Solving playback issues

Find troubleshooting tips and resources for Roku playback speed issues, HDCP messages, power issues, and more. Join the community discussion for assistance.
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BiLkaMachang
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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Same problem as others have stated.  My 2TB (NTFS) Western Digital hard drive (with a USB power hub) worked perfectly fine on my 2017 Ultra.  I upgraded to the 2020 Ultra and it is not recognizing my hard drive.  It doesnt seem like Roku cares to respond to these issues. 

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RokuDanny-R
Retired Moderator

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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Hi everyone,

Thanks for the posts.

As stated previously, we have identified the issue and expect this issue to be resolved in a future update.


Thanks,
Danny

Danny R.
Roku Community Moderator
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Dmule
Binge Watcher

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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Thank you Danny, do you have a timeframe as to when the update will be released? 

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usbnutz
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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Hi Danny -

FYI, I had the same problem - the latest Ultra will not show an HFS+ drive. I had to download and pay for Paragon software to be able to format to NTFS on my Mac. Once the drive was formatted to NTFS, the Ultra was able to show the files. 

In other words, until it's fixed, Roku should remove HFS+ from the supported drive formats listed here: https://support.roku.com/article/208754908

It would be great if Roku could support HFS+ or APFS, as there are a lot of Mac Roku users out there.

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Boris17
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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I have only just discovered this problem- I had a 2017 Roku which worked just fine with my external hard drives (and still does) - and now I have upgraded to a serious downgrade in functional use with the Ultra 4800X which will not recognize any of my hard drives. I don't know whether to return my new Roku or believe there is an imminent solution.

Danny, the first time you said there would be a solution in a future update was apparently back in November, almost five months ago. Is there an estimated timeline for the update to enable the Roku Ultra 4800X work with 3.0 Hard Drives. 

Please give me some reason to believe it will be worth holding onto this upgrade- (and it is an upgrade in all other respects) and that I don't need to return it to Amazon and warn others that the Roku Ultra 4800X's USB functionality is significantly hobbled.

 

Thanks.

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rogalskij
Streaming Star

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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For us, the small update in December or whenever it was fixed the issue.  Now all our Western Digital and Seagate drives that we have are working with the 4800X.  I wouldn't go back to the older model of Roku since the new one is WAY faster, and the upgrades to Dolby sound and 4k are amazing. 

 

I suspect they are working on a larger update since one hasn't come out in a while.  I would wait for that, hopefully sometime this spring or summer.  The 4800X is frankly their best model, they just need some software improvements.

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usbnutz
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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What drive format are you using? If not already, you may have to reformat the drive to NTFS (which will erase your data, so make sure you have it copied somewhere else first). 

The new Roku wouldn't recognize HFS+, but did so with NTFS.

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Boris17
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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NTFS. I have both Seagate and WD drives. Neither are working with the new ROKU. I even tried HFS+ after NTFS did not work. HFS+ did not work either. All of my drives did and continue to work with the 2017 Roku.

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BiLkaMachang
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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For those of you that have NTFS formatted hard drives that work on the 4800x, can you please tell us which model you have?  I have this WD 2TB hard drive (WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN) formatted to NTFS and it does not work.

usbnutz
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku Ultra 4800X doesn't work with USB 3.0 hard drives

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Samsung T7 1 TB works with NTFS: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0874XN4D8/

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