Detailed Record of Troubleshooting for Roku 4 Issue that occurred with the Plex Update UI Catastrophe
Device: Roku 4 Symptom: Unusable interface when connected to the internet; interface works correctly when offline. Diagnosis: A failed or corrupted software update from Roku OS 12 or 13 caused the device to become unstable. The “Last updated” date of 12/13/22 indicated that the device had not successfully installed a new OS in nearly three years.
Timeline of Troubleshooting Actions:
Initial Attempt (Prior to Contact):
• Action: Performed a system restart (hard power cycle).
• Outcome: The problem persisted. The interface would momentarily work on boot-up and then immediately fail, indicating a persistent software issue.
Troubleshooting Session with AI Assistant (September 17, 2025):
Step 1: Soft Reset (Clear Cache)
• Purpose: To clear any corrupted temporary files that might be causing the issue without losing user settings.
• Action: Used the remote control sequence: Home (x5), Up, Rewind (x2), Fast Forward (x2).
• Outcome: The device rebooted and the interface worked briefly for a few seconds before the problem returned. This indicated that the issue was not a temporary glitch but a deeper software corruption.
Step 2: Network Test using Mobile Hotspot
• Purpose: To definitively rule out the home network as the cause of the failed update.
• Action: Unplugged the Ethernet cable and connected the Roku 4 to a mobile hotspot from an iPhone.
• Outcome: The device still showed the same “Last updated” date from 2022, and the interface remained broken. This confirmed that the problem was isolated to the Roku 4 itself and not the home network.
Step 3: Factory Reset
• Purpose: The final, most comprehensive step to erase the corrupted OS files and force a clean installation.
• Warning: Before doing this you’ll likely benefit from taking pictures of multiple setting pages (you may have customized) and after the reset you may have to restore. In this case it was 8 pages of settings.
• Action: Performed a factory reset through the on-screen menu.
• Outcome: The device went to a black screen after the reset, with the only visible information being “720p at 60Hz” in the corner. This indicated that the factory reset had failed to install the new OS correctly.
Step 4: Troubleshooting the Black Screen and Display
• Purpose: To diagnose why the factory reset resulted in a black screen.
• Action: Performed a 60-second power cycle. The black screen persisted.
• Action: As a final diagnostic step, the Roku 4 was connected to a different display (a regular TV).
• Outcome: The Roku interface successfully appeared on the TV, proving that the device was not bricked. The black screen issue was a video incompatibility with the projector. The new OS was likely defaulting to a resolution that the projector could not display.
Step 5: Resolution
• Purpose: To finalize the setup and resolve the video incompatibility issue.
• Action: The Roku 4’s remote was re-paired to the device.
• Action: The device’s HDMI connection was switched back to the projector.
• Action: The Roku’s display settings were manually configured after a successful “scan” on the projector, confirming that the projector and the Roku 4 could now successfully “shake hands” at 4K resolution with HDCP 2.2 content protection.
• Action: Reconfigured all settings photographed before the factory reset.
Final Resolution: The problem was resolved by performing a factory reset and then using an alternate display to fix the video output settings, which had been corrupted by the failed software update. The device is now fully functional on the latest Roku OS.
