Roku streaming devices let you stream content to your smart TV and more. In fact, Roku devices come in many forms: players, sticks, and Roku TVs.
Although they have been designed for long time use and despite being very durable and built with quality performance, freezing and slow performance are no strangers to these devices.
Fortunately, it's not the end of the world. You can clear the cache or restart your device to try to improve the performance of your Roku, and even restore it to its original shine.
Why is my Roku not working properly?
Frankly, there are a number of things that can go wrong in modern smart devices and Roku is no exception here. Poor performance on your Roku could be the result of a buggy software update, newly installed channel, maybe even cache stacking.
Also, your Roku device might just be outdated – these devices are built to last, but over the years the performance won't improve. It's always a downward spiral with any technology.
What to do?
Well, it all comes down to the good old tech support question, "Have you tried restarting it?" »
In the world of high technology, we are not used to having to restart our devices one day. Sometimes, however, a reboot is not only warranted, but absolutely recommended. Roku devices can be restarted in several ways.
On the other hand, it could be that the full cache is the cause of the underperformance of your Roku. Like on any other device, the cache basically stores data, in order to load it faster later. This data, however, is stored in cache memory and once it starts accumulating, it can easily end up overwhelming your device. This can happen on your phone, PC, game console, or Roku device.
Restart your Roku device
Almost all Roku devices can be restarted in several ways; three, to be exact.
First method
The first way to restart your Roku is through the Settings menu.
- Go to the Home menu and select Parameters from the list by pressing the Okay button on your Roku remote.
- In the Settings menu, you will find an option called System, press the Okay button to open it.
- Now scroll down to the entry called System restart, select it, press Okay again.
- Finally, select Restart from the next menu.
Second method
The second restart method is ideal when a more serious problem occurs. If you are unable to navigate the menus properly, a series of button presses will cause the Roku device to restart.
- To start, press the Home five times, then the A haut button once, the Rewind button twice, and the Fast forward button twice. Wait for your Roku to shut down and restart.
Third method
The third method is as primitive as possible; Simply unplug the power cord, wait a few minutes and plug it in. This is a force restart that will basically restart your device. This method should only be used if the first two fail.
Clear Cache
To clear the app cache on your Roku, you just need to perform the second method, described above. Once you enter the mentioned sequence, the device will take about half a minute to reboot. During this time, it will clear the app cache.
Restore your Roku to its original shine
While these methods should help make your Roku run smoother, if the device is outdated, you might want to consider buying a new one. Either way, a reboot and clearing the cache certainly won't hurt even brand new devices.
Have you ever tried restarting your Roku? What method(s) have you tried? Did it work? If you have any questions, tips, or advice, feel free to join the discussion in the comments below.
