Account, payments & subscriptions

[Daughter-in-law]

I set my mother in law up with a roku is there any way to add channels and sign into them with my existing accounts ( like Netflix and Peacock or HBO Max with my cable provider) from another location? If I purchase a Roku for myself and use the same account so I can add channels will it update in hers? 

[makaiguy · Accepted solution]

@Daughter-in-law-

Roku channel apps are added to one's Roku ACCOUNT, and then downloaded and installed to all compatible Rokus linked to that account. (Note that some apps may rely on features and capabilities added in recent years so may not be compatible with some much older models )

So yes, if you link a Roku to the same Roku account (identified by email address and account password), channel apps added or removed via that Roku would be added or removed on both Rokus.

With knowledge of the email address and password for the account you can also log in to https://my.roku.com. On the Channel Store there you can find and add channels that way.  Channels cannot be removed that way, though.

If you are concerned that your mother-in-law might inadvertently commit to payments by installing channels that require paid subscriptions, while in the account you can also set a PIN number for the account and set it to be required for any payment commitments.

[atc98092]

To add what @makaiguy provided: you can't actually control a Roku from a remote location. The Roku app for a phone requires the phone to be connected to the same network as the Roku. As mentioned, you can add channels remotely through the Roku user web site. You can't remove a channel using that method, and you can't enter user authentication (name and password) remotely either. Some channels will retrieve the login credentials from the user account, but most do not. 

One other comment: I don't think you can use cable subscriber account to log in unless the Roku is connected to the same ISP. So if you have Comcast/Xfinity TV service at your home, the other Roku must be connected to a Comcast Internet connection for the login to work. If that has changed, it's something recent and I hadn't heard of a change. 

[makaiguy]

@Daughter-in-law-

Some minor clarifications to @atc98092's post above, inserted in blue, for people totally unfamiliar with using Roku systems:

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@atc98092 wrote:

To add what @makaiguy provided: you can't actually control a Roku from a remote location. Any local operation, such as electing a channel to watch from the list of installed channels, choice of program to watch on a given channel, starting/pausing/stopping playback, changing settings, etc.  for an individual Roku can only be done on that Roku.
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You can't remove a channel using that method, and you can't enter user authentication (name and password for a given channel) remotely either. 

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One other comment: I don't think you can use cable subscriber account to log in unless the Roku is connected to the same ISP. So if you have Comcast/Xfinity TV service at your home, the other Roku must be connected to a Comcast Internet connection for the login to work. If that has changed, it's something recent and I hadn't heard of a change. 

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I don't have a cable TV account on which to check, but I suspect this may be a requirement implemented by specific cable systems and may not be a universal restriction.