Hello:

   I would like to poll the forum members and use this thread as a way to find out what model Roku's you guys have and which models would you recommend to purchase because they seem stable and problem free and what model units to stay away from.  You can list both new and no longer supported devices like the Roku 2 XS and older generation units.

My recommendations:

1.  Roku 1/SE slower in performance but pretty stable.  Rarely crashes
2.  Roku 2 XS stay away from this model.  Updated firmwares are buggy and causes them to crash and reboot often.
3.  Roku 4 initial releases suffered from noisy fans and over-heating issues.  Not sure if newer stock is more reliable but I would stay away from this model just to not risk getting a defective one.

Now its your turn to provide honest feedback on what units are recommended and which ones to stay away from.  Thanks in advance to anyone providing useful information.  Please try to be respectful with your opinions and don't troll.

I have a 4 and am surprised about all the issues I've heard about it. I have never heard the fan running on mine, and though I now have it on a 1080 display, it was working fine when it was connected to my Samsung 4K set. For me at least it has been a flawless unit. If the latest firmware issues are only related to HDCP 2.2 and 4K displays, that could be one explanation why I currently have no problems. When it was connected to my Samsung, it was not this version of firmware. 

I have two ROKU TVs by Insignia, two ROKU sticks and a ROKU express. Never have I had a performance problem. Each one of my ROKUs has been flawless. Therefore, my recommendation is any of the above.

Roku 3 perfect, no problems, Roku 1 slow but reliable, Roku LT the same.

Until recently, I would have said the Roku 3 since I own 3 of them and they work great.  However, what I learned recently is that if you only own Roku 3's as wireless devices, which we know that is not the case, then you would likely be fine.  I own tablets and cell phones and the Roku 3's wifi direct signal being broadcasted on the same band as my router, walks all over my router's Wifi internet connection when trying to use other devices connected to my wifi's internet connection which are in the same rooms as my Roku 3's.

So if you consider a Roku 3 which causes problems for all your other Wifi devices non problematic, then it's a great device.

If I could get the performance of a Roku 3 that used an infared remote so I could turn off the Wifi direct, then that would be the best Roku device for me.

Rednroll wrote:

Until recently, I would have said the Roku 3 since I own 3 of them and they work great.  However, what I learned recently is that if you only own Roku 3's as wireless devices, which we know that is not the case, then you would likely be fine.  I own tablets and cell phones and the Roku 3's wifi direct signal being broadcasted on the same band as my router, walks all over my router's Wifi internet connection when trying to use other devices connected to my wifi's internet connection which are in the same rooms as my Roku 3's.

So if you consider a Roku 3 which causes problems for all your other Wifi devices non problematic, then it's a great device.

If I could get the performance of a Roku 3 that used an infared remote so I could turn off the Wifi direct, then that would be the best Roku device for me.

Hello:
   The Roku 3 does have an IR port.  You can buy an inexpensive universal remote with Roku codes and you should be OK.  RCA sells one at Wal-Mart for under $10.  The "newest" version of the Roku 2 that are currently sold are in fact re branded Roku 3 units sold with an IR remote.  
   You can also try changing channels and other configurations on your router to help with this problem.  Maybe have the devices that interfere using the wireless G band and the Rokus and other devices that require faster speeds and loads use the wireless N band.
Hope this information is helpful to you.
vnazario

Roku 3, was good. Roku 4 was better and Roku Ultra is the best yet. Really have no complaints with any of them and very lucky to have a son that likes to buy us new Roku toys every once in a while.

startreksteve wrote:

Roku 3 perfect, no problems, Roku 1 slow but reliable, Roku LT the same.

Roku 3 was the best and I thought oh they finally have it down. Then came Roku 4----splat. Here we go again... I gave up and switched to FireTV and a few Android devices. 

     My 2XS has been a reliable, rock solid digital media player from the day I got it to replace the extremely rock solid 2000C I'd used for years. It has never once spontaneously crashed and rebooted as has been reported by other users on this forum. However, it may very well be somewhat unique in relation to other 2XS's out there.
     I bought it online, two years after it's original release, from a Mom and Pop consumer electronics store somewhere in the upper Midwest. After the horror stories on the web they probably had quite a few gathering dust on a shelf. I think I paid $29.99. At the time it was the only Roku that had all the features I needed. Ethernet capability was the overriding factor.
     Out of the box, it had it's original firmware. When it updated it skipped over the firmware that caused all of the problems for other users and went straight to a stable version. And because none of the buggy firmware ever was, or still is, lingering in there somewhere, it seems immune from all subsequent buggy firmware* that Roku has forced upon it.
     Granted, this is only a theory, but it's the only explanation that makes any sense.

*Note: Those were designed for newer Rokus with much faster processors but Roku's "one size fits all" mentality prevailed.

Roku 3 (4200) i bought about 5, maybe 6 years ago, has served me well. No problems. Still works except i spilled a tad of water on the remote and killed the volume buttons. This has a headphone jack which i must have used close to 1000 nights.  O,yea, i may have damaged by my own doing,  the adaptor cord to the Roku

I bought a Roku Premier+ , i am seeing some issues.

I have 2 2XS units that get used daily and work very well.  Then a TCL 55" Roku TV that works perfectly fine also.

Roku 3
* Frequently locks up, have to reboot almost daily.
* Instant replay button (7 seconds) only does one jump. If I want to jump back 14 or 21 seconds, I have to use rewind, which always overshoots. Tedious!!
* I like the wireless earplugs. I use when riding exercise bike. With R2, I had to string an extension cord across the floor.
* Netflix: I absolutely hate NF's 'enhanced' user interface on R3 & higher, especially the NF Auto-Preview feature (http://bit.ly/2lFbfNJ)

Roku 2 XD
* Hangs at 25% progress, have to reboot almost daily (http://bit.ly/2kB3ati)
* Netflix: I like the old-style (simple & clean) user interface and not having to mess with profiles (http://bit.ly/2la1GcB)

Roku HD (I have 2)
* By far more stable than my R2 XD and R3. Rarely have to reboot.
* Netflix: same comments as R2 XD, above