Forum Discussion

LizzieLav's avatar
LizzieLav
Newbie
2 years ago
Solved

Roku won't update not showing home screen

I have a Roku Express and I've seen that they had trouble with the most recent update (January 2024). It won't perform the update, gives me the Error 004, and then mine won't even show the menu. Besides the "Roku" in the top left corner and the time in the top right, there is nothing on the screen. It's just my wallpaper theme. I have tried unplugging it and resetting it. However, I can't connect it to a different wifi network because I cannot see the menus. 

  • GothamCityMini's avatar
    GothamCityMini
    2 years ago

    Try factory resetting your device.

    If it is one of the little streaming boxes, there should be a pin hole reset into which you can push a paperclip for a 10 second count while the device is powered on.

    If it's something else, check your user's guide or Google your device and factory reset to find instructions.

    I factory reset my Roku, ran through one update sequence and it's now working fine again.

    Note that I did have to reconnect to my wireless network and I had to re-login to all my services, but it's been working great for several days now since the factory reset.

    I think it cleared out the problematic update and then went straight from factory to latest version.

    Fingers crossed!

24 Replies

  • aly_song's avatar
    aly_song
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago

    I’m having this exact problem too. I kept putting off the updates until I was forced to update, then got the error 004 message and now - nothing. I see the same thing on the screen that you described. I hope someone at Roku responds to this thread soon, as I’d really like to be able to use it again soon. 

    • GothamCityMini's avatar
      GothamCityMini
      Channel Surfer
      2 years ago

      Try factory resetting your device.

      If it is one of the little streaming boxes, there should be a pin hole reset into which you can push a paperclip for a 10 second count while the device is powered on.

      If it's something else, check your user's guide or Google your device and factory reset to find instructions.

      I factory reset my Roku, ran through one update sequence and it's now working fine again.

      Note that I did have to reconnect to my wireless network and I had to re-login to all my services, but it's been working great for several days now since the factory reset.

      I think it cleared out the problematic update and then went straight from factory to latest version.

      Fingers crossed!

      • errolmcinnes's avatar
        errolmcinnes
        Channel Surfer
        11 months ago

        Roku shut down the server that updates devices. Any device that is factory reset after July 1 2024 must be discarded and replaced. This was Roku's idea to make consumers replace all their devices that are more than six months old. The device does indeed connect to the internet, but it is bricked, and has no way to update. Thanks for everything Roku. I'm done with them. They bricked two of my tvs, and three Roku express devices, all less than a year old. 

    • Manyfires4's avatar
      Manyfires4
      Channel Surfer
      4 months ago

      Screen blank except for the text. Hit the back button couple of times, got frustrated and turned it off and then on. It came back but soooo slowly. Chk'd auto update & discovered it hadn't updated for 2 weeks. Did a manual update. Came back fine except slower.

      • RokuEmmanuel-D's avatar
        RokuEmmanuel-D
        Community Moderator
        4 months ago

        It's great to see you here, Manyfires4!

        Thanks for reporting your issue with your Roku, which is lagging and slower after an update. We'd like to take a closer look.

        Could you tell us what the latest software build version of your Roku is? You can find that by going to Settings > System > Software Update. 

        In the meantime, try performing a system reboot on your Roku. To do this, just head over to Settings > System > Power (Skip this step, if you don't see any options) > System restart. 

        Let us know if you need more help!

        The Roku Community Team

  • kla9107's avatar
    kla9107
    Newbie
    2 years ago

    I had the same problem, no choice to update, wait for download (>30 sec), then error 004 try back later.  This was followed by no menu or channels - just wallpaper.  Turned it off/on would either still show blank or go to the regular menu.  Leave it off for a long time and it would again try to update.  Model 3910rw - roku express+; software 12.5.0 build 4178-51.  

    Once I got the menu (several update tries and on/offs), I had it factory reset.  Then it updated the software ending with build 4174-51 and is now working.


    I had jotted down several settings I wanted to keep such as channel icon positions before the reset.  I had to reapply settings such as wallpaper and turning off keyclick noise, but all channels were there.  I did have to re-authorize/sign-in to several, but, overall not much work.  

    I wish I could have had the choice to skip the update once it was having trouble.  Please consider adding to future software.  Exiting to a blank screen should not be an acceptable roll out.

    Thank you.

     

  • RokuJechealR's avatar
    RokuJechealR
    Retired Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi LizzieLav,

    A warm welcome to the Roku Community!

    We would recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps provided by our Support page here: What should I do if my Roku® device is unable to update software?

    In addition, we'd also recommend trying to connect your device to an alternate network, such as a mobile hotspot, to see if you can update your device. Then once your device has been updated, try switching back to your home wireless network.

    Keep us posted with what you find out.

    All the best,

    Chel

    • GothamCityMini's avatar
      GothamCityMini
      Channel Surfer
      2 years ago

      My Express+ HD with Composite (https://www.roku.com/products/roku-express-plus-2018 Model 3910RW) started behaving in exactly the same way about a week ago - same behaviours:

      • the Logo/clock only screen
      • multiple calls to update, some actually presenting the error/try again screen, some seeming to succeed
      • Sometimes it would finally make it to the menu screen, but every channel we tried to launch from our favorites would say it couldn't download and run
      • Sometimes it would finally make it to the menu screen, we'd start watching something only to have the system auto-self-reboot 15 minutes into the show.

      Eventually, we found that either exercising great patience would allow the system to get to a menu screen (it would auto-reboot) and allow us to watch entire shows without incident, OR when it either at least made it to, but then hung on the logo/clock only screen, pulling the plug and re-booting it would eventually get it working again.

      So every night we've been powering the Roku up earlier and earlier just to cycle through the repeated updates and reboots.

      And I've tested my network connectivity when my Roku finally "gets its brain back" and it's good - so that's not the culprit.

      I found this other thread (https://community.roku.com/t5/Features-settings-updates/Roku-express-cannot-update-3930x-no-matter-what-I-do/m-p/942037) where someone advised that there was a problem with the recent update, saying:

      "The latest update - 12.5.5.4174 - is broken - once installed the 3930x does not work.  Thus it is probably good that you cannot upgrade. Perhaps Roku have withdrawn the broken update until they can produce one that works?"

      And frankly I was beginning to get the impression that this might be exactly what was happening to your and my device: they are stuck trying to apply an update they have downloaded that just isn't going to work -  and they have a built-in safeguard to eventually revert to the older version if they can't, but you are forced to cycle through trying the update and multiple reboots before the software reverts to a "last well known good" version.

      That said, I found this other thread (https://community.roku.com/t5/Features-settings-updates/Roku-3930X-is-stuck-on-bouncing-logo-screen/td-p/941737) where Roku "recommend proceeding to factory resetting your Roku device" and the user reported that having solved the issue. 

      I can't say I recommend it, but maybe it "clears the device down" to a point where the update can "finally take".

      I'm too chicken to try a factory reset because I don't want to entirely "brick" my device because they don't make the 3910RW anymore and I absolutely need the composite out for my audio soundbar. I wirelessly send the HDMI video to a speakerless ceiling mounted projector via a DVDO Air3c setup behind us, but have the wall that gets projected onto, soundbar and the Roku in front of us.

      I hope they sort this out soon - it's REALLY annoying!

      • RokuJanadeeK's avatar
        RokuJanadeeK
        Retired Moderator
        2 years ago

        Hi GothamCityMini,

        Thank you for keeping us in the loop. We understand that you're having issues with your device, and we appreciate the steps you have taken in an attempt to fix the issue.

        Rest assured, we are aware of the problem and are doing a thorough investigation into it as a team. Having said that, would you kindly supply us with further data?

        • Roku device or TV model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About).
        • Tracker ID when this issue occurs (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button five times, followed by the Back button five times, and provide us with this ID).

        We will be able to forward them to the relevant support team so they can look into them further after a few additional details have been collected. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

        Sincerely,
        Janadee

    • Manyfires4's avatar
      Manyfires4
      Channel Surfer
      4 months ago

      My Roku wasn't updating for 2 weeks in Jan 2025. I tried your suggestion and updated it. Can't tell if it worked or not. Last time it supposed auto updated was 4 days. I'll let you know how that works out. 🤞

  • Stephsnow's avatar
    Stephsnow
    Newbie
    11 months ago

    I’ve factory reset mine 10 times now and still says “update now” and when it does still gets nothing but the wallpaper on the Home Screen 

  • Gemma8132019's avatar
    Gemma8132019
    Newbie
    3 months ago

    4/19/25 My Roku cant update. Cant get to menu. Blank screen with ROKU top left and TIME top right

    • GothamCityMini's avatar
      GothamCityMini
      Channel Surfer
      2 months ago

      Gemma

      Ours did this one night last week, but fortunately it came back okay after we powered it off and then back on.

      I'm guessing that you've already tried powering it off and on, so you might need to try the factory reset that is described higher up in this post. 

      Good luck!

    • RokuJharra-Q's avatar
      RokuJharra-Q
      Retired Moderator
      2 months ago

      Gemma8132019 

      Thanks for letting us know about the issue with the Roku device being unable to update.

      Can you tell us if there’s an error code showing up? It would really help if you could snap a picture of the TV screen. With that info, we can better help you out!

      Looking forward to your reply.

      Roku Community Team