If Roku or TCL made your TV, listen up: Your set might be involved in a class action lawsuit. Both TV manufacturers are currently in the middle of a suit, and while it’s far too early to know where the case is going or what a potential settlement would be, we do know which TVs in particular are named.
What is the Roku/TCL lawsuit?
As Top Class Actions reports, plaintiff Terri Else recently filed the lawsuit in California federal court. Else’s suit asserts Roku and TCL issued software updates that were “repetitively defective.” According to the suit, the updates rendered some TVs from both Roku and TCL “bricked” or otherwise unusable. Else says these updates “materially impair” the functionality of Roku’s devices, and that both companies failed to disclose the issues to customers; rather, that Roku and TCL sold these products as “reliable” smart TVs that would “keep getting better over time…thanks to [ongoing] automatic software updates.”
The lawsuit claims Roku and TCL offer no recourse for customers whose TVs become inoperable, despite warranties that claim to fix software defects. Else seeks to represent a nationwide class action suit with a jury trial, with a monetary reward for all involved. I don’t own either a Roku or a TCL TV, so I can’t personally attest to the issues. However, there are over 300 comments on the Top Class Actions report, with many (if not most) complaining of similar issues with their Roku TVs. “My TV just turns off at random and sometimes takes several tries to turn on;” “It doesn’t play unless it’s hooked up to the internet and then a lot of the stations have blank screens,” “I just disposed of a 65″ Roku branded TV that went black in less than 3 years after purchase.” Many of the comments simply request to be added to the class action suit.
As it happens, this case isn’t the only class action lawsuit Roku is facing at this time: Another customer is suing Roku for removing a feature from its smart home cameras and requiring a new subscription to restore it.
What do you think so far?
Which TVs are named in the Roku/TCL lawsuit?
The lawsuit does charge Roku and TCL with a blanket claim across all of their TVs and streaming devices. Instead, it names the following models specifically, sold from Dec. 16, 2024 through today:
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Roku Select Series
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Roku Plus Series
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TCL 3 Series Roku TV
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TCL 4 Series Roku TV
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TCL 5 Series Roku TV
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TCL 6 Series Roku TV
Again, it’s too early to know what will happen in this case. But if you bought one of these TVs in that timeframe, take note, and keep an eye on the suit as it progresses.
