Forum Discussion

ProgramEnjoyer1's avatar
ProgramEnjoyer1
Channel Surfer
28 days ago
Solved

The keyboard on the Roku app doesn't work on YouTube

I am using the official iOS app for Roku (the one with +4M reviews) and there it seems to be a bug I want to report.

I’ll appreciate any help relaying the message. 

The issue: While navigating YouTube I use my iPhone as a keyboard so I can write faster on the search bar. Today I went to search for something and the keyboard doesn’t work at all. I find using the remote itself tedious since I can’t type as fast as I’d like. 

I’ll change the app to see if it works somewhere else, but so far on YouTube it does not work.


app feature
  • ProgramEnjoyer1's avatar
    ProgramEnjoyer1
    17 days ago

    I’m replying to my own post to let people now that the solution I found was reinstalling the iOS app on my phone (delete and download again). The keyboard feature is now working.
    I hope this helps others. 

15 Replies

  • ProgramEnjoyer1's avatar
    ProgramEnjoyer1
    Channel Surfer
    17 days ago

    I’m replying to my own post to let people now that the solution I found was reinstalling the iOS app on my phone (delete and download again). The keyboard feature is now working.
    I hope this helps others. 

  • Disneyfamily's avatar
    Disneyfamily
    Newbie
    21 days ago

    I am having the same issue and I uninstalled the app and reinstalled and checked for updates and it still isn’t working 

    • Disneyfamily's avatar
      Disneyfamily
      Newbie
      21 days ago

      Updated the Roku app and it now works, I can use the Roku keyboard now

      • RokuHaz-M's avatar
        RokuHaz-M
        Community Moderator
        21 days ago

        Hi there! Disneyfamily​

        Glad updating the app helped! If anything comes up again, checking for updates and doing a quick system restart (Home > Settings > System > Power > System Restart) is a solid first step.

        And of course, feel free to reach out anytime!

        Cheers!
        Roku Community Team

  • Wcmac's avatar
    Wcmac
    Channel Surfer
    26 days ago

    iOS 18 allowed users to use their phone keyboard which could control the Roku app on the phone to help search for content on YouTube, Netflix etc. on the Roku TV.  After upgrading to iOS 26, the keyboard pass through is broken and searches have to accomplished using the cursor navigation arrows and hunting for characters on the tv screen.  Reinstalling the iOS app did not solve the issue. 

    • RokuSuzette's avatar
      RokuSuzette
      Community Moderator
      26 days ago

      Welcome, Wcmac​

      We understand you are having issues with the keyboard on the Roku mobile app after upgrading to iOS 26. 

      If you haven’t tried the troubleshooting steps above yet, please give them a try and let us know how it goes!

      Roku Community Team 

      • Wcmac's avatar
        Wcmac
        Channel Surfer
        25 days ago

        Thanks.  A full restart as prescribed, and even a full power cycle do not restore keyboard function pass through from the iOS app to the Roku TV. 

  • RokuSuzette's avatar
    RokuSuzette
    Community Moderator
    28 days ago

    Hey, ProgramEnjoyer1​ 

    Thanks for testing other apps to see if the keyboard works. We get that it's not working when you try to search on YouTube. 

    If you're referring to the Roku mobile app on your iPhone, try updating the app to the latest version. Also, please restart your Roku device by going to Settings > System > Power. If you don’t see a Power option, just go to Settings > System > System Restart. Once the restart is complete, open the app again and try searching for something on YouTube to see if the keyboard works.

    Let us know how it goes!

    Roku Community Team