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Roku sued over alleged TV repairs – see which models are affected, and your best alternatives

Mosegas 5 hours ago

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Roku sued over alleged TV repairs – see which models are affected, and your best alternatives

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

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Highlights taken by ZDNET

Roku and TCL are being sued for allegedly bricking TVs.
The lawsuit alleges that Roku issued the wrong updates.
Six specific models are named in the suit.

If you have a Roku TV, there is a class action lawsuit to follow.

In the latest filing in California, a user accuses Roku and TCL North America of releasing flawed software updates that render the TVs inoperable. In some cases, the suit says, the TV shows only a black screen. In some cases, the TV gets stuck in a boot loop, freezes, or restarts repeatedly. The replacement set had the same problems.

Also: 4 streaming services I swear by – and my bill is just $40 a month

The plaintiff in this case does not appear to be alone. In the comments section of TopClassActions.com, a site that compiles current class action lawsuits, dozens of other users reported similar problems, many explaining that their TVs were either unusable or damaged beyond use after only a few months.

Many users on Reddit reported similar problems, with comments such as “Netflix would freeze and crash constantly, the TV would just shut down or restart,” and “very confusing and slow to use without a separate set-top box since I bought it less than a year ago.”

In comparison, many users report that they have sets that are at least five years old and still work well. The main TV in my home is the Roku Plus Series, and I have no complaints about it. Both of my kids have Roku TVs in their rooms that get slow from time to time.

I’ve reached out to Roku for comment, but haven’t heard back yet.

What TVs are listed in the suit?

The lawsuit mentions six models, specifically those purchased from December 16, 2024, to today:

Roku Select Series
Roku Plus Series
TCL 3 Series Roku TV
TCL 4 Series Roku TV
TCL 5 Series Roku TV
TCL 6 Series Roku TV

If you own one of these TVs, keep an eye on this suit as it continues. There’s nothing to do yet, but if Roku decides to settle this out of court, you can file a claim for potential compensation (you can’t say how much that might be).

Also: The best TVs: Expert tested and recommended

The best alternative to Roku

While Roku is the most popular TV operating system, there are still some great alternatives available. Our top picks include:

Samsung QN90F: With “amazing streaming and gaming performance,” the QN90F, powered by Tizen OS, is the ultimate home theater. It was ZDNET’s top TV of 2025, and it’s perfect for gamers and movie lovers.
The LG G5: The LG G5, which runs on webOS, was named the best TV at CES 2025. It looks great, sounds great, and has a great selection of games.
Sony Bravia 8 II:Powered by Google TV, the Bravia 8 II from Sony delivers “great picture and sound quality,” in the words of ZDNET’s Taylor Clemons, and has a lot of flexibility if you’re into picture and sound settings.
Hisense U8QG: With an impressive brightness of 5,000 nits, the Hisense U8QG is a high-performance workhorse for streaming, live TV, and console gaming. It works on Google TV, one of the best alternatives to Roku.
TCL QM8: Also powered by Google TV, the TCL QM8 is the best TV that offers excellent visibility in almost any lighting environment. It has 5,000 local dimming points, a base refresh rate of 120Hz (which boosts to 144Hz for console gaming), and support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro VRR.