Forum Discussion

vanmeveren's avatar
vanmeveren
Newbie
2 years ago

Roku TV Unable to Connect to the Internet

I have had this TV for several months and it has worked just fine.  I do not have cable or any sort of paid subscription for TV- never have and not interested now.

When I set this TV up, I intentionally did NOT connect it to the internet.  I have a high powered antenna installed in my attic with individual cables run to each of the TV's in the house (total of 5).  This works BEATUIFUL.  I just scan for channels and everything works great!

Yesterday, I made the foolish mistake of seeing if I might be able to get some additional free tv by connecting to the internet.  But, then, it started looking like I was going to have to put in a credit card and have a paid subscription, so I tried to back out of it and its been nothing but a nightmare ever since.

I have done the FACTORY RESET FOUR TIMES, select the IN HOME use and there are still issues.  I have selected the * button on LIVE TV and the screen goes BLACK and does nothing.  I can select the HOME button and then it reverts back to where it was before the screen went black.


I have gone to the LIVE TV and selected "Scan for Channels" and the screen goes BLACK again.  Same thing, I can select the HOME button and it goes back to where I was.

I have gone to the System Input and then once again, the screen goes BLACK again.  Same thing, I can select the HOME button and it goes back to where I was.

I then called 1-888-935-8880 listed for ROKU TV Support.  I was pleasantly surprised to get a young lady that spoke good English.  Spent nearly 30 min on the phone with her.  First, she tried to tell me to swap out my antenna.  I told her I was not doing that because the antenna was not the issue.  It was working just fine for my other 4 TV's because as I mentioned it's a HIGH POWERED antenna installed in my attic w/cabling to each individual TV.  Then, after putting me on hold again to ask someone, she came back and said it needed a Firmware update.  I'm like WHAT THE ?????   How can it need a firmware update when I just want to go back to the way it was WITHOUT connecting to the internet?

Let me say this again, I DO NOT WANT TO BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET IN ANY WAY!!!!  I'm about to throw this thing in the trash!!!

GOD I MISS THE OLD TV's!!!!!  SMART TV'S are NOT SO SMART!

Can't connect to network
Connection issue
tv & player wifi

1 Reply

  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    Community Streaming Expert
    2 years ago

    The phone number you called is NOT Roku support. They don't offer any telephone support. So I don't know who you were talking to. They were probably trying to find a way to charge you a fee for something you didn't really need. But I just searched for that number and discovered it's a Sharp support line. Sharp does sell Roku TVs, but that number was not Roku.

    I can't explain what problem you're encountering getting your TV working again for OTA broadcasts. The TV does not require Internet access to watch OTA, although an Internet connection is required to initially set the TV up after a factory reset. The TV must be linked to your Roku user account, which requires an Internet connection to complete. After that you shouldn't need a connection ever. 

    I'm not certain, but the "Live TV" link might be trying to take you to online channels, not what you receive from an antenna. I don't have a Roku TV close by me at the moment, so can't look at the menu structure. Best I can remember is a home screen tile labeled "Antenna", but with the Roku OS updates they might have changed that.