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Rattlehead73's avatar
Rattlehead73
Binge Watcher
6 months ago
Solved

Live Stream freezes and loses connection on Roku TV camera app

Hi,

Below is my camera model, a description of the problem along with several common troubleshooting steps that I’ve already taken. 

Camera Model: CW20005 – Wired outdoor security camera.

Problem: Live view only works for a few seconds when viewing on the TV. After playing for a few seconds, the screen freezes, and then says, “unable to connect to camera”. I’ve included a short video showing the problem. Linked below.

                https://v4musclebike.com/roku/007.MOV

The live view works fine from my phone. This only happens when viewing the live view from my TVs. Happens on all TVs in the house. The Roku TV in my living room, and the one in my bedroom which uses a Roku streaming stick. This just started happening recently. Perhaps since the last update was installed on my TV on December 20th 2024.

Here are links to a couple of screenshots showing some information about my device, and an issue report tracker.

https://v4musclebike.com/roku/info.JPG

https://v4musclebike.com/roku/tracker.JPG

 

These are the troubleshooting steps I’ve taken so far:

  • Deleted and re-installed the Smart Home app on my phone.
  • Re-added all the cameras.
  • Checked that the camera firmware versions are up to date. (6.1.0 build 48-FD)
  • Removed and reinstalled the Camera viewer app on my Roku TV.
  • Verified that the app is up-to-date.
  • Restarted the router.
  • Checked internet connection (its good).
  • Checked other applications. Only happens on the Camera App. Happens on both of my Roku devices/TV. Does not happen when viewing from my phone’s smart home app.

Due to the fact that this problem only started happening recently, and that it only happens on my TV Roku devices, I believe something in the last Roku update is causing this issue. I noticed some other people reporting similar issues online.

Again, this problem ONLY happens when viewing the live view from my TVs. When I view recorded events from the TV, they play fine. Live view works fine from my phone as well.

I have 6 of these cameras, all of which are having this issue when viewing live from my TV.

smart home discussion
smart home events
smart home support
  • RokuReynan-L's avatar
    RokuReynan-L
    5 months ago

    Hi, Community Users!

    Greetings from the Roku Community!

    Thanks for letting us know that you're also having the same issue. We'll forward this to our appropriate team for further review. 

    Please help us with the information below:

    • Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and OS version (Settings > System > About)

    • Tracker ID

    • Camera app build version (highlight the channel and press the star button on your remote)
    • Camera model and version

    We'll mark this post as a solution for visibility and as a reference for others.

    We'll wait for your response.


    Thanks,
    The Roku Community Team

54 Replies

  • Boilerjay80's avatar
    Boilerjay80
    Streaming Star
    6 months ago

    It got worse after the carousel was added. 

     
    Yes I get an error message- cannot connect to this camera. I keep trying and it eventually connects 
     
    I get the error when I try to connect to my battery powered cameras. When I try to view a camera feed. I can connect eventually after multiple attempts 
     
    I deleted the app on the Roku and reinstalled. Didn’t help. 
     
    The IOS app connects flawlessly every time on every camera. The issue is on the camera app on the Roku device. 
  • Boilerjay80's avatar
    Boilerjay80
    Streaming Star
    6 months ago

    I have 12 Roku Cameras: 6 Indoor 360 cameras, one wired/wireless doorbell, and 5 wireless outdoor cameras.  All have excellent WIFI connectivity and the outdoor camera bases all have hardwired ethernet connections. All the outdoor cameras are connected to a Roku solar panel and remained charged in the 90% levels.  All of the cameras connected flawlessly in the IOS app on multiple iPhones and iPads.  All cameras connect pretty much every time on the web viewer.  So I conclude that the cameras are connecting just fine to the network/cloud.  However, when I use the Camera App on multiple Roku Ultra Players, the doorbell, and the outdoor camera do not connect on the first attempt.  After multiple attempts I can always get each one to connect eventually.  Thus the camera carrousel is useless as it will time out and skip over half of my cameras.  For some reason the camera app has a hard time connecting to battery powered cameras where the IOS app has no such problems.  Anyone else seeing this behavior?  Anybody have a fix?

    • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
      RokuRiamie-D
      Community Moderator
      6 months ago

      Hey there Boilerjay80! Welcome to the Roku Community!

      I hear you're having trouble connecting your smart home devices to the Roku Camera app.

      To help us out, could you tell us more:

      • When did this start happening?
      • Are you getting any error messages?
      • Does it happen during live streams, recordings, or right after you open the app?
      • What troubleshooting steps have you tried already?

      Thanks for the info!

      The Roku Community Team

      • Boilerjay80's avatar
        Boilerjay80
        Streaming Star
        6 months ago

        It got worse after the carousel was added. 

         
        Yes I get an error message- cannot connect to this camera. I keep trying and it eventually connects 
         
        I get the error when I try to connect to my battery powered cameras. When I try to view a camera feed. I can connect eventually after multiple attempts 
         
        I deleted the app on the Roku and reinstalled. Didn’t help. 
         
        The IOS app connects flawlessly every time on every camera. The issue is on the camera app on the Roku device. 
  • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
    RokuRiamie-D
    Community Moderator
    6 months ago

    Hey Rattlehead73 welcome to the Roku Community!

    Thanks for letting us know about the issues you're experiencing with the Roku Camera app. We understand that it can be inconvenient when the app freezes and loses connection during the live stream.

    We've shared your info with our team, and they're looking into it. We'll let you know what we find out.

    Thanks for your patience!

    The Roku Community Team

      • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
        RokuRiamie-D
        Community Moderator
        6 months ago

        Hey Rattlehead73, welcome to the Roku Community!

        I’ve passed along your feedback about the TV app issue to our team, and they’re investigating it.

        I’ll keep you updated on what we discover.

        Thanks for your patience!

        The Roku Community Team

  • TSD17's avatar
    TSD17
    Reel Rookie
    6 months ago

    I'm having same problem.  Started after the "Carousel" feature was added to the TV app.  Then it finally resolved for a few weeks.  Now once again, the cameras are losing connection regularly.  Very frustrating.

     

    I have tried all of the things this poster tried too.

     

     

  • adamcj's avatar
    adamcj
    Reel Rookie
    6 months ago

    Having the same issue as Rattlehead73 (original poster). Outdoor wired camera (newer model) shows live for about 12 seconds and then freezes, then goes to black screen and says unable to connect to camera and then repeats. Got a replacement Camera from amazon and still does the same thing on different Roku devices (Roku TV and Roku Ultras) every time. Even at different Locations with different routers and different internet carriers (comcast & starlink), so this problem is definitely on Roku's side. Not going to pay for the smart home service that isn't working until this basic function is fixed. Would like to order an inside camera to see if it freezes too but a little nervous to do so. This outdoor camera was my first from Roku to test to see if I would like it, so far it was a failure since it has done this problem when I first received it.

  • Amynbobby's avatar
    Amynbobby
    Newbie
    5 months ago

    I've has this same issue for a while now. I've tried everything to fix it with still no hope. Please update us and let everyone know if they ever get it fixed. I sure would like to know the resolution. This is so annoying as well. Like you said, comes up live last a couple minutes and then lost connection. When the wifi is perfect and no issues on my end. I sure want to know a resolution as well. Thanks 

    • RokuReynan-L's avatar
      RokuReynan-L
      Retired Moderator
      5 months ago

      Hi, Amynbobby and Boilerjay80.

      Greetings from the Roku Community!

      We appreciate you letting us know that you're having the same issue. Please help us with the details we need to forward this issue to our appropriate team. Please refer to the accepted solution above.

      We'll wait for your response.

      Thanks,
      The Roku Community Team

      • Boilerjay80's avatar
        Boilerjay80
        Streaming Star
        5 months ago

        Your appropriate team needs to take a player like the ultra, get some indoor, outdoor, and doorbell cameras. They need to connect the cameras and use them like a customer would. They need to replicate the problems and solve the issues. You have all the information you need from the customer. The Camera app doesn’t work but the IOS app does. You have enough information to work the problem. 

    • RokuReynan-L's avatar
      RokuReynan-L
      Retired Moderator
      4 months ago

      Greetings, UpNorth1.

      We appreciate you letting us know that you're also having the same issue with the camera app. We're here to help.

      Could you please provide us with the information we need posted above? 

      We'll wait for your response. 

      Thanks,
      Roku Community Team

      • Boilerjay80's avatar
        Boilerjay80
        Streaming Star
        3 months ago

        Still no improvement to the performance of the camera app regarding the wireless doorbell. It still will not connect to the doorbell. All other cameras connect just fine. It been this way for months. Suggest you get some hardware and do some testing and replicate the issue. 

  • rocktron's avatar
    rocktron
    Channel Surfer
    3 days ago

    THEY OVERWHELMED AND CANT KEEP UP WITH THE ALL THE NEW  BUYERS