Roku Express 4K+ Streaming Stick 2021 Roku3941R

My specific reason for buying the Roku was to allow AirPlay on my older Vizio Smart TV. Although, when turning on the Roku & TV. I have experienced a black screen that shows no video only audio. It is very odd as this occurs after each time the Roku is turned on from an original off state. This issue only affects any video played on the device. That means casting YouTube videos or streaming videos from the native Roku Youtube app still causes a black screen with only audio. Same issue persists with all streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu etc.. Solving this issue, it is suggested to restart the device by going in the system settings and clicking restart. Again it only affects videos but you can still go back to the Home Screen and navigate just fine. I have ... MoreMy specific reason for buying the Roku was to allow AirPlay on my older Vizio Smart TV. Although, when turning on the Roku & TV. I have experienced a black screen that shows no video only audio. It is very odd as this occurs after each time the Roku is turned on from an original off state. This issue only affects any video played on the device. That means casting YouTube videos or streaming videos from the native Roku Youtube app still causes a black screen with only audio. Same issue persists with all streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu etc.. Solving this issue, it is suggested to restart the device by going in the system settings and clicking restart. Again it only affects videos but you can still go back to the Home Screen and navigate just fine. I have factory reset my device multiple times. I even switched devices from the Roku Stick to the Roku Express from Best Buy with the same issue. And even had to purchase one from a different retailer only to find the same issue. Customer service recommended to go into settings and force a restart but there is no permanent solution. Each time I fire up Roku I have to immediately restart it or else I will get only audio. This is my experience with Roku and it hasn’t been a pleasant one. I would recommend buying a newer TV with built in Streaming devices such as Airplay included.

This review is for the manufacturer rather than the product. The player itself is very good. However, this purchase was a replacement for a player that was less than 6 months old that failed. It took many hours of research just to determine the correct Roku RMA procedure. After I finally was able to contact Roku via Twitter, it took 6 weeks and countless tweets and emails to get Roku to provide the return instructions! I had to pay return shipping for a player under warranty! And since Roku would not send the replacement until they received the failed unit, that added another 10 days to the total of just under 2 months. This purchase was for a temporary replacement during the return process. I was planning to return it once I received the RMA replacement, but now I ... MoreThis review is for the manufacturer rather than the product. The player itself is very good. However, this purchase was a replacement for a player that was less than 6 months old that failed. It took many hours of research just to determine the correct Roku RMA procedure. After I finally was able to contact Roku via Twitter, it took 6 weeks and countless tweets and emails to get Roku to provide the return instructions! I had to pay return shipping for a player under warranty! And since Roku would not send the replacement until they received the failed unit, that added another 10 days to the total of just under 2 months. This purchase was for a temporary replacement during the return process. I was planning to return it once I received the RMA replacement, but now I am keeping it as a spare in case one of my other players also fails. Beware the Roku Customer Service and Warranty !!!!

The information about this device does not indicate 2 key issues:(1) the device must be "activated" online before you can use it(2) you must create a Roku account supplying an email address and your CREDIT CARD INFO in order to activate it!You cannot use this device at all, even if you do not want to use Roku streaming services or purchase content, without giving a credit card number and email address! So, even if you only wanted to use this to stream from a service for which you already have an account, you can't do that unless you also create the Roku account and give Roku your credit card info.This info is not included in the description. I also did not find it on the Roku web site when I researched the product before purchasing (even using their Before You ... MoreThe information about this device does not indicate 2 key issues:(1) the device must be "activated" online before you can use it(2) you must create a Roku account supplying an email address and your CREDIT CARD INFO in order to activate it!You cannot use this device at all, even if you do not want to use Roku streaming services or purchase content, without giving a credit card number and email address! So, even if you only wanted to use this to stream from a service for which you already have an account, you can't do that unless you also create the Roku account and give Roku your credit card info.This info is not included in the description. I also did not find it on the Roku web site when I researched the product before purchasing (even using their Before You Buy page). It's not even on the box.NOTHING indicates you must have a Roku account and give them your email address and credit card number. I even read the fine print on the box. I didn't discover this was needed until I started trying to set up the device. You get to a set up screen that says to enter your Roku account information... and it won't continue without that.I started looking into creating a Roku account and discovered the credit card requirement. Once you try to create an account on their web site, you can find an explanation of why you must provide payment information, and buried in there is that you need this account to activate your device:"A Roku account gives you access to an amazing selection of movies, TV shows, music and more from the Roku Channel Store... You need a Roku account to activate your device and access entertainment across thousands of streaming channels."As you dig further, you can eventually find this: "There are no fees associated with creating a Roku account, but you will be asked to provide a payment method (e.g. credit card) to set up Roku Pay. Having a payment method linked to your account allows you to purchase subscriptions for channels and services available through the Channel Store, add Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel, rent or buy movies and TV shows, and purchase Roku device upgrades, offers, and accessories."Setting up a Roku account even requires your DOB and gender!If you search online, you can find references to ways around the credit card--a somewhat hidden link to "skip and add later," but that is apparently old information. I went through the process (without finalizing) and the "skip" option I'd read about never shows up. You do have the option to use PayPal, but that's essentially the same thing.Bottom line is you must give Roku lots of personal and payment info just to use the device, and nothing in their product description (or on box) says this.