Roku TV requires internet connection to EDIT THE HOMEPAGE
I refuse to connect this TV to the internet because if it does get connected it will force an update that says unless you agree with forced arbitration your TV will be unusable. I just want to change the HDMI slot 2 spaces over 🤦. Gargle my nutsack Roku.
28 replies
After they announced that they would snoop on the HDMI port and then push targetted ads during paused media, I decided I will never own a Roku device again. Before they had TVs I'd recommend to anyone to get their smart boxes. Then Roku, like everyone else, enshitified.
Roku was the most enshittified ecosystem well before anyone else. They were always the worst.
The early days with roku channels like rev3 were great. They took a while to go down hill
Most smart TVs do this by default, unfortunately. They use a technology called ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) to determine what you're watching, essentially like Shazam but for TV shows and movies. This gets sent to the manufacturer who can then build an advertising profile about you.
At least they don't show ads, yet.
Never connect a smart TV to the internet. Put it on a separate VLAN that doesn't have internet access. For streaming, use something like an Nvidia Shield (or if you're in the Apple ecosystem, an Apple TV).
We’ve gotten to the point we are recommending NVIDIA or Apple over Roku.
Is there a way to just put the Roku in some kind of dev mode, and then manually remove this shit?
Not that I'm aware of... Roku is a very locked down ecosystem.
I think roku has a dev mode but not like adb, it's still pretty locked down. Read more here
Edit: Requires agreement to a license and an internet connection
Somewhere in the settings you can have it boot to HDMI1 and you can skip that whole stuff.
Yeah, that's a very useful setting. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Thanks I'll look for this
But how else will the TV know if you are allowed to move the HDMI 2 into that space? Roku might have decided that it is reserved for ads since you were last connected to them.
Your TV? Their TV...
Im in the same boat as you. Insanity. There is a way to disable smart features (and internet/ads) after a factory reset if you dont need any apps like youtube, etc.
Yeah, but that factory reset might make them update the TV and then force the arbitration. I don't feel like risking it for now, I'm just using my pi to consume content on.
For those in California, forced arbitration is not enforceable as it's against the law.
I don't think that's the case? There was AB 51 which was going to make it illegal for employers to force employees to sign arbitration agreements, but it got struck down.
There's also SB 940 which has some limitations on forced arbitration (eg sellers can't arbitrate outside of California for a claim that originated in California) but it doesn't outright block it.
I wish those laws that california makes were federal, they would greatly benefit the consumer
I have 2 TCL Roku TVs. I don't use Roku for either of them, I got them because they were good and cheap. I have them set to switch to HDMI at boot & use android tv boxes. I set that up with a temporary said, then deleted the ssid after.
It really sucks that we have to do things like that to use things we paid for.
Do you have lineageos or similiar on the android boxes, or just stock? How do you modify the boxes for privacy, and what brand do you use?
It's stock Android TV on Nvidia Shield boxes. I'm doing firewall & DNS filtering and I'm only using Plex, Jellyfin and Wireguard. Ideally, I'd like to use a nuc style PC that has a minimal Linux and starts straight into the Jellyfin client.
Dang, that sucks.
My OSMC box doesn't do any of this, is completely open source and is just Linux under the hood so I can customize anything I can imagine.
Roku has been shit since inception, they're only now starting to become obvious in their shittiness. In a few years it'll be right in the "scam purchase" territory.
Not a fan of Kodi, but it's been nearly a decade since I've last tried. I should try again.
I wish I had a better experience with Kodi, I mainly use jellyfin for media streaming and jellyfin+kodi just don't seem to work right.
I just block everything my mom's roku asks for that isnt video.
This is the same sort of BS that led me to leave Plex. I use Jellyfin now. I know it's not the same as Roku, or the others, and that's why I use it.
I'm not contributing to some CEO's mortgage to be spied on and have my habits commodified.
I just want Jellyfin to show the same as the web UI on Android TV. If it did, I'd switch immediately.
Yup. On my TV you can't even change the name of an Input without Internet. Fuck you Roku youre blocked from the internet forever.
same issue here