How To Perform Soft And Hard Reset On Roku

Posted By : Anirudh Bhardwaj | 10-Jan-2017

Soft and Hard Resetting Roku

Roku is by far one of the best streaming media players available in the market. It is famous for its upbeat live streaming services as well as the awe-inspiring features. For all one knows, Roku has a lot to offer. Be it the stunning graphics, superlative media quality, subscription to Netflix, Hulu Plus and the availability of hundreds of apps and games, Roku always stands off the charts. When it comes to hardware, Roku offers a compact yet powerful streaming box which fits right into your palm. But as the say, nothing in this world is perfect and Roku is no exception. Like every other streaming media player, Roku too, has its shortcomings.

 

One software bug you might encounter in Roku is that the screen freezes sometimes when you try to switch from one channel to another. This can be at times quite perturbing. There are many other minor bugs in Roku that you may start to experience at some point or another. This generally happens when you are downloading too many apps or downloading the apps from the untrusted sources. It can also happen in case you are using an outdated version of Roku. But don’t worry, it is fixable.

 

Performing a hard or soft reset is probably not the best solution to the issues like this but you can’t deny that it can fix most of the issues in any device and Roku is no exception. So by resetting your Roku device to its factory settings, there is no guarantee that it will fix the problem. But it’s really worth a try as most of the times, it can be the perfect solution. In this blog, I’ll tell you how to soft and hard reset your Roku device.

 

Also read How To Mirror Android Phones To The TV Using Roku.

 

Performing A Soft Reset

First things first. Let’s begin with the soft reset. In Roku, doing a soft reset will simply reboot the Roku OS without changing your settings and without losing your data. Seeing it this way, it can be compared with the reboot process in a smartphone or PC. You might have noticed that when some problem is encountered in your smartphone, rebooting your device can fix the issue if it’s not that serious. In the same way, soft resetting your Roku device can fix most of the issues, at least for some time.

 

If you’re using Roku 4 or Roku Ultra, you reboot or soft reset your device by going into System Settings.

 

To do that on Roku Ultra, go to Settings > System > Power > System Restart.

 

However, in the older Roku models, you’ll find the Reset button at the back of the streaming box. Pressing that button will soft reset your device without losing any data or settings.


 

Performing A Hard Reset

Performing a hard reset is least recommended as it wipes all the data and settings from your device. But sometimes it’s the only option you are left with. However, before performing a hard reset, you must try performing the soft reset and see if that fixes the problem. If you are using Roku Ultra, you can hard reset your device by following these steps.

 

Go to Settings > System > Advanced System Settings > Factory Reset.

 

But in case you are using older Roku models, the process might be a bit obscure. In an older Roku device, you can do so by following these steps.

 

  • First of all, you need to remove all the cords and cables from the back of the device except for the power cord.

  • After doing that, press and hold the Reset button at the back of the streaming box.

  • Hold it for around 15-20 seconds and at the same time, remove the power cord as well.

  • Release the Reset button. Wait for about 10 seconds and then plug in all the cables back to the device.

 

So that’s pretty much how you perform a soft or hard reset on your Roku device. If you’re still having problems with your Roku media player, it is recommended that you contact the Roku support team for help!  

 

About Author

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Anirudh Bhardwaj

Anirudh is a Content Strategist and Marketing Specialist who possess strong analytical skills and problem solving capabilities to tackle complex project tasks. Having considerable experience in the technology industry, he produces and proofreads insightful content on next-gen technologies like AI, blockchain, ERP, big data, IoT, and immersive AR/VR technologies. In addition to formulating content strategies for successful project execution, he has got ample experience in handling WordPress/PHP-based projects (delivering from scratch with UI/UX design, content, SEO, and quality assurance). Anirudh is proficient at using popular website tools like GTmetrix, Pagespeed Insights, ahrefs, GA3/GA4, Google Search Console, ChatGPT, Jira, Trello, Postman (API testing), and many more. Talking about the professional experience, he has worked on a range of projects including Wethio Blockchain, BlocEdu, NowCast, IT Savanna, Canine Concepts UK, and more.

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