Roku outage freezes devices and smart TVs on loading page

Roku OS 10 interface
(Image credit: Roku)

Roku has been hit by a major outage that has left customers stuck on a loading screen or locked in a reboot loop. The snafu began on Wednesday and developed into a "significant" issue. 

The disruption is believed to have affected all of the company streaming devices, as well as selected Roku TV sets from TCL, Hisense and others. 

Roku quickly 'fessed up to the problem and posted this message on its community page: "Roku is aware of an issue reported by users who are unable to access some Roku services.... Our priority is to get this resolved as soon as possible." 

Meanwhile, customers took to the internet to vent their anger. "I’ve been a Roku user for over 10 years. No problems until last year. Whatever Roku is doing they need to stop. As for me, I plan to stop using Roku," said Lizz40.

"It is upsetting that when Roku has a problem, the Smart TV is useless," added Farmer. "Unable to access DVD or anything else for that matter... Quite unsettling."

The good news? Roku TV seems to be back to normal. A quick glance at the Downdetector status chart reveals that the issues peaked at 2am on Thursday morning, then subsided shortly after.

Roku has now confirmed as much: "We believe this service interruption has now been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you so much for your patience!"

The Roku operating system offers one of the most comprehensive selections of streaming services on the market, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, AppleTV+, Now, BT Sport, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My 5. 

The company recently announced the Roku Streaming Stick 4K which supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and promises 30% faster streaming.

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Tom is a journalist, copywriter and content designer based in the UK. He has written articles for T3, ShortList, The Sun, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph, Elle Deco, The Sunday Times, Men's Health, Mr Porter, Oracle and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include mobile technology, electric vehicles and video streaming.