Some of you may have noticed this. Over the weekend, Roku TV owners started noticing that you were unable to watch free OTA channels without an internet connection. Originally reported by Cord Cutters, if users had an OTA antenna connected to their Roku TV, they would be able to watch local channels even during an internet outage. Which I nearly reported on, but chose to hold off to see if this was a feature and not a bug. Glad I chose to wait.
“The company confirmed the problem directly to Cord Cutters News, acknowledging that recent platform changes had inadvertently made the Live TV Guide and antenna functionality dependent on an active internet link in many cases,”Cord Cutters said in an updated post.
The issue stemmed from recent updates to the operating system. Precisely deeper integration of free ad-supported streaming content into the Live TV Guide. It merged OTA broadcasts with numerous internet-streamed live channels from The Roku Channel and partner services.
Roku TV Announces Update for OTA Issue
Now, these updates have improved search capabilities, content discovery, and the overall unified viewing experience. Which meant it would have heavier reliance on online connectivity for the guide to load properly. Without internet, many users encountered a blank or gray screen when attempting to access the antenna input or browse channels. Essentially, blocking OTA viewing until a connection was established, even temporarily.
One issue allowed you to watch the channel you were watching if the internet went out. However, when you changed the channel, the other channels would not appear. Many began to think this was a new feature, not a bug. Concerns started to trend given that Roku had never announced this sort of issue would happen.
Fortunately for all parties concerned, this was an issue on a code level. Once the update is released, you will be able to use the Roku TV as normal.
