Features, settings & updates

[Randseedb]

About six months ago I started having intermittent problems with my older Roku Ultra, bought in I think 2015 or 2016. Suddenly when plugged into my Panasonic TV (which is from about 2007) the TV would turn on, then immediately turn off. I pulled the plug on the things and got them working again. It's happened a few times since then.

Then today it seems to be unfixable. If I unplug the HDMI cable from the Roku, the TV will stay on and work fine. If I plug the HDMI into the Roku but have the Roku unpowered, the TV works fine. Once I plug in the Roku, I'll get the bouncy "Roku" logo for a few seconds, then a blast of static and the TV turns off. The Roku seems to stay on. As long as it's plugged in, the TV won't read that input.

For troubleshooting, I pulled the Roku and plugged it into a TV from 2012 in another room. I factory reset it and set it back up. It appeared to work fine. Upon unplugging it and moving it back to the original TV, the same thing happens. 

It looks like Roku pushed an update that basically bricked my Ultra. I coincidentally have another one on order anyway and I'll just put the old one on the newer TV instead of the other way around. If it doesn't work, though, it's going back. 

Is there a way to back off the Roku updates on the assumption that a recent one on or about June 29th screwed everything up?

[StreamerUser]

2016 is when the first Ultra model was released, the 4640 (with Dolby decoder and optical out).

It probably updated to OS10.0.0-4209 within the last few days. Settings/System/System update will tell you the current version/build and when it "Last updated"

I highly recommend you go through its settings, especially those in Settings/Display and Settings/Audio and verify you have them correctly set for your setup.

You also might consider disabling "1-Touch play":  Settings/System/Control other devices/1-Touch play=unchecked and see if that solves the "TV turns off" issue.

You can attempt to revert the firmware:  Home 5x, FF 3x, RW 2x, Update software/Update now - however, its likely going to just offer the same version/build to install.

[Randseedb]

Turning off 1-touch play didn't help. Same result. The firmware was last updated on June 30th which is when things broke. I plugged it into the other TV and cranked it all the way down to 720p, which I know the original TV is capable of. The only thing that changed is that after the bouncing Roku intro screen I don't get the blast of static -- the TV still turns off. Trying to turn it on again causes it to turn off as soon as it sees the Roku. 

Basically it looks like Roku botched an update and bricked my unit.

[AvsGunnar]

@Randseedb 

Have you tried using a different HDMI cable, a different HDMI port, or a different HDMI device (non-Roku) on the problem TV?  Seems like if the unit works on your 2012 TV, then it is not bricked.  May be a problem with the Panasonic TV (2007= 14yrs old).   The previous intermittent problems from 6 months ago could of have been an indicator that TV was beginning to fail. (I think OS10 was released in late April if memory serves.) 

Could also be possible that the update to the Roku OS may mean that it will no longer be compatible with the older Panasonic for whatever reason.  I doubt this to be the case but you should know soon  enough when your new device arrives.  (Just make sure to use a new HDMI cord and the power supply that comes with unit to rule those out as culprits as well.)  Good luck and post back with an update.