Forum Discussion

Caveman52's avatar
Caveman52
Reel Rookie
2 years ago
Solved

Unable to find local channels with a digital antenna attached

I bought a ROKU streaming stick for an older tv. Everything seems to work fine except, I can’t get the local channels to show up under LIVETV. There are no options to do a channel scan and during setup, it never asked me to run one. I can change the input on the tv and get the local channels, so I know the tv is finding them. Any ideas as to why I can’t access these channels? 

  • Strega2's avatar
    Strega2
    2 years ago

    That would be the typical way, yes. I pop back and forth between Roku, Satellite,  OTA and other inputs routinely using the input buttons on my AVR.  (But that's because I have an AVR - if I didn't then I would just switch inputs on my TV.)

    Of course, there are channel/apps on Roku that present a live-TV-like presentation, but these apps are still using internet streaming, not the antenna on the TV. 

6 Replies

  • Strega2's avatar
    Strega2
    Roku Guru
    2 years ago

    A Roku player is not a TV.  It has no tuner or an input for an antenna.  It is meant to add streaming from the internet to an existing TV.  The TV is expected to already do the over the air stuff.

    • Caveman52's avatar
      Caveman52
      Reel Rookie
      2 years ago

      Thanks! So does that mean that the only way I can see local channels on these older tv’s using the ROKU stick is by changing the input? The local channels seems to be fine on my other actual ROKU TV’s. The only ones that don’t work are the older ones that don’t have the Roku operating system running on them

      • Strega2's avatar
        Strega2
        Roku Guru
        2 years ago

        That would be the typical way, yes. I pop back and forth between Roku, Satellite,  OTA and other inputs routinely using the input buttons on my AVR.  (But that's because I have an AVR - if I didn't then I would just switch inputs on my TV.)

        Of course, there are channel/apps on Roku that present a live-TV-like presentation, but these apps are still using internet streaming, not the antenna on the TV. 

    • RokuCarly's avatar
      RokuCarly
      Community Moderator
      10 months ago

      We appreciate you reaching us here in the Roku Community, pamelalocke!

      We'd be happy to be of assistance here and help you stream your local channels using an antenna.

      Depending on where you live, you may be able to receive free “over-the-air” TV broadcasts from nearby TV stations using an HDTV antenna. You can refer to Antenna Web for more information on accessing “over-the-air” TV in your area and finding and using an HDTV antenna.

      To access “over-the-air” broadcast television, the HDTV antenna must be connected to the Live TV input of your TV.

      1. Connect the coaxial cable from your HDTV antenna to the “Ant/Cable In” connector on the back of your TV
      2. Press Home on your Roku remote
      3. Select Live TV
      4. Follow the instructions on the TV screen to complete setup

      Note: If Live TV is missing, you can add it by going to Settings > TV inputs > Live TV > Set up input.

      We have a support article dedicated to this for additional information and steps: How to set up and watch live TV on your Roku TV system

      Hope this helps!

      Warm regards,
      Carly