Discussions

[Cottonjenney]

after the TV has gone in and out of recovery mode, come out of it, made me restart for NO reason, made me log into everything for the umteenth time I have come to the conclusion that the flash SUCKS for this specific tv. for some unknown reason the flash will not hold memory. I can finally get it out of recovery mode and log back into everything but at the slightest mishap (accidentally unplugged, power outage, and some times for no reason I can find) it dumps flash memory and i get to do it all over again.

[Cottonjenney]

honestly, I can finagle it our of recovery mode but if any little thing happens it goes right back, then eventually makes me log back into everything! this happens two or three times a week now. I was able to eventually get it out of recovery mode by hitting the reset button (it took several tries and it seems to work randomly) however I really think the flash memory on the TCL tv's suck and don't hold memory, as now I have to re log in to everything regularly. It will (for no apparent reason) react upon startup like a new tv.

[Visitor45763]

@Cottonjenney , your experience (getting out of recovery for awhile, then back into it) sounds different than others'. 

I forget if this has been mentioned: I wonder if the so-called "cache clear" would help you:

Clear the cache (fixes random reboots & other things)
Hit HOME 5 times.
UP once.
REWIND twice.
FAST FORWARD twice. (Clears cache & tv reboots itself. Be patient. It takes 2-3 minutes for the tv to go black, and come back on)

Nobody knows what that's doing. Roku has denied there's any cache. But, people have definitely reported their problem fixed (not this recovery problem, but yours sounds different. It might be worth trying. Wouldn't hurt. Just be patient. It can seem the tv is frozen. It's definitely doing something different than the ordinary power-menu restart).

The other thing I'd try (if you haven't already, I've forgotten): the next time you can get it out of recovery mode, do a home>settings>system>advanced>factory reset. But, during the initial setup, tell it you'll connect to the network later. Then use your tv to watch antenna tv or HDMI-connected things (an external streaming stick, a game, dvr). It would be interesting to see if your tv is more stable this way. (When you say the recovery loop returns after some time, it makes me think the tv is downloading an update which sends it back to the loop. If you could use it without internet for a few days, and it behaved differently, that might mean something.). 

It could be a hardware issue. Not trying to talk you out of that. But, I'd try those two ideas just in case.

[Nishadawn]

My apartment had a power surge and lost power for about 10 seconds. My TCL roku TV powered back on and was in the purple recovery mode. I went through all steps 3 times so far , and after the update it powers off and back on with the purple screen. PLEASE HELP

[Visitor45763]

Unfortunately, there is a very well known problem (but, still not acknowledged by Roku). Roku's going to tell you to talk to the tv maker (even though Roku's untested software updates cause the problem, and nobody can say how the tv maker caused that. I.e., "fingerpointing." They don't care.). 

In your case, I wonder if you have "fast start" enabled in home>settings>system>power? That's like hibernating a laptop forever. It never loads fresh software. I've seen someone say their tv was spared an untested update fate by that "fast start", and then when the tv lost power (months later)... the inevitable occurred (the loss of power caused the "hibernate/fast-start" memory to be lost; the untested update broke the tv.). It sounds like you might fall into this category. I.e., damaged by Roku months ago, but fast-start (which usually causes problems) prevented you from realizing the damage already done.

You can look at home>settings>system>update to see when your tv was last updated. And, look at system>power to see if fast start is enabled. That's probably the start and end of your problem.

You can look at that thread I linked to. Also, look for Roku-Danny & Mary's posts. Click on their profile to see their recent post activity. You'll see there's no help here. (Recently there was a captcha added to block bots. I noticed they stopped posting at that time. Now the captcha has been removed. They're posting again. I don't know. Just saying.).

You're probably screwed now.

Some people have fixed their perma-recovery by connecting to a different network (maybe a phone or laptop "hotspot", or take it to someone else's house. Make sure you tell them it's something Roku thinks is normal for their tvs). Or, just rebooting their own router.

Someone else said they fixed it by unplugging the tv, and holding the power button for  a minute to drain the electricity stored in the tv. Then hold the pinhole reset button on the back of the tv, plug it in, and continue to hold the pinhole button until the front light flashes or dims (about 15-20 seconds?). If you could get to the initial setup that way, you could try telling it you'll connect to the internet later (but don't), and see if that fixes it. (The network-less software is lighter, seemingly older, less problematic. You could stream through HDMI this way while protecting the tv from future untested updates.).

But, for many people, none of that works. Roku won't have an honest conversation about it. So, you should prepare yourself for the likelihood you'll have to buy a new tv (unless you still have a warranty. Then, obviously, assert a claim.).

I wonder where that guy is who said yesterday "don't be angry, Roku's good stuff; be patient" (loose quotes).

[sfad]

I noticed my TV was on the purple screen yesterday, and kept restarting itself. I tried to follow the update instructions, but it restarted in the middle of typing the wireless network key. Then it would either go back to the recovery screen or with my attempts with holding the reset button or the power button, would occasionally go to the TV setup screen. But, in either case the TV would randomly restart somewhere in the middle of the update / setup process.

After several attempts, now it keeps going back to the recovery mode (purple screen). It does not interrupt the update, by random restarts, it finishes the update, and restarts the TV, but goes back to Recovery Mode. I tried updating/flashing in three different ways:

- Wireless network

- Another wireless network (mobile hotspot), in case it is related to my modem/router as you suggested.

- Downloading the update.roku file on a USB, and doing it that way.

It keeps starting up into the recovery mode.

[RokuMary-F]

Hi @sfad,

Thanks for the posts.

For more information about the Recovery mode issue, visit our Support page here: How do I use Recovery Mode on my Roku TV™? If the issue still persists, we suggest contacting your Roku TV manufacturer. For a list of Roku TV manufacturers contact information, visit our Community post here: Contacting Support for Your Roku TV

Thanks,

Mary

[francocolomba]

Ours has the same issue and even after having it soft-fixed where it would work but then revert back to the recovery.. We ended up having the TLC warranty repairman come out and replace the motherboard. It now works like new! 

[suscronin]

Hi, I am having the same issue with a recovery screen that will not go away no matter how many times I update. 

[sfad]

My warranty was over, but I have one year of extended warranty through my credit card, so they pay for the repair. I took it to a local service center and they said the software is probably corrupt, and there is no way other than replacing the main board. This store charges about $60-70 for the board (part) and $95 for labor.

If yours is out of warranty, you can probably do it yourself. You can find the board online for a reasonable price.