Solving playback issues

[zom]

I bought a 4k streaming stick in Jan 2019 but never had a 4k TV until last night. It's always been warm to the touch even when not in use but it never overheated watching 1080p videos.

But watching a 4k video for the first time on YouTube I got the overheating warning about 10 minutes in. I know Roku is offering an HDMI extension designed to remove it from the TV... and I am signed up to get one... but I have a HDMI switcher that essentially does the same thing... and I put it in a place offering better ventilation...  and I still get the warning at around 10 minutes. The Roku website suggests a poor WiFi signal can cause also problems... but I went through the process and the Wifi signal is excellent... with about a 78mb download. Ambient temp in the room about 80.

If there's something else I can try... please post it. Otherwise the only conclusion I can come to is this product was never really ready for prime time.

[RokuERey]

Hi @zom,

Warm greetings from the Roku Community!

Thanks for sharing this with us, and we'd like to learn more about it.

Could you tell us how you are powering this device? Is it connected directly to a wall outlet or through the TV USB port on your TV? Also, does this issue only happen when playing YouTube content, or does it happen to the rest of the channels on the platform?

With a better understanding, we'll be able to further look into it.

Best regards,

Rey

[zom]

Hmmmm I thought my post was marked as spam.... then it wasn't there at the original URL so it seemed as if it was deleted. Thanks for responding.

The Roku is being powered through a power strip.

Originally the Roku was plugged in to our new Samsung 4k TV through an HDMI slot. That's when it first overheated. I saw the suggestion for the cord extension and I tried an HDMI 2 HDMI switcher box which is far from the TV and gets plenty of ventation. It overheated there as well. I wondered if I didn't have the right HDMI cable so I switched it to a 4k Hi Speed Cable and from a cold start... where Roku was unplugged, I put on a 4k YouTube video and I got the overheating warning on the TV in about 7min 40 sec. Today I just switched to another high speed cable... again, overheats about 7:40 into the video. I didn't yet receive the HDMI extender cord but I can't see how it would make a difference.

I've used the Roku for 4 years but never played anything above 1080p on YouTube. So here I was dying to finally see some 4k on our new TV only to have Roku fail in less than 10 min.

Any suggestions would be helpful but I'm beginning to suspect there won't be one.

[RokuTakashi]

Hi @zom,

Thanks for posting here in the Roku Community and bringing this to our attention.

We're sorry to hear about the overheating issue you've encountered with your Roku Streaming Stick and rest assured, we want to help you with this. Would you mind us confirming your Device ID, Serial Number, and Mode? (All these can be found in Settings > System > About). In addition, is this only happening to the YouTube channel, or are other channels triggering the overheating of your Roku device?

In the meantime, the HDMI extender is an accessory that mostly resolves the overheating issues with the Roku Streaming Sticks. We would appreciate your patience upon receipt of the accessory, and let us know how it solves the overheating issue after connecting it to your Roku device.

All the best,
Kash

[zom]

Sorry for the long delay in responding. I did finally get the HDMI extender in early Oct. Predictably is did NOT solve the overheating problem watching 4x videos. The unit must be defective. In a youtube video on a different Roku with an overheating problem there wasn't enough thermal paste to conduct heat from the processor to the heatsink. I suspect something similar... but I'm not going to take it apart to test this theory.

So is this unit defective?

[RokuTakashi]

Thanks for keeping us posted, @zom

We'd like to collect more information about your Roku streaming device. Kindly provide the Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version. (These can all be found in Settings > System > About).

Please keep us posted.

All the best,
Kash