Several weeks ago, Roku sent out an email promising a new, improved Netflix interface for the Roku streaming media player.  The old Roku interface simply allowed access to your list of “watch instantly” movies.  The latest upgrade, software version 2.6, promised the ability to search Netflix for new movies.  But, THAT DIDN”T HAPPEN!

I updated my Roku two days ago, and immediately couldn’t do anything… Netflix would not load.  The Channel Store would not load.  I could not maintain connectivity.  I checked the Roku support forums and found this…

“Special announcement – If you are inquiring about problems related to the new Netflix channel for Roku, please note that Roku and Netflix are aware of the problems customers encountered this past weekend and are actively working to resolve those issues now. At this time the Netflix channel is working, but some customers are still seeing problems as a result of outage.

Please try the following steps which may resolve your issue without having to speak with a Roku support agent.

             — Restart your Roku player by unplugging and re-plugging in the power connection. This has resolved most user problems.

            — Please check to make sure your network connection is working by selecting Settings/Network on your Roku player. If your Roku player does not have a network connection, you will not be able to retrieve your Instant Queue.

            — In rare cases, when selecting the Netflix channel, you may see a message asking if you are a Netflix subscriber rather than seeing your Instant Queue. You will then be asked to re-link your Netflix account to your Roku player using a new activation code at www.netflix.com/activate.

We are sorry for the inconvenience you may have experienced these past few days. Rest assured, we are working to ensure customers do not continue to experience these problems 

Wow.  I still can’t get my Roku to work correctly.  Rather than allowing you to roll back the software to the 2.5 version, Roku continues to try to apply fixes to the obviously buggy 2.6 version.  Now that every gaming console allows you to stream Netflix, many Blu-Ray players include Netflix streaming, and more people are simply connecting computers to their entertainment center… Roku is shooting themselves in the foot with this one.  I hope they get it fixed soon, because as of this moment I cannot recommend the device to anybody who wants one.

EDIT/UPDATE:  Ten hours later,  I’ve been able to get my Roku to work, but the connection with Netflix has been shabby.  I’m going to lose the wireless connection and see if an ethernet connection will improve performance.  Judging from support forums, there are still plenty of grumpy Broku (Thanks Sci-Guy-John!) users out there.

By Sci-Guy-Mike