Features, settings & updates

[JulNM]

Sadisk 32 MB formatted on computer then placed into Roku 2 and still didnt work.    Cant watch Apple TV - Apple opens but when you select program ....it doesnt play then recommendation appears to purchase SD card.   My roku is either too old or ya have buy very specific SD card is my thought

[ken_c]

I have a Roku 3, purchased about 2015 or so.

bought a 16GB microsd card cheaper than the 2 or 4 GB cards.

installed it in the Roku, the screen stopped when it recognized the sd card.

was unable to select or enter for "format or cancel".

Had to power down to get any response.

Skeeball had the solution for the first half of what I did:

formatted it with FAT32 using the default allocation cluster size and no volume name (I did this using Windows 10)

That didn't work, it went as far as before.... 

Then read anildesilva's trick:

plug the sd card into the Roku while the power is on.

The Roku screen came up with the recognize sd card screen and now I could select cancel or format...

took about 3-4 minutes to format the 16GB card.

I think the combination of their recommendations worked, at least for me.

Thanks guys!!

[RH321]

SanDisk website says all their micro SDs come preformatted.

Can it be that Roku sees that it is already formatted and therefore does not need to format it and thus does not show that screen? There is nothing on the Roku 2 menu about the SD card, so I would not know how to check for its presence or absence.

However, whereas upon youtube launch it has been prompting me about getting a microSD to improve performance and then taking a couple of minutes to launch, today, after inserting the microSD card (and seeing no message about formatting), youtube launched quickly.

So, maybe Roku just starts using a preformatted card w/o saying anything. I wish there were some menu option to give you the card's status or even if it is there.

[renojim]

@RH321, look under Settings->System->About.  I'm betting it will say "MicroSD Card  not installed".  Any microSD card that comes preformatted almost certainly comes formatted for Windows.  The card must be formatted by your Roku.

Rokus cache the last few channels used, so it may or may not have to download a channel again each time you use it.

When you insert the card make sure your Roku's power is connected and you're sitting at the Home Screen.  You have to insert the card beyond the case to get it to click into place; it usually takes a fingernail or something similar to get it in all the way.  If it's not flush with the case once inserted it's probably not in the whole way.

[Pegge]

My Roku 2 is not only slid to load but now will not load Amazon Prime or Sling. Seems to still be loading Netflix. So this does seem necessary for my situation. 

[atc98092]

@Pegge There are five different models of Roku 2. Only two of them are still supported, and even those are 6-8 years old. There are many new channels that simply won't work well on older Roku players. And if yours is one of the three unsupported versions, it's really time for an upgrade. We would need to know your player's model number to know for certain which one you have.

The SD card does nothing to speed up a Roku, other than allowing more channels to be stored on the device. If Prime Video and Sling are channels you use often, then they're already stored on the device and the SD card will do nothing to make them work better. 

[MountainDew]

Well, this is annoying. My Roku 2 device has been telling me to get a micro SD card for months now to avoid the channel reload. So I finally bought an 8GB SanDisk card, and like others have reported, the device does not detect the card. I have the 4210x Roku 2 model, which is still supported and if I had known this was an issue then I wouldn't have wasted the money for a card that can't be used, which Roku suggested I buy. 

[MaTA1]

You might just need a newer Roku streamer.  The Roku 3 I have was replaced with a StreamBar because it was at least eight years old. Plus I wanted something that wouldn't clutter up my desk as much. The Streambar accomplished all this, and now the Roku 3 sits in a drawer alongside my Xfinity cable box and corresponding remote control awaiting their return to the store. 

[atc98092]

While the 4210 is still officially supported by Roku, it was released in Apr 2015, so it's over 6 years old. That's a lot in electronics years. You might be amazed by the improvement in performance with a newer Roku. There's also some newer providers that either don't support the 4210 now or likely won't in the future. It simply doesn't have the power and memory for some of the latest channels. It's still a good streamer, but you have to accept the limitations placed on it with the older hardware. 

I don't know how much longer Roku will support models that old. There are some still older models that they would likely drop first, but I wouldn't expect more than a year or so for the 4210. The older hardware simply can't keep up. 

[MountainDew]

Yeah, I certainly get that my device is old now and I was thinking about getting a new device when I upgraded to a ultra def tv. However, it sounds like this issue is more the device hardware and not it's age. Part of what makes this even more annoying is that Roku suggested a solution that was not likely to work, as the device has trouble reading cards. It's making me consider another option, like Amazon or Chomecast.