Forum Discussion

Iceman1913's avatar
Iceman1913
Channel Surfer
12 months ago
Solved

The Roku box won't seem to turn off

So I've noticed when I shut down, the light is still on in the Roku box. I've tried turning it off by pressing the power button on the TV, but to no avail. When the TV itself is fully off though, pressing the power button actually turns the TV on. Any thoughts on how this could be fixed....?

TV & Player Setup
  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    12 months ago

    Iceman1913 

    The Roku devices never really turn "off" (unless you disconnect it from power/pull the plug).

    The Roku devices enter into a "sleep mode/low-power mode" after a bit of time after streaming is ended.   (screensaver usually kicks in and LED power light should turn off).

    When you are finished streaming, make sure to press the Home button on remote. (this will return you to home screen and cease streaming/data usage).  Otherwise, the Roku device will continue to stream away in the background until maybe a screensaver or bandwidth saver setting kicks in if enabled in settings.

    Pressing the Power button has no effect on the Roku device.  The Power button and the Volume buttons are "TV controls" only.

    When you are powering down next time, try pressing the Home button (to return to Home Screen), and then press the Power Button (to turn off TV).  After a few minutes, the Roku device should fall asleep and you should notice the LED light go off.

    When you go to use the Roku next time, press the Power button on the remote to turn on TV, and then press the Home button to "wake up" the Roku device. 

    You can also try enabling HDMI CEC on both your TV and the Roku device. (Settings/System/Control other devices/1-touch play).  When enabled, pressing Home button should simulataneously turn on your TV, switch to the appropriate HDMI port, and wake your Roku device.  You will still need to use the Power button to turn off the TV after pressing Home to stop streaming when you are done.

    ----

    You may want to enable the Bandwidth Saver in the Roku Settings (Settings/Network/Bandwidth Saver).  This will automatically stop streaming after 4hrs if you inadvertently leave the Roku device on.

    Note: some users have reported that some newer 480x Ultra devices LED lights never seem to turn off (or sometimes on) so suspect some bug in OS/firmware that is affecting some users' Ultra devices) if you are already following above methods.

17 Replies

  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    Community Streaming Expert
    12 months ago

    Iceman1913 

    The Roku devices never really turn "off" (unless you disconnect it from power/pull the plug).

    The Roku devices enter into a "sleep mode/low-power mode" after a bit of time after streaming is ended.   (screensaver usually kicks in and LED power light should turn off).

    When you are finished streaming, make sure to press the Home button on remote. (this will return you to home screen and cease streaming/data usage).  Otherwise, the Roku device will continue to stream away in the background until maybe a screensaver or bandwidth saver setting kicks in if enabled in settings.

    Pressing the Power button has no effect on the Roku device.  The Power button and the Volume buttons are "TV controls" only.

    When you are powering down next time, try pressing the Home button (to return to Home Screen), and then press the Power Button (to turn off TV).  After a few minutes, the Roku device should fall asleep and you should notice the LED light go off.

    When you go to use the Roku next time, press the Power button on the remote to turn on TV, and then press the Home button to "wake up" the Roku device. 

    You can also try enabling HDMI CEC on both your TV and the Roku device. (Settings/System/Control other devices/1-touch play).  When enabled, pressing Home button should simulataneously turn on your TV, switch to the appropriate HDMI port, and wake your Roku device.  You will still need to use the Power button to turn off the TV after pressing Home to stop streaming when you are done.

    ----

    You may want to enable the Bandwidth Saver in the Roku Settings (Settings/Network/Bandwidth Saver).  This will automatically stop streaming after 4hrs if you inadvertently leave the Roku device on.

    Note: some users have reported that some newer 480x Ultra devices LED lights never seem to turn off (or sometimes on) so suspect some bug in OS/firmware that is affecting some users' Ultra devices) if you are already following above methods.

    • dh6325's avatar
      dh6325
      Newbie
      8 months ago

      I know this is an old topic, but... I recently "cut the cord" and now have Roku devices on 3 TVs. And I later noticed that the devices will happily keep on streaming even if the TV is turned off. Now I understand this, and have instructed everyone in the house to press the Home button before turning off the TV, but with kids and non-tech spouses this is hard to make happen.

      It seems like the Roku should go to the home screen if the TV is turned off (using the power button on the Roku remote). I guess this is problematic since the power button is more of a toggle, and the Roku doesn't know whether the TV just got turned on or off.

      But why not just have the Roku go to the home screen any time the power button is pressed, regardless. If you are turning the TV off, then you want the home screen anyhow. And if you are turning it on, well, wouldn't you normally want the home screen then, too?

      This way people could just use the remote in the manner they are used to, powering off the TV without that extra step of pressing the home button. Roku could even make this a setting, so that the behavior is based on their preference.

      Am I missing something here?

      • AvsGunnar's avatar
        AvsGunnar
        Community Streaming Expert
        8 months ago

        dh6325 

        The Power button is a "tv control".  It is programmed when setting up the TV (along with the volume controls).  The IR code for the Roku device would have to somehow be universal for every TV that it could be connected to.

        I just setup the Bandwidth Saver on the devices (Settings/Network/Bandwidth Saver) so that at least it will stop streaming after 4hrs (and using data/bandwidth) for those that fall asleep with the TV on or those that just leave the TV on all day and walk away.

        Explain to users that a Roku is very similar to locking a door when leaving the house.  If you just close a door after walking out the house, it remains unlocked. (power button).  Usually, you need to perform the "extra step" of turning a key, or pressing a lock button on the doorknob or keypad, (home button) in order to lock the door and keep others from walking in and stealing your Roku devices and the TV.

        After a while, pressing the Home button before powering down the TV will just become second nature to you. (although I have given up trying to explain this to elderly family members and just rely on the bandwidth saver feature ğŸ™‚.)

    • Iceman1913's avatar
      Iceman1913
      Channel Surfer
      12 months ago

      Thank you, this is very helpful. I must have invoked a power-saver along the way, because when I pressed the Home button after it had been idle for a few hours, the light in the Roku box went off immediately. I guess I have some things to learn about this device!

      • Iceman1913's avatar
        Iceman1913
        Channel Surfer
        10 months ago

        And now the Roku box won;t turn on!

        We were on vacation for a week, I come back, everything seems fine, but when I go to watch streaming, nada. I changed the batteries in my remote, nothing. The streaming on my other two TVs in the hime work fine. Any thoughts?