Features, settings & updates

[FreeFrog]

Looking for too long on this site, finding NO simple clear info on installing a Micro-SD card in the classic Roku 3 player.  Note that the generic instruction to 'insert the card' makes no apparent sense for this model 4200X -- which has only 3 inputs on the back panel of the unit (Power, HDMI, Ethernet), and a USB port on the side. 

Roku's "2GB microSD Card" is supposed to be compatible with the Roku 3, but I can't see Where... (I kept flipping it over & over, but it's just a little box with 6 sides ;-).  Frustrating:  Search functions on this site are dumb and useless... if any query leads everywhere, nothing can be found.
Please enlighten me and point to available refs or a manual online. 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Unplug everything and take a close look at those connectors. You should see a small slot below the HDMI connector and a label "Micro SD" below the "HDMI" label. This is according to https://www.roku.com/products/roku-3#!

It's also the same location on the current Roku Ultra. 

[Anonymous]

Also note that the Roku support page indicates:

"For best results, we recommend a Class 2 or greater micro SD card with a minimum of 2GB storage"

I picked up two faster 16 GB cards cheaper than what Roku offers, and both used over 2 GB immediately.

https://support.roku.com/article/208756158-how-do-i-increase-memory-with-a-micro-sd-card-

[FreeFrog]

Thanks, now it makes sense... of course the tiny microSD slot was hidden under the live HDMI connection.  Good advice too on getting a bigger better cheaper card, and thanks for the link... hopefully there are clear instructions on the installation & formatting procedure.
Gracias_FreeFrog

[Anonymous]

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@FreeFrog wrote:

hopefully there are clear instructions on the installation & formatting procedure.
Gracias_FreeFrog

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Not really. You have all the info available now. I will tell you the one mistake you can make (or the one I made): assuming how the card should be oriented when plugging it in. I just pulled one to double check, and the copper contacts face up, toward the HDMI connector above it. First one I put in upside down, couldn't remove it, and had to disassemble the Roku to extract it. If it's in right, a push with a fingernail will make it pop out; upside down, not so much...

The Roku I use most is using ~4.2 GB. One less used is at ~2.9. And the one that puts me to sleep doesn't have a card. They all have the same channels, the cards are 16 GB, so I guess usage doesn't depend directly on how many channels are installed.

If I recall, the formatting was just answering a prompt after powering up the first time after the card is installed.

[Lance_Kidd]

I assume that the Roku 3 was updated, because I can tell that the menu prompts and some other minor details.

I did not know it had updated because I hadn’t had the TV on for about 5 days.  But, I opened the YouTube channel and it came up first thing and said it would be best to install a microSD card at this point so that channels do not have to keep reloading themselves.

And let me tell you, it re-downloaded YouTube and everything was terribly slow,  so I deleted a couple of channels, and it started acting behaving as before. I do not have that many channels anyway… Maybe 15. I bought it about three years ago I guess and it was the fastest thing going. But they keep updating everything, including the apps for all cell phones, and it winds up bloating the code.

But I did put the microSD card in that I use with a GoPro, and I haven’t used that in forever and I think it is a class 10. Most SD cards or microSD cards that you buy these days should be a class 10, and if it doesn’t specify then it definitely is supposed class 10.

As far as I know, they are so cheap these days that they don’t really specify the class unless it is less than 10.

[drdevi]

Yes, I see the slot, but how do you insert the micro SD card? I can't get it to insert straight because of the little protuberances on the right side. How do you get it in there?

[RogerC60]

As was mentioned before, you must remove the HDMI cable to expose the SD card slot. The card goes in upside down, with the label facing the bottom of the Roku and the metal contacts on the card facing the top.

I could not get a 16 GB Sandisk card to work. I tried two of them, both known good, and the Roku simply ignored them. Then I tried a Kingston 8 GB card and the Roku recognized it. I'm pretty sure it was the size and not the brand that made the difference.

But then when the "format your SD card" dialog appeared the Roku was frozen; none of the remote control buttons did anything. I powered the Roku off, popped the SD card out but only partway. I left it in the slot but not pushed all the way in. I reconnected the HDMI cable and powered the Roku on. Then after it finished powering up I used a small screwdriver to push the SD card fully in and latch it. At that point the "format your SD card" dialog appeared and the remote control worked, so I followed the rest of the procedure to format the card. Now it's all working fine.

[AChanceFind]

I just went through this after a card failed after 6 years.  The metal contacts should be facing up and the card should just fit in the slot naturally and not feel forced, you then gently push it in and there is a spring that clicks into place and makes the card go all the way in. You have to use a long fingernail or sideways paperclip to push it in. To take it back out you just push it in and the spring clicks and it ejects back out.

[dwilsontx]

I found it and inserted the microSD card just below the HDMI plug. Thank you so much. I have been looking for 30 minutes and couldn't find it.