These TVs Are Involved in a Class Action Lawsuit Against Roku/TCL.
If your TV is made by Roku or TCL, please note: your TV may be involved in a class action lawsuit. Both TV manufacturers are currently involved in the lawsuit , and while it’s too early to tell how the case will develop or what a potential settlement might be, we do know which TVs are involved.
What is the Roku/TCL lawsuit all about?
As reported by Top Class Actions , plaintiff Terri Els recently filed a lawsuit in federal court in California. Els’s lawsuit alleges that Roku and TCL released software updates that were “repeatedly defective.” According to the lawsuit, the updates “bricked” some Roku and TCL TVs or otherwise rendered them unusable. Els claims that these updates “materially degrade” the functionality of Roku devices, and that both companies failed to disclose the issues to customers; instead, Roku and TCL marketed these products as “robust” smart TVs that would “get better over time… thanks to [constant] automatic software updates.”
The lawsuit alleges that Roku and TCL fail to provide any protection to customers whose TVs become inoperable, despite warranties purporting to cover software defects. Else is seeking to represent the plaintiffs in a nationwide class action lawsuit seeking a jury trial and monetary damages for all parties. I don’t own a Roku or TCL TV, so I can’t personally verify the problems. However, the Top Class Actions report has over 300 comments, and many (if not most) are complaining of similar issues with their Roku TVs. “My TV just turns off randomly, and sometimes it takes several tries to turn it back on”; “It won’t play unless it’s connected to the internet, and then a lot of channels are blank”; “I just got rid of my 65-inch Roku TV, and it went black less than 3 years after I bought it.” Many of the comments simply ask to be added to the class action lawsuit.
As it turns out, this isn’t the only class action lawsuit Roku is currently facing: Another customer has sued Roku for removing a feature from their smart home cameras and requiring a new subscription to restore it.
What TVs are involved in the Roku/TCL lawsuit?
The lawsuit accuses Roku and TCL of extending their claims to all TVs and streaming devices. Instead, it specifically names the following models sold from December 16, 2024, to the present:
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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 say how this will all play out. But if you purchased one of these TVs during this period, please pay attention and keep an eye on how things unfold.