Features, settings & updates

[JackVette]

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@Learning2 wrote:

I agree. (I have exact same problem).  Best option is to set up a new ROKU account and use that for all your ROKU boxes at the rental.  Load the Spectrum app.  Remind quests to delete any logins they may have made to Netflix, Prime, etc., when they leave.  

Unrealistic to expect guests to read about and then find and load Spectrum app.

It's not ideal but so, so much better, cleaner, cheaper than Charter and all those cable boxes PLUS Roku.  Which is what I had before.

TIP - when I set up the account it required a credit card.  OK.  But then when the went to update the card a few minutes later I found I could delete the card and go cardless!  So - no way a renter can charge anything to me.  

Thanks to all the posters on this issue.

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Yes.  That is what we do as well.

Guest mode essentially became useless...  

Maybe one day they will fix it.

[renojim]

@JackVetteand @Learning2 , you may want to check after a renter leaves that they didn't add their own payment method to your account from the Settings.  It might save Roku the trouble of responding to complaints from people saying they're getting charged for something and don't have a Roku account.

[Jcilas1977]

I’m stuck in guest mode. Every five days guest mode cancels and restarts. I have to set up accounts like prime all over again. How do I get out of this endless cycle

[RokuDanny-R]

@Jcilas1977

Thanks for the inquiry.

Have you tried factory resetting your Roku device and setting it up again fresh to see if you are experiencing the same issue?

For more information about how to perform a factory reset, visit our Support page here: System restart or factory reset your Roku

Please keep us posted what you find out.

Thanks,
Danny

[atc98092]

@Jcilas1977 If you are not yourself entering guest mode on the device, there are three options. One, the device is defective (not likely, but possible). Two, someone within your home is messing with you. Three, someone has access to your Roku user account. One can force any Roku on a user account into guest mode from the user account web page. Perhaps you might try changing your online password and see if it stops happening. 

[wturnerharris]

Just adding in support of everyone here, and glad I read this first.

I’m just setting up for guests and was reading documentation and was very confused by what value this mode provides. I’m also unclear if exiting guest mode restores apps and logs me back in once I enter my passcode. That would have been my assumption. It sounds like this mode acts as a basic device reset so that the users can login to roku, add their specific subscriptions/channels, and have this reset when they depart.

I think one of the recent poster’s message about setting up a separate account and then limiting billing is exactly what I will do.

Whoever posted the request a feature link  just wasting time. That page is an infinite loop that I doubt anyone reviews. If there’s an existing feature request somewhere, please link so that we can plus one.

fwiw, this is probably a very large problem to solve since it has to do with permissions that probably weren’t baked in from the beginning, but also I don’t think Roku’s guest mode is designed as folks would like it.

Seems like everyone on this thread wants an easy guest mode option that creates fewer friction points for guests, esp paying ones where you don’t want to frustrate.

I’ve wanted auto-login and auto create all my preferred channels for new devices for the longest time, but it’s similar permission and compatibility issue. I hope the next roku os solves these challenges by creating more robust permissions and authorization flows and fast user switching. For instance, like parental mode, there’s a mechanism for preventing access to certain things, but there  may be ways to circumvent that at the channel level.

Ideal user flow:

 Enter Guest Mode with passcode

 Guest session started

 All existing channels retained

 All channels that are logged in on the main account continue to remain authenticated

 All billing function is disabled in both roku and per channels

 All channels support a default guest account within their profiles and will lock and auto select to that guest profile upon start

 Exit Guest mode with passcode removes limitations.

[Toucan12]

I posted on this thread and complained about guest mode but I plan to use it anyway for my vacation house.  The guests will need to add channels and sign into accounts but at the end of their stay they will be automatically signed out.  That seems more valuable to me even though I'll have to make it clear that to access cable they need to add the Spectrum channel.  Since my guests will be staying for a week, I am going to give guest mode a try for this summer and see what the people say.

I'd also like this fixed so I can setup the reset point but in the meantime I plan to still use it.

[atc98092]

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@wturnerharris wrote:

Just adding in support of everyone here, and glad I read this first.

I’m just setting up for guests and was reading documentation and was very confused by what value this mode provides. I’m also unclear if exiting guest mode restores apps and logs me back in once I enter my passcode.

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It clears all guest personal information and restores all registered owner-installed channels. I do not think it will restore login credentials (with the exception of the channels that support Roku retaining such credentials), but I could be wrong there. So worst case is you'd need to log back into one or more channels. 

It does add value to allow guests to access services that they themselves subscribe to. That saves you from needing to supply such access (and the associated cost) yourself. And exiting Guest mode clears the guest's personal info, which is a good thing for them as well as yourself. 

But I could certainly see value for Guest Mode to have a list of channels to have already installed, and if credentials are needed (say for the Spectrum channel to access the cable channels) allow them to be pre-entered. There's many possible ways to use a Guest mode, so hopefully Roku will listen to this user input and make some improvements. 

[Jcilas1977]

What I’m trying to find out is how to exit guest mode. When I follow instructions to exit guest mode I can’t. I keep getting five more days of guest mode automatically. Every time I get a new date for guest mode I have to restart my  channels with a new code to type in so I can watch STARZ and other pay channels. I’m thinking about getting new tv without roku if this can’t be fixed. I have got no real help from support. 

[renojim]

@Jcilas1977, does the Roku account this TV is linked to belong to you?  Is the email address that's displayed under Settings->System->About yours?  Can you use that email address to log in at https://my.roku.com ?