Features, settings & updates

[Gnaget]

I spent over 5 hours on a support chat with Roku today.  I want my $42.59!  Just overwhelm their support until they give in

[fluke]

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@Gnaget wrote:

I spent over 5 hours on a support chat with Roku today.  I want my $42.59!  Just overwhelm their support until they give in

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The Roku chat support connects to a subset of Amazon Web Services called Connect Participant Service.  One of the chat sessions was posted *felt* automated to me.  It might be possible that sometimes we are talking to Amazon Lex chat bot.  There is more information available about this here:

https://aws.amazon.com/lex/ 

I think ultimately you will either be rude to an employee that doesn't have the power to give into your demands and possibly you are talking to a bot which isn't programmed to give into your demands.

If you could get your money back from Roku, what is the preferable platform to use now?  As I pointed out earlier, Apple's own forums indicate that Apple TV does something similar.

I also paid a lot more than $42.59 for my "smart" Samsung TV which includes the Smart Hub (based on Samsung Tizen OS) which doesn't feel polished or mature.  Despite that I never use that feature, the TV will periodically put a bar across the top indicating the Smart Hub TOS has been updated and continued use is under the new terms.  It will disappear after 30 seconds if not agreed to and then reappear again the next day and the next day and the next day.

If you look on their TOS, once you again the language of binding arbitration comes up.

The outrage and frustration we each get from this might be better spent on contacting our local members of the senate.

[Gnaget]

I don't think it is automated, there are too many spelling mistakes, and even one time someone hit their cursor mid sentence and finished the sentence inside the sentence. 

I'm not being rude, if anything I am being overly friendly.  I know it isn't their fault, but it is my only way to protest to Roku, and cause them to spend more on support.  Everything is dollars and cents to these people.

[nbjork]

https://www.lifewire.com/roku-tos-update-8606211

[Anonymous]

Misleading story. Terms have always called for arbitration instead of court. This was a minor update that added mass arbitration. Otherwise the same as always. Many companies have the same terms.

[Hakemon]

My preferred platform without Roku:  If I can't own anything anymore, and I am truly in the "you will own nothing and be happy" world it's appearing to be as every day passes, I'm probably just going to use a Raspberry Pi and a local NAS with content from my own physical media, and use an OTA antenna with DVR to get local channels again with time shifting.

I did this exact thing before Roku existed (though without the Pi, laptops), and I'm not afraid to setup my own thing again.  At least I had more freedom, and the luxury to write my own code and stream my OTA anywhere in the world.

With that said, Roku seriously should back peddle on this new agreement, or if anything, existing customers simply not be retroactively put on the new agreement, and seriously make it easier to opt out.  While on top of it, stop censoring things and doing everything that the book Nineteen Eighty-Four has in it.  It isn't the company I promoted, nor believed in, that it once was when I got my Roku 2 XD a long time ago when it was first released.  In fact, what the company has become is the polar opposite, and I'm ashamed to even be a customer at this point.  Sickened even.  But I will have content in my home, and it will never be taken away from me and blackmailed by my set top box (Roku) ever again, because there simply won't be a next time since I'm already ready to replace the Roku's tomorrow with DIY solutions (I started working on replacements the moment the agreement was forced on me.)

[Orudy1]

I applaud your ability to circumvent their (and others) minefields out there.  Of course my son will maybe try that as well.  I'm "old school" and will vote with my feet and never give Roku my business in the future. My only product - a TCL 4K tv has been dumbed down to get around their "one-way notice" to at least get our local channels so far.  I agree Roku (their legal staff) shot themselves in the foot here and they should can them and make this right for all the product owners out here.  Not a Roku fan here either and still an opt-outer big time.

[Orudy1]

Also, for the Roku tv owners I'd add a comment about how Roku streaming functions at least on my TCL tv.  When done with boob-tube watching and want to turn the "box" off you press the red button on the remote, right? Well, that only puts your device in "hibernate mode" at least on mine. It's still on, so if I want to actually turn it off I need to turn it off at the surge protector.  Dumb design to make Roku work faster I think. The tv actually has a panel saying "Powering off ....."  Whats with that?

[o2night]

It's obviously too much to ask people to read 51 pages of posts, but the complaint department has been in effect for quite awhile.  Your Senator, your Att0rney General, California Att0rney General, FTC and California Better Business Bureau.  Just type out one complaint with all the info and copy paste or print to send to all the others.  

I will say that I have had a phone call from ROKU on Saturday evening.  As I don't carry my phone everywhere, I missed the call.  So I will say here, ROKU, if you want to speak with me, you'll have to call back.  I expect a viable solution to unlock my televisions or my money back for both my tv's.  I will not be agreeing to a forced arbitration.
And since you have just done this at this time in Feb/Mar 2024, you better be accepting ALL opt out letters from people who have sent them to you, no matter WHEN you STARTED your countdown!   

[fluke]

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@Orudy1 wrote:

Also, for the Roku tv owners I'd add a comment about how Roku streaming functions at least on my TCL tv.  When done with boob-tube watching and want to turn the "box" off you press the red button on the remote, right? Well, that only puts your device in "hibernate mode" at least on mine. It's still on, so if I want to actually turn it off I need to turn it off at the surge protector.  Dumb design to make Roku work faster I think. The tv actually has a panel saying "Powering off ....."  Whats with that?

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All modern televisions, not just Roku or TCL ones, will go into "Standby" mode.  This is critical for the IR receiver or RF receiver of the TV to be able to get a power on command from the remote and act on it.

Other electronics such as smart bulbs will also go to "Standby" instead of truly zero watts of power.  Again, this is to be able to get RF signals to turn back on.

There are Watt/Amp meters available for $10 to $60 which allows you to easily measure both the power draw of fully on mode and standby mode.

There are also advanced power strips that will shut off all power based on if the "master" outlet is pulling power or not.  Hence you can use a small lamp with an on/off switch to determine if any of other outlets are getting power.  The manual for these "smart" power strips will refer to the standby mode as "phantom power" usage.