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Janner103
Channel Surfer

Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

My one month old Select Series Roku 43" 4k TV updated itself on 1/8/25.  Sleep timer is and has always been off.  Since the next day, 1/9/25, my TV has started turning off the channel I was watching (local CBS channel via antenna) after about 5 hours and instead displays the Roku described "everyone's favorite screensaver - Cars in Roku City". 

Well, it's not my favorite screensaver and I don't appreciate my new TV deciding I've been watching the same channel for too long and turning it off and putting on that stupid screensaver instead.  I do some graphic design and I realize that someone put an awful lot of time - and charged Roku some good money - for creating that, but Roku trying to make that expenditure pay off should be Roku's problem, not mine.

I see nothing in settings to put a stop to it, so it must be something that was added to the recent update.

This is worse than the obnoxious "Are You Still Watching?" boxes that come up on various streaming channels - at least on those, all you have to do is click "yes" and the channel will restart automatically. 

This Roku version of "Still Watching" completely shuts off the channel I was watching, while a little ad to watch some channel on the Roku app rides along with the car at the bottom of the screensaver.  If I want my channel back, I have to hit the home button, then scroll over to "Antenna" then scroll back to the channel  I was watching and press enter.  Meaning I miss 1-2 minutes of the broadcast.  And yes, the content I missed matters, in addition to the inconvenience of it all.

You need to either remove this from the update with a new update or at least give us an option in the settings to program how long we want to be able to watch the same channel.  If I want to watch the same **bleep** channel for 12 hours straight, that's my perogative.  

Fix this!

Cars In Roku City ScreensaverCars In Roku City Screensaver

 

Labels (2)
10 REPLIES 10
renojim
Community Streaming Expert

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

Do you have the "Bandwidth saver" enabled under Settings->Network?  You wouldn't think it would affect watching something via an antenna, but I wouldn't put it past Roku.

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mf1958
Newbie

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

AMEN!!!

Janner103
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

Hey RenoJim!  Thanks for the suggestion!  Yes, "Bandwidth Saver" was set to "on", I just set it to "off".  It would be crazy if it was affecting antenna TV but as you said, we can't put it past Roku to have it programmed that way, LOL!

I'll post back in a day or two to let you know if this solved the problem.  Thanks again for your help!

😊

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

I'm just curious if that solved the issue? Having a similar issue.

sarjos3
Reel Rookie

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

Try going to settings and hit update.  After that in settings hit restart it.  This always worked for mine.  Anytime it does this, you'll have to do this.

Care4all
Reel Rookie

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

Just curious if you reset the TV. My Roku TV has a tiny reset button you have to use a paperclip type thing to push it. I didn't have the same issue but it solved other update problems.

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sarjos3
Reel Rookie

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

Also, I've had the boxes forever with no problem. My son bought me a TCL Roku tv and I had a lot of problems with this until I found out what to do. But, it is a big hassel. So, I'll stick to the boxes or stick.

Janner103
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

I can't be sure if it did or not.  I did disable the "bandwidth" thing.  I have not gotten the "Cars" screen saver again, so far, but the first two nights that I watched CBS via antenna on both nights after a few hours the video feed froze, although the sound continued.  So I had to switch to another channel and then go back to CBS to get the video going again.  So, if there is something timing how long we watch a single channel, I reset that timer by having to go to another channel for a minute.

I didn't watch any TV on the 3rd night.  On the 4th night, I watched CBS OTA for a short time, then switched to Tubi.  At some point, I fell asleep, then when I woke up, I just continued watching, LOL.  After what had been about 5 hours total, I did get a message on the bottom of the screen asking if I was still watching and I said yes.  Then I got a message saying to go to "Mode" in  settings and to turn something off that started with the letter "L".  Sorry, I can't remember what the word was.  But there is no "Mode" under anything in Roku's "Settings" (unless it's buried as a sub menu to something else), so that could have been a Tubi only message.

So, sorry, but I at this point, I can't be 100% sure if it worked or not.  I would just turn off the bandwidth and see if it works for you.  But if the channel you're watching has it's own "are you still there?" thing, I think that's going to kick in, regardless of how you have your Roku set up.

I have not tried resetting my entire TV because mine has that tiny paper clip hole in the back that I'd have to use to do it.  Frankly, not worth the hassle to me to manipulate the TV around so I can get at it.  And I assume after the reset that I'll have to set up all my info, channels, etc., again.  No thanks!

 

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Janner103
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku TV turning off the channel that's on and putting Cars In Roku City Screensaver on instead

For me this screensaver problem started right after my Roku TV had updated itself on 1/8/25.  I would assume the update itself would reset the TV and I did not and would not reset it myself unless I couldn't watch or get channels I'd had before.

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