Forum Discussion

Psilobite's avatar
Psilobite
Roku Guru
8 days ago

YouTube - Subscription thumbnails stuck auto-playing with sound

I had an issue with my YouTube account, and I had to reset the YouTube app on my Roku 4660X Ultra. I also had to remove and re-add it. I restarted, re-installed, and updated.

Unfortunately, I have now lost the "Previews with sound" option under "Settings". This now makes it so the subscriptions section automatically plays any video in the thumbnail with full sound when it is selected for a few seconds. This pretty much destroys the user experience for me.

I also have YouTube Premium, which costs me $13.99 per month.

I tried resetting the YouTube app again, to no avail. Even as a guest, there is no way to turn off the subscription previews. I tried my other YouTube accounts, and everything is now missing the "Previews" section under "Settings" on the Roku.

I really need this turned off. Am I screwed, or is there some way I can turn off these full sound previews in the subscriptions section?

I would surmise, that I had this turned off before, then some update removed the option to toggle it, but it remained off. After resetting the app, it now defaults to on, and since there is no option to toggle it, I am miserably stuck with this set to "on".

In Roku Settings, Accessibility --> Auto-play video is set to "Off".

In YouTube App settings, "Autoplay next video" has no effect on the thumbnails auto playing in the "Subscriptions" section. It is currently turned "Off".

On a PC computer + web browser, YouTube --> Profile Picture --> Settings --> Playback and performance --> Browsing --> "Video previews" is turned "Off".


- Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version
Device Model: 4660X - Roku Ultra
Serial Number: YJ00A4777475
Device ID: CK386A777475
Software OS/Version: 14.6.4 Build 9914-46
GC Version: 14.3.9

- Does this issue occur on a specific channel? If so, what channel and what version/build is the channel
Yes, YouTube Version 2.22 Build 130000106

Internal app info:
------------------
Version:  web_20250825_14_RC00
Device:   TV (PLATFORM_DETAIL_OTT),Roku/4660X/MC2/2017,Cobalt (22.lts.6.308696-gold),Roku(8.8)
Language: en
Geo:      US
Client:   TVHTML5,7.20250825.14.00-canary_experiment_7.20250824.18.00

- 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)
75-343-559 (Timestamp: 2025-08-27T13:59:11Z)

- Steps to reproduce the issue you are seeing
On a Roku 4660X (2017 Roku Ultra), install the YouTube app and log in with any account. Go to "Settings" on the bottom left; the "Previews" / "Previews with Sound" option is missing. Go to "Subscriptions", highlight any video, and observe that it begins to automatically play in the thumbnail area with full sound when highlighted, despite the user not actually playing the video by pressing the center OK button on the Roku remote.

 

app feature
app subscription

4 Replies

  • Psilobite's avatar
    Psilobite
    Roku Guru
    8 days ago

    Did you just inform me that I could reach YouTube support at YouTube.com? :P

    Anyway, for troubleshooting, I tried connecting a Roku 4850X. The "Preview" option was there.

    So, this is affecting the YouTube for Televisions app on older devices. I know that it can work on older devices, because it was working fine until I reset the app. It is the setting on the user interface that is not showing up, so there is no way for the user to turn it on and off. And on older devices that are still supported, this thumbnail preview function also slows down the app.

    [I cannot continue to use the Roku 4850X because of various issues I have with it. The audio settings for "Night" and "Leveling" that I use all of the time do not function correctly on the newer Roku with my soundbar, and more importantly, the Roku 4850X has a horrible bug where the upper left "back" button on the remote doesn't work. It's not the remote because it affects any remote (I have several) and the issue is not present on my 4660X. If I hit the screenreader shortcut by pressing * on the remote four times to turn it on then * four times to turn it off, the back button functionality is temporarily restored, but will soon stop working again, pointing to a bug or problem with the 4850X. My point is, I'm not going to use the 4850X with the problems I have with it, I would sooner try switching to an Amazon Fire.]

    The main point here is that turning "Preview" off does work just fine in the 4660X and likely any other device that supports the Preview function because it was disabled on mine before an app reset; it is simply the setting not showing up for users allowing them to turn it on and off.

    If this is deliberate, why on earth would Google give users with the latest faster devices the ability to turn this off, but not users with older slower devices that are still supported? Unless this is some problem with Roku that is causing the option to be hidden?

  • Psilobite's avatar
    Psilobite
    Roku Guru
    8 days ago

    This is actually way worse than I thought. This actually affects many other sections of the YouTube Roku app, including ALL playlists, News, Podcasts, Live, Sports, and Movies & TV. There are probably other sections I'm missing.

    The user experience is completely destroyed for me now. I just can't use the app like this. Never in 8 years of using the YouTube Roku app has something as bad as this happened to me.

    • RokuSuzyL's avatar
      RokuSuzyL
      Community Moderator
      8 days ago

      Hi there, Psilobite​ 

      It looks like you have an issue with your YouTube account. Thanks for running through all those troubleshooting steps!

      Since this has something to do with the subscription, it would be best to contact the app provider, as they handle and manage the account. 

      You can reach them at this link.

      Hope this helps! Let us know if you need more info.

      Roku Community Team