Forum Discussion

andy333's avatar
andy333
Reel Rookie
10 months ago
Solved

TCL TV does not connect to external drive

I have a TCL Roku TV, model TCL 43S425 43 inches. Yesterday it updated to the newest software and the TV stopped accessing the hard drive that is normally connected. It worked after placing a video file on the root of the drive. But I like to have my files within folders, and this was not necessary before. Is there a solution to prevent this problem?

Without a video file on the root, it denies access to the drive.

  • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
    RokuRiamie-D
    10 months ago

    Hi andy333,

    Welcome to the Roku Community.

    Thanks for letting us know about the problem with your TCL Roku TV not being able to access your media player files after the latest software update. No worries, we are more than happy to help you with this concern.

    When you mentioned that it worked after placing a video file at the root of the drive, did you mean that the older file no longer works and only the newly added file worked?

    We suggest you try removing the Roku Media Player application from the TCL Roku TV and add it back:

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote
    2. Move to the right and highlight the Roku Media Player application
    3. Press Star on your Roku remote to open the Options menu
    4. Select Remove the app and confirm when prompted: How to remove apps from your Roku streaming device

    After removing the app, try to system restart the TCL Roku TV and add again the Roku Media Player application:

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote
    2. Scroll and select Settings
    3. Select System
    4. Select Power. If you do not see a Power submenu, skip to the next step.
    5. Select System restart
    6. To add the Roku Media Player application go back to the Home screen
    7. Scroll and select Search and search for "Roku Media Player" 
    8. Move to the right and highlight the Roku Media Player application
    9. Select Add Channel to install the app on your TCL Roku TV. : How to add apps to your Roku streaming device

    After following the steps process, kindly launch the Roku Media Player application and try again if you will get your files from your folders.

    Please let us know if there's anything else we can help you with.

    Regards,
    Riamie

  • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
    RokuRiamie-D
    7 months ago

    Hi andy333,

    Greetings from the Roku Community!

    We would like to follow up about the current status of your TCL Roku TV. Specifically, we want to know if you are still experiencing issues with accessing files on the Roku Media Player. Your feedback will help us understand if this problem persists.

    To make sure that your TCL Roku TV is running the latest software version, we suggest you try the following: 

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote 
       
    2. Scroll and select Settings
    3. Select System
    4. Select Software update
    5. Select Check Now to manually check for updates
    • Tip: The System update screen displays the current software and build version, along with the date and time of the latest update.

    If the issue still persists after the update, please let us know.

    Regards,
    Riamie

  • andy333's avatar
    andy333
    7 months ago

    The problem seems to have disappeared with the latest update. I still have a small file in the root of my external drive as precaution, but the TV has stopped completely to report any errors. Previously, it would still report an error and work sometimes. So this issue seems confined to a single update. Thank you for your support.

  • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
    RokuRiamie-D
    Community Moderator
    10 months ago

    Hi andy333,

    Welcome to the Roku Community.

    Thanks for letting us know about the problem with your TCL Roku TV not being able to access your media player files after the latest software update. No worries, we are more than happy to help you with this concern.

    When you mentioned that it worked after placing a video file at the root of the drive, did you mean that the older file no longer works and only the newly added file worked?

    We suggest you try removing the Roku Media Player application from the TCL Roku TV and add it back:

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote
    2. Move to the right and highlight the Roku Media Player application
    3. Press Star on your Roku remote to open the Options menu
    4. Select Remove the app and confirm when prompted: How to remove apps from your Roku streaming device

    After removing the app, try to system restart the TCL Roku TV and add again the Roku Media Player application:

    1. Press Home on your Roku remote
    2. Scroll and select Settings
    3. Select System
    4. Select Power. If you do not see a Power submenu, skip to the next step.
    5. Select System restart
    6. To add the Roku Media Player application go back to the Home screen
    7. Scroll and select Search and search for "Roku Media Player" 
    8. Move to the right and highlight the Roku Media Player application
    9. Select Add Channel to install the app on your TCL Roku TV. : How to add apps to your Roku streaming device

    After following the steps process, kindly launch the Roku Media Player application and try again if you will get your files from your folders.

    Please let us know if there's anything else we can help you with.

    Regards,
    Riamie

    • andy333's avatar
      andy333
      Reel Rookie
      10 months ago

      Thanks Riamie for the reply. I meant before the update, I had my files organized by folder (holidays, family, nature, etc.). All the video files were inside one of the folders. After the update, access to the HDD was impossible. I had to move the files of one folder to the root of the HDD. Then it could read again all files, even those in folders. Currently, I placed my video files back to their folder of origin and left a sample 1 second file in the root. It seems that the software is checking for files in the root, and if it finds none, it denies access to the whole drive, not showing any files or folders, even if the drive is compatible. With that one sample file, it grants access to the HDD. It should instead show the folder structure of the drive and any playable files as you navigate. It took me some attempts to make it work, and it is silly to have a sample file just for the software to recognize the drive. The HDD drive is NTSF formatted and connected via USB. It worked without problems since 2018, when I purchased the TV.

      Removing and re-adding the media player has no effect. The software still wants a playable file in the root to give access to the external drive.

      • RokuRiamie-D's avatar
        RokuRiamie-D
        Community Moderator
        10 months ago

        Hi andy333,

        Thank you for the additional information.

        I will be coordinating this with the appropriate team. Kindly provide me with the necessary details such as:

        • Roku TV model, serial number, device ID, and OS version (this can all be found in Settings > System > About)
        • Issue ID (press the Home button 5 times, followed by the Back button 5 times, and provide us with this ID)
        • Model of the drive

        I will be looking forward to your response.

        Regards,
        Riamie