Features, settings & updates

[rrsipes]

I've noticed Roku struggling for some time.  Some group of folks there believe the way to increase income is to attack the home screen .. easy to do, doesn't require effort (or accountability) and makes mgmt think they're trying to move the ball.  Problem is that most of their customers hate it.  There probably isn't much we can do to help minimize this kind of behavior except (1) REMOVE the "Roku Channel" as a penalty since they've duplicated it's purpose and (2) SELL your Roku stock.  I'm jumping off now since I don't see how they'll be a good investment if they can't get themselves out of the "attack the home screen" mentality.  Apologies for the long post. 

[GoHawks]

I agree as we. WHY is it every single time Roku tweaks and "fixes" things it is ALWAYS worse.ALWAYS. You used to be able to do everything so much faster and easier and they ALWAYS hire these idiotic programmers and/or coders who hate simplicity and easiness and ALWAYS mess things up. Remember when a person could just go and see ALL the new channels ALL OF THEM at once in one place ?

They simply seem absolutely unable to just make a nice and easy home screen and let us add what WE want to it.Instead they continue to force **bleep** onto the home screen and make a muddled mess with having to take multiple multiple multiple clicks to find things and make ridiculous incoherent or pointless procedures to do anything. 

And enough with the ads on the home screen it is beyond ridiculous how much space those take !

I am very disappointed.

[rrsipes]

I've noticed Roku struggling for some time. Some group of folks there believe the way to increase income is to attack the home screen .. easy to do, doesn't require effort (or accountability) and makes mgmt think they're trying to move the ball. Problem is that most of their customers hate it. There probably isn't much we can do to help minimize this kind of behavior except (1) REMOVE the "Roku Channel" as a penalty since they've duplicated it's purpose and (2) SELL your Roku stock. I'm jumping off now since I don't see how they'll be a good investment if they can't get themselves out of the "attack the home screen" mentality. Apologies for the long post. 

[zenkar]

I don't want unwanted apps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SmilingBob]

As evidenced by these responses here as well as pretty much everywhere else on the web, this was a really bad business decision by Roku.  People hate being force-fed ads and curated content that they do not want, and most people use Roku for the simplicity and the relatively clean UI compared to devices like the Amazon junk.  All would be forgiven if Roku simply allows this "feature" to be disabled, just like everything else available in the settings.  If it was an oversight, fix it.  If it is on purpose, you'd better rethink this strategy, Roku.

[GoHawks]

If Roku was a car company they'd let you buy a car, it would be YOURS,  then they'd put a bunch of stuff that you did not ask for, did not want, and did not need in your trunk, then, after you removed it all, they would put even more different unwanted and unneeded stuff in your glove box.

Then, after you got home and parked your car you would go out the next day and find it a completely different color from when you bought it and they'd tell you it was an "upgrade" and "see, look, we made it better for you" even though it is now a hideous purple with green polka dots and orange racing stripes with shiny pink mudflaps and a dashboard covered in ads of stickers of stuff you don't buy, need, or want at all.

Roku, if you read this, the only, and I repeat, ONLY, thing you should ever be doing is doing security updates, all these other updates are only making the product worse. It is very sad that the Roku system from a few years back was actually far far easier to find things in and navigate around.

[merlinpatt]

Came here to add to this. I just got this nonsense on my screen and I want it gone. I don't need browse and categories. I already know what to search for.

Also, they just added settings to bring back 3x3 tiles and remove continue watching but then they add this without similar settings.

How hard is it to add a feature and give people the option to hide it at the same time? IT IS NOT HARD. 

[Jibz]

Same same here! ....Unfortunately, what brought me to these jokers in the first place was the simple interface and the simplicity of getting around in it. ......nobody else is going in that direction.....it's clutter and confusion! Now they've 'sold out' and are giving us the same terrible product. 

[Jibz]

Amen brother!!!

[rawlsrules]

At least part of the reason some of us resort to rants is that years — literally years — of using Roku, familiarizing ourselves with the system, calling Customer Support, using the Community blogs, etc., have resulted in ZIP.

In 2017 (yes, six years ago) I started trying to stop Roku from adding channels I do not want. I think there may have been one Roku customer support person who acknowledged that there was nothing to be done. Aside from that person, I lost track of how many people on this forum, how many Roku customer support people by phone and direct e-mail told me how to do it! I was always clear about the efforts I had made, following directions even when I knew already they would not work, telling them that I had followed their advice, and it never made any difference. To this day, Roku adds channels I do not want. Sometimes the same channel several times a day.

As annoying as that practice is, at least I can remove those channels: if only temporarily, which creates another area of disappointment, one that may still bring me to leaving. But this new addition doesn't even offer a temporary fix.

So, I get that expressing one's frustration and anger is considered poor form, but it is simply nonsense to suggest that if one is a good little girl or boy one will receive constructive attention.