Solving playback issues

[Katatawnic]

My Roku Streambar OS was updated this morning.  Now YouTube will not play any videos.  The app loads, thumbnails generate, videos can be added to or removed from playlists, etc.  But not one video will play.  It tries to load, but the screen just turns black and nothing happens no matter how long I wait.

I've rebooted the Streambar, uninstalled and reinstalled YouTube, unplugged the Streambar for a few minutes.  Nothing works.

Hulu, Netflix, and Paramount Plus are all working smoothly.  The only problem is YouTube, and it happened immediately after the Streambar OS update.

(Edit: Yes, YouTube does work on my phone and tablet.)

What do I do to fix this?

[RokuArjiemar]

Hello! @Katatawnic,

Thank you for posting in the Roku Community!

We appreciate you contacting us about the problem with YouTube playback. We understand that you are experiencing a black screen after the OS 14 update, and we appreciate your efforts to troubleshoot the issue. We're pleased to assist.

We would be happy to investigate further, but we need further details. Can you please provide us with the following information:

• Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
• Channel version/build is the channel (this can be found be selecting the channel on the Home screen and pressing the * button)
• Tracker ID when this issue occurs (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button five times, followed by the Back button 5 times, and provide us with this ID)

Once we have this information, we can pass it along to the appropriate Roku team for further investigation.
We look forward to working with you to help resolve this issue.

Thanks,
Arjiemar

[Katatawnic]

Streambar model 9102RW

Serial number YL003L666089

                  (or YL003L666089)

Device ID B110A3666089

Software version: 14.0.4
Build: 12221

YouTube version 2.23
Build 115025174

Tracker issue ID 89-411-513

I'm not sure how relevant the tracker issue timestamp is. This has been ongoing since immediately following the OS update at 10:24am EDT.

[Katatawnic]

No one from YouTube or Roku has updated me.  I don't know if anyone is even looking into this.

[kid_fullerene]

same issue here - same timeline,  almost ready to buy a current model and start over ..glad you were able to at least get it to their team(s) for some kind of consideration!

[Katatawnic]

I just spent over an hour with Roku live chat.  Nothing worked.  The second tech said that he was elevating this issue to the Roku software team to look at the backend and update the patches.  Of course he doesn't know how long that will take.

So I guess it's just hurry up and wait.

I've considered factory resetting the Streambar, but I really don't want to have to set up every app again, and I seriously doubt it would resolve the obvious incompatibility between YouTube and the latest Streambar OS update.

[RokuArjiemar]

@Katatawnic ,

Thanks for the information,

We will forward it to the appropriate Roku team for further investigation. Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Arjiemar

[KatinVT]

We've had the same problem. Of 17 channels on our home screen -- only 5 can we access. When I tried chat I was told I had to pay for the channels through Roku. Excuse me? Most of the channels are free (news programs). three of the ones we subscribe to we can't access, but 2 we can. Go figure.

I think this new OS needs a serious fix. ASAP!

[Katatawnic]

Wow, I'm sorry!  That's gotta be so frustrating.  Just the YouTube issue has been driving me mad.  But I mostly watch YT, not much else, so my TV routine has been completely hijacked.  And since I'm disabled and housebound, I don't have much to do besides watch TV.

I used to create and maintain web sites, and if there were glitches in updates that testing overlooked, the first thing I'd do was to roll it back to the previous version until I had the update fixed and working properly.  This is what Roku should do.

[PikeBishop]

I've got the same problem except it is on the Streambar Pro and it all started with the latest software upgrade (?).  I can get YouTube to play the videos if I use the app built into the Samsung TV and it works on every other device (phones, tablets, etc).  Every other app works properly (Netflix, Prime, BritBox, Acorn, Tubi). My secondary set-up using the smaller Streambar works as it should