Solving playback issues

[Wm59]

We upgraded our Roku last October, and it's been working just fine -- until this evening. We tried to access, and it just died. I mean, the screen went blank, and all we could get was a little notice floating across the screen reading NO INPUT.

So we did all the obvious things: turned the TV off and then on again (several times), but no change. Unplugged Roku and plugged it in again (several times). No change. When we plug it in again, the little Roku light comes on briefly, then blinks, then goes out.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Or any advice?

[makaiguy]

The "no signal" notice is put up by your TV, not the Roku.

Have  you tried connecting to a different HDMI port on the TV?  Do you have another TV to try it on to see if the Roku works okay there?

[Wm59]

We have only one TV, but we'll try another HDMI port. (Thanks!)

[Wm59]

Hello again. No luck, as yet. We're still getting nothing but the NO SIGNAL notice. We've tried unplugging the Roku stick and plugging it back into the HDMI (several times) with no change. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be more than one HDMI port.

Aside from Roku, the TV is working normally. Is there some channel we can go to to reset, or something along those lines?

[makaiguy]

Have you tried unplugging the Roku's power cord and plugging it back in to force a restart?

[Wm59]

We have repeatedly unplugged the Roku cord -- both at the power source, and at the HDMI port on the TV itself, but no luck. When we plug everything back in, the little light on the Roku stick itself lights up for a moment, then blinks, then goes off.

All other elements of our TV set are fine: we can watch regular TV stations, DVDs, etc. But no access to Roku.

Initially, when I started this thread, my subject heading was "Our Roku just died, without warning." I found it interesting that someone (an administrator of this board?) changed it to the subject heading you see up there now. That was not my wording, but it appears I was correct. Our Roku stick, which we purchased last October, appears to have died suddenly. Or am I mistaken?

[renojim]

@Wm59, it may have died or the power adapter may have died.  You don't mention the model number that should be written on it.  If it's a model that uses a USB power adapter then try one from a phone or tablet.  Do you have any other devices that uses an HDMI connection?  It sounds like you don't since you mentioned only one HDMI input on the TV.  If you have another HDMI cable it might help to try it.  Without another TV to try it on it's really hard to say if the device is dead.

If you can't try another TV, another power adapter, and/or another HDMI cable, try a factory reset.  Without knowing what model you have, it's hard to say where the reset button is, but it's either an actual button or there's a pinhole where you have to use a paperclip or something similar to depress it.  With the power connected press and hold the reset button for no less than 30 seconds.

[Wm59]

Still no luck in getting our Roku to function. Here's more info: the Streaming Stick we purchased last October is HD | 4K | HDR, Voice remote with TV controls.

There's one change since this issue began on Monday: instead of getting a blank screen with the NO INPUT phrase, we now have a screen showing 3 images of our remote. The back of it is open, and the batteries are visible. The number :05 is circled, and below that is the URL to this site.

We took this to mean our remote needed new batteries. So we purchased new batteries and loaded them into the remote, but it made no difference. We point it at the screen and press the usual commands, but all we see is the interface described above: 3 images of our remote, etc. No apparent connection.

So, any further suggestions?

[renojim · Accepted solution]

@Wm59, that image is trying to tell you to press and hold the button shown for 5 seconds (until the light starts flashing).

How to set up your Roku® voice remote | Official Roku Support

[Wm59]

Thank you for that last note. Once we got that light flashing on the remote, we were able to connect with Roku at long last, and then set up our account again. It was like setting it up on Day One, as if it was a new account.

We think that what started this problem was a thunderstorm a few days ago: we briefly lost power, and after that, Roku wasn't functioning. So if we lose power again in the future, we'll know that this is the process we may have to repeat.

Thanks again for steering us to a solution!