Channels & viewing

[EdRNY]

Last night we added the This Old House channel to our Roku 4800x . We were able to watch a few videos no issue. We bought a subscription for service, entered username and password to channel in Roku. Now whenever we go to watch a video, the channel crashes to Roku home screen.

[AvsGunnar]

Both Roku and This Old House channel are completely free and require no subscription service, No logins, etc.   The only up-front cost for a Roku is the Roku device itself.

Unfortunately, seems you may have been defrauded.  Happens from time to time when typing in wrong address or having a browser redirect.

Do you remember the link you visited when you signed up for This Old House?

All Roku Channels can be installed from within the Roku device itself or their official page after you create an account or login.

https://www.roku.com/

See if you are able to login to your account at same link provided to you.  If you can, change your password immediately and remove your payment info.

Even on This Old House website says free.  https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/streaming-app

[Shawn77]

I'm having the same issue. I installed the This Old House channel and I am subscribed to the This Old House insider, however any time I try to launch a video on my TCL roku tv it immediately brings me back to the home screen. I can watch videos at thisoldhouse.com on other non roku devices through my insider account.

[AvsGunnar]

Ahhhh. Perhaps that was what @EdRNY was referring to, the Insider Membership offered for additional content.

@Shawn77 

From This Old House Troubleshooting page, there is a section re:login on the Roku and having to use the *button to unlink and then relink your app if having problem watching a subscription video.  Here is their support link. Looks like all Roku devices and RokuTVs are supported, so this is not your issue.  See if any of this helps you.

https://support.zype.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013245207-Video-Streaming-Troubleshooting

https://thisoldhouse.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Also recommends making sure your Streaming Device OS is up to date.  For RokuTV [Settings..System...System Update...press Check Now   should be 9.4 v.4200 or the like]  This procedure will also update your installed channels as well as OS.

From Roku, the only troubleshooting is to either update the channel, or try to uninstall the channel, followed by a System Restart, followed by a reinstall of channel.

Otherwise, if you determine problem lies with Channel and you can play the non-member episodes just fine within the app on the RokuTV, you should contact This Old House and they should be able to provide more info that maybe you can share with Community.  https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/contact-us

[Shawn77]

@AvsGunnar  All videos regardless of insider status cause the app to crash and return to the home screen.  I've tried it logged into my account as well as not logged in. I have uninstalled the channel and re installed multiple times. I have made sure my roku tv is fully updated. I even tried a factory reset of the roku tv.  Nothing helps.  I can watch videos on the This Old House website and Android app using my cell phone and laptop just fine. It is only the roku tv that gives me problems.

[AvsGunnar]

@Shawn77 

I know its irritating when these channels/apps fail to launch/crash.  Normally the procedure of un-install, followed by System Restart (flushes any stored corrupted data), then re-install and of course checking for updates is really the extent of it from an end-user standpoint.  The next step is to contact the channel developer with your specific device model and describe the issue you are having as they do the programming for the channel/app.

For what its worth, just tested again on Insignia RokuTV and also a Roku Ultra 4660 and no problems. (Roku OS 9.4 build 4200 on both).  I am not an Insider member (didn't even know about that), but have to say I haven't had an issue with the Channel yet.  It does take a while to load (spinning circle while contacting This Old House server), but hasn't ever crashed while loading or during viewing yet.

I think best bet is to contact This Old House and explain the problem with your particular TV model and network internet specs (it may be an issue they are aware of or unaware of and can provide some additional assistance).   https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/contact-us

You could possibly try connecting tv to the 2.4ghz band of your network if an option for you and then try launching again.  Other option is connect to mobile hotspot and try launching.  This way you can help eliminate/diagnose if it is your network connection/setup.  More often than not though, it is a Channel programming error.  Good luck and post back with an update.

[Deathspared]

Anyone find a fix for this? It’s been happening to me for months. 

[RokuKariza-D]

Hi @Deathspared

Thanks for the post.

We do not have enough details from your original message to make an effective suggestion. Could you tell us more about your concern? Please provide us as well if you've tried any troubleshooting so we know what steps we should take next.

With more information, we can assist you further.

All the best,
Kariza