Solving playback issues

[Jyingram]

Look I shouldn't have ti go Thur all this to get some help!! My roku your device keeps going back to main screen in middle of the movie! HELP!!!

[RokuKarla · Accepted solution]

Hi @Jyingram

Thanks for reaching out to the Roku community!

We'd like to take a closer look to see if there's anything else we can suggest to help.

Does the issue only occur on a specific channel or all channels on your Roku device? Have you already tried checking for a manual software update on your Roku device to see if that helps the issue you are experiencing?

To check for a manual update, navigate to Home > Settings > System > System Update > Check Now.  Restart your Roku and try again. 

Keep us posted from there if you need additional help.

Regards, 
Karla

[makaiguy]

@Jyingram-

First thing I'd check would be how you are powering your Roku.

If you are powering your Roku by plugging into the USB port on the TV, try powering from house power via the USB power adapter that came with the Roku**. 

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. 

If this is a new problem, possibly an update to either the Roku operating software or to some channel app software is using a little more power than in the past.  If you were just barely scraping by before, this might push you over the edge. 

**If your Roku didn't come with an adapter, or if you don't have a Roku adapter handy, any other USB power adapter you have from another device should work as long as the fine print on it says it outputs at least 1 amp.

[Craftynhmom]

I've had the same issue happen twice.

I just got my Roku Ultra 2 weeks ago. This last time I fell asleep and woke up to find my husband left for bed but the TV was on a movie that I had begun to gain some solid interest in.

Then, after like 20 minutes of thus mysterious movie peaking my curiosity all of a sudden I find myself in sheer panic mode with 30 seconds to find my remote. I felt like I was in a freaking Japanese game show that developed out of the blue through my Roku and began in into my living room without my consent.

Needless to say I didn't find my remote in time, my leftover dinner that my daughter just reheated for me is now cold again and I  now find myself faced with trying to figure out how the **bleep** I'm supposed to know which app out of the 30 I have installed did my husband put the Roku on so I can begin to search for movie I was watching which I have no idea in **bleep** what the name is. 

There's got to be a way to adjust the setting on this thing so this doesn't happen again or.... if I can't stop it from asking me if I'm still watching something I  should be able to adjust the time so I have more than 30 freaking seconds to find my (⁠╬⁠☉⁠д⁠⊙⁠)⁠⊰⁠⊹ฺ **bleep** REMOTE!!!!! Seriously people wth!! 

[Craftynhmom]

Btw, the first time this happened I didn't get a 30 second warning to find my remote. The thing just shut off and the ROKU screen didn't even come up like it does when it malfunctions it just instantly blipped back to home right out of the show I was watching.

Btw, my Roku is powered by the adapter and  h..e.l.l. is the opposite of Heaven and a homophone for d.a.m.n. is dam .... I wouldn't really consider these derogatory words these days and taking them out make it look like I said something much worse, so I would truly appreciate it if you could please let this explanation stay.

I  promise I am not a raging lunatic. Atm I am just a frustrated wife, mom, cat lover, sister, daughter, niece, aunt, craft making, peace seaking, NH girl at heart.

Please help me figure out how to change this setting and find my movie. I would be extremely grateful (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

[AvsGunnar]

@Craftynhmom 

The two settings you can disable are both "Power Savings" and "Bandwidth Saver"

Settings/System/Power/Auto Power Savings/20-min inactivity [uncheck to disable]

Settings/Network/Bandwidth Saver/Off [off=disable]

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Bandwidth Saver is generally the setting responsible for asking if you are still watching a channel after 4hrs of inactivity.  If you disable it, make sure you press Home button on your Roku remote when you are finished with your streaming session or you will likely continue to stream/use data ad infinitum. (don't just press the Power button on your remote; this will just turn off your TV while the Roku device will continue to stream away in the background).

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In order to try and find the show you were watching, try seeing if it may be listed in the "Continue Watching" section of "What to Watch" on your Home Screen left side menu.

If you do not see "What to Watch" on the left hand side menu on the Home screen, try enabling it under Settings/Home Screen/What to Watch

[Jholschuh]

Toggling bandwidth saver and doing everything else everyone always says but my Hisense tv is trash, a lotta times it makes me watch adds over and over y because just about the time it plays my programs and jumps back to home n I've tried changing connection with 2 faster connections, no changes, different apps. No changes 

[RokuERey]

Hi @Jholschuh,

Thanks for making your first post here in the Roku Community!

We see that you're experiencing a playback issue, and we appreciate your attempts at resolving this.

We're here to help! Can you let us know if you're experiencing this problem with all of the channels on the platform? Also, when did this start happening?

Please keep us posted!

Thanks,
Rey