Solving playback issues

[Toddwrtr]

Latest response I received from Paramount+ support in regards to this issue that began back in December 2021 with no resolution thus far:

Thank you for your response. We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced. We are happy to assist you! Roku will not place in their release notes that a major OS release will 'fix' an issue with one specific app on their platform, whether it is accurate or not. We will likely see an update to OS 11 and soon after that the Paramount+ app will probably 'update' as well. If 4K HDR support is restored, Paramount+ will claim that the Roku OS update 'fixed' the issue. Roku will claim that an 'update' to the Paramount+ app could have addressed the issue that they had to 'fix' with an OS update.

Wow!

[randys]

What is so fun about this is paramount not working on Roku and HBO Max 4K HDR not working on fire stick, so I always have to remember which is which what to watch what on.

FIX IT PLEASE!

[Toddwrtr]

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@randys wrote:

What is so fun about this is paramount not working on Roku and HBO Max 4K HDR not working on fire stick, so I always have to remember which is which what to watch what on.

FIX IT PLEASE!

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Not to go off topic, but I have been watching HBO Max on my FireStick because Dolby Vision hasn’t been working on the Roku app for nearly a month now, but am having no HDR issues on FireStick.

[Toddwrtr]

And then Paramount+ "Tier 2 Support" (LOL!) sends me the following e-mail for the sixth time over the last 5-6 months:

We have found that the following steps has helped many customers resolve issues on their Roku. Can you please try the following and let us know if this works.

First, many customers have advised that entering the Roku secret menu and Disabling Network Pings has helped resolve this issue. To do this, please perform these actions on the Roku remote: press Home 5 times, followed by fast forward, play, rewind, play, Fast forward (in that order) really fast to enter the secret menu. Once there, enter system operations menu, then click on network menu, then disable network pings.

1. Please ensure the Paramount+ app is up to date.
2. Ensure you are using the 2.4GHz network as most Roku devices run better on this network.
3. Also, ensure the bandwidth saver is off by going to settings>>network>>bandwidth saver>>off
4. If these steps do not work, try changing your resolution settings on the Roku to 720p versus 1080p (For built in Roku TVs, this option is not available but you can try the following: While viewing live TV or any video on demand item, select the (*) asterisk on remote control, then click the on Picture settings (may also be called advanced picture settings, select Picture Mode, change from Low Power to Vivid or Movie (To see if the picture quality and lagging improves); you can even change the sound modes to find the best working mode possible)
5. Finally, if none of these steps resolve the issue, you could be experiencing this due to insufficient memory on the device as many Rokus offer limited storage and no way to tell if storage is getting full. The only way to resolve this would be to perform a factory reset on the device. If steps 1-4 do not resolve this issue, please try resetting the Roku back to factory settings to resolve this issue.

If this does not resolve the issue, please try the following:

1.Please try moving your device(s) closer to modem/router.
2. Please try using an Ethernet wire the device(s) to modem/router (if already wired, try replacing the Ethernet cable as this may be going bad).
3. Try switching between your 2.4GHz network to your 5GHz network or vise versa.
4. If you are using one of the newer Wi-Fi mesh routing systems such as Xfinity Xfi, Calex Blast, Netgear Orbi, Amazon EERO, Google Wi-Fi, or others, you may need to turn off ad blockers on the network or allow Paramount+. These systems give you the ability to block each device on the network or the network as a whole. Also, ensure the following are whitelisted if you are using Pi-Hole or a similar software on your network: pubads.g.doubleclick.net, partnerad.l.doubeclick.net, steamvr.com, and steamcommunity.com.
5. Ensure that your network allows both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols.If this does not help or you need assistance with this, please contact your internet provider for further troubleshooting as they may need to send a firmware update to your modem/router or may need to reset the network completely to resolve this issue.

Regards,

Tony S
Paramount+ Customer Support Tier 2 Agent

[FastFurious]

@Toddwrtr  You do realize that’s a bot reply and has zero to do with HDR. 

[Toddwrtr]

If it was a bot reply, it would not have been signed. Also, I have been able to actually speak to some of these self-proclaimed “tech” people.

[FastFurious]

@Toddwrtr  It’s a bot reply. All they did was copy and paste from a troubleshooting tree. They aren’t real techs. 99% of the if you reach out to “tech support” they are merely minimum wage workers reading off a flow chart. They actually don’t know anything. Tony S is not even probably his name. Did you speak to him on the phone?

[Toddwrtr]

Not to Tony S, but have spoken to Alina, Thierry, and Arshid, all of whom have sent me similar e-mails.

[Toddwrtr]

I have spoken to numerous Customer Service supervisors and managers and although they would not admit directly, most agents are allowed minimal customization of emails sent to customers and (this is where you are rather correct) most are basically scripted responses.

Where the communication issue lies is that it is possible that there is no scripted response for this issue, which is why everyone is receiving ridiculous troubleshooting responses.

Plus, most bots are smarter than these idiots.

[Toddwrtr]

Check your support tickets with Paramount+. Found out today that my ticket was closed by support because "it's all in Roku's hands now and they have been uncooperative." Wow.