Today I went to set up my new Roku SE and the device keeps flashing as if the button on the remote is being pressed repeatedly however the remote itself is not allowing me to press ok or any letters etc. should I return my device for a new one or possibly could it be the remote itself?

anmagi wrote:

Today I went to set up my new Roku SE and the device keeps flashing as if the button on the remote is being pressed repeatedly however the remote itself is not allowing me to press ok or any letters etc. should I return my device for a new one or possibly could it be the remote itself?

By "the device keeps flashing" can we take that to mean "the light on the front of the device keeps flashing?"

If so, try ruling out the remote first. Take the batteries out of the remote, then reboot the Roku (unplug it, plug it back in). If the Roku acts the same, it's probably the box. If the problem goes away, it's probably the remote.

can you put something over the sensor?


I had a weird issue a year or so ago when I started writing the camera channel. I have a pile of roku players in my office and all of the sudden they all went nuts and stopped working, I couldn't control them or anything.


Took me a while to figure out that the cameras on the other side of the room had night mode, which means they had IR LEDs which are nice for seeing in the dark, but completely hosed the roku players IR sensors.

I dont think the SE uses an IR remote, but I think it still has an IR sensor on it, so if anything else in that room is emitting IR, it could interfere. Maybe not, but worth checking by blocking the light sensor.

also it could be a stuck button on another remote, or the roku remote. as someone said, if you take the batteries out of the remote, you can eliminate that as a cause.

The SE uses an IR remote.

Probably a dumb question, but did you pair the remote; if it needs it? Not sure on the new SE, but I think most need to be paired with the button by the batteries before you can use it.

Look for backlight options on your TV, and/or eliminate anything around the Roku SE that might interfere with IR.

C. Shawn Smith