Solving playback issues

[MrDoh]

---

@Whyausername wrote:

Hey man, don’t know if you’re still facing this issue but for others I encountered this issue as well and it ended up being my dedicated ad blocker (Pihole ).  Whitelisting  2 domains Tubi uses that was being blocked fixed it.

---

You called it, thanks so much! Means that I have to use Cloudflare DNS instead of NextDNS. Both Tubi and the CW apps were blocked by NextDNS. Unfortunately, most streaming boxes don’t seem capable of setting their own DNS provider...too bad.

If I can figure out which advertising domains are being used by the CW and Tubi apps, though, I can white-list them with NextDNS, and go back to using that. A research project for me, I guess *smile*.

[MrDoh]

@Whyausername wrote:

Hey man, don’t know if you’re still facing this issue but for others I encountered this issue as well and it ended up being my dedicated ad blocker (Pihole ).  Whitelisting  2 domains Tubi uses that was being blocked fixed it.

Please list the two domains that you needed to whitelist to allow Tubi app to work with your Pihole.

Also, if you have the same information, the ad domains that need to be whitelisted, for the CW app, that would be doubly helpful.

Would really appreciate it, since NextDNS has the same behavior as your Pihole, blocks the Tubi and CW apps due to blocking the ad domains.

[Whyausername]

@MrDoh Sure thing.  It actually ended up being 4 (note Tubi can change this anytime so just something to be aware of):

popper-engine.production-public.tubi.io
uapi.adrise.tv
license.adrise.tv
s.adrise.tv

sorry but I am unfamiliar with what domains CW uses.  I did some quick testing and I don’t see any obvious domains being blocked that CW would be using so it might’ve either have a temporary ‘blacklist’ where the app recognizes it failed and then stops trying even when trying to click play again or it’s using some large ad service like the google ads domain, in which case basically opens the entire internet of ads back up if whitelisted.

may want to check on CW if you’re able to see logs from NextDNS to confirm

[MrDoh]

Thanks so much for the quick response, really appreciate it!

Good thoughts on the logging, haven't tried to go there yet :-). There is a log, and sites that have been blocked are time/date stamped. Looks useful for this.

[Whyausername]

@MrDoh Update on CW, so yeah the app does do a little local blacklist where even if you press play it doesn’t actually attempt to resend a request if it previously failed.  Have to exit out and reopen app or maybe there’s a timeout.

Anyhow, whitelisting these 4 domains allowed CW to work:

sb.scorecardresearch.com

identity.mparticle.com

02877f9dafd21826d2f5713e0ddb0fd17479a8f5.cws.conviva.com

pubads.g.doubleclick.net

that cws.conviva.com domain you may want to put a wildcard infront of 😉 e.g. *.cws.conviva.com.  Only note is that CW like Tubi can change this anytime with an app update but yup looking at logs and correlating with how you’re using it is an easy way to see which domains being blocked are the culprits!

[Ripper80]

New to Roku.  I have this issue with Tubi as well.  I read the fix, but have no idea how to see the logs to see if something is blocked or edit any files to allow domains.  If someone could point me to a link for this info, that would be great.  Thank you

[RokuKariza-D]

Hello @Ripper80

Thanks for the post.

In some cases, removing the channel and then re-installing it may help. To ensure the process is successful, follow the steps below making sure you restart your Roku device before adding the channel again.

1. Remove the channel: Highlight the channel tile on your home screen and press the Star button to open the options menu. Select Remove channel and confirm.
    
   • Note: If you are removing a subscription channel billed to your Roku account, you must cancel the subscription before you see the Remove channel option. For help identifying this type of subscription channel, read the detailed article about removing a channel.
      
2. Restart your Roku device: Restart the device from the settings menu. Go to Settings > System > System restart > Restart.
    
3. Re-install the channel: After your Roku device restarts, visit the Roku Channel Store and add the channel again.

If you are still experiencing the issue from one channel after attempting the suggestions above, other channels play fine, contact the channel provider's customer support team to report the issue and get help. Channels on Roku are maintained by the channel developer themselves. There's likely an issue within that specific channel that needs to be addressed with an update from the channel developer.

All the best,
Kariza

[MrDoh]

Gave up on this one, too much work to track all the ad domains that I needed to whitelist. Can't use NextDNS because of this, switched to Cloudflare (1.1.1.2/1.0.0.2). Now Tubi, CW, et. al. work fine, but my Roku has ads *smile*. Can't have everything...I did like NextDNS, though.

I guess as long as we want free apps, we're going to have to go along with the requirements of the advertising they need to stay in business.

[MrDoh]

---

@RokuKariza-D wrote:

Hello @Ripper80

Thanks for the post.

In some cases, removing the channel and then re-installing it may help. To ensure the process is successful, follow the steps below making sure you restart your Roku device before adding the channel again.

1. Remove the channel: Highlight the channel tile on your home screen and press the Star button to open the options menu. Select Remove channel and confirm.
    
   • Note: If you are removing a subscription channel billed to your Roku account, you must cancel the subscription before you see the Remove channel option. For help identifying this type of subscription channel, read the detailed article about removing a channel.
      
2. Restart your Roku device: Restart the device from the settings menu. Go to Settings > System > System restart > Restart.
    
3. Re-install the channel: After your Roku device restarts, visit the Roku Channel Store and add the channel again.

If you are still experiencing the issue from one channel after attempting the suggestions above, other channels play fine, contact the channel provider's customer support team to report the issue and get help. Channels on Roku are maintained by the channel developer themselves. There's likely an issue within that specific channel that needs to be addressed with an update from the channel developer.

All the best,
Kariza

---

You've totally missed this issue. The issue is that free apps usually open ad domains at some point, and if you have an ad blocker (via DNS or whatever) that will prevent the apps from working. Either when you try to open the app or when you try to play media on the app, depending on the free app. No amount of un-installing and re-installing the apps is going to change that.

[Babysister]

Tubi will not play. What is wrong?