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DanMI
Channel Surfer

Re: Remote Draining Batteries

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Even if plugging the Roku into the wall power and NOT the USB works, this device is designed to use the USB port as an option. I chose the Stick+ specifically to have it hidden behind a flat screen TV without having to drop a plug into the electrical outlet at floor level. I will attempt to see if plugging into wall power lessons the drain on the batteries as a short-term solution and report back for your engineers, but I expect the device to work as intended.

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Kktm200
Newbie

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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Wow after reading all the comments I now wish I had gone with a different streaming service. It sounds like they don't replace the remote and there is no fix. Stuck with a fancy remote that only works if you spend money on new batteries every week. Mine also eats batteries in a week. This is going to get costly. And they didn't make the batteries easy to remove. Disappointed.

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dontcallmeshirl
Channel Surfer

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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Streaming Stick + here...strictly used for a TV attached to a dartboard. Gets used once a week and batteries need to be replaced EVERY SINGLE TIME. no headphone jack on the remote...just junky engineering.

After watching the billion "send us a pm" responses instead of acknowledging the widespread problem and working on it, we'll be junking the other 4 rokus we have in the house.

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Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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Hopefully this is going to rokudanny

I have two streaming stick+  and they are draining batteries in remote within two weeks. Ranges from 8-14 usually.

I bought them for the reason that they could power off the USB, because not easy to access wall outlet, plus the cord is not long enough even if it was.

And could you explain how plugging into outlet from device would affect the remote?

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Mercedes2020
Reel Rookie

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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The remote battery I have to change weekly no matter what brand of battery I purchase. Is my remote defective? 

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Bentley38
Newbie

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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We're facing the same problem. Just plugged my roku into the wall because that's supposed to help. Hoping they fix this problem soon!

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Pll
Newbie

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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I am having this same issue and have the USB powered thru the port on the tv. Don’t understand why that would impact the remote. It is not feasible for me to power to an outlet unless using an extension chord is ok. I have three TVs on the stick having the same issue. 

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arapheon
Binge Watcher

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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I can't promise that this will help everyone, but I promise that this is the solution for some of you because it 100% was for me.  I explained it before, but let me try to explain this a little bit better.  I know that on the surface it doesn't make sense that the remote would drain batteries FASTER when the Roku is OFF.  But in my case that was absolutely what was happening.  And the reason seems to be tied to a design flaw in the remote.

A standard infrared remote that we are used to from days past uses absolutely no power when buttons are not being pressed.  But they had the drawback of requiring a line of sight with the device they are controlling. So now there are enhanced remotes that create a wireless connection with the device and can be pointed anywhere.

ALL ROKU REMOTES TETHERED TO A STREAMING STICK ARE ENHANCED.  This is because usually the stick is placed behind a TV or out of sight.  What seems to be happening to some models is that once the remote is tethered to a device, it can go to sleep when it knows where its "home" is but goes into some sort of endless searching loop when it doesn't.  So if you have your stick plugged into a TV usb port, or another power source that isn't constant, or perhaps not powerful enough, then the Roku enhanced remote sort of freaks out and continously looks for its tethered device when the stick gets powered down.  Once you turn the Roku stick back on, the remote calms down knowing all is well, and it sleeps when it is not in use.  But then you turn the TV off and then the Roku powers down, the remote goes back into a search mode and wastes your batteries to nothing!!

Like it or not, the solution for most of you is going to be finding a way to get constant power to your Roku stick.  For me, I had to go grab a longer micro USB cord from an old phone charger (you don't have to use the supplied cord). I inconveniently had to plug that into a wall, and the problem vanished immediately.  I haven't changed batteries since, and it's been 2 months with only 4% battery drain. 

Now there's this whole other subject of Roku support and the fact that they don't seem to want to acknowledge this problem.  They are surely well aware of the issue and the design flaw.  After a long time on the phone, tech support told me that the remote was faulty (it isn't, it's poorly designed and working exactly how designed) and that they would send me a new remote (they didn't, and it's been two months) .

I created an account specifically because I hoped it would help the droves of people with this issue.  If this fixes it for you, please kudo this answer to that more people can see it!!

SRQtech
Streaming Star

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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Two weeks ago I was finally able to get a Roku Support Supervisor to call me and discuss the fast battery drain in the remotes for my 3 Streaming Stick+. She created a ticket and told me their Engineers would research the problem and get back to me.

Today I got this message from Roku:

"Our engineering team has been investigating this issue closely, however we would like to request your assistance to further identify the cause of the problem.

If the USB Cable from your Streaming Stick is currently connected to the USB port on your TV, we would like to request that you connect the USB cable directly to a wall outlet or power strip via the USB power adapter that was included with your device. This will help us in diagnosing the issue further.

Once you have connected your USB cable connected to the Streaming Stick to a wall outlet or power strip, we would like to ask that you perform the below steps:

1.    Remove the batteries from your remote that is experiencing this issue

2.    Restart your Roku Streaming Stick by unplugging the device from the USB power connection for 10 seconds before plugging it back in

3.    After the Roku Home Screen appears again, reinsert the batteries and continue usage as normal

Let us know if you continue to see the issue and if so, the frequency of which it occurs.

We appreciate your help in further investigating this issue and hope to have more information to share soon.

If you have any questions or concerns around these steps, please let us know."

So it seems that they think the battery drain is caused by having the stick powered by the TV's USB port instead of an AC wall outlet. I will follow their instructions and report my results to them and here in a couple weeks.

GrayWolf86
Reel Rookie

Re: Roku streaming stick+ draining batteries

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Is one plugged into the wall and one plugged into the back of the t.v?

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