Wi-Fi & connectivity

[Ari89]

My boyfriend has a Roku Express connected to his bedroom tv. He never used it because he doesn’t know anything about how to work it. I turned it on a few days ago and we connected my Hulu account, it worked perfectly, no problems. Fast forward to tonight, we wanted to log into the the rest of my apps (Disney +, ESPN +, Netflix, etc) and update the debit card on file in case we wanted to subscribe to anything. He noticed the Roku account was under his ex wife’s name and wanted to update it to mine (I have all the streaming accounts).
We did a factory reset. It restarted, asked for our preferred language, we selected English, then we connected it to the internet. The problem we are having now is that it says “Error: 003. Unable to update software. Wait a few moments and try again.” So we waited, tried again several times, and for a while it allowed us to go back to the internet network connection page.
We tried all I know to do and all it would do is give that error message (Restarted the RokuX Restarted the tv, Unplugged the Roku (from both the tv and the wall on different occasions), Hit the reset button on the Roku, Reset the router, attempted to use a personal hot spot (it wouldn’t give us the internet network screen), Downloaded the Roku remote app and added the device to the remote on my phone),

Currently, the tv just has the purple screen and says Roku in the top left corner. I can hit buttons on the remote and it just makes noise. If I turn the tv or Roku off, it just restarts and says “updating software” then throws the software update error. That is also currently the only thing is it saying- I don’t have a menu or options to change the internet network or anything. What do I need to do to be able to use the Roku again?!

[AvsGunnar · Accepted solution]

@Ari89 

The error code 003 usually indicates that the Roku device cannot find an internet connection. (failed internet check/test), and is thus unable to proceed further to update the software.

Since you mentioned this device was hardly used, it is possible it had an older Roku OS version and the server had an issue trying to update it properly (or did not update it properly, or was interrupted somehow).

I would factory reset it again (press and hold reset button for 30+ seconds).  Initially, I would try your hotspot again.  Since the older Roku Express devices were 2.4ghz-only, make sure you use the 2.4 ghz band of the hotspot. (on Android, it is located under the Network & Internet/Mobile Hotspot and Tethering/Mobile Hotspot Settings/Setup Mobile Hotspot/Select AP Band.

On Apple, under the Hotspot Settings, select "Maximize Compatibility" in order to enable use of the 2.4ghz band.

See if using the Hotspot and having the 2.4ghz band enabled in the hotspot now allows you to proceed through setup.

Additionally, as an FYI, you will not be able to add/use the mobile app as a remote until the Express has setup successfully since it was factory reset.  New Roku devices (and devices that have been factory reset) need to have a physical remote to proceed through setup.