Remotes

[ginahoy]

I agree with the others, this started around mid-April. It's maddening.

Does anyone know if this rewind feature exists with Netflix through other set top boxes? If so, is it working or broken?

I'm thinking if this is specifically a Netflix problem on Roku boxes, the only way it's gonna get fixed is for Roku's engineers to take the ball and push Netflix. Otherwise it's too easy for Netflix to stonewall customers with "We don't support this feature, since it's a function of the Roku remote..."

[sassfb]

Interesting question (which I can't answer, since I have only Rokus).

But when a feature that has worked suddenly quits working, that's considered a bug (I used to work as a tester in software development). So I don't think that Netflix can get away with "We don't support this feature".

[ginahoy]

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@sassfb wrote:
... when a feature that has worked suddenly quits working, that's considered a bug (I used to work as a tester in software development). So I don't think that Netflix can get away with "We don't support this feature".

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True, but Roku engineers would (should) have more success than us mere customers in getting Netflix to acknowledge / own this problem. Front line CS reps, many of whom have never used a Roku remote, haven't a clue. Also, I'm not convinced this isn't a Roku issue, specific to its interface with Netflix. What I do know is that just because this issue only manifests when watching Netflix, doesn't mean it's necessarily a Netflix problem. That's why I'm curious as to whether this issue manifests on other set top boxes that serve Netflix.

[duckwebs]

It started happening to me in the last few weeks, too, on my Roku 3.  It worked for years and years with multiple Rokus just fine, and someone (either Netflix or Roku) broke the functionality.  It's very useful when watching foreign language things in a language you understand but that isn't your first language, or when actors mumble. 

[sassfb]

I'd be happy to contact Roku about this issue if there were a way to do this. The Roku site says "Our customer support agents are unable to answer phone calls or chats at this time." So I then went to "Contact customer support" and made the appropriate selections, and I got "Agent-assisted support is not available for your issue and/or model." I first tried this with my actual Roku model (Roku Express), but then tried a bunch of other Roku models just to see what would happen. It always ended up saying that I couldn't get agent-assisted support.

[PolarPanda]

Yeah this started in the last few weeks for me on my Roku 3. I thought maybe it had been diasbled to somehow conserve bandwidth because there is so much demand right now due to the 'rona. 

But if it is a technical issue maybe this thread will help them get off the dime...

[jdjeff]

I just called and logged another complaint.  For some reason, they always ask for the name of your internet provider.  Would this be to see which region the complaints are coming from I wonder?  This guy (with roosters crowing in the background) acknowledged there was an open ticket on the problem.  But then he said that the circular arrow button was called the "undo" button.  I opened up my user manual that I have for this Roku and it identifies that circular arrow button as "instant replay".  So I never really know if any of the info I get at Netflix is any good.  These people are first level, working from home now, and frankly I get the idea they are just putting in time.  I'm just going to keep calling them until it's fixed.

[sassfb]

I don't think they've ever asked me the name of my internet provider, but they always ask me my email address so they can look up my account. I would prefer if they think I'm a different person each time I call, but if they actually look up my account and consult their records, they'll see that I'm making multiple calls.

I've been referring to the button as "Instant Replay", because that's what my Roku manual calls it too, and yes, it does look like an "Undo" symbol that you might see in an editing menu bar. I agree that it doesn't seem like the people we talk to know what they are talking about, since they say something different in every call. I had to explain what the "instant replay" button was at least one of the times I called. I wonder whether they have any guidance, or just sort of make up what to say on the spot.

But at least an open ticket is progress.

[SageerAM]

I thought it was not working because my internet provider was burdened or something like that. After checking this thread, I am thinking maybe it was disabled by netflix to lower the load on their servers, so by removing the 10 seconds you can rewind to instantly, they can lower the burden on their servers

The bad thing is that they know of the problem but they are lying to the users.

[sassfb]

Well, it's not going to lower the load on their servers for viewers like me who will find a way to replay video come **bleep** or high water. And since the instant replay doesn't work, I routinely end up replaying even more by using the back button. It takes me a bit longer and often multiple attempts, but I am definitely not replaying any less.

My guess is that Netflix didn't disable it intentionally, but that they inadvertently broke it and don't really care about fixing it.