A couple weeks ago, a reader in Advisorator’s Tech Buds forum asked me about the best streaming TV setup for a 90-year-old neighbor who is not tech-savvy.
My mind immediately jumped to Roku, whose smart TVs and streaming players have always emphasized simplicity. But I also know that Roku’s streaming platform has become more complicated in recent years, and its once-basic menu system is not what it used to be.
While I’d still recommend Roku to someone who’s on the lower end of the tech learning curve, our neighbor in this scenario would benefit from some out-of-the-box settings tweaks. Whether you’re setting up a Roku for yourself of someone else, here’s how to make the streamer as easy to use as possible:
Remove any payment methods on file with Roku
Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku is now requiring new users to put a payment method on file during setup. Many streaming services will use this payment method to speed up the subscription process, and the checkout flow is so frictionless that one could easily end up with unexpected charges.
My advice: Once you’re finished with setup, immediately head to my.roku.com/payment/account in a web browser, hit the “…” button next to the payment method, then hit “Remove.” The device will still work just fine, but without the possibility of unwanted subscriptions through Roku.
If you do want to keep a payment method on file, consider setting up a limited-use virtual card with spending limits to avoid any billing surprises.
Skip all the app promos and trial offers
Jared Newman / Foundry
While completing the setup on your phone or computer, Roku also tries to load up your device with extra apps and free trials (which will auto-bill the aforementioned payment method at the end). If you’re setting this Roku up for someone else, just skip all these offers and add the specific apps you want outside of the setup process. There are usually better ways to get free trials and discounts anyway.
Get off Roku’s mailing list
After creating an account, Roku will immediately start pelting you with promotional emails. There’s no way to opt out as part of the setup process, so take the opportunity to unsubscribe while it’s fresh in your mind. Locate the welcome email Roku sends at sign-up, scroll to the bottom, and click the unsubscribe button.
While you’re at it, head to my.roku.com/account/email in a web browser and uncheck the “Emails with product tips, the latest releases, hot new channels, and customer exclusive discounts” box as well.
Remove unnecessary apps
Jared Newman / Foundry
Even if you select nothing during the setup process, your Roku will still include some pre-installed apps, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV. Roku also promotes its own services on the home page, including the Roku Channel, a Kids and Family hub, the live TV guide, and the recently acquired Frndly TV.
We’re keeping things simple here, so get rid of any home screen tiles that the user isn’t likely to need. To delete an app on Roku, hit the remote’s * button, then hit “Remove app.”
(Personally, I’d suggest keeping the free Roku Channel and live TV guide, which are solid sources of free content.)
Be careful with Prime Video
Amazon’s Prime Video app comes pre-installed on Roku, and it is a valuable source of content for Prime subscribers. The app has its own subscription and rental marketplace built in, however, which are tied to the user’s Prime payment method. Like Roku’s own billing system, it’s an unfortunately frictionless way to wind up with a bunch of unwanted subscription charges.
That doesn’t mean you need to delete the Prime Video app, but talk it over with the person for whom you’re setting the device up, and make sure they understand about how it can bill them without their needing to enter any new payment details.
Hide as many side menus as possible
Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku’s once-simple navigation menu now has nine submenus as of this writing, some of which can be redundant. You don’t need a “Live TV” side menu, for instance, when there’s also a “Live TV Guide” button on the main home screen.
Head to Settings > Home Screen > Menu Items, and you’ll have the option to hide the Live TV, What to Watch, Featured Free, Daily Trivia, and Sports menus. I suggest hiding most of them, except Featured Free and maybe Daily Trivia, if the person you’re setting it up for is into quiz games.
Hide the home page recommendations
Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku also now adds a row of content tiles to what used to be just an app grid. These are promotional in nature and not all that helpful, so hide them by heading to Settings > Home Screen > Recommendation rows.
Note that this setting will also hide the genre-based menus that Roku recently added to its home screen. These are a bit more helpful than Roku’s “Top Picks for You” tiles, but you can’t get rid of one without the other, and they do lead to a more cluttered menu overall.
Keep the app icons large
Roku now supports smaller app icons on the home screen, letting you fit four of them in each row instead of three. This can be helpful if you’re using a lot of apps, but sticking with larger icons makes more sense for our simplified setup.
A newly installed Roku should use large icons by default, but if that ever changes, or you’re repurposing an old Roku that’s been set up with small tiles already, you can head to Settings > Home Screen > Tile Size and set them to “Larger.”
Set up voice control apps
Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku devices can be great for playing music and podcasts, especially on models with voice control built into the remote. Instead of needing to navigate through the app, you can just say things like “play classical guitar.”
To make this work as smoothly as possible, head to my.roku.com/account/voice and choose the music, radio, and podcast apps to play by default. (You can also choose a news app to use with a “play the news” voice command.) Note that for these apps to work, they’ll need to be installed and set up on the Roku first.
Turn off autoplay
Jared Newman / Foundry
Roku’s default settings allow it to auto-play videos on parts of the home screen. This can be jarring, so turn it off by heading to Settings > Accessibility > Auto-play video and selecting “Off.”
In my experience so far, this also appears to disable video ads on the Roku home screen, reverting to static banner ads instead. I’m not sure if this change will stick, but it’s worth trying at any age.
This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best media-streaming devices.
For more practical streaming TV advice, sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter.