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Nothing kills the liveliness of a good show faster than the dreaded rotating icon or random freezes. If your Roku TV is stuttering or buffering, don’t give up – here’s how to fix it.
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Like phones and computers, Rokus have caches that accumulate temporary data, which inevitably slows down over time. There are simple ways to clear away this hidden clutter and get your Roku TV behaving like its normal, healthy self.
Here are some ways to clear your Roku’s cache, improve its speed, and get shows playing smoothly again.
1. Start by unplugging it
It seems almost too easy to get upset by this, but this is usually the first step technical troubleshooters take when fixing broken devices. Sometimes it also does tricks. Unplug the unit, walk away for a few minutes to let all the electronics pulse out and plug it back in.
2. Restart via Settings
This is not a factory reset, but you don’t want to do this in the middle of watching “Yellow Jackets” as your regularly scheduled program will definitely be disrupted. Follow these steps, and your TV will restart in about 30 seconds.
- From Home screen, go to settings (At the end of the list).
- choose SystemThen Power,
- choose system restart Click and confirm restart,
3. Restart via remote
If problems persist after that quick fix, try this hidden function using the Roku remote.
- go to Home menu, ensure Home The option on the left is highlighted.
- press Home Press the button five times.
- press Above Arrow once.
- press rewind button twice.
- press move fast button twice.
- Wait for your Roku to restart.
4. Uninstall and reinstall apps
If you’re having additional trouble with a particular app that you suspect may be causing the problem, it’s a good idea to uninstall and reinstall it. You can do this for any number of apps, but keep in mind that reinstalling an app will erase all user data and settings, requiring a full setup later.
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- From Home screen, highlight the problematic app (don’t open it).
- press , button on your remote.
- choose delete channel From the pop-up menu.
- Reinstall the app, and take time to set it up again.
5. Reset your network connection
Your Wi-Fi signal may be strong, but there may still be issues with your device-to-network interface. There’s no harm in giving it a try, although this process will reboot your Roku and require you to re-enter your Wi-Fi password after it’s complete. This will delete all network details, Wi-Fi passwords, and settings for both wired and wireless connections.
Keep in mind that if you have any other devices connected to your Roku TV (such as a soundbar or streaming stick), you may need to reconnect those devices as well after resetting the network connection.
- Go settings From the main menu.
- choose SystemThen advanced System Settings,
- choose network connection resetThen reset connection,
- Wait for your Roku to restart.
- go back to networkthen choose setup connection,
- choose wireless And select your Wi-Fi network from the list.
- Enter its password using the on-screen keyboard and select Add,
6. Reset the entire Roku TV
Performing a factory reset for any device is like treating a back injury with surgery – a last resort – and no one wants to do it. This will erase all your personal settings, user profiles, login credentials, and installed apps. If the above steps are not completed, here’s how to return your Roku to its original state.
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- As mentioned above, go to settings,
- choose SystemThen advanced System Settings,
- choose factory resetA confirmation code will appear below the number pad on the right,
- Enter that number, then select start factory reset,
- Your Roku will begin the hard reset process, and it will take a few minutes to reboot completely.
Hopefully, it won’t get to this (the dreaded factory reset), but it will definitely work if needed. By trying some of the prior methods above, you have a good chance of making your Roku fun to watch again.
