Roku Sued for Allegedly Bricking TVs: Your Black Screen of Death Is Now a Legal Document

If you own a Roku TV, you might want to put down the remote and pick up a lawyer. A class action lawsuit filed in California accuses Roku and TCL North America of pushing software updates that turn perfectly good televisions into expensive paperweights. According to the suit, the updates can leave users staring at a black screen, a boot loop, or a frozen interface that restarts with the enthusiasm of a hungover teenager. One unlucky plaintiff even got a replacement set that promptly exhibited the same problems.

As is tradition, the plaintiff is far from alone. On TopClassActions.com, a site that tracks such legal squabbles, dozens of users report their TVs became unusable or degraded within months. Reddit, the internet's complaint department, is also aflame with tales of Netflix crashes, random shutdowns, and reboots that make your smart TV dumber than a toaster. "It's been too laggy and slow to use without a separate set-top box since less than a year after I bought it," wails one user. For balance, some users claim their sets work fine after five years. This reporter's own Roku TV works fine, but our kids' units suffer only occasional lag, so it's a mixed bag.

The lawsuit specifically names six models purchased between December 16, 2024, and today: Roku Select Series (model 32R1A), Roku Plus Series (model 75R2A), TCL S4 (model 55S451F), TCL Q5 (model 55Q551F), TCL Q5 (model 65Q551F), and TCL S4 (model 65S451F). If you own one, sit tight and watch the legal drama unfold. If Roku settles, you might get compensation, though nobody knows how much yet.

In the meantime, ZDNet suggests alternatives. The Samsung QN90F (Tizen OS) is ZDNET's top TV of 2025, perfect for gamers and movie buffs. The LG G5 (webOS) was named best TV at CES 2025. The Sony Bravia 8 II (Google TV) offers fantastic picture and audio. The Hisense U8QG (Google TV) boasts a blinding 5,000 nits brightness. And the TCL QM8 (Google TV) has 5,000 local dimming zones and a 120Hz refresh rate boostable to 144Hz. Roku hasn't commented yet, but we'll update you if they do.