Why Does My Roku Turn Itself On?

Roku is pretty amazing. I have Roku Sticks and TVs throughout my house. But that’s not to say they don’t come with their own set of problems. Sometimes, Roku’s freeze and glitch, but the most annoying issue is when your Roku turns itself on by itself.

Why does Roku turn itself on? What’s going on? Is it the TV or an unrelated problem?

Although the problem is often hard to pinpoint, there are a few things we should look at that might help us fix the issue.

Some of these things include:

• CEC settings
• Stuck remote control buttons
• Roku App
• Your power source
• System errors

Sometimes, fixing the matter is as easy as resetting and restarting your product to get things back to normal. In the following paragraphs, we’ll look at several of the above reasons that can cause your Roku to turn itself on (or, in some cases, off).

Why Does My Roku Turn Itself On?

As it turns out, there are several reasons your Roku might turn on by itself. Some reasons are easier to fix than others.

In any case, let’s go through some of the reasons and flesh them out a little more. We’ll then give you a way to fix the issue so you can go about your merry way and start streaming without problems.

1) CEC Settings

CEC settings are handy because they allow you to control HDMI devices with one remote. For instance, if you have a Roku streaming stick plugged into an HDMI port and accidentally try to play it using a different input source, the CEC settings allow the control to switch the input automatically so you can use the Roku seamlessly.

As a side note, some brands name their CEC settings by a different “branded trade” name. For instance, Phillips calls it EasyLink. Panasonic may call it HDAVI Control, EZ Sync, or VIERA Link. LG calls their CEC settings SimpLink.

However, in this case, our CEC settings might be the reason your Roku is turning on by itself.

To fix the issue, disable your CEC settings.

To do so, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Press Home on your Roku’s remote control.

Step 2: Navigate to Settings.

Step 3: Click on System.

Step 4: Find and click on Control other devices (CEC).

Step 5: Find 1-Touch play.

Step 6: Click on 1-Touch play.

Your CEC settings are now disabled, and you should no longer experience your Roku turning itself on.

As a side note, each brand and model might have different steps. Please refer to this link for exact instructions as provided by Roku.

If this didn’t fix your problem, something else must have caused this issue. If that’s the case, please continue reading to find other causes and solutions.

2) Stuck Remote Control Buttons

Sometimes our power button gets stuck. If this is the case, it will continually turn your Roku on and off.

However, this highly annoying experience is easily fixed.

First, check your control. Often you can tell if the button is stuck. But, on some occasions, you won’t.

In any case, you can use a toothpick, paper click, or any small pointy object to dislodge the button.

The same happens if your control is full of grime. If grime gets under your control, it will press on itself.

Make sure to clean it properly. 

If need be, unscrew your control to clean it.

Once it’s clean, the grime will stop the button from pressing on itself.

If you’ve cleaned all grime from your remote and the issue persists, perhaps you need to troubleshoot your remote. Please refer to this Roku video to help with that.

3) Roku App

Technology attempts to make our lives easier. But sometimes, it overcomplicates things.

The Roku App, for example, makes our lives easier by automatically turning on your Roku TV when we open it.

If you have multiple Roku’s in your household, it will turn on the last Roku controlled by the app.

Therefore if you’re wondering why one of your TVs is turning on by itself , you might want to check your Roku App and make sure you didn’t accidentally open it while trying to use a different app.

If you find that you open the Roku app without thinking about it, perhaps the best solution is to delete it. Considering it also acts as a remote control, another solution is to offload the app. This removes the data from your phone and disables it but places it in the cloud so you can access it easily in the future.

4) Your Power Source

If your Roku continues to turn itself on, perhaps the issue is your power source.

The power source (or power adaptors) continually keeps your Roku powered up, but if it fails, or if the power it provides ebbs and flows, it might cause your Roku to turn on.

If this is the case, purchasing a new power source to plug into your wall will suffice.

Some cheaper power adaptors simply do not function as they should. Perhaps purchasing a mid-range product like the 100W Multiport by Aergiatech  should work well. This device has multiple ports for USB and USB-C.

Yes, it is on the pricier side, but it also provides you with a good amount of charge for all your products, not just your Roku.

If you’re interested in finding out more information on how your power source may cause your Roku to turn itself on, check out this video by a user who explains how it does so.

5) System Errors

Certain system errors or glitches are common among TVs and streaming sticks. And although this is common, the company will often provide a firmware update that patches such errors.

So, if you find that your Roku is turning itself on, see if it’s due for a system update.

Usually, Roku implements updates automatically. But if for some reason, it didn’t, you can always check manually.

Here are the steps to check for manual updates:

Step 1: press the Home button on your Roku controller.

Step 2: Scroll until you find Settings. Select it.

Step 3: Now, find and select System.

Step 4: Click on System Update.

Step 5: Click on Check Now to see if there are any recent updates your Roku hasn’t downloaded yet.

As a side note, the System Update screen gives you the time and date of the latest installed update.

If your Roku finds an update, it will download and install it automatically.

Updates provide patches to common glitches. Therefore, this should fix any weird glitches from happening in the future, like your Roku turning itself on.

Watch the video below on how to update your Roku device

6) Use Reset Button

If the above causes and solutions don’t work, we’ve provided a couple of universal fixes below.

You can power cycle your Roku by simply unplugging it from your outlet. Wait a minute, then plug it back in.

Another way to soft reset (or restart) your Roku is to do so within the menu on the TV itself.

Here are the steps to do so:

Step 1: Press the Home button on your remote.

Step 2: Navigate the menu and search for Settings.

Step 3: Now select System on the menu.

Step 4: Head to Power.

Step 5: Choose System Restart.

Step 6: Then press Restart.

Your TV will now restart. This is the equivalent to rebooting your computer. It fixes many system errors.

If you wish to factory reset your device, you can press its reset button.

There are two reset buttons: a pinhole and a button, depending on your Roku model.

Press and hold the reset button for about 10 seconds or until the reset light flashes.

Please remember that factory resetting will erase all user data. However, if you want to factory reset your device, here are a few steps to follow.

Step 1: Press the Home button on your remote.

Step 2: Go to Settings.

Step 3: Click on System.

Step 4: Choose Advanced System Settings.

Step 5: Pick Factory Reset from the options.

Step 6: Select Factory Reset Everything and follow any on-screen instructions.