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Roku and TCL are being sued for allegedly bricking smart TVs with bad updates

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Why This Matters

The lawsuit against Roku and TCL highlights the risks consumers face when firmware updates are rushed without thorough testing, potentially rendering popular smart TVs unusable. This issue underscores the importance of quality assurance in software updates for consumer electronics, especially for budget-friendly devices that many rely on for entertainment. The case could lead to increased scrutiny and better practices in the industry to protect consumers from similar incidents.

Key Takeaways

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

TL;DR Roku and TCL are being sued after firmware updates allegedly bricked TVs.

The class action suit claims both companies pushed updates without proper quality checks.

Affected models include Roku Select and Plus Series, plus TCL 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-Series TVs.

A routine software update should improve your tech, not turn your main TV into a useless device. But that’s what some Roku and TCL owners say is happening. A new class-action lawsuit targets both companies, claiming recent firmware updates have bricked smart TVs.

A complaint filed in a California federal court says Roku and TCL released software updates that made some smart TV models freeze, restart over and over, or not turn on at all, according to Top Class Actions. “Bricking” is the term for when a software problem makes a device stop working completely.

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Roku’s operating system runs on millions of affordable TVs, and TCL is one of its main hardware partners. This partnership is usually a plus, but the lawsuit claims the companies did not test these updates well enough before releasing them. Owners say that after the update, their TVs just went black.

The complaint lists the Roku Select Series, Roku Plus Series, and several TCL models like the 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-Series with Roku OS. These TVs are popular budget choices, especially for people who have cut cable.

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