Forum Discussion

blue_gascon's avatar
blue_gascon
Reel Rookie
11 days ago

Long Press Mute Function Disabled

I have multiple Roku devices. The main unit I use is a Roku 4670X ULTRA. For over a year now I have been using this device every night. I use the YouTube app and access one of the 10 to 12 hour selections of relaxing/healing music. Once watching the video I have been able to long press (3 seconds) the mute button to get the TV display to turn off (go black) while keeping the audio working. A few daya ago this stopped working. I have spent multiple sessions on the phone with Roku support (under Support reference #: 13120646) but have made no progress. The last promise to call me back was apparently not true, no one called, so i was lied to by support. I have identified the issue on my own. I can see that the ULTRA was updated to software version 15.0.4 build 5531 on 10/8/2025, which is when this feature stopped working. I also have a Roku Express and a Roku Premiere + that have not been used for a while so I hooked up the Roku Premiere + to the involved TV and paired up the remote that I first experienced the issue with. The long press feature works fine with that device. I checked and found the software version on that device is 14.6.4 build 9915. I also checked the Roku Express with an even older version of software and the feature is working properly. CLEARLY this indicates a bug in the 15.0.4 build 5531 software. PLEASE get the development team to correct what has been broken by that software update.

OS Update
roku player

3 Replies

  • blue_gascon's avatar
    blue_gascon
    Reel Rookie
    21 hours ago

    I reported a bug here:
    Software bug in version 15.0.4 build 5531 | Roku Community
    The bug is a function that has worked for a long time - when you press the mute button on the roku remote the player would cause the display to go black, but would leave the audio running. That feature has been disabled when a player updates from software version 14.6.4 build 9915 to software version 15.0.4 build 5531. Since then another update has occurred to build 5534, but the function remains disabled. And there is no way to prevent updates. I have had three Roku devices suffer this function being disabled and it appears Roku does not care that their updates are breaking a feature! I used this daily to bring up YouTube videos with long musical audio tracks and kept the audio running while the video was turned off. 

    • renojim's avatar
      renojim
      Community Streaming Expert
      54 minutes ago

      blue_gascon​ , I've been using Roku devices since day 1 and this is the first time I've ever heard of such a feature and in fact I tried it on my various devices that haven't updated to 15.0 and none of them turn off the display.  Are you certain that this isn't a feature of your TV(s)?  A quick search shows that some Vizio TVs have this feature.  Since the TV controls on the remote are strictly for the TV, I don't believe they'd have any effect on a Roku device.

    • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
      RokuRiamie-D
      Community Moderator
      5 hours ago

      Hello blue_gascon​

      You mentioned that after an update, your Roku Ultra no longer supports the long-press mute function that previously turned off the display while keeping audio active.

      As an alternative, try enabling Fast TV Start: Go to Settings > System > Power > Fast TV Start and turn it on.

      Once audio is playing, you can turn off the screen by:

      • Remote: Press the Star (*) button, scroll to Turn off display
      • Voice (with Roku Voice Remote Pro): Say “Turn off display” or “Hey Roku, turn off the screen”

      To turn the screen back on, press OK or use a voice command like “Turn on display.”

      For more tips, visit here.

      Hope this helps!

      Roku Community Team