Video Ads Autoplaying on Homescreen
please make the setting automaticalty disabled on the filling device types: Players Tvs
Forum Discussion
310 Replies
Just turned on my TV to see a video open on the home screen and play some trailer? I hope this was a fluke. I trashed all of my Amazon boxes years ago because of this garbage. If it keeps up, my Rokus will be next.
I have an Ultra 4k player. I don't use it for anything other than playing other services. Now... it's bad enough that the home screen is flooded with ads. But today when I went to use the device it tried to force me to watch an ad before I could select my ap. This is unacceptable and if it continues, I'm trashing this device. How dare you force me, on a device that I ALREADY paid for, to watch a streaming ad before choosing an ap to watch another service. This needs to stop and I want to know how to do it.
I also got this. It was a Moana 2 ad and it had a "close" button if I wanted to dismiss it.
I don't have a picture of it, but it's clearly a new feature that Roku has just rolled out.
If it happens again, I'll also be getting rid of all roku products.
No... no one is going to have a picture of it. We don't sit here watching TV with a camera ready to take a screen shot. Two of us have had the exact same experience and this experience is unacceptable. Keep it up and your device will be trashed and I won't be buying another one.
This is absolutely unacceptable and I will never use or sell a roku device again if this happens. I cannot believe they thought they can get away with a full screen obtrusive ad.
Just started tonight on one of our ultras (we have four roku devices in the house). They're all a bit older and I was thinking about getting newer models but if this is the route things are going I will absolutely change to different hardware. This is completely unacceptable, remove it immediately. And no, I'm not willing to pay monthly to restore functionality I already paid over $60 for. You have competitors, Roku, this is a great way to lose a ton of market share to them.
F… U… Roku. If I see another loud ad playing when I turn my Rokus on, waking up everyone before I can mute it, I’m switching to Apple. Stupid decisionmaking on Roku’s part.
I took the time to find this community and register, despite never participating before, since this appears to be the only route for Roku feedback.
The pop-up video ads before hitting the home screen are the exact type of BS I bought a Roku to get away from. I don't care if you can turn them off or not; the next step will be even more egregious if they don't revert them back.
I am more than willing to go buy an AppleTV next month if it means I don't have to put up with ever-more-intrusive advertising.
Just as I assumed... They're testing this on us, they expected some blowback, and they're likely fine with it vs the new ad revenue.
"Roku tests customer patience with startup video ads"
https://www.theverge.com/news/631392/roku-immediate-video-ads-startup
"Roku slammed over automatic ads playing at startup: ‘Considering jumping ship now"
TIME TO JUMP SHIP. It's the only thing they understand.
Personally, I have not found a more powerful combination of hardware and software than Plex + Nvidia Shield, it's as future-proof you can get these days, customizable, and doesn't control your ecosystem like others do too, including Apple.
I just don't get it. Most companies do focus groups to see how changes will be accepted. It's pretty egotistical of a company to just throw something out for everyone then later change back after the customers react badly. It's like a dare to their customers to leave in a market with many many options. Why companies do this is beyond me when there are so many current examples of what offending your base customers will do (Bud light, Gillette, Tesla). Roku isn't even so cheap it's worth any hassle. I switched from fire and Amazon's ads were annoying but more of a background annoyance. This is a in your face annoyance that actually requires user input to get rid of and before you can do anything else. It's like my echo will offer suggestions after I ask it to turn on lights. What Roku is doing would be like me saying echo, then it offers suggestions then I get to ask it to turn on lights after saying no to the suggestion.
I completely agree. This is a ridiculous overstep. You fundamentally changed a product I've had for years without any issues. We have five Roku devices in our house and our Ultra started attempting to play video ads every time it's turned on or woken up from standby. This is absolutely a no-go for me. I'm currently looking to replace all of our Roku devices because of this and I will never go back. Roku crossed a big line. The sad part is I figured out if delete the Roku app the ads stop but now it constantly asks me to reinstall Roku. I'm done.
Started to get the auto play ads on my Roku homepage. I've used, and enjoyed, Rokus since the first one came out. I've purchased them for family and recommended Roku to friends. If these ads stay, I will destroy - not sell, not donate, not give away, literally destroy - all of my Rokus. This is en**bleep**ification at its worst, just seeing how **bleep** and annoying your product can be before too many people leave the service and revenue goes down. Maybe my loss to Roku isn't enough, but I hope large numbers of users leave Roku if these intrusive ads become the norm.
I just saw this today on my Ultra 4k, how disappointing. I've always loved Roku, had them for years and years since they were a small unknown company. Now they're just another greedy giant, falling far from what made them great in the first place. I'm switching to Apple TVs now.
Too true.
I have started noticing this as well. If Roku wants to ensure that I never buy another Roku product again, keep doing things like this. I won't even consider buying another Roku TV for this very reason. They are not giving me anything in exchange for this extreme annoyance. I only subscribe to services that have no ads, because I detest them so much.
Unwanted ads also on home screen on Roku Express 4K +.
Customer service was not helpful. It clearly states in “settings” that video ads cannot be removed.
I suggest you post a user review for your specific Roku device in Amazon and everywhere else to advise potential buyers. You can post even if you bought elsewhere.Definitely agree about posting reviews warning potential buyers on all of the big retail web sites. I know for sure that I never would have bought my Roku had I known they were going to force these auto-play ads on us. We need to get the word out so that others don't fall into the same trap that we did.
I have about 10 rokus for the house, apt. etc. Instead of throwing them away, I would sooner sell or give them away to people that wanted them. This way the company does not profit from their F_ck ups.
What does selling the devices or giving them away do? If they are used by others, the ads and subscription possibilities are the same. Just like most streaming devices and/or smart devices from all brands most of Roku's revenue is from ads or subscriptions that they own or are managed by them with some revenue acquired by licensing their operating systems to third-party TV manufacturers. While I do agree that there is a point where it is oversaturated and a bit too much, you also are not going to get away from advertisement on any smart device, unless you pay for some type of premium no-ad service which most people are not willing to pay the cost of that, which continues to increase. Just ask HBO who continues to rebrand in an effort to survive in a crowded streaming space. Or the many other services that have either merged or gone out of business due to lack of profitability, which is why ad revenue has become more prevalent with all devices and apps.
I have a Roku Ultra. Sit down and turn on TV, hit the Home button on Roku Remote and I'm blasted by a very loud Disney Wicked Ad right away. WTF Roku.
Been a Roku user just about as long as they've been around. Went through many different Roku devices. No more. Switching to AppleTV 4K box. Found it for $10 off at costco online and it'll be here in 3 or 4 days. Roku can suck eggs over this decision.
Just repeating for those who do not read through the entire thread:
Try this: go to Settings/Accessibility/Autoplay video. Change it to OFF.
I just purchased an Apple TV 4K 128GB from Costco because of Roku's decision to put loud video ads on my Roku Home Screen. I've never had a Apple product in my life, but the Apple has no ads on their device (streaming channels still do) and take privacy much more seriously than Roku who sells every single bit of user's information and data.
I don't know who at Roku thinks it's a good idea to ruin the user experience over ad revenue, but hopefully it bites them in the ass and enough users jump ship.
The reality though is only a very insignificant amount of users will actually do anything about it other than moan and whine and take it. Sure, they'll say they're dumping their Roku, but with most it's just an empty threat and Roku knows this. The revenue from allowing and using the ads will outshine the few users who leave.
For those saying to turn off Settings/Accessibility/Autoplay Video that's only a temp solution that works for some and not all users. They will figure out how to bypass it for all or will simply remove that setting. Ad revenue is just too much for them to ignore and they want that money, no matter how users feel.
