Discussions

[DKDiveDude]

Somebody needs to pay for this flickering annoying **bleep**, I mean legal action, Microsoft or Roku!

I have three Onn (Walmart brand) TV's, and unfortunately they all use the Roku platform.

I use a Fairly new powerful 17" Laptop with a fast AMD Radeon graphics chip, on Windows 11. I use an Onn QLED TV as the laptop's secondary monitor on native 4096 x 2160 resolution, note that is slightly higher than normal 4K which is 3840 x 2160.

I have gaming mode turned off in Windows settings.

I have the TV's HDMI mode set to "Auto", because turning it to compatibility disables HDR, and the therefore much better color range. Huge difference!

Problem is with any full screen source on my Laptop's secondary output, the Onn TV, PowerPoint, Game, browsing family pictures; When I move my mouse between and selecting display's, the Onn Roku TV is either flickering at least once, BUT not always with notification "Game mode turned on by console".

It is EXTREMELY annoying! And as another have previously pointed out to a Roku support member, who seems to have never following his own faulty advice, if the Windows operating system have already sent a signal to the TV, that game mode needs to be turned on, AND even though "Game Mode" in Windows is set to "Off", the Onn Roku TV's Picture Setting "Game Mode" is INACCESSIBLE, as in NOT AVAILABLE, as in "GREYED OUT"!!!

There is PLENTY of documentation to the problems and lack of solutions from Roku, just do a Google result, and it is quite evident that thousands of people are experiencing these inconvenient flickering, and/or "Game Mode" being turned on and off, at seemingly random! So Roku do not be surprised if you one of these day's receive one or more letter concerning legal action.

Now Roku can grab the ball, to come up with a solution, so "Game Mode" can be turned off at ANY time, even though the console or computer has requested it to be turned on!

[MegaBummer]

This Game Mode garbage has made my TCL Roku TVs unusable.  I have a TCL 50S425 hooked up to a Denon AVR-S750H.  No matter what settings I use the input from the Denon receiver still automatically switches to Game Mode, and won't let me disable it.  Who thought that was a good idea!?  Why wouldn't you let us disable Game Mode?  The TV isn't hooked up to a game console!  It's hooked up to a receiver with a HTPC input!

I've tried all different settings under "HDMI Mode" for the inputs.  Auto, Standard, all of them.  Nothing will stop this Game Mode garbage from coming on.

Please push an update that lets us permanently disable Game Mode.  This is awful, and will force me to replace this panel.  I'll never get another Roku-powered product again.

[RokuJohnB]

Hi @DKDiveDude @MegaBummer,

Greetings from the Roku Community!

We understand you wanted to disable the game mode. We're happy to assist you further. Please check out this support article here.

If the problem still continues, please keep us posted.

Best regards,

John

[DKDiveDude]

Wow! OMG! Did you even read my entire post, or that of the previous contributors!

Gaming mode is INACCESIBLE after my Laptop sends a signal to my Onn Roku TV to turn it on.

In other words, it AUTOMATICALLY turns on, even though I am NOT playing a game, and via the "*" menu, the is NO WAY TO TURN IT OFF, because that option is "GREYED" (INACCESIBLE / NOT AVAILABLE) to alter!!!

Do you get it now or do i have to spell it out further?

Now as I tried to point out, Roku needs to make an update to the operating system, so the option to turn Gaming Mode off, will work ANYTIME!!!

[RokuJechealR]

Hi @DKDiveDude,

Thanks for the response!

We appreciate you sharing your thoughts, and we value your feedback as our valued customer. We always aim to provide our customers with the best streaming experience and convenience when using our services. We'll pass this along to the appropriate Roku team for review. Once again, thank you so much for your feedback, and we value your input.

Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or additional feedback.

All the best,

Chel

[DKDiveDude]

Here is proof that either the Windows 11 operating system, or my AMD Radeon driver is turning on "Game Mode" on my Onn Roku TV, even though I am NOT playing a game! Actually I am just using the Windows App "Photos" to browse pictures of my music studio equipment.

Second picture shows, that even though I went to the "Picture Settings", then "Customize Picture" menu, the actual "Game Mode" menu is inaccessible, that is the sub-menu cannot be entered to turn "Game Mode" off, see how the text "On" is greyed out!?!

Game Mode turned on even though I'm not playing a game!Game Mode menu is inaccessible!

[RokuJechealR]

Hi @DKDiveDude,

Thanks for keeping us posted!

We currently don't have any information to share about when or if the Game mode turn-off option will be available on our platform, but you can always check out our blog for the latest news and upcoming updates. We'll also make sure to share your feedback with our team.

Thank you for your understanding.

All the best,

Chel

[LunaM]

@DKDiveDude For what it's worth, I found a workaround for this. Unfortunately it meant buying another piece of equipment, but it was not expensive. 

I bought a $24 HDMI switch off Amazon, one I've used before so I know it works. It's not anything complicated, just an off-brand 4-port dumb switch with a remote. I connected my laptop to the switch, and ran the switch output to the Roku TV. This completely eliminated the "game mode" on/off flipping. 

I'm not a programmer, but I suspect the TCL is attempting to identify "gaming devices" by whether they output a 59hz or 60hz signal, the latter being more common to game devices. PCs however are more prone to wandering back and forth between 59 and 60hz due to power/cooling/CPU wait and other factors the system has to manage while also running games. This can cause screen tearing and other issues which gaming PC monitors deal with by using technologies such as Gsync, which are absent in most TVs. Clearly TCL's software solution to it is inadequate; I think the inconsistent frequency/framerate output is confusing this "smart" TV as to what kind of signal it is receiving. I could be wrong though, like I said I'm not an expert and this is just a guess. 

The HDMI switch outputs a consistent 59hz signal no matter what is plugged into it, and isn't smart enough to inform the TV as to what devices are behind it, so the TV is happy to remain in standard non-gaming mode. And honestly a little 1-4ms input lag caused by this is MUCH preferable to the blinking and overlay obscuring my games. 

Roku, please discuss this problem with your TCL partner. You've shot yourself in the foot with PC gamers as a result of this. I understand TCL is a budget brand, but it's better to simply not have a feature rather than have a feature that is so broken it makes the device unusable without additional equipment. 

[Ixthinon]

Which splitter did you get specifically? I may give that a try 😄

I agree also with the OP that this game mode issue has caused major dysfunction in the Roku TVs. I am just trying to watch youtube and it kicks in and out when trying to scroll through the videos. Its insanely broken now and having to buy another piece of hardware to fix your problem is making me very unhappy with your product. 

[Ixthinon]

Also just changed my screen refresh rate on my PC display settings to 59.94Hz and seems to work for a few minutes lol