Forum Discussion

pw6's avatar
pw6
Reel Rookie
11 months ago
Solved

App Order keeps changing even though it is set to Manual

The App Order keeps changing even though it is set to Manual. I have seen the pop-up question that asks if you want the system to change it automatically, and I select No I want to change it manually. But for some stupid reason the past several days Roku keeps changing the order of my Apps. I have to reorder them every day. This is beyond frustrating. 

I have gone to Settings > Home Screen > App Order > and selected "Manual".  This does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 

Hopefully, Roku will have an update soon that will fix this.

 

  • RokuJohnB's avatar
    RokuJohnB
    10 months ago

    Hi Community users,

    Thank you for keeping us informed!

    We apologize for any inconvenience this issue has caused. Our dedicated Roku team is actively working on resolving it and we anticipate a fix in the coming weeks.

    For better visibility and reference, we'll mark this post as solved.

    We appreciate your patience and understanding.


    Kind regards,
    John

62 Replies

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  • thorfinn's avatar
    thorfinn
    Reel Rookie
    11 months ago

    The utterly asinine "feature" to have Roku rearrange your home tiles to promote what THEY want you to watch won't go away. I keep going to settings to set it to Manual, it keeps resetting it to Automatic. Anyone else having this? Is there a permanent fix, or is it time to switch to another streaming device..

    • MadCassandra's avatar
      MadCassandra
      Reel Rookie
      11 months ago

      My Roku gave me a message that they had already rearranged mine. I had them arranged the way I wanted. Now I have to waste time putting them back. Dik move Roku.

    • ibeckerman's avatar
      ibeckerman
      Channel Surfer
      11 months ago

      couldn't agree more. What **bleep** at Roku thought this would be well received?

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

      thorfinn-

      Is this on a Roku TV, or a Roku device connected to a TV?

      I don't think I've seen a control for any such option.  Where do you find it?

      The closest I can think of is on a Roku TV, to restore channel numbers:

      While in your Live TV guide:

      ► Click the column with the channel logos
      ► Press the * (Options) button on your Roku remote
      ► Click on "Sort channel list"
      ► Click on "By Channel Number"

      • thorfinn's avatar
        thorfinn
        Reel Rookie
        11 months ago

        Hisense 65R6+ TV.. GoTo => Home Screen : App Order: Automatic/Manual {check mark}

        Also, same thing on my Roku Ultra.

        Three times now on the Ultra, Twice on the Hisense

  • BrainStain's avatar
    BrainStain
    Newbie
    11 months ago

    The question goes beyond how to find HOW TO CHANGE THIS, a solution is needed how to KEEP it from doing it again. At least yours was nice enough to ask you, mine just scrambled them without asking.

    I found how to turn it off, by changing them to MANUAL, but now how to LOCK that on MANUAL.

    After I change it to MANUAL, I scroll left to exit that option, but as Im scrolling back, I see it switch it back to AUTOMATICALLY, like Im not watching it do that behind my back. So I go back and select MANUAL, the check mark is there, I move the cursor left, and it jumps right back to automatically!!!

    How do you keep it on MANUAL, is there a SAVE button, how do I save it on MANUAL before it switches on its own back to AUTOMATICALLY????

    Wheres the Remove Gremlin button inside my remote?

    And why does ROKU think we're wanting to play Russian roulette with my apps, I have better things to do than play Where's Waldo with my apps? Why Roku Why?????

    Annoyed

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

      BrainStain 

      You shouldn't have to, but try pressing the OK button after marking the manual box instead of the left arrow.

      Then press the Home button to go directly back to the Home Screen.

      Some users have reported that the Manual setting is not "sticking" on their devices. (usually remains until the next time they use the device).

      Looks like there may just be a bug in this test feature.

  • Echo6d's avatar
    Echo6d
    Newbie
    11 months ago

    More… I set it to “manual” and it rearranged my apps back to how I had set them up. Then I shut it off and left for 3 hours. When I came back and turned on my Roku… They were automatically arranged again, and I had to go set it back to “manual“ again… This is the kind of annoyance that will cause me to stop using a service, if it continues  

    • Grumpma's avatar
      Grumpma
      Newbie
      11 months ago

      Way to go Roku, you've managed to piss off a LOT of people.

      I have a 65" TCL Roku TV and two Ultras in other rooms and several times a day they keep reverting back to this automatic PAID PLACEMENT of garbage apps to the top and moving the apps that I USE THE MOST to random locations is beyond the pale.  And every time it does it I go through the useless exercise of menu steps that only temporarily reverts the app arrangement to MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE that has remained unchanged for YEARS.

      To say that I'm pissed off is being polite.  I'm getting pretty darn close to taking a hammer to it all then setting the remains on fire with gasoline in the driveway!

      Ok, so there's that.  But now you've also gone and pissed off my folks.  My dad is 88 years old and legally blind, he can't read the app tiles and has to go by memory of where they are according to how I set them up for them.  Once the app loads he's ok from that point.  But not any more!

      My folks bought the same TCL TV that I own on my recommendation because of ease of use.

      BUT THAT'S ALL OUT THE WINDOW NOW!

      I have to fix my own devices (several times a day, per device) and I can cope with it but my folks can not!  They are elderly, not tech savvy at all and their eyesight is poor.  So far I've had to drive 10 miles each way over to their place to undo the mess that Roku continues to make and remake out of their TV which renders their TV unusable to them until I go over and fix it for them.  My dad is very, very angry over all this and I'm the one that has to bear the burden because I'm the one that recommended they buy a Roku TV in the first place and I'm the one having to drive 20 miles a day to go "fix" it over and over for them!

      What's that I smell?  Oh dear me, I believe that's the smell of a class action (oops, can't say this word) coming soon !!

      FIX IT !!!!!!!!

      • Germanicus's avatar
        Germanicus
        Reel Rookie
        11 months ago

        Count me in when the suit is filed!

        It started for me last night (Saturday, August 10, 2024). It was fine Friday, then twice in about 20 minutes it did it last night AFTER I changed the setting to manual.

        Since I only ever actually use about six of the apps, and generally only use two or three (I don't watch much TV) - I am going to remove all apps except the few that I regularly use.

        The rest - and Roku - can eff off.

    • RokuJechealR's avatar
      RokuJechealR
      Retired Moderator
      11 months ago

      Hi Echo6d,

      Thanks for taking your first post to the Roku Community!

      We are aware of this, and our engineering team has been investigating this issue closely.

      In the meantime, please provide us with the required details posted above so we can send them to the appropriate Roku team for additional information for the investigation.

      Please keep us posted with the details.

      All the best,
      Chel

      • cfgolf's avatar
        cfgolf
        Newbie
        11 months ago

        It is obvious that you are getting paid to put some apps toward the top of the list.

  • Kevin13's avatar
    Kevin13
    Newbie
    11 months ago

    What slimebags they've become.  This started for me today. 

    I fixed it this at lunch time.

    It just reverted back to 'paid placement' a few mins ago.

    Is the idea to wear people down and accept you can control where your apps are?

    (Roku Ultra)

  • SevenRedP's avatar
    SevenRedP
    Channel Surfer
    11 months ago

    When I went into my Roku last night, I got a message that said Roku had decided to change the order of my channels. ( Why? Because they could, I guess.) For example, Pluto, DirectTV, and Peacock were right next to each other at the bottom. Now they're scattered. And Prime was at the very front. Not anymore. I have having to scroll through my entire list to find anything. I read a post saying they do that for advertising purposes. That makes no sense.

    They also said I could go into Settings and switch it back.

    How? All I can see is how to manually move my channels around. I want it to go back to the way it was. And don't tell me I have to reset my unit. And I don't want to have to try and remember where my channels were so I can put them back.

  • RokuJechealR's avatar
    RokuJechealR
    Retired Moderator
    11 months ago

    Hi pw6,

    Greetings from the Roku Community!

    Thanks for posting regarding your app order, which keeps changing even though it was too manual. We would be more than happy to assist with this.

    For us to help you better, we will ask a set of questions to isolate the issue:

    • When did you notice the issue occur?
    • Does this occur on multiple Roku devices, or does it happen on a specific Roku device?
    • Are there any changes in the setup or settings of your Roku device or your network provider that might cause the problem?
    • What are the specific steps to reproduce this issue?

    We suggest running a manual software update by navigating to Settings > System > System update > Check now for troubleshooting purposes.

    For more information, check out this support article: How to update the software on your Roku TV or Roku streaming player.

    Also, can you please provide us the following information:

    • Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and OS version. (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
    • Tracker ID (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button five times, followed by the Back button five times, and provide us with this ID)

    Please keep us posted with the above information, and we will continue to assist you should you need further aid. We look forward to hearing your response.

    All the best,
    Chel

    • pw6's avatar
      pw6
      Reel Rookie
      11 months ago

      Here are the responses to your questions.

      1. When did you notice the issue occur? It began this week. It started occurring this week. This was the first week that I saw the Roku message at the bottom of the screen asking if I want the Roku device to automatically order the apps - I responded by saying that I want to do it manually - not automatic.

      2. Does this occur on multiple Roku devices, or does it happen on a specific Roku device? It only happens on the Roku stream bar.

      3. Are there any changes in the setup or settings of your Roku device or your network provider that might cause the problem? There have been no changes to the setup of the Roku device or my network provider.

      4. What are the specific steps to reproduce this issue? I am not sure what you mean by this. All I have to do is turn on the TV and the Roku apps have been automatically rearranged.

      5. We suggest running a manual software update by navigating to Settings > System > System update > Check now for troubleshooting purposes. I tried this, but it says the system is up to date. I also tried unplugging and then re-plugging in the Roku stream bar, but the next day the Roku apps were rearranged again.


      Do you have any more suggestions?

      • RokuJechealR's avatar
        RokuJechealR
        Retired Moderator
        11 months ago

        Hi pw6,

        Thanks for your response!

        In this matter, could you please provide the requested information as we mentioned above?

        Once we have this information, we'll be able to pass it along to the appropriate Roku team for further investigation.

        We'll be eager to wait for your update.

        All the best,
        Chel

    • musiquest's avatar
      musiquest
      Newbie
      11 months ago

      So all this "community" thing does is let us **bleep** & they never have to fix these stupid problems???

  • thorfinn's avatar
    thorfinn
    Reel Rookie
    11 months ago

    Thanks for the replies All.. didn't actually expect to get any😉

    Unless it becomes even More annoying, now that I believe its a beta attempt, I'll let it ride for a bit.

    FYI, the automated arrangement had the Roku Channel (which I rarely, if ever watch) in a top slot. It was the nefarious nature of this that sent me looking for a fix. Suggest a Weather-Eye-Out to all for the changes ahead

    • lumpkinl's avatar
      lumpkinl
      Newbie
      11 months ago

      I woke up this morning to all my TV's being rearranged also.  

       

      I put all my apps back in place.

       

      I then found in Settings/Home Screen/App Order, the option to change from Automatic to Manual

       

      I changed 2 of them, but the Living Room TV was fine.....until I came back with my first cup of coffee.

      It had been changed also, and Manual had been changed to Automatic!!!!   Once I changed to Manual it did revert all Apps to their original positions. And YES I did confirm that it was on Manual before getting my coffee.

      So.... you can prevent your Apps from being moved....BUT Roku will override it on a whim!!!

       

      I think if you notice it early before leaving the Home Screen you can Revert it to your preferred order.

       

      THANK YOU ROKU, for inconveniencing your customers.  Nothing like being pissed off the first thing in the morning.

  • RoGard's avatar
    RoGard
    Reel Rookie
    11 months ago

    well it seems like Roku did give users the option for 3 or 4 across channels, however, i'm asked every time I turn one of my three Roku tvs on if I want manual or auto. I only want Manual (I spent a lot of time putting my channels in the order I want)... but it asks everyday. and I have to go to settings and choose manual everyday. it's frustrating.  when will it stop asking?!?!

    • Pmae's avatar
      Pmae
      Reel Rookie
      11 months ago

      Not only is there absolutely no reason for Roku to mess eith my home page

      i have to do manual everytim i turn on my tv

      it says that i can go back to original by hitting a button but dors not say i have to do it daily

      roku, quit updating you have no idea how to make the exoerience better, you only want to be more intrusive

      it is time to stop this or time to smash my rokus in the middle of the street