On February 24th, Roku introduced new dispute resolution terms, allowing consumers a 30-day opt-out period. Despite my attempt to opt-out by contacting their general counsel, Roku continues to block my usage until I select “AGREE.” I firmly assert that my refusal to agree to these terms should not lead to the deprivation of basic functionalities on a device I've owned for years
Per Roku’s Terms and Conditions, they reserve the right to amend terms with notification. However, the inability to access TV settings to remove my Roku account forces consumers into a corner, compelling them to select “AGREE” to proceed. This limits consumer choice and undermines fair dispute resolution.
As a consumer advocate, I advocate for transparent and equitable dispute resolution processes that prioritize consumer rights. The current terms lack adequate safeguards for consumers, demonstrating a bias towards the company's interests. It's crucial to address this issue promptly to restore consumer trust and uphold accountability.
Otherwise, a refund should be issued immediately for the 4 Roku TVs I own that I cannot use.
NOT SURE IF IT WAS MY TELEVISION UPDATING, OR GOOGLE OR ROKU, BUT YOU CAN FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE FTC!!! I JUST DID THAT BECAUSE THE POPUP DID NOT GIVE ME AN OPT OUT CHOICE! IF WE ALL DO IT, THEY WILL BE FORCED TO REMOVE IT OR REFUND OUR MONEY. IF THEY DO NOT, THE SECOND STEP WOULD BE A VERY LARGE CLASS ACTION SUIT! AFTER THAT, THERE IS THE BUD LIGHT TREATMENT! 😉
NO COMPANY HAS THE RIGHT TO DESTROY THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PRODUCT YOU BOUGHT! NOR SHOULD YOU HAVE TO AGREE WITH TOUs TO BE ABLE TO USE THE PRODUCT! YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE ABLE TO OPT OUT!
UPDATE: I do not know what kind of television everyone else has or what you might have been watching when this happened, however, the following is how I finally removed it. Maybe it will work for you also.
I just happened to be watching a GOOGLE YouTube video when it happened to me.
After searching for solutions, I tried to reset the television and even factory reset it by the button in the back. However it did not remove the popup. Finally, I started pushing buttons on the remote (don't push the star...unless you just like long draw out TOUs, lol)
FINALLY, when I pushed the back ARROW BUTTON a couple times, it went back to the programming.
Worth a try.
I too can’t get my TV to move from this screen. I do not want to chose “Agree” but have to way not to. This is very disappointing as I can’t watch any programming. Roku please let my TV go!
Yes this is Bad Business
This is pretty much telling us to agree with these new Dispute Resolution terms, or WE CAN NO LONGER USE THEIR SERVICES.
A SVC THAT WE ALREADY PAID FOR
WHILE THEY SEEM 2B TRADING TO FIX AN ISSUE, THEY’VE MANAGED TO ACQUIRE A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM.
ULTIMATELY WE AS A PPL SHLD HAVE THE RIGHT TO AGREE OR NOT AGREE ( OPT OUT ) & THAT’S NOT AN OPTION
IT’S EITHER AGREE WITH ROKU OR BE WITHOUT TELEVISION
Do you recall what the other buttons were, that you pressed before the back arrow (the couple times)??
Cuz just the back arrow, alone, isn't doing anything🙁.
Any help would be appreciated..
Also, are you sure it's not related to your FTC filing? And perhaps it just coincidentally occurred at the same time??
Hopefully you'll get a chance to respond soon. Thanks for your post and advice, greatly appreciated!
Respectfully,
Trish
I previously read that hitting the home button would escape it. So, I mashed that button a bunch of times first...with no apparent result.
Then, I RAPIDLY and repeatedly hit the back button. I'm not certain of the exact count at which it finally responded. I noticed it at around around 10 times. At that point, it seemed confused. It asked me if I wanted to report some sort of random bug/issue. This is when I was able to escape by declining to report the issue.
Not sure if it matters, mine is a TCL TV with the built-in Roku.
I have a second TCL TV that hasn't received the "ransom" demand yet. If/when it does, I'll try reproducing the behavior in a more controlled fashion. If I'm successful, I'll respond with more details.
We unplugged ours for about an hour and it disconnected from the internet. No popup. We mostly use the TV for video games and we cast to the TV using a different device.
What devise are you using to cast to the TV?
Call your streaming services providers that you pay for and let them know Roku is blocking access to their services. (E.g. Call Netflix, Paramount, Disney, Hulu, etc.)
If they get enough complaints, they will reach out to Roku, and they have a lot more sway with Roku than you or I do.
I agree with this post. I own 10 Roku TV's but am being held hostage on Sunday night to watch a recording on my cable box until I agree to new terms limiting my dispute resolution options. I will never buy another Roku again. They just went from hero to zero. Roku is finished. I will sell short their stock. Very sad!
Brian from New Orleans
Time for me to look into the Amazon fire stick to replace the roku units. The very least Riku could have done was to offer to email the new arbitration to be able to read it more clearly.
I got an email from ROKU on 2/23/24 about the changes:
We wanted to let you know that we have made changes to our Dispute Resolution Terms, which describe how you can resolve disputes with Roku. We encourage you to read the updated dispute resolution terms. By continuing to use our products or services, you are agreeing to these updated terms. |
Thank you for making Roku part of your entertainment experience. |
The Roku Team |
|
The change is really not much of a change, The stuff about arbitration and class action has always been there. Terms are here. Link was included in the email:
Press the home button or back button several times and it should go away at least from what some people have said. BCAKenner
I too, am experiencing the same issue on my TCL Roku TV I bought more than 5 years ago. No amount of button pressing or rebooting removes the notice and allows me to use my TV. The TV is essentially bricked. I also own two other Roku devices. So far, I have not seen the notification on them, but I suspect it will be coming soon.
It is absolutely, 100%, no question at all ILLEGAL for Roku to block access to a user's hardware with a software update in an attempt to coerce the user into signing away their legal rights with a binding arbitration agreement.
Roku is to unlock my devices IMMEDIATELY. I DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS OF YOUR ARBITRATION AGREEMENT.
I am filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission as well as contacting my local news affiliate to see if they'd like to pick up this story.
I am very disappointed in Roku. My partner uses Roku to get to sleep. Last night it bricked her Roku and forced her to accept the terms. What made it even worse was that the acceptance process would not even work. It took both of us a long time before we got rid of it and she could get to sleep. This is overly aggressive and is more like a software bug rather than any intentional process. Roku needs to think about what and how they do things.
THANK YOU for so eloquently stating the facts of the situation and for helping me to feel like I'm not crazy in seeing this as borderline illegal (apologies if i misunderstand things, but there are NUMEROUS rights we have, as consumers, that make this all sorts of wrong, correct?).
But what can we, the basic consumer, even do to ensure we're not being screwed WHILE ALSO not losing the ability to utilize our televisions we've owned for years???
Being so seemingly illegal: if we, the consumer, agreed -simply to have the ability to use our paid for TV- even tho we DON'T agree... What would that do to our rights in this situation?
You mentioned there's some 30 Day Opt-Out option somewhere, somehow?? I find it disturbingly interesting that that information is not included with this already sketchy "agree or else" situation.
With all of that said, what can the basic consumer even do -in this situation- to be able to watch our TVs & yet still NOT lose the right to a jury, if we feel it necessary??
I would greatly appreciate any feedback regarding this and again, & emphatically, thank you for this post & for helping my anxiety to level out in this situation. Truly, thank you.
I look very forward to your response & i hope you're having a great day (aside from this frustration). ALSO, please update if you ever finally hear back from Roku general counsel.
Respectfully,
Trish Andrews
I was able to use the Roku remote app on my phone to bypass the agree screen blocking access to programming, then it allowed my actual remote to work as normal.
How? What buttons or combo did you use? I can't get any to make the pop-up go away with my Roku remotes or phone app remote.
thanks!
I pressed without counting the home button and because it was not working I continued ( without stopping) with the arrow <— beside the home button . As I said before , I just pressed both buttons and it worked , for how long it works, who knows ?
I too was having the same problem with the agree to their Terms of Service or not he able to watch my tv. If you keep hitting the top left arrow button, the agree button will go away. Hopefully, this did not allow Roku to automatically update my actions to “Agree” to their bs Terms of Service. I have and will not be agreeing to this because I already know they have misused our data and they should stop it immediately! You know what they say…. When a product is free, you are the product being sold.
My 55” tv certainly wasn’t free and now is unusable unless I give in to their demands. Sounds like a class action law*#%t (Roku won’t let me use the word). Oh, but if we do give in I guess that rules that idea out.
