Our top 14 Roku tips and tricks to up your streaming game

Streaming is how we access everything, from movies, sports events, and TV shows to music. The on-demand and live content is available on everything from our phones to our TVs. We even have smart devices that make our older devices smart. Streaming devices are one of the best examples, and using them makes older devices smarter or TVs with complicated systems simple.

Roku makes some of the best streaming devices at almost any price point with various specifications. Roku devices have several helpful features and tricks that make them even more powerful. Here are some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your Roku device.

1 Use your phone as a remote

If you lose your remote or the batteries in your remote die, use your phone to control your Roku device. To do so, download the official Roku app and sign in. After signing in, go to the Devices tab, select the device you want to control, and tap the Remote button. This displays a virtual remote with all the buttons and functions you’re used to on your regular remote, including the signature purple Roku d-pad buttons.

2 Find a lost remote

Remotes are getting smaller, and they can easily get lost on the couch or around the house. If you have certain models of Roku remotes, they have features to help you find them when they’re lost.

• If your Roku remote has a speaker in it, launch the Roku app on your phone, press the microphone button, and say, “Hey Roku, find my remote.” The remote emits a beeping noise to lead you to it.
• If you have a Voice Remote Pro with your Roku device, say, “Hey Roku, find my remote,” and your remote beeps. You may need to move around your house to find the room your remote is in.
• If your Roku device is a Roku Ultra, press and hold the button on the right side of your device. This triggers a beeping noise in your remote to help you locate it.

After locating your remote through any of these methods, press any button on the remote to stop the beeping. You can customize the sound your remote makes in the Roku app by going to Settings > Remote > Change Remote Finder Sound and tapping any sound.

3 Use a smart assistant to control your Roku device

Many people have smart assistant-compatible devices in their homes. These devices can control your Roku device without lifting a finger. You can’t use this feature to do things like move around the interface. Still, many of the core features of your device can be controlled with your voice.

If you have an Alexa-compatible device, launch the Alexa mobile app and go to the Skills & Games section. When you’re there, search for Roku, tap Enable, sign in to your Roku account, and select the devices you want to link. After your devices are linked, add your Roku device to a group. After that, you can ask Alexa to control your Roku.

If you prefer Google Assistant over Alexa, you’re in luck. You’re good to go as long as Google Assistant is activated on another device.

1. Open the Google app on your device, tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner, and tap Settings.

2. Tap Google Assistant and scroll down until you see Home Control with a light bulb graphic to the left.

3. Select the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner and search for Roku.

4. Sign in to your Roku account and select the device you want to link with Google Assistant. After completing this process, you can ask Google to pause your YouTube video at any point.

5. If you use the Siri assistant, Roku plays well with it. Installing the Roku app on an iOS device includes Siri Shortcuts that allow you to control your Roku device with your voice. Tap each command to customize the phrase to control it to whatever suits you best.

Whether you’re partial to the Google or Apple ecosystem, Roku devices allow you to cast your screen or media to your device. Most Roku devices come preinstalled with technology that allows you to cast from Android devices. Whether you want to share your screen, put on a YouTube video, or play music, tap the cast icon and get casting.

If you have an Apple device, turn on AirPlay and HomeKit on your device. Go to Settings > Apple AirPlay & HomeKit > Launch Apple Airplay and HomeKit setup. When you’re there, you’ll see a QR code. Use the camera on your Apple device to scan it and follow the instructions that appear. When you’ve set up AirPlay and HomeKit, go to Settings > System > Screen Mirroring to always allow screen mirroring.

5 Reorganize your Roku homescreen

Apps and channels are automatically added in the order you installed them. If you want to move them so that your most used apps are at the top, rearrange your homescreen. If you want to move an app around, move your cursor to highlight the app, press the Star button, and select Move channel from the menu that pops up. Then, use the arrow keys to move the app to your desired location.

6 Mi casa es su casa (AKA Use the Guest Mode feature)

If you have guests over and don’t want them to mess with your Settings, Roku has a mode for that. Guest Mode allows guests to sign in to their streaming accounts on your Roku. That way, they won’t mess up your suggestions. You must first set up a pin by going to Roku’s pin setting website. After setting up a PIN, go to Settings > System > Guest Mode > Enter Guest Mode and enter your PIN to activate the feature.

7 Change your Roku’s appearance

For those who like making things their own, the Roku allows you to customize some facets of its appearance. The two things you can customize are your device’s theme and screensaver. Your device’s theme changes the look of the interface of your device, while the screensaver is what pops up if your device is stationary for a little bit.

To change your device’s theme, go to Settings > Themes and select your desired theme. To modify your screensaver, go to Settings > Screensaver and find one that suits you best.

8 Watch TV without disturbing others with Private Listening

When others in your home don’t want to be disturbed, Roku allows you to watch TV without bothering them. Whether you use the app or have a remote that lets you plug in your headphones, you can take advantage of the Private Listening feature.

Private listening turns off the TV volume and plays the volume through your headphones, whether they’re connected to your remote or another device. When you unplug or disconnect your headphones, your Roku moves the sound back to your TV.

9 Make sure commercials don’t give you a rude awakening

Has a commercial that’s louder than the show you’re watching ever woken you up after you’ve dozed off? Roku has a solution for that using a feature called Volume Leveling. Volume Leveling tries to level the volume of all sounds in what you’re watching, whether it’s leveling commercials with the show or leveling loud noises in the show with dialogue.

To activate this feature, start watching something. Then, press the Star button to pull up the in-show settings. In the settings menu, select Sound settings > Volume Leveling, and the feature is turned on.

10 Manage apps and games using the Roku mobile app

The Roku mobile app isn’t limited to activating a virtual remote on your phone. Apart from navigating the Roku OS, you can manage apps and games on your streaming device. Follow the steps below to add or remove channels on Roku using the mobile app.

1. Open Roku on your phone.

2. Tap Apps on Roku under a Roku device you want to manage.

3. Slide to Store and find an app from the categories. Tap it.

4. Select Add from the following menu.

5. You can also check your current streaming channels. Tap an irrelevant one and remove it from your Roku device.

11 Check your network speed directly from your Roku

If you face Wi-Fi network glitches on your Roku device, make sure your streaming device is connected to a high-speed internet network. You can run an internet speed test from the Settings menu.

1. Open Roku Settings and select Network.

2. Select Check connection and follow the on-screen instructions.

3. Move to the About menu and check internet download speeds.

12 Display captions on replay

It’s another handy add-on to improve your streaming experience on Roku. You can activate captions on replay and tweak text style, text edge effect, text size, text color, background color, background opacity, and window color.

1. Go to Roku Settings and select Captions style.

2. Select Captions mode and click On replay.

You can make text tweaks from the same menu. From now on, when you press the replay button on your Roku remote, text appears on your screen to help you better understand a movie scene.

The default menu volume can be irritating, especially when your little ones are trying to sleep. You can deactivate it from Settings > Audio > Menu volume.

14 Set a PIN and your Roku to manage streaming options

Do you often notice accidental purchases or channel downloads from your kids or guests on Roku? It’s time to set up a Roku PIN to prevent the situation. You can use the Roku web or the mobile app to set up a PIN. Let’s take the latter as an example.

1. Launch the Roku mobile app and tap your account at the top. Select Settings.

2. Tap PIN settings.

3. Set up a four-digit PIN and turn on the Making purchases and Adding apps toggles.

Become a Roku pro

No matter what Roku device you have, many common features can improve your experience. Whether you want to customize your device, share media from your phone, or control your Roku with your voice, there’s something to improve everyone’s experience. To make sure you know what’s happening around you, learn how to watch local channels on your Roku device.