Channels & viewing

[zoezoe12]

Honestly I don't believe that I have been doing it wrong rather differently. Also I can typically hit the back arrow once and get back to the home screen....not pressing back and back and back and back as you stated. As I said before I have been able to hit the back arrow and exit the showtime app but it is no longer working. Have a good evening

[AvsGunnar]

@zoezoe12 

Different Channels/apps have different navigation methods.  Many as you described will allow you to use the Back button to exit the Channel/app. (normally multiple back presses.)

This procedure actually works well on RokuTVs as sometimes simply pressing the Home button will result in a sluggish performance until the next System Restart. (memory allocation).

Pressing Home will simply close the Channel/app immediately and stop all Streaming.

You haven't been doing it wrong.  You have been doing it another way. (Could be though that the developer has now changed the coding to require the Home Button to exit, so entirely possible.)

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Not uncommon once in a while for the Roku device to lock up preventing exiting or navigating with a Channel/app (normally just a memory cache or even loss of remote signal issue).  Unfortunately, a physical reboot/restart is sometimes needed when this occurs.

[DBDukes]

@zoezoe12 

It looks like you've missed a key point. The proper procedure is:

1. Remove the app
2. Reboot the Roku
3. Reinstall the app

All three steps, in that order. But notice what you wrote:

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@zoezoe12 wrote:

... I already tried removing Showtime, adding it back in, and have rebooted several times. ...

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The difference is critical. What you wrote was 1, 3, 2. The process is 1, 2, 3. And that's a very important difference. The reboot must happen while the app is NOT on the device.

Now, will it make a difference in your situation? Maybe not. If the problem is some stray or corrupt data that's causing it, then yes, it will fix it. But, if the code of the app no longer allows exit via the BACK button, or if the issue is something else, then it won't make a difference. However, since you've been using the BACK button method to exit an app, trying this might restore that.

[cwcheese]

zoe,

it really is app/channel dependent whether hitting the back arrow key exits the running app. I've successfully "backed out of" many apps with the back arrow - sometimes agonizingly inadvertently when I accidentally hit the remote at a key moment of a show I'm streaming (arrrgh!), and I have found some apps which refuse to exit in response to the back arrow at even the initial main menu of the app.

to me, it's not a hill to die on. the home key is literally next to the back arrow so that's my alternative. Roku has provided some guidelines for app developers but the user interface for each is dependent on the programmer; they aren't Apple who religiously regulate every little tic and tack of an app.

[Inkdot17]

I’ve run into this same issue.  It’s really frustrating since I don’t use the roku remote for navigating but rather an LG magic remote.  So now I have to look around for the roku remote just to exit Showtime. Doesn’t make sense to change something so straightforward as navigating to an exit button. I’d love to find a solution.

[SyraPhelan]

Same Hera and started just a few weeks ago… have to turn off TV and start again.

[Streamer317]

@SyraPhelan  Just press the home button like everyone else does. The back button isn’t for exiting a channel. Showtime changed the behavior of how there channel  works 

[cwcheese]

You could utilize the Roku app on your phone to provide a virtual remote that functions pretty much exactly as the physical remote. Also, you can use the regular keyboard on your phone to type in things like username/password or search terms when seeking some content