Features, settings & updates

[3boyfathet]

This thread is very frustrating.  Nimfa and Mary the forum moderators give scripted questions that haven't worked for anyone.  Then you get redirected to support that also uses a scripted questions that haven't worked for anyone.  If you are lucky, support will offer you a free or discounted device.  If you are unlucky, they will tell you that you are out of luck and to buy a new device.  

@maryand @Nimfa - It would be great if you could get an official answer on what is happening and post it to this thread.  It seems pretty clear that the Roku software update service is failing and that it has nothing to do with our devices breaking or our home wifi.   It is unacceptable to ask people to buy new devices because Roku's software updating service is clearly broken.

[StuckOnSWupdate]

What is the point of support? Is it to solve problems for the customer or merely provide a shoulder to cry on? If it's the latter I'd rather not waste my time.

@RokuNimfa-C do you have any means to escalate issues to engineering? For this problem it is clear just offering up pat answers like restart this or that is actually worse than no support at all, because it just wastes everyone's time. If the answer is that this problem will not be fixed and these devices should be discarded I for one would prefer you just come out and say that.

[taschmidt]

@StuckOnSWupdate everything you're saying is completely logical and pretty typical of most decent software companies. As a software engineer myself I would be embarrassed by this. Unfortunately, I've worked with Roku in the past and this seems to be how they operate. 

[mlomas83]

@RokuNimfa-C 

Is it time for Roku to accept liability for the now bricked devices and send Users in the thread details on how to replace them FOC?

If not, why? 

If not, then I'm saddened to say my device will be sent to the local waste disposal site for recycling and I am very likely to steer clear of any Roku product in the future. 

Disgruntled Customer 

[StuckOnSWupdate]

@taschmidt I see now there are other (quite active) threads talking about this problem, eg:

https://community.roku.com/t5/Features-settings-updates/Roku-Express-with-old-firmware-unable-to-upd...

I'm going to hazard a guess here they had to change the protocol on the back end, probably for some security concerns. Is it the case that if you have a device that has been continuously receiving updates it will continue to work and receive updates, but if you have a device that has been sitting in a drawer for a year or factory reset it is now essentially bricked?

They may have taken a calculated risk that the number of people who would land in our situation was small compared to the security risk. People who have been actively using their devices are unlikely to do a factory reset. We are out of warranty or any return period, so they can just ignore us or maybe give a free device to anyone who can figure out how to penetrate the support processes.

If my theory is correct, the only way they can fix this is with a USB/laptop update app. Who knows, maybe they are working on that. 

[taschmidt]

Yeah, some way to sideload an update for more tech-savvy users would certainly seem like a better option than having to replace all of these otherwise functional devices.

It's nice to see that it would appear they've at least (finally) acknowledged a problem on their end:

https://community.roku.com/t5/Features-settings-updates/Roku-Express-with-old-firmware-unable-to-upd...

[3boyfathet]

I hope Roku a) fixes the problem, and b) offers a refund to folks like me who they told needed to buy a new Roku device.  I'll give Roku the benefit of the doubt up unless they ultimately refuse to refund the purchase of the new device they told me was needed to fix the problem.

[Aliceetben]

Wow thanks for finding this ! Should we all go there and merge the threads to have a more direct and efficient dialogue with the roku team ?

[RokuDanny-R]

Hi Community users,

Thanks for the posts regarding the issue you are experiencing with updating your Roku device.

We would be more than happy to look further into this issue, but we will need more details. If you haven't already, can you please provide us with the following information:

• Roku device model and serial number/device ID (these can be found physically on the Roku device)
• steps to reproduce the issue you are seeing
• are you trying to setup a brand new Roku device or is the device already activated/setup and the device is trying to update

Once we have this information, we will be able to pass it along to the appropriate Roku team to investigate further. We look forward to hearing back from you all.

Thanks,
Danny

[StuckOnSWupdate]

@RokuDanny-R 

It feels like this information has already been provided multiple times in this and other discussion topics, but here it is again... the problem descriptions posted by others sounds exactly the same as I am experiencing.

In my case this device was passed along from a family member. It had been previously activated but has not been used for perhaps a year. I performed a factory reset on the device; now when it starts the sequence is:

1) Roku requests preferred language (I select English)

2) Roku prompts to select wifi network

3) Roku prompts to enter network password

4) Roku indicates successful network connection. At that point Roku indicates it is checking for software update and never progresses from there.

I have not found any way to navigate back to the menus or take any other actions. Reseting the device with a paper clip in the hole results in the above sequence being repeated. Rebooting the wifi router or connecting to the phone hotspot does not help, the behavior is the same.

Device information:

Model: 3900X (marked on the device)

Device ID: C4391F817681 (marked on the device and the packaging)

SKU#: 3900RW (from the packaging)

LOT# 21890355251 (marked on the packaging)

I suspect you can reproduce this with any older device on which you perform a factory reset.