How to resolve a channel playback issue
Streaming channels, such as Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix, or The Roku Channel, provide a collection of titles consisting of audio and video made available by the developer. Your Roku® streaming player or Roku TV™ is designed to play each title at the highest possible quality given the type of content, the speed of your internet connection, and capabilities of your TV.
In some cases, a playback issue may be the result of a network problem, or it may be caused by an outage with a single channel. This article will help if you experience any of the following issues while using your Roku device:
- Unable to play a specific title
- Unable to play any titles from a single channel
- Unable to play titles from any channel
- Frequent rebuffering (starting and stopping)
- Poor video quality or video is slow to start
- Note: If you see a purple screen or an HDCP error message, learn how to resolve issues when proper content protection technology is not detected.
How to identify and resolve a playback issue
The next several sections contain a variety of suggestions to help you identify the type of problem and resolve a playback issue. If you are instructed to restart your router* or Roku device, refer to the following instructions.
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Restart your router
To restart your router properly, you may need to review instructions from your internet service provider (ISP) or router manufacturer. In some cases, you can simply unplug your router and plug it back in, and in other cases it may require pressing a reset button on the device. For help, visit the website for your ISP or router manufacturer, or contact them directly.
Restart your Roku device
To restart your Roku device, you can either unplug the power cable, wait a moment, and then reconnect it. Or you can use the following steps to restart it from the Settings menu.
- Press Home
on your Roku remote - Scroll and select Settings
- Select System
- Select Power. If you do not see a Power submenu, skip to the next step.
- Select System restart
- Press Home
Unable to play a specific title
If you discover that a specific movie or TV show does not play, try playing other titles from the same streaming channel. If you find other titles within the channel also fail to play correctly, yet some videos (still from the same channel) play without issue, visit the channel provider's website, or contact their customer support team to inquire about a service interruption or a possible outage.
Unable to play any titles from a single channel
If you find that all titles from a single streaming channel fail to play correctly, try exiting that channel and play content from a different channel. For example, try playing a few titles from The Roku Channel. If you encounter playback issues with titles from the other channel, your problem is not isolated to a single channel, and you can move to the network troubleshooting suggestions later in this article.
If the channel requires a subscription, such as Netflix or Hulu Plus, make sure you have properly signed in or linked the channel to that subscription account. In some cases, you may need to link a channel using your credentials from your cable or satellite account. Follow the on-screen instructions or contact customer support for the channel provider if you need help signing in.
In some cases, removing the channel and then re-installing it may help. To ensure the process is successful, follow the steps below making sure you restart your Roku device before adding the channel again.
- Remove the channel: Highlight the channel tile on your home screen and press Star
to open the Options menu. Select Remove channel and confirm.
- Note: If you are removing a subscription channel billed to your Roku account, you must cancel the subscription before you see the Remove channel option. For help identifying this type of subscription channel, read the detailed article about removing a channel.
- Restart your Roku device: Refer to earlier instructions to restart your Roku device.
- Re-install the channel: After your Roku device restarts, visit the Roku Channel Store and add the channel again.
- Note: If you are adding a subscription channel billed to your Roku account, you will need to resubscribe.
If after attempting the suggestions above, you are still unable to play any titles from a single channel while content from other channels plays fine, contact the customer support team for the channel provider to report the issue and get help.
Unable to play titles from any channel
If you cannot play titles from any streaming channel, check the status of the network connection by going to Settings > Network > About. The Status will either say “Connected”, or you will see a message that your Roku device is not connected to the internet. If your device is not connected, select Set up connection and follow the on-screen instructions. If you are having trouble, learn what to do if your Roku device cannot connect to your network.
After confirming your Roku device is connected, select Check connection to perform a test of your network and internet connection. For help understanding the results and how they can help troubleshoot playback issues, review the detailed article about the connection check.
If the playback issue continues, restart your router and your Roku device using the instructions provided earlier.
Frequent rebuffering or poor video quality
Your Roku device is designed to play the highest quality that can be delivered to your TV over your internet connection.
- If you occasionally see poor video quality or rebuffering, it may be due to temporary network congestion.
- Check to see whether your ISP (e.g., Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum) is currently experiencing issues.
- Reduce usage of other devices currently accessing the network, such as other streaming players, computers, game consoles, and mobile devices.
- If your Roku device is connected to a cellular network connection, you may see fluctuations in streaming quality. Connect to your home network if possible.
- If you experience poor video quality video or rebuffering on a regular basis across multiple streaming channels:
- It may be due to a slow network caused by a poor wireless signal, issues with your router, or the quality of your internet service. Review the tips for improving the wireless connection to your Roku device.
- Check that your internet package provides speeds fast enough for streaming audio and video.
- If you continue to see poor video quality or rebuffering, restart your Roku device using the steps provided earlier in this article.
*A note on terminology:
To access your network and ultimately the internet, you will typically connect to a device called a router but it may also be referred to as a wireless router, wireless access point, home gateway or cable modem. In some cases, your internet service provider (ISP) may have provided you with a single integrated device that includes a cable modem and a router, or you may have purchased a stand-alone router from a company such as Linksys, NETGEAR, ASUS, Belkin or D-Link. In this article, the term router is used as a generic term to refer to the network device that your Roku device must connect to access the internet. For more information refer to the documentation provided by your ISP or router manufacturer.