I just cut the cable. For two LG TVs there is not power nearby so plugged the USB cable into the tv. Roku boots up each time I turn on the television. Is this bad for the Roku? I know it doesn't do updates overnight but can check manually. Takes a little longer to start up but seems to work fine.
Depends on the specific TV's USB port and the specific model Roku - if it can supply .8 Amps or higher (e.g. USB 3.0 ports) then you may be fine. However, insufficient power may not manifest itself in obvious ways, so if your Roku starts behaving strangely/odd errors, plug it directly into the provided AC adapter (get a USB extender cable if necessary).
If there is no power near by then how is the TV powered? If you need multiple outlets then use a surge protector. But it is "ALWAYS" best to plug the Roku into an outlet using the AC adapter. It's probably taking longer to boot up cause your TV power settings are putting the device to sleep. Go into your TV power settings. Not the Roku settings. A Roku does not have a on/off button. They are meant to be powered on all the time. So eventually your Roku could have a failure due to the constant rebooting. Even the instructions say to use the AC power adapter.
Streamer317 wrote:If there is no power near by then how is the TV powered? If you need multiple outlets then use a surge protector. But it is "ALWAYS" best to plug the Roku into an outlet using the AC adapter.
This! (Or extension cord + surge protector)
As you indicated, the stick shuts off when the TV shuts off. To me, that isn't a problem because I don't mind the stick getting a chance to cool down when not in use. I had the original purple streaming sticks some years ago, and they ran quite hot all the time, and my friends who kept theirs plugged to a power adapter - stayed on all the time and their sticks eventually died. My purple sticks never suffered too much heat because they got to cool down every day. The current 4K stick I've upgraded to a lot cooler, but still I let it cool down overnight; it starts up so much faster than the old sticks that it doesn't bother me to wait a couple seconds. In terms of updates, the OS will check for updates at various times of the day, so it isn't only overnight.
The Roku Express 4K+ Quick Start Guide states: "Connect to Power. For the best streaming experience use the included USB power cable and power adaptor to connect your streaming player to a wall outlet.
Or, use the included USB power cable to connect to the USB port on your TV."
The ports on many televisions only supply 0.5 amp or less, which is not enough to power a Roku reliably. It may appear to start up okay, but when it runs into something that requires more power than the tv's USB port can provide, something's got to give. Frequently this results in shutting down the stream you are viewing and exiting back to the Roku home screen.
See if the USB ports on the tv are labeled to show the amperage they can deliver, or perhaps this is listed in the sets' manuals. If they supply 1 amp or more, they should be fine. If the port can be set to stay powered when the tv powers down, that will eliminate the Roku startup delay.
