I sincerely hope this is not true as it not feels shady it feels like it should be illegal. I purchased this tv 2 years ago, and now roku changes the terms. I would not have purchased it, if I would not be able to watch any data free tv. We use mobile hot for Netflix and it doesn't feel right to use our data for free tv channels. Very upsetting!
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IMO, where Roku brings such an outcome on itself is the way they don't let use a prior update, and freeze ourselves there. I don't think it would be terrible for a software update to deprecate older tvs. But, when Microsoft does that, you can still use Win 7 (or XP, whatever the timeframe is) on your old computer.
I think Roku doesn't want to do that because it would be too much work. But, maybe Roku's idea for a marriage with tv isn't feasible without that work. It's like they want it both ways. Simple, but takeover the tv market. That's not going to happen (if taking over the market with this kind of simplicity -- not supporting prior versions for people knocked out by a later update -- means people with dead-end tvs. Essentially the terms of service changing on them, just to feed Roku's desires for more revenue).
Something isn't right about this situation. Either regulators are going to insert themselves. Or, word of mouth is going to spread (and fewer will buy Roku TVs, not wanting to have a disposable, flim-flammy tv.). Maybe both will happen.
It seems increasingly clear Roku isn't worried (not feeling any need to do things different). If anything, it's getting worse. It was revealing how my tv's home screen (theme) changed today to a broken antenna tv. Either that's another example of Roku's incredible tone deafness, or blatant lack of caring. It's like they're proud of breaking tvs. It's hard to believe anyone didn't realize how customers are affected. To me, that was really revealing. They don't care.
yeah man. im having the same issue with my tcl.
roku tv 7130x
serial yn00wc489769
device id j398cw489769
software ver 9.4.0 build 4200-30
tracker id 69-025-852
turn on tv, select live tv without being connected to internet, wifi, hotspot. the screen is black and if you press left on the d-pad the guide is loading. if it doesnt load no channel.
i hope this can be fixed ty
Thanks for providing us with your information.
I have passed it along to the appropriate team to investigate further.
Thanks,
Danny
Without an internet connection, antenna TV input (OTA) only shows a black screen and I cannot switch channels using up down navigation on the remote. All I get is the black screen. This just started happening after a the recent software update 9.4.
When I borrow a hotspot to connect to the internet OTA works fine. If the hot spot is turned off I can still change channels and watch OTA TV but as soon as I switch inputs or turn off the TV, OTA fails to work again.
Any suggestions?
It will hang, waiting for a connection with an overlayed message saying "connecting." I wonder if your experience is the same thing. When you go to a channel, it might stay black waiting for the program info (which apparently is being retrieved from the internet, not the OTA broadcasted guide).
The only solution I've seen is to do a factory reset, and tell the setup you don't have a network connection. It will install whatever version of software the tv came with. You can then use that as an antenna tv (without any streaming ability, because you'd never connect the tv to the internet.). If you need streaming, you could buy an external streaming device. I'm not familiar with them at all (Amazon fire? Apple tv? Roku has some. But, if you're not feeling the Roku love, it seems out of place to mention them.).
If you dig Roku TV's streaming, you could buy an external digital tv tuner with HDMI connection. Watch antenna tv using an external box.
One downside to that is: Rokus updates are untested. It would probably be better to use it as a factory-reset & disconnected antenna tv (so it's never molested again by an update).
However: Roku's antenna interface was never that great. The external boxes give you numeric remote keypad, favorites, the ability to add channels without a destructive rescan. Also the ability to schedule recording of a show (or, timeshift a show while watching it). Could be much better in some ways than devoting the Roku TV to antenna watching.
Last week I bought three tuners (Mediasonic HW-150, TV View AT-300 & iView 3500). I used to *love* my old DTV "converter" boxes. They were simple, easy to use. I'm hoping one of these will be as good. (I need to make time to look at them). One forum member bought the HW-130, which is supposed to be the same as the 150, but scaled down. They didn't like it. So, I could be wrong about these. I need to make time to look at them the next day or two.
The point I'm making: it's quite likely nothing is going to change. If you look back at problems, we could be talking about this one a year from now. It could be deliberate, not a bug. It's likely it won't change (if history is any guide). So, those are your options. 1) Make it a non-streaming antenna-tv (using whatever old version of software it came loaded with). Or, 2) use it as a streaming tv, and add an external tuner (however bad those devices are. I don't know yet. But, one person wasn't happy with it.).
You can find youtube videos demo'ing those boxes. You can get an idea what it's like. What's not clear enough to me yet (won't know till I set down with the three I have) is if it's a reasonably intuitive/helpful interface. If it feels nice to use. (My old DTV converter boxes were. A Zenith & Digital Stream. They weren't rough, or too tedious. They didn't get in the way. I could do what I wanted to do with favorites, and changing channels, rescanning as an update, not destroying/replacing what I already have. I'd love to have that again. Obvously, it's looking better to keep things separate (not all your eggs in one basket). I like the idea of a separate box in those terms.
Doing a full factory reset did not help. 9.4 a software remain. Since the TV hardware works it's not unreasonable to expect to use it. The trouble is probably related to the program guides and the other posts but I can live without the program guide. It is much less helpful to have just a black screen instead of a program. It would be nice if the Roku people could at least respond to this question.
The primary reason I bought a TV was to watch TV. If I had a permanent internet connection I wouldn't need my outdoor antenna. but normally internet is not available here, it's only available when I borrow a hotspot.
I don't see how a full-factory reset could return you to 9.4 unless you configured the network connection during the reset/stetup steps. (You should be able to say you don't have a network). I thought it would only load 9.4 if it's a new tv that came loaded with 9.4. (If that's the case, start a warranty claim or return it if it's that new).
I agree with you that it should work. But, if you look at the threads going back in time. There's typically no followup or fixes. Some problems have been happening for a very long time. That's why I would prepare for using either an external antenna tuner with HDMI output, or an external streaming device (if you could reset the tv back to an earlier version & never give the tv internet access).
As far as I can tell (looking at the history of topics), this will be a problem next month, and the month after.
Danny, thank you for your response. The reason I haven't responded with the information you requested is because it's a hassle - to update the TV, get the info, reset it back - all while using my mobile hotspot. I've been putting it off, and eventually decided I'm just not going to do it at all.
You KNOW the issue is with the latest update, not with any specific TV model. You also KNOW how to recreate the problem - just disconnect the TV, navigate to home screen and back, and the TV guide is completely gone - just like in the pic I attached to my original post above.
You can pass on to the Ruku development team that not being able to watch over-the-air channels unless TV is connected to the network is a dealbreaker. Antenna channels have always been FREE and Roku can kiss my tiny tush if it's trying to take that away. If I have to use my phone's data - and drain its battery in the process - just to watch some TV, I surely don't need it.
Not being able to select favorite channels is also a super HUGE inconvenience. Recent channels list simply DOES NOT populate. It shows channel 2.1 just because it's the first in the channel list, not because I watch it. Channels I actually watch - I can stay on them for hours, they never make it to the recent channels list.
Bottom line, I have to keep the TV because it's a gift, but I'm NOT updating it unless the issues above are fixed. I have other devices to watch YouTube and Netflix on, so it's not a big deal if I don't watch them on just this TV.
If it helps, the pic attached is of my TV's info with its original software - before the update.
Having same issue: cannot receive antenna TV without network connection. Here are my Roku TV details
roku tv C201X
serial X00100HME319
device id S02589CME319
software ver 9.4.0 build 4200-94
Thanks.