We’ve all been there – you’re trying to stream the latest episode of your favorite show on your Roku, and it’s glitching like crazy or taking forever to load. Frustrating, right? Before you think about ditching your Roku for something new, try clearing its cache first.
What Is the Cache on Roku and Why Does It Need to Be Cleared?
The cache on your Roku is a storage area that temporarily holds data to help apps and channels load faster. Over time, this data can get corrupted or overloaded, which can lead to issues like:
- Choppy, poor-quality video playback
- Channels crashing or freezing
- Slow response times
- General performance problems
Clearing the cache gives your Roku device a fresh start, wiping that old problematic data to restore normal speed and function.
But Roku Doesn’t Have a “Clear Cache” Button…
Unlike your smartphone or computer, Roku devices don’t have a quick and easy way to clear cache. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done! I’ll walk you through a simple workaround.
Step-By-Step: How to Clear the Cache on Your Roku
Follow these steps to refresh your Roku’s performance:
- Identify the problematic channel. Note which channel or app is giving you issues.
- Remove the channel. From the Roku home screen, highlight the troublesome channel. Press the asterisk (*) button on your Roku remote to bring up options and select Remove channel.
- Restart your Roku. For best results, you can unplug the power cable and then plug back in to fully reboot.
- Re-add the channel. Go to the Roku Channel Store, search for the removed channel, and reinstall it. This gives you a clean slate for data related to that app.
- Sign back in to the channel. You may need to sign in again using your credentials.
This quick reset will wipe the cache data associated with that particular Roku channel. Do this for any apps giving you problems to refresh their data and storage.
Tip: If multiple channels are having issues or you want to thoroughly clean out the entire Roku cache, perform a factory reset on your device after removing channels. Just know you’ll have to re-setup your Roku.
Alternative: Try the Roku Restart Code
Instead of unplugging your device to restart, use the following button sequence on your remote:
- Home (press 5 times rapidly)
- Rewind (twice)
- Fast forward (twice)
This should initiate a reboot of your Roku device.
Troubleshooting and When to Factory Reset
- If you remove and re-add a channel but still get errors, the issue could be on the channel’s end. Contact their support team or switch to a different channel.
- Issues across multiple apps likely indicate a deeper system problem. Perform a factory reset using the options in Settings > System > Advanced system settings.
Just know that factory resetting removes all data, requiring you to reinstall channels and re-enter login details. So try the above cache fix first!
I hope these troubleshooting tips for glitchy Roku devices come in handy! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions.