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bjedrick
Streaming Star

New Roku screen format causes lockups

Roku channel recently changed the way some things are displayed and this seems to be causing lockups when I switch from the Roku channel to other channels. The new change shows a large picture with continue and play from beginning buttons with a large picture of the item selected.

When I try to switch to another channel, I just get a blank screen, although the TV and adapter are working fine.  Checking for Roku updates says it is up to date.

Powering Roku off and on does not fix the problem.  I have to keep trying different things to try to get it back.  When I switch to the ports for the TV and DVD player, they work fine.  The Roku device is securely plugged into the HDMI port and I have changed batteries in the Roku remote.

Today is 05/17/23, and this problem only started a few days ago when these Roku channel screens changed.  There does not seem to be any way to contact Roku support about problems like this.

Is there a way to back off the most recent update?

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5 REPLIES 5
RokuKarla
Retired Moderator

Re: New Roku screen format causes lockups

Hello @bjedrick

Thanks for posting here in the Community.

Does the issue only occur on one channel or across other channels installed on your Roku device? If it happens regardless of the channel you are accessing, we suggest connecting your HDMI cable to a different port. If the issue persists, use another HDMI cable to see if that will resolve the issue. Just a heads up, if you will move to another HDMI port on your TV, make sure to also change the input (source) using your TV remote.

Let us know if this works for you!

 

Regards,
Karla

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bjedrick
Streaming Star

Re: New Roku screen format causes lockups

The problem only occurs on the Roku channel.  The Roku device is connected to an HDMI port, with the extension cable plugged into the side, both plugged into a power strip.

If I am on any other channel, there is no problem getting back to the Roku home screen by pressing Back.  On the Roku channel, the problem seems to occur when I click Next Episode instead of waiting for the credits to complete and letting Roku go back to the list of episodes on its own.  Then the TV screen goes blank and nothing on the Roku remote will get it back the the Roku home screen.

I've had Roku for years and never had this problem until the screens recently changed when you select something in a list like continue watching.  That screen now shows a large picture and has the two buttons on the bottom.  Problem seems to be at the end of watching something when you want to get back to the Roku screen that has rows of items with labels like Continue Watching, Save List, etc. So far if I don't click Next Episode and just wait for it to go back on its own, it works OK.

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RokuAnjelie
Community Moderator
Community Moderator

Re: New Roku screen format causes lockups

Hello @bjedrick,

Thanks for keeping in touch and providing additional information.

We appreciate you letting us know about this channel playback issue. Not to worry, we are going to resolve this issue.

First, we're going remove the channel.

  1. Press Home on your Roku remote
  2. Move to the right and highlight the channel you wish to remove
  3. Press Star * on your remote to open the Options menu
  4. Select Remove channel and confirm when prompted

After we remove the channel we're going restart your Roku device.

  1. Press Home on your Roku remote
  2. Scroll and select Settings
  3. Select System
  4. Select Power. If you do not see a Power submenu, skip to the next step.
  5. Select System restart

And add the channel again.

  1. Press Home on your Roku remote
  2. Scroll and select Store
  3. Select Channels, then browse by genre, recommended, featured, top free, and other categories
  4. When you want to learn more about an app, press OK on your remote
  5. If the app is free, select Add channel; if the app requires a subscription, select OK to start a free trial or purchase a subscription

Please keep us posted!

Best Regards

Anj

Anjelie A.
Roku Community Moderator
bjedrick
Streaming Star

Re: New Roku screen format causes lockups

Sorry, but none of those correct the problem.  It is not a problem with hardware or software (since I am up to date), but a problem with screen(s) on the Roku Channels which recently changed.  My network connection is fine and works fine with the TV and other devices.  The only thing which has changed is this one screen.e is a very specific description of the problem:

Previously:

From the Home screen, for any channel other than the Roku channel, when you select an item from the item list, a list of episodes is displayed.  When you select an episode, the episode plays, then at then near the end, you can select Next Episode or wait until the credits finish.  In either case, it then returns to the list of episodes.  The Roku channel worked the same way before the recent screen changes.

Now:

From the Home screen, select the Roku channel and scroll down to the item list called Continue Watching, and select ANY item. The next screen now has a larger picture and buttons called  SxEn and Play from beginning. Select Play from beginning and the episode plays normally. Near the end, if you select Next Episode or wait for the credits to end, instead of returning to the list of episodes, you get a black screen.  It will stay blank until you click Back, then instead of returning to the list of episodes, you get a screen for the next episode with the only option being Play SxEn+1 Now.  You then have to click Back again to get back to the list of episodes for that item.

If you don’t figure out how to do that, the screen stays black and you can’t even get back to the Roku Home screen to change to another channel, or even switch to another HDMI port. Even powering Roku off and on will not free this.  I had to power off both the TV and Roku to be able to get to another HDMI port or to get back to the Roku Home screen.

This is a major nuisance, and you need to fix the new screen(s) to make them go back to the list of episodes as it did before.  Please have someone fix this.  You may think it is an improvement, but it is the opposite.  When you have something that works, please just leave it alone.

RokuMaresa
Community Moderator
Community Moderator

Re: New Roku screen format causes lockups

Hi @bjedrick 

We appreciate you updating us in the Roku Community.

We are happy to investigate this further.

Please send us a video or some screenshots of the problem you're having; once we have this information, we will be able to better assist you!

Please keep us posted!

Thanks,

Mares

MaresH.
Roku Community Moderator
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