Quick Summary
Roku users have reported that they've been forced to watch an advert before their devices even get to the homescreen.
This is apparently a new feature being trialled by the manufacturer and plans to make it permanent have not yet been decided on.
Usually, when Roku or another streaming device manufacturer adds a new feature, owners are thrilled to try it out. However, the latest Roku OS rollout hasn't been met with quite as much enthusiasm.
You could even say some users positively hate it.
That's because there are reports of some Roku device and TV owners have been fed an unskippable advert before they've even managed to get to the homescreen.
According to the Roku subreddit, users have been served a commercial for the new Disney movie, Moana 2, as soon as they switched on. Reddit user jehsickkuhhh posted: "Hello! I just turned on my Roku and got an unskippable ad for a movie, before I got to the regular Roku homescreen. Has anyone else experienced this?"
That lead to many others claiming the same, with some suggesting they'll be looking into alternative streaming options.
When asked about the autoplaying adverts, a Roku spokesperson told Arstechnica that it's not a permanent new feature and is part of a test: "[Roku] has and will always require continuous testing and innovation across design, navigation, content, and our first-rate advertising products," they said.
"Our recent test is just the latest example, as we explore new ways to showcase brands and programming while still providing a delightful and simple user experience."
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And to be fair, the Roku front-end does provide a simple user experience which we've enjoyed here at T3 for years, but only when you can get to your content without being faced with an ad you can't skip first. That's not quite as "delightful".
We haven't experience the mandatory ad-loading ourselves yet, which could mean it's being trialled outside the UK first. Let's hope the backlash will be sufficient for the brand to look at other ways to bring in revenue without slathering its products with forced commercials on a permanent basis.
After all, when you buy a device or worse, a TV, you kind-of want it work as, well, advertised.