ticket

I get this same error message that has been reported multiple times. I spent way to much time with customer service answering the same basic questions.

I have the same issue on the Roku 4 as I do on the new Roku ultra that I just purchased. Regarding

DLNA and USB not being able to read.

I am in tech and am persistent in finding the resolution.

Basically there are 2 culprits related to the latest version of the Roku software (which by the way is automatically updated with no option to not install).

I have an older roku with a previous version of the operating system which has no problem reading drive.

So the new version.

Prompts to allow sharing with other apps? Really?

So a usb stick seems to work. I researched it and found that it seems the only type the way the drive is displayed is USB. My External drive that I have been using forever is classified as type "Local Drive"

Regardless, I am still connecting it via USB so why won't it recognize? There is obviously in the new software version that is causing the issue. Here is another post of another frustrated Roku User. I have 4 devices in my house and am very frustrated. Every one of them cost at least $80. Terrible!

I want to talk to an engineer from Roku who can send me a link so I can install the previous versions that worked that I can install .

Here is the other post of another frustrated Roku customer.

 

05-23-2023 11:58 AM
quirky problem with usb and roku player
Jump to solution

ROKU ULTRA 2019. 4670X UPDATED

a problem just arose over the past week or two and without me fiddling with any settings whatsoever

if i add content(mp4) to an ssd drive and pop it into the usb port, the roku player will list contents of another ssd, not the one i just connected.

the first thing that came to mind is that the roku player is reading something in cache. my procedure has been to disconnect the ssd drive and restart the player by powering off for 2minutes, then reconnect the ssd.

this of course is annoying

So I have tried everything. Reformated the drive many times. So it boils down to the new version of your software cannot read an external USB drive. When will you resolve this issue as well as the prompt to allow sharing. who gets away with this in the new age of user privacy?

 

app playback

3 Replies

  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    Community Streaming Expert
    11 months ago

    Roku players with a USB port have no issues reading an external drive that is formatted properly. The drives must be in the FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3, exFAT or HFS+ file systems. And even with the correctly formatted drive, the Roku can only recognize media in certain containers with certain codecs. This support page provides more detail about what a Roku can play.

    Using DLNA is even simpler, depending on the DLNA server used. As long as the DLNA server is capable of transcoding unsupported media, the Roku can play any media you have. I use Serviio (disclaimer: I wrote the transcoding profiles for Roku devices included with Serviio, but I am not an employee) but there are other servers that offer the same functionality. 

    Depending on the media you want to play, there are several different apps/channels available in the Roku channel store. If it's pictures (slideshow) there are several different apps. For music I believe there's a few as well. But for video (movies and TV show recordings) Roku Media Player is the only available DLNA player. And RMP does have some flaws. It hasn't received any real updates for close to five years, and has some bugs when playing videos in the M2TS/TS container. 

    EDIT: I forgot to add, if your media isn't supported by the Roku, it won't be read from an external drive. The drive will appear empty if it doesn't see a file that it can play.

    • Dfresh567's avatar
      Dfresh567
      Roku Guru
      11 months ago

      atc98092 reinvent01 

      Very insightful. 

      https://support.roku.com/article/208754908

      this link would be extremely helpful read through if I used or was looking to use amd external hard drive or USB.

      One thing that stood out for me at least is that there are apps that serve the purpose that in years past, I would use my external hard drive or a USB stick to access my music, movie, photos, or really any type of media. At this point for me personally I am able to access every form of content that I digest within the apps that are on the Roku or on the Roku channels that are available on my player without the need to add an additional USB drive or external drive. I’m sure there are some that have other preferred methods, but I do feel like the industry is headed towards a future where we’ll see less than less of that other way of consuming content. 

      At the end of the day, I respect everyone’s way of living their lives and the way they prefer to watch a movie or listen to music. It might be harder and harder to do it in ways we used to. That’s me just thinking to myself later at night about the big picture. 

      And when it comes to formatting the challenges I’ve run into formatting into fat32 on a Mac compared to a PC When I am downloading games on my computer, have really made me want ease of use over anything

       

  • Dfresh567's avatar
    Dfresh567
    Roku Guru
    11 months ago

    reinvent01 

    Just curious when you've spoken to customer service what have they said the issue could be or is? I guess I'm curious what they are saying in general. I can fully understand your frustration and have noticed other users talking about the OS update causing some issues for them. I'm lucky and haven't had an issues but I've been in your shoes with situations like this not specifically with Roku and you spend a lot of time and it starts making me boil.

    I guess a positive scenario/outcome from this is that if individual write and contact Roku about this issue  the individuals working at Roku will hear the concern customers are having. Roku's a business and doesn't want to loose customers so if enough people express concern it'd be my hope that with the new OS update a lot the concerns around the OS are addressed. I have an iPhone and lord knows how many OS updates I've had to do over the year to fix bugs in the current OS.

    The positive from all this is and this is coming from someone who isn't directly facing this issue but that over time these issues pointed out and are addressed and fixed. And then over time we the customer will get better products in the end. It's the 2 steps forward 1 step back thinking I suppose.

    Anyways keep the thread posted on what happens. I'm be curious to know. Best of luck