How to view a live video stream from your Roku Smart Home camera or video doorbell
When you want to see what’s going on around your home, you can pull up a live video stream from any of your Roku® Smart Home cameras or your video doorbell. Simply open the Roku Smart Home mobile app or launch the Roku Cameras channel on your Roku streaming device and from either place you can easily see what trouble your pets are into or check if that special package has arrived. You can also live stream your camera and doorbell on a smart display with Google Assistant or Alexa built-in, or the Alexa app.
If you purchase a Roku Smart Home Subscription, you can see even more of what's happening and even look back in the past with secure cloud storage. Your camera or doorbell will start recording the moment it detects motion or sound and store recordings in the cloud for you to access up to 14 days later. With your subscription, you also get intelligent detection that identifies people, packages, pets, and cars and only sends the notifications you want.
View a live stream on your phone
To view a live stream on your phone or tablet, your camera or doorbell must be powered on and connected to the internet.
- Launch the Roku Smart Home mobile app
- Tap Home
from the navigation bar - Select a camera or doorbell to view its live stream. If your camera is part of a device group, you must open that group to access the live stream.
When viewing a live stream, you can zoom in or out with two fingers. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with some of the icons you may see and what features they control.
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Change the image quality streamed to your mobile device when Wi-Fi bandwidth is limited |
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Turn night vision on to view a live stream when it is dark |
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Access settings for the camera or doorbell |
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Expand to full screen |
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Listen to and mute sound from your camera or doorbell |
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Start and end a recording of a live stream |
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Talk to visitors and listen with two-way audio |
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Take a photo of a live steam |
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Find more features including Album where videos and photos you capture are saved and can be shared or deleted |
View a live stream on your TV
The Roku Cameras channel lets you view a live stream on your TV from all your Roku Smart Home cameras and your video doorbell. A Roku streaming player or Roku TV™ running Roku OS 11.0 will add the channel automatically after you install your first camera or doorbell, but for the optimal experience, Roku OS 11.5 or higher is recommended. Your streaming devices check for a software update every 24 to 36 hours or you can manually check for an update if necessary.
- Note: To use this feature, your Roku Smart Home camera or doorbell and Roku TV must be added to or using the same Roku account.
To view a live stream on any of the Roku streaming devices linked to your Roku account, your camera or doorbell must be powered on and connected to the internet.
- Switch the input on your TV to your Roku streaming device
- Press Home
on your Roku remote - Press OK
or move to the right to access your channel list - Highlight the Roku Cameras channel and press OK
- Select a camera or doorbell to view the live stream
When you are in the channel, you can switch between live streams by pressing up or down on your remote. To speak to visitors or access most settings, you need to use the Roku Smart Home mobile app.
View a live stream on a smart display with Google Assistant
To view a live stream on a smart display like a Google Nest Hub or Google Nest Hub Max (sold separately), you must link your Roku account to your Google account using the Google Home mobile app. Once the accounts are linked, your Roku Smart Home devices are automatically shared with Google Assistant and you are ready to view live streams using your voice.
When speaking directly to your smart display, you can simply say something like, "Hey Google, show front door". When you are using the Google Home mobile app or a smart speaker with Google Assistant support, you need to specify the smart display and say, "Hey Google, show front door on living room display".
View a live stream on a smart display with Alexa
- Note: Alexa support will be available in early November for all smart home devices except the Roku Outdoor Camera SE. Support for the outdoor camera will arrive some time later.
To view a live stream on a smart display like an Echo Show (sold separately), you must link your Roku account to your Alexa account using the Alexa mobile app. Once the accounts are linked, your Roku Smart Home devices are automatically shared with Alexa and you are ready to view live streams using your voice.
When speaking directly to your smart display, you can simply say something like, "Alexa, show front door". When you are using the Alexa mobile app or a smart speaker with Alexa support, you need to specify the smart display and say, "Alexa, show front door on living room Echo".
What if a live stream is slow or fails to load?
If the a live video stream is slow or fails to load at all, check the following suggestions.
- Lower the image quality: Change the image from HD to a lower quality that requires less Wi-Fi bandwidth to stream to your mobile device. Be aware that the image recorded to your album will remain in HD quality.
- Restart your smart home device: From the Settings menu for the camera or doorbell having the issue, tap Restart and wait a moment to try again.
- Check your mobile device: Open the settings for your phone or tablet and make sure it is not in a battery saving mode.
- Power off other cameras: If you have several Roku cameras connected to Wi-Fi, it may cause a live stream to load slowly. Unplug or power off every camera except the one having the issue. If the quality of the live stream improves, plug your other cameras back in one by one.
- Check your network: Try streaming video on another device on your network (e.g., smartphone, laptop). If you see similar behavior on the other device, check out some tips for improving the Wi-Fi network connection in your home.
- Restart your network: Reset your network devices including your cable, fiber, or DSL modem and your Wi-Fi router. Allow several moments for all devices to restart before trying again.
- Move your Wi-Fi router or device: Move your camera or doorbell or your router* so that both devices are closer and the Wi-Fi signal is stronger.
*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.