If you could add ONE feature to your Roku remote, what would it be?
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- Have it work period .
NUMBERS!! I use the Roku Live TV app and the Spectrum TV app a LOT, and it is SO tedious and frustrating and time consuming to scroll (which is painfully slow) or keep hitting the arrow buttons over and over and over. Feels like we're still living in the dark ages! It would be nice, too, if those numbers would work when changing OTA channels, but I'm afraid that might be asking for too much!
In the meantime, I have a question for which I cannot find an answer on Roku (Support, Community, etc.), so either it's a stupid question or there's an answer that is not obvious, since this technology is new to me (don't ask my age)! I often use my Roku remote app on my Android smartphone, which arrows/scrolls must faster than the Roku remotes. But when I'm done using the remote app on my phone, I would like to sign out/log off from my account because I'm utterly paranoid about leaving programs open (and I've never been hacked)! On Roku.com, I can easily find instructions on how to sign in (duh!), but there are no instructions that I can find to sign out/log off. I was considering getting info with Roku Smart Home products, but I'm concerned about security, especially if I can't sign out of my account from my phone. Might anyone out there be kind enough to let me know if there's an easy way to do this, or is it simply not a possibility? Thank you for your time 🙂
Based on the support, along with the complete disregard for customers and their privacy, I am astonished you are considering Roku security products. They share your data, there is talk of the remotes recording although I do not know if we could prove that, but they share data without consent.
The best way to secure yourself is not to provide them with data, I am the same with my Amazon and Ring products, even though they have created a mesh network between customers devices, each device has it's own ID and email. My devices are isolated on the wifi so they can't detect each other and I have set up different networks anyway as many only support 2.4 range.
I actually deleted the Roku app as I do not use it regularly, it is a good idea to clear down Apps you do not use, people often find out months later that Apps they trusted have security or privacy issues. For performance reasons along it is critical to disable all automatic updates, including the OS and disable Background App Refresh. When I have sat with family and friends to carry out these "housekeeping" operations they tell me it is like having a new phone.
Make at least one of the channel-specific buttons mappable, so that I could point it to any installed Roku app (e.g. Sky News). Even better would be having the button "deep-link", targeting a channel in Roku Channel, Pluto TV, YouTube TV, etc.
seanoduill The Voice Remote Pro and Voice Remote Pro 2nd edition both have at least one programmable button to open any installed channel on your Roku.
Thanks! I am behind the times. Great to see this.
I would add a new software option if possible to make a constantly on backlight, and thw option to dim it when its always on. It would also be preferable to have it dimmable anyway for when the backlight could be too bright at night.
On the Search option (or perhaps any other menu option other than Home), it would be great to be able to press the * (asterisk) button and get the same options that you would if you were on the Home menu. This would make updating, removing, moving, or restarting apps easier, especially if you have a lot of channels. Thank you very much!
Programmable Shortcut (Quick Launch) buttons. Even if they are labeled, a long press option or something.
With respect
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Re: If you could add ONE feature to YOUR Roku remote, what would it be?
Not
So it refers to the one we already own not some new one you released that others have said has some massive privacy issues.
To be honest those buttons irritate the **bleep** out of me because they can exit you from an app, only YouTube seems to ask if you really want to leave. It should ask that for all apps.
There is a hidden menu, how hard would it be to give option to map the buttons to the app in P1 to P9 on the home screen.
Only 1 byte per button required.
DanUK wrote:To be honest those buttons irritate the **bleep** out of me because they can exit you from an app, only YouTube seems to ask if you really want to leave. It should ask that for all apps.
There is a hidden menu, how hard would it be to give option to map the buttons to the app in P1 to P9 on the home screen.
The preprogrammed buttons are paid for by the providers named on the button. Roku cannot give the user the ability to change the programming of the buttons. You have a valid point about each button should confirm the press was intentional. But I could also see someone complain that they don't want to have to press the button twice. Unfortunately you can't please everyone.
It is a fair point for Roku to point out a remote has a function that someone has requested in this thread. The fact that Roku has had programmable buttons on some remotes for a couple of years still isn't well known, so they are simply pointing out the feature already exists.
Why not have the remote send two signals when you push the power button. The first signal is the signal sent when you push the home button, then the second would be the power off. You would still have the home button, but this would help for those who forget to push home before powering off.
There is a setting called "Bandwidth Saver" under Settings/Network/Bandwidth Saver that will cease streaming (thus saving internet bandwidth/data) after 4hrs.
There is a an additional setting called "auto power savings" on the newer Roku devices under Settings/System/Power/Auto Power Savings that will power down device and network activity after 20 min of inactivity.
Between those two settings, should be able to help out the forgetful.
Once users learn how to use the Roku device, pressing these buttons become second nature and most learn/remember to press the Home button before the Power button to turn off their device's streaming.
What possibly do you think happens when you power the device off? You think the movie still plays?
PnoGuy88 wrote:What possibly do you think happens when you power the device off? You think the movie still plays?
If it's a Roku player, yes the movie does continue. Using the power button on a Roku remote does NOT turn the Roku itself off. You cannot turn a Roku player off without disconnecting it from power. If a TV is turned off while a video is playing, the video continues to play until either it ends or the bandwidth monitor shuts it off after four hours without a remote button press.
I'm incredibly frustrated with Roku remotes. I bought a lot of them and they are so unreliable it's ridiculous. I reported the issues and months later, I got a response with a basic trouble shooting link. Product and service from Roku have been poor.
One feature to add to the remote? Isn't it obvious? Add a cable connector that allows a user to communicate via wire to the receiver, bypassing the buggy unreliable wireless interface.
We don't use it all the time, but if we're sitting down to watch something and the **bleep** remote hangs, we can plug a cable to get the TV to respond. Or, we use it all the time and have a far more reliable and consistent experience. I'd even consider a wired-only product to be superior. It would certainly cost less.
I just can't understand why Roku would allow such a poor product to go to production, or to not fix it.
Anonymous wrote:One feature to add to the remote? Isn't it obvious? Add a cable connector that allows a user to communicate via wire to the receiver, bypassing the buggy unreliable wireless interface.
You can't be serious. I'm not disputing you having issues with Roku remotes (even though I've never had a single problem after more than ten years and easily more than a dozen different Roku devices), but adding a cable to a remote is simply not practical for almost any user setup. Cables are tripping hazards unless they are neatly tucked away out of sight. And to do that in some rooms you're talking 15-20' or more to do so. And with a wire you have lost the ability to move around with the remote.
The only remote I've ever had with a wire in probably 50 years or more has been to a) charge a remote and/or b) program a remote. I have never seen a remote that had a hard wire connection simply for communications. Wireless remote technology is more than 50 years old, and it's certainly not "buggy". There are numerous variations of remote technology, with infrared (IR) and Bluetooth being the two predominant in use today. Roku uses both IR and WiFi Direct (which is a branch of your standard WiFi connection, so hardly new tech). The Roku Stick players are all WiFi Direct only, while every other device can use IR as well as WiFi Direct.
Have the ability to rename the 4 quick buttons at the bottom of the remote. I previously bought a Stick 4K that had a Hulu button. I bought another one yesterday and Paramount+ replaced Hulu on the button. Same device. I guess they paid more advertising to put their button on instead. Now I have 2 buttons that I can’t use.
All remotes happen to have varying shortcut buttons - not sure why. But I agree - a little inconvenient to some.
DCwebman wrote:Have the ability to rename the 4 quick buttons at the bottom of the remote.
It will never happen. Roku receives payment for those button placements, and their contract requires them to remain with that provider. They can't allow someone to change the programming without breaching their contract.
