Roku Owners: Still Happy with your Roku 3??

[Yesfan70]

I have a 3 in the living room and the 2 in the bedroom. The wife uses the 2 more than me, so I can't comment on it but it was a pretty solid unit when we had it in the living room. The 3 however has been a bit more finicky and it's been mainly with Netflix. Sometimes I can't watch anything on Netflix and/or I'll have to re-log in to my account to access my list. The worst case scenario has been me having to unplug the 3 and replug it to reset everything.


Have any of you Roku 3 owners had some of the same issues or is this some sort of Netflix issue I'm experiencing?

 

[Flint]

Yes.. I put the Roku 3 in my living room for my wife to use because I assumed it would be better for her. In fact, it needs to be unplugged and reset about two to four times a month. My wife is a proper layperson when it comes to all forms of tech, so when something doesn't work, she gets really angry.

 

[Botch]

Interesting. I have the Roku 2 and have never had to reset it, guess you guys cured my upgrade-itis. I don't do Netflix so I can't comment on that.

 

[Haywood]

We have two Roku 3 boxes that get used all the time. Everyone knows to yank the power cord and plug them back in when they act up, which is generally a few times a month. Given that these boxes are damned near the only source components we use, that is a pretty tiny percentage of the time.

 

[Huey]

My Roku 3 doesn't see heavy use, and Netflix is about the only thing we watch on it, but I have never had to reset it, not once. Not sure what the difference between mine and some of the others out there.

 

[Haywood]

Given that Roku boxes never shut off, an occasional reboot is not that surprising.

 

[Flint]

I find it completely unacceptable that the only thing the device is supposed to do, work with Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Amazon, etc, it cannot do with unplugging and plugging back in. Really stupid.

I am going to replace it soon.

 

[Rope]

I find it completely unacceptable that the only thing the device is supposed to do, work with Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Amazon, etc, it cannot do with unplugging and plugging back in. Really stupid.

I am going to replace it soon.

^^
THIS!
ROKU needs to get their shit together. Having to constantly cycle their streaming gear is ridiculous and a PITA.

Rope

 

[Flint]

I got the Amazon Fire Stick at the introductory price and haven't opened the box, yet. I think I need to plug it in pretty soon and see what's up with it.

 

[Yesfan70]

I got the Amazon Fire Stick at the introductory price and haven't opened the box, yet. I think I need to plug it in pretty soon and see what's up with it.

Would love to see your thoughts on that.


All we watch on our Roku is Netflix, PBS Kids, Amazon Prime, and Youtube. If the Fire Stick has those (along with Hulu), I may look at that as a replacement, depending on how good the reviews are.

 

[Botch]

Me too; the Google Chromecast didn't work well and I returned it, anxious to hear about the Fire Stick.

 

[Haywood]

These devices are all computers and need an occasional reboot. Smart phones need a reboot once in awhile. So do computers. I've had to reboot my Fire TV Stick too. The most reliable appliance I have is my Tablo DVR, which has been rebooted twice the last 7 months. Hell, I've had to reboot Squeezeboxes. I have never seen a device of this type that does not require a reboot now and then.

 

[Rope]

I agree these devices are all computers, however, for the life of me I've yet to figure out why a remote is supplied when each time I stream it takes a trip to the ROKU location to cycle it off/on. It's not once in a blue moon, it's every fricken time.

I've resorted to watching BD since I have to make a trip either way.

Rope

 

[Haywood]

I agree these devices are all computers, however, for the life of me I've yet to figure out why a remote is supplied when each time I stream it takes a trip to the ROKU location to cycle it off/on. It's not once in a blue moon, it's every fricken time.

I've resorted to watching BD since I have to make a trip either way.

Rope

Ouch. There might be something wonky with your Roku then, because that is not normal. I owned three Roku XS boxes and currently own two Roku 3 boxes. Over the last few years, my experience has been that they need to be rebooted a few times a month at most.

 

[lulimet]

Me too; the Google Chromecast didn't work well and I returned it, anxious to hear about the Fire Stick.

For streaming purposes, the FTV stick is as good as the FTV. You will be very pleased with it.

 

[Flint]

These devices are all computers and need an occasional reboot. Smart phones need a reboot once in awhile. So do computers. I've had to reboot my Fire TV Stick too. The most reliable appliance I have is my Tablo DVR, which has been rebooted twice the last 7 months. Hell, I've had to reboot Squeezeboxes. I have never seen a device of this type that does not require a reboot now and then.

Not acceptable to me. I understand the concept of a device requiring a reboot from time to time, but it shouldn't be locking up on a core feature at least once a week, or even once a month. That is not acceptable. What worse, which it locks up with Netflix trying to load, the unit freezes and often never recovers. That, to me, is a design flaw and unacceptable.

I do agree these are basically computers, but so is your alarm system, your car, your dishwasher, your fridge, your HT receiver, your BlueRay disc player, and your garage door opener. We don't expect to have to "reboot" all those devices because they freeze from time to time during normal operations.

These are computers like a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop PC. These are small, black-box like appliances which only run approved and supported applications (unless hacked) and should never fail. AND, if some app (such as Netflix) is problematic and likely to fail, the appliance which is the ROKU should gracefully recover on its own. I should never have to wait 30 second to a minute to make sure it is really locked up or just performing slowly due to network or server issues THEN walk across the room, fiddle about the cables behind it, unplug it, wait 15 seconds, and plug it back in then wait for it to reboot and be operational. That entire process consumes 3 to 5 minutes of someone's life every week, or so. This is entirely not acceptable.

If it were a PC or a smartphone I would be understanding, but even a smartphone knows with a process is locked and resets it automatically.

So, I am not going to dismiss this as another irritation we should just put up with. There are dozens of media player options out there, including smart TVs, Disc players, gaming consoles, HT PCs, and dedicated devices like the Amazon Fire TV. I will switch rather than put up with this much longer - This thread has taught me that the problem WASN"T mine alone.

 

[Towen7]

90% of my tech problems are solved by rebooting whatever is malfunctioning. All of these devices are always on if not always in use. Why aren't the boxes (Roku, STBs, phones) smart enough to recognize use paterns and reboot themselves?

I almost never touch my phone between midnight and 4:00 am. Would it be a bad thing if it rebooted itself every few days at 2:00am if it's not been used for an hour or so prior? Same thing with my other connected devices that are always on; Roku, AppleTV, tablets, Uverse STB...

 

[Flint]

My digital crossovers are essentially computers and have never once needed rebooting. My Laser Printer relies on the computer in it and it never needs rebooting.

The fact we put up with that crap from our entertainment electronics is asinine. I understand why a smartphone or tablet or PC might need rebooting form time to time. They are general purpose computers which have operating systems which can run just about any application we choose to load onto them. The OS has to find crazy and creative methods to assign resources to all those apps, and many of the apps use shared code libraries to reduce storage use and simplify develop and support, so they are sharing resources in an endless dance which is not always elegant or pretty. Sometimes resources won't be recovered when all the apps have quit. Sometimes there is junk left in memory and on the flash storage which needs cleaning out with a fresh reboot. There are hundreds and maybe thousands of variants of hardware supported by what is essentially the same operating system and there is usually just one app for each operating system which will perform and operate differently on all the different types of hardware out there. This is why the Apple devices tend to be more stable - fewer hardware configurations, fewer supported apps, and fewer operating system versions.

The ROKU is not a general purpose PC. It is a special purpose device which using affordable computing technology to connect to the internet, run applications that are extremely well tested and approved, and there are exactly 4 or 5 versions of the hardware and probably one version of each of the applications we use. It should be easy to ensure it never requires a reboot to operate - or, if it does require a reboot, realize it when it is needed and do it automatically. It shouldn't require rebooting more than a couple of times a year, at the most, and it should never, ever, just lock up when you attempt to load one of the core and most used apps available.

 

[Haywood]

Maybe I am just more tolerant because I've experienced this with so many devices. I had the Fire flake out on me and require a reboot twice. I've had to reboot my Chromecast too. PS3? I've lost count.

Keep in mind that the channels on the Roku are mostly 3rd party applications. Roku does not write them. Sometimes content providers release software updates that cause bugs. I've had issues with Netflix doing that on more than one device. I am not convinced that we are at a point where little sub-hundred dollar streaming devices are these completely indestructible commercial grade appliances that never fail. I have not seen a single one yet that doesn't wig out once in awhile.

I use my Roku to stream content from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Drama Fever, Funimation, PBS, PBS Kids, Plex Media Server, Tablo DVR, Pandora, Amazon Music, I Heart Radio and a bunch of other channels. It is damned near the only source component I use and is one for many hours almost every single day. It needs a reboot two or three times a month. In many cases, these reboots are the result of software updates to individual channels. I agree that Roku could handle this with more grace, but it is hardly something that would drive me off the platform. This is especially true given that Roku is the only platform that supports all of my services and I am not convinced that any of the other platforms are substantially more stable. Apple TV is the one possible exception, but then you are hog-tied to iTunes and cut off from using UV, Amazon or Google Play.

 

[Botch]

Keep in mind that the channels on the Roku are mostly 3rd party applications. Roku does not write them. Sometimes content providers release software updates that cause bugs. I've had issues with Netflix doing that on more than one device. I am not convinced that we are at a point where little sub-hundred dollar streaming devices are these completely indestructible commercial grade appliances that never fail. I have not seen a single one yet that doesn't wig out once in awhile.

You've got my curiosity up, just how big of a company is Roku? Obviously they're not MicroSquash, Apple, Dell or Samsung, they could actually be just a 20-person garage outfit with manufacturing in Shanghai. A bug like has been described for the -3 could be causing them great distress, without the resources/manpower to fix it.
Or not. :shhh:

I just realized that, since getting my Hopper from Dish, and since The Daily Show on Amazon Prime is now $1.99/episode :handgestures-thumbdown: I haven't used my Roku in several months; I clicked it on just now and its working just fine. I'm thinking if I had a -3, I'd be hitting eBay and the local Classified's for a used (prolly VERY cheep) Roku -2.