Community discussions

[JM10]

Recycling your Roku box might make you vulnerable to illegal access of your streaming channels.

I noticed during accessing a series episode on Netflix, it was starting up in Spanish rather than my preferred language, English.  I thought I had unknowingly accessed another language and I changed it back to English.  Next day I viewed another episode and same problem happened again.  A day or so later, I get a message while accessing Netflix that the number of simultaneous users exceeded my plan limit.  So I assumed that some unknown person was accessing my Netflix account and I got onto my PC and changed my Netflix password.  This seemed to fix the problem, but I also noticed that my Netflix list of recently viewed items included some titles (in Spanish) that I had not selected or viewed.  So, this confirmed that my Netflix account was being used by someone not authorized. 

Since I only watch Netflix via Roku, I got to wondering how someone could access it.  Then I remembered that I had replaced an old legacy Roku Box with a new Roku streaming stick.  Being environmentally conscious, I put the old Roku box in the electronics recycling bin at my local trash facility.  At this point, the Roku box must have landed in the hands of someone who later hooked it up to a TV.  And, apparently, the Roku box still had a record in its memory chip of my streaming channels, so this person was able to access Netflix.  Somehow Netflix can detect subsequent access via a Roku device and not ask for a password, except in the case where the password has been changed.  Then it will ask for the password only on the first access after the change.

What I should have done, is smashed the Roku box with a sledge hammer before recycling it.  Keep this in mind, if you get rid of an old Roku box.  Make sure is is no longer functional.

Jack

PS.  I am changing the passwords on other premium streaming channels.

[atc98092 · Accepted solution]

Smashing the box is not necessary. There's a menu option called System Reset, which will wipe the device and remove all your personal information. It can also be done without even connecting the player to a TV by pressing and holding the recessed reset button for a minimum of 30 seconds (and not one second less). Trashing the device is not ecologically sound.

[HDMIGuy]

You should login to your Roku account and unlink the device that you disposed of, otherwise the user still has access to your Roku account.  If you did not set up a pin number to make purchases I strongly encourage that as well.  You are lucky the finder did not subscribe to a premium channel using the Roku you discarded.

[JM10]

The reset option sounds like a winner.  Didn't think of it assuming that the electronics recycling center would disassemble the box and not let someone use it.  I think the key element here is that a Roku box is somewhat similar to a discarded PC where for the PC, the hard drive has user information.  By the same token a Roku box has user data stored in its memory.  I hope other readers learn from this.

Jack

[Strega]

I think it is very common for many/most electronic devices to be resold.  Around here, the e-cycling drop-off centers are mostly Goodwill stores.  I assume that when anything dropped off works at all, they try to sell it first.  If something is still at all useful to anyone, reselling/regifting/repurposing is by far the most efficient kind of recycling.  Oh, and when some old electronic products get really old, they become collectable.  Some old watches and calculators with LED displays sell for hundreds of dollars now. 1970s personal computers can go for thousands.

[JCGoodwin]

I would never smash a Roku product. When I upgraded to a Roku TV, I think I did a factory reset on my device, then packed it up and put it in a book-donation box outside. The next day, I noticed that someone had taken it.

[makaiguy]

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@atc98092 wrote:

Smashing the box is not necessary. There's a menu option called System Reset, which will wipe the device and remove all your personal information.

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I think @atc98092 meant to say Factory reset.

It is accessed via Roku menu path Settings > System > Advanced system settings > Factory reset. 

[atc98092]

Thank you @makaiguy Different boxes word it differently, and I mixed the labels in my brain. Factory Reset is correct. 

[948493]

Lol, smashing it sure sounds Ike fun!  I get that you can do a full system reset, but why waste that old perfectly good sledgehammer sitting around collecting dust?  This a “percussive” or “kinetic” reset, hahaha.  

[JCGoodwin]

Like I mentioned, just doing a factory reset and giving it away to someone (if you can't find a buyer) is the best idea.