Forum Discussion

hawk77's avatar
hawk77
Channel Surfer
2 years ago
Solved

Roku remote: hard to press the buttons

I have one TCL TV and 4 Roku with Remotes. The older Roku Remotes were decent, but as of a few years back, the quality has gone down so much. I recently purchased Roku Ultra to substitute the built-in TCL TV Roku, which crashes all the time. The new Ultra's remote purchased only 2-months ago has issues with the up/down sound button... as I don't get any feedback from the remote. What happens is, suddenly, the volume jumps from mid to high or low to no sound.  My daughter has the Apple TV & the remote is of high quality, responsive, and well-designed. I will never again buy another Roku. I contacted Roku via chat and the agent kept saying to upgrade the software & I kept saying, the button was the issue.

  • RokuCarly's avatar
    RokuCarly
    2 years ago

    We appreciate your first post here in the Roku Community, Canes95!

    Thanks for letting us know about the remote issue you are currently experiencing. We'd be happy to assist you in reaching the proper support regarding this matter.

    You can try to press and hold the Back and Home buttons simultaneously for about 30 seconds to reset it. After doing so, re-pair it again to see if this will make any difference.

    If the issue still occurs, please be informed that TCL manufactures its player hardware, which includes the remote you are referring to, so in this case, we highly suggest reaching out to your TV manufacturer as they will be the ones who can further assist you with this. Perhaps a replacement for your remote would be an excellent resolution for this.

    You can reach them here: Contacting Support for Your Roku TV

    In the meantime, you can use the Roku mobile app as an alternative to your physical remote. It works well with all of Roku's streaming players and has a private listening feature.

    Best regards,
    Carly 

110 Replies

  • Churlz's avatar
    Churlz
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago

    I have to agree, the new remotes are garbage. I've replaced the remote on my new Roku streaming stick 2 times since I bought it about a year ago, the same issue both times, right directional button gets harder to press until eventually it stops working. I've got several Rokus, and all the older style remotes still work perfectly, so this is definitely a manufacturing issue with the newer models. To make matters worse, none of my working remotes will pair with the streaming stick.

    I'll think long and hard before I buy any new products from Roku.

    • Terpol's avatar
      Terpol
      Newbie
      2 years ago

      I'm having the same issue. I replaced our Roku remote within the last 6 months for this issue, and our new one is now doing the same thing. Down and right have to be pressed really hard with a fingernail to get it to move. Manufacturing defect for sure. The remote is clean so that's not the issue.

      • Gaspar74's avatar
        Gaspar74
        Reel Rookie
        12 months ago

        I just bought about two months ago Roku voice remote the basic voice one and really have to press button down hard. My older original voice remote with headphone jack works perfect for other device. This thing is horrible.

    • RokuEuniceL's avatar
      RokuEuniceL
      Retired Moderator
      2 years ago

      Hi Churlz,

      Thank you for posting here in the Roku community!

      We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We value your feedback, and we always aim to provide you with the best streaming experience and convenience when using our services. To assist you in resolving the issue, we have sent you a private message via the Roku Community. We have contacted you via your inbox, so please check that.

      We look forward to hearing from you and looking closely into this issue. Thank you.

      Kind regards,                                                                                                                                            Eunice

      • RokuEuniceL's avatar
        RokuEuniceL
        Retired Moderator
        2 years ago

        Hi Terpol,

        We appreciate your time posting here in the Roku Community!

        We understand you're also having problems with your Roku remote, which has buttons that are hard to press. We'll be glad to further assist you with this, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We've sent you a private message through the Roku Community to help you fix the problem. Please check your inbox, as we have contacted you there.

        We are eager to hear from you and investigate this matter further.

        Sincerely,                                                                                                                                              Eunice

  • rozen's avatar
    rozen
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago

    I am having the same problem; the '>' button is almost unusable and getting worse. I purchased the remote from Amazon in August and am wondering what the warranty covers. Alternativy can it be user fixed?

    • hawk77's avatar
      hawk77
      Channel Surfer
      2 years ago

      I have done the same with 4 extra remotes during the past 2 years and I believe Amazon doesn't support after the initial 30 days, unless you bought their extended warranty. Therefore, you must go through Roku to get any support. 

      • Churlz's avatar
        Churlz
        Reel Rookie
        2 years ago

        If they DM you and tell you they're sending a replacement, don't be fooled. The CS guy responding to this thread has been ghosting me since he told me they were going to replace my faulty remote. That pretty much made up my mind about further supporting their products.

        I've purchased all my Roku devices directly from Roku, so they have all of my device, warranty, contact and shipping info. There shouldn't be any problem at all on their end.

  • RokuTakashi's avatar
    RokuTakashi
    Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi, hawk77

    Sending our welcome here in the Roku Community.

    We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the issue you are experiencing. We would be glad to assist you further. Kindly note that we have sent you a private message through the Roku Community to help you resolve the issue. Please check your inbox as we have contacted you from there.

    We hope to hear back from you.

    Best wishes,
    Kash

    • RokuEuniceL's avatar
      RokuEuniceL
      Retired Moderator
      2 years ago

      Hi rozen,

      Thank you for posting here in the Roku Community!

      We apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. We'll be happy to assist you with your Roku remote. We have contacted you via your inbox, so please check there.

      We'll be waiting for your response.

      Best regards,                                                                                                                                          Eunice

  • Donnakosh's avatar
    Donnakosh
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago

    I am having the same problem with my remote. I went through the trouble shooting and it didn’t work. You have to press to right arrow button repeatedly to get to the apps and then guides. Once in the up and down arrows are even worse. They do not want to scroll. What is going on with these remotes. My first Roku stick and remote work perfectly but not this one.

    • RokuCarly's avatar
      RokuCarly
      Community Moderator
      2 years ago

      A warm welcome here in the Roku Community, Donnakosh!

      We appreciate you for bringing this to our attention and we'd be happy to further assist you with the remote issues you are currently experiencing.

      Kindly meet us through Private Message as we'd be asking for further details about this.

      Thanks,
      Carly

      • WalkerZ's avatar
        WalkerZ
        Reel Rookie
        2 years ago

        I have exactly the same problem. I'm very disappointed in Roku. I have three Streaming Stick 4K, all purchased at the same time about four months ago. Two of them work great with no problems. The third has had continual problems with freezing / locking up for no reason, requiring a reboot to recover.

        On this same system, the remote buttons have become very hard to respond when using the arrow buttons or the OK button.

        It appears that Roku has severe quality problems in either design or manufacturing.

        Roku service has ghosted me too - I've had trouble tickets in for months and no response to repeated inquiries.

        Without response, I'll have to look at other providers for a quality experience.

    • Donnakosh's avatar
      Donnakosh
      Reel Rookie
      2 years ago

      This is not a Roku TV.  It is the Roku Streaming Stick 4K with voice remote with TV power, volume and mute.

      • DJQuad's avatar
        DJQuad
        Binge Watcher
        2 years ago

        The buttons on the regular remote are very hard to press in general and the other Roku remotes like the Remote Pro aren't any better.

    • DanUK's avatar
      DanUK
      Streaming Star
      2 years ago

      I have same issues, in the UK when we buy something the consumer rights act (2015) states that the organisation we pay has the obligations to us which extend for far longer than any warranty.

      So the risk is that as more and more of these Roku devices fail the big retailers will stop selling Roku products due to their being so unreliable.

      What makes it worse is there are no screws and you have to be really skilled to get the cover off.

      Why should we spend money on special liquid to improve the contacts when there is clearly a manufacturing defect and materials are not fit for purpose.

      • WalkerZ's avatar
        WalkerZ
        Reel Rookie
        2 years ago

        I took it apart with the idea of using DeoxIt D5, which is magic for cleaning tarnished button connections. But nope, don't bother. It's tricky to take apart but there are instructions on YouTube - it's not easy but with patience can be done. However, there is no access to the button contacts. It looks like a double sandwich board with the contacts between the boards and therefore inaccessible. There is a wide layer of tape on top of the button area which you probably won't want to remove anyway.

        My remotes are all no more than six months old, and should not be failing, either from tarnish (unlikely in six months) or from use (in six months?). I believe it's a design issue and the button mechanisms themselves are very prematurely failing mechanicly.

        Customer Service says they are sending me a new remote but without a design change, I foresee a continual loop of failure every six months. At this point, I have to press down extremely hard to get any response at all. The right arrow button which is used the most is the worst.

        I think you are right, retailers will desert the brand and we'll all end up with orphan devices and a lost cash outlay.

        Unless Roku fixes this properly, I'll probably vote with my feet and buy another manufacturer's devices when these totally fail.

  • Canes95's avatar
    Canes95
    Newbie
    2 years ago

    Same issue here.  Kids can no longer turn off the tv powered button has to be pushed in for over 10 seconds and sometimes it works.  Only the power button and batteries were changed.  I’ve had Rokus for almost a decade and this is the first instance of a remote not lasting four months.  @roku Remote was for 65 inch TCL purchased at Walmart for Black Friday. 

    • RokuCarly's avatar
      RokuCarly
      Community Moderator
      2 years ago

      We appreciate your first post here in the Roku Community, Canes95!

      Thanks for letting us know about the remote issue you are currently experiencing. We'd be happy to assist you in reaching the proper support regarding this matter.

      You can try to press and hold the Back and Home buttons simultaneously for about 30 seconds to reset it. After doing so, re-pair it again to see if this will make any difference.

      If the issue still occurs, please be informed that TCL manufactures its player hardware, which includes the remote you are referring to, so in this case, we highly suggest reaching out to your TV manufacturer as they will be the ones who can further assist you with this. Perhaps a replacement for your remote would be an excellent resolution for this.

      You can reach them here: Contacting Support for Your Roku TV

      In the meantime, you can use the Roku mobile app as an alternative to your physical remote. It works well with all of Roku's streaming players and has a private listening feature.

      Best regards,
      Carly 

      • Lrh's avatar
        Lrh
        Newbie
        2 years ago

        I am glad to see I'm not the only one having this issue. It's very frustrating. I've tried all of the tips I've read and nothing has worked. I'm ready to ditch Roku and go back to the fire stick! 

        Please recall these remotes and replace them with better quality.

  • jhalloran83's avatar
    jhalloran83
    Newbie
    2 years ago

    I am having the same issue! I have to press hard on the right and down button. My kids can no longer use it. I’m very frustrated and considering switching away from Roku. Please help!

    • DanUK's avatar
      DanUK
      Streaming Star
      2 years ago

      I have been using my old remote, it made me realise just how AWFUL the current Roku remotes are, but the volume buttons on the old one have been disabled by a firmware update.

      Roku is the ONLY company I know that actually removes critical functionality of a device with forced firmware updates.  The least they can do is STOP FORCING updates and publish all updates so that customers can choose what functionality they want.

      Do we trust a company who treats customers with utter disdain and contempt to not be recording us via the microphone in the remote?

      The EU and UK GDPR law breaking privacy policy of Roku leads one to assume the worst.

      The fact of the matter is that Roku does not give a **bleep** about the manufacturing defects in Roku Remotes, I am calling all the big retailers in my country to let them know that they are liable for replacement under our consumer rights legislation.  I figure that if enough people make a claim then they will stop stocking Roku and only then will Roku change the design.

      I am buying alternative product to test out, I will never buy Roku again, the Roku Trustpilot score of 1.4 shows the further contempt they have for customers. 

      https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.roku.com

      Share your own experiences.

    • RokuCarly's avatar
      RokuCarly
      Community Moderator
      2 years ago

      A warm welcome here in the Roku Community, jhalloran83.

      Firstly, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, and no worries! We will coordinate this with our Support team to provide the best course of action regarding the issues you're currently experiencing with the right and down arrows of your Roku remote.

      With this being said, kindly check your inbox as we will send you a Private Message to collect personal information such as the email address associated with your Roku account and more.

      Your patience and understanding are highly appreciated as we work on this. 

      Best regards,
      Carly

  • MikeHunt's avatar
    MikeHunt
    Channel Surfer
    2 years ago

    I'm still waiting for the Roku team to get back to me. They ask me for information in an email, I replied and they never replied back. The remotes right button does not work but obviously they aren't going to make good on resolving this issue because it's been months now. I am very disappointed in them. I have been a costumer since 2017 but I may not be anymore after this issue. I cannot not use the remote and that is the only way to work the TV. They should be ashamed of themselves. They expect us to buy another one which is not good for their costumers. I'm sure I am not the only one who feels these way. If you do not get back to me I will be forced to get rid on ruko altogether. 

    • RokuCarly's avatar
      RokuCarly
      Community Moderator
      2 years ago

      Hi, MikeHunt!

      Thanks for letting us know about this. I'd be happy to check your email and proceed to the next steps.

      I will be coordinating this with our Support team for additional reinforcement. In this case, I will reach out to you via Private Message to gather further details.

      Thanks,
      Carly

      • whitbecs's avatar
        whitbecs
        Reel Rookie
        2 years ago

        Same issue here, volume buttons are very hard to get a response.  Resorting to using the TV remote just for volume.

  • Kiro1's avatar
    Kiro1
    Reel Rookie
    11 months ago

    I’m having the same issue. I have to push really hard and wiggle the buttons for anything to happen. This has been an issue since I first got my Roku 

    • RokuCarly's avatar
      RokuCarly
      Community Moderator
      11 months ago

      Welcome, and thank you for posting here in the Roku Community, Kiro1!

      We appreciate you reaching out for support and letting us know you've experienced the same issue of having trouble pressing certain buttons on your physical remote. Rest assured that we will help you find the best resolution possible.

      Before proceeding, we'd like to know more about the specifics, and would be great if you could provide us with additional information such as follows:

      • What specific Roku device is this remote currently paired to?
      • Is this the remote that came with it? If not, what is the model of this remote?
      • When and where did you purchase this?
      • What specific buttons are hard to press?

      With more information, we'll be able to assess your concerns better and provide the most accurate resolution. 

      We'll be looking forward to your response.

      Best regards,
      Carly

      • Kiro1's avatar
        Kiro1
        Reel Rookie
        11 months ago

        Thanks for reaching out so quickly. My device is the Roku streaming stick. It was purchased around Christmas 2023. I’m not exactly sure where it was purchased from since it was a gift. It was most likely from Amazon but I can’t be 100% positive. It’s only the volume up/down and mute button - the other buttons work fine

  • MaleusDavo88's avatar
    MaleusDavo88
    Channel Surfer
    10 months ago

    I’m also having the issue with the remote. The arrow keys that control volume down has to be pressed hard and harder every-time. There’s an issue with this remote, too many users with the same issue with the arrow button. I wonder if the post is marked as solved because it was replaced by Roku.

  • manfamm's avatar
    manfamm
    Channel Surfer
    6 months ago

    Roku replaced two of my remotes with this problem.  Sadly, it now appears that one of the replacements has failed again.  Has anyone had any luck obtaining additional replacements?

     

    • RokuTakashi's avatar
      RokuTakashi
      Community Moderator
      6 months ago

      Hi, manfamm 

      Thanks for posting here in the Roku Community.

      I understand the trouble you've encountered with your Roku remote, and we'd like to gather more information for us to understand the issue further and help.

      Here is the information you can provide:

      • May we know what specific Roku remote model you are having issues with?
      • When did you first encounter the issue?
      • What specific button/s are hard to press?

      With more details, we'll be able to move forward in helping you get the right resolution.

      Thanks,
      The Roku Community Team. 

       

      • manfamm's avatar
        manfamm
        Channel Surfer
        6 months ago

        It's a streaming stick + HD 4k/hdr: SKU #3810R Lot #2189041010; device ID2139A9512737.  We have had the issue with the remote for a year and received a replacement Voice Remote with TV controls (SKU#RCA1R) this summer.  The new remote generally works other than the fast forward button, which works intermittently and requires that you press it down very hard.