Thanks @RokuDanny-R for the explanation of how Guest Mode was intended to be used. I don't believe that fully speaks to the general use case however raised by the OP. I am writing to make a new feature request that does.
Guest Mode is extremely useful in its current implementation when the Roku is an additional media source. It provides the ability to the guest to add their own services and have the credentials automatically reset without compromising the owners Roku account. Brilliant!
In my rental Roku is the primary media source. I purchased a Roku Stick+ or Ultra for each TV to provide a consistent guest experience. I subscribe to a YoutubeTV account used solely for that house and have the account locked down so no purchases are possible. To fully cut the cord and still provide my guests a full range of TV channels that does not require them to have their own subscription the Roku Guest Mode currently forces me to choose between:
- Use Guest Mode as designed. This requires me to provide account credentials for YoutubeTV to the guest so they can sign-in. This is a bad initial guest experience who those that want to simply turn it on and change to a game or stream music (think cable tv and radio equivalent). Also a terrible approach from an account security perspective.
- Avoid Guest Mode and leave the Rokus setup with YoutubeTV. This requires me to set a PIN to protect the setup (necessary at a minimum so a guest does not accidentally or intentionally delete YoutubeTV removing it for use by future guests). This blocks guests from adding their own services which is definitely an ask from over 50% of our guests.
I suggest a New Feature - a new Option set for each Roku Channel which indicates the Roku channel should not be reset by Guest Logout / Checkout. The option would protect this channel when a reset/checkout occurs by not removing the channel, not clearing the credentials, and position the channels with this setting on Home screen before the default channels Roku adds. Option can only be set when not in Guest Mode or as part of the MyRoku online. Additionally, the option should prevent the channel from being Removed while in Guest Mode to avoid the need of a guest having to ask for the credentials to add it back if inadvertently removed.
The outcome is Roku can serve as the primary interface for media and still allow the Owner to provide paid services to Guest without sharing credentials. This allows every TV to have a consistent guest experience using the same type of remote in each room even if each television is not identical. While worded differently, this option effectively provides a default channel profile ability for Guest Mode.
Thanks for your consideration and putting this forward to the Roku Development and Product Teams for consideration in a future release (soon I hope)!
