You might want to think twice before installing a new software update on your telly.
Owners of Roku-powered Smart TVs claim a recent update rendered the flatscreen unwatchable — leaving viewers stuck in an endless cycle of restarts, displaying nothing but a blank screen, or not switching on at all. The complaints were so serious that owners launched a class-action lawsuit that argues Roku and TCL, the company behind the TV hardware, rushed out the software without proper testing beforehand.
The problems purportedly started to crop-up with these TCL sets, which were marketed on the ease of the Roku software powering them, started to appear on models that were just a year or two old. The models spotlighted in the mass lawsuit were the Roku Select Series, Roku Plus Seriesm, TCL 3-Series, TCL 4-Series, TCL 5-Series, and TCL 6-Series ranges.
Roku recently surpassed being in over 100 million households worldwide
| ROKU PRESS OFFICEAll of these televisions run on Roku's operating system, and they've become hugely popular as affordable alternatives to pricier brands like Sony or Samsung. Roku is a streaming platform that allows you to watch digital content on your TV over an internet connection.
Budget-conscious households love them because they come with thousands of streaming channels, like Netflix and Disney+, voice-activated search and control, updated FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels, and more.
Roku is now in over 100 million households worldwide, breaking a massive milestone.
TCL, which operates as TTE Technology Inc. in the lawsuit, is one of Roku's biggest hardware partners. The company recently completed a deal to take over Sony's Bravia hardware operations.
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It seeks several forms of relief for affected customers if Roku and TCL are found to be at fault, including monetary compensation for damages and full restitution for the purchase price of the TVs.
Beyond the money, it's also pushing for measures that would force both companies to fix the underlying defects on the TVs and prevent this from happening again.
Roku declined to comment on this story when approached by GB News.