Channels & viewing

[tvfan126]

Hello, for this past week I've encountered an issue with my TCL Roku TV's YouTube app.

Whenever I watch a video, the watch history does not update showing that I've watched the video. It is updating whenever I watch a video on my phone or laptop, but my Roku is no longer contributing to my watch history. This started happening after I randomly got logged out of the YouTube app and had to sign in again.

I contacted YouTube support, and after an extensive chat, they said there were no problems on their end and it was 100% "a Roku issue." I don't necessarily agree with that, just relaying information here.

I've restarted the TV, logged in and out of the app, deleted the YouTube Roku app and reinstalled it, used different Wi-Fi connections, have all the latest updates and have no idea where to go from here.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated! The YouTube app and watch history have worked perfectly for 5 years.

[RokuKariza-D · Accepted solution]

Hi @tvfan126

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community!

Did you restart your Roku TV before adding the channel back in? That step is crucial when performing the troubleshooting. If you haven't tried it yet, we would recommend giving it a shot once again. Here are the detailed steps you can follow:

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.
2. Restart your Roku device: Restart the device from the settings menu. Go to Settings > System > Power > System restart > Restart.
3. Re-install the channel: After your Roku device restarts, visit the Roku Channel Store and add the channel again.

If the issue persists after attempting the suggestions above, 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. In this case, 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

[tvfan126]

Thank you so much, this seems to have worked!

[Sistasa]

Same problem here. YT history shows up on my phone & PC... Plus, if I watch it on my phone, it will then show up on Roku as history. ... but not if I watch it directly on Roku. So that seems, to me, to be a Roku problem. I heard YouTube might be leaving Roku...could this be the real issue?

[RokuKariza-D]

Hi @Sistasa

Thanks for the post.

My suggestion above worked with the OP. I would recommend trying it out and see if that will resolve the issue you're experiencing.

Please keep us posted.

All the best,
Kariza

[Sistasa]

Yes, thank you. I tried that before I posted. And attempted to contact YT.  but logically, it doesn't seem like it would be YT because they are keeping the history everywhere else. Oh, I also have an old YT channel (2010) and IT'S history shows up on roku as normal. Did I mention the channels in question are new? 

Thx again!

[RokuKariza-D]

@Sistasa

Thanks for the reply.

As mentioned in my previous post above, channels on Roku are maintained by the channel developer themselves. We suggest contacting YouTube Support directly to report the issue since there might be a problem within their channel in our platform that needs to be addressed with an update from the channel developer.

We appreciate your understanding.

All the best,
Kariza

[AlanTownUSA]

These steps did not resolve the same exact issue for me.  I reached out to YouTube and they are not fully aware of this issue and have opened a ticket to solve the issue.

[sochiagha]

For some reason, I followed all the instructions, and my brand account still doesn't work in updating the watch history. For my personal account, it works. But, I usually use my brand account to watch Youtube. 

[Deekent]

I'm having this issue as well. Youtube history builds only if I use phone/tablet/pc/cast-to roku. Using the roku app alone will not build the history. I tried the fix recommended here, and no change. I tried disconnecting from power too....still no history builds unless the app is used from another device. This is clearly a roku issue. Maybe time to try Firestick.