Here we go again: On June 24, Hulu will stop supporting some older Roku devices.
The move comes according to a recent update to its support page, as spotted by Ars Technica. Affected models include the Roku Streaming Player (models 2400 to 3100) and the Roku Streaming Stick (model 3420 or earlier), which do not support features like Premium Add-ons or live TV like newer models do.
Additionally, if you currently have any one of the below Roku devices (which will still be supported after June 24), you’ll need to update your devices to firmware version 8.1 or higher to access the latest version of the Hulu app. That version includes add-on subscriptions to HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz, as well as the ability to like/dislike shows and movies, and to tell Hulu to stop suggesting content you’re not interesting in.
Here’s the hardware you’ll need to update:
- Roku Ultra
- Roku Premiere and Premiere+
- Roku Express and Express+
- Roku 3 and 4
- Roku 2 (model 4210)
- Roku Streaming Stick (model 3500 or later)
- Roku TV
- 4k Roku TV
If you’re not sure which model you have, you can easily find it. You should be able to navigate to the Settings option on your Roku interface, and then click on About to show the model number and software version. But if you have a TCL 4K Roku TV like I do, you’ll find what you need in a different location, by navigating through Settings > System > About, and then clicking to the right one more time to get to all that information.
Roku says the firmware updates automatically, but if for some reason it doesn’t, you can update it manually.
Hulu is the latest company to end support for older devices in the last several months. Much to the dismay of many customers, Netflix left older Roku and Samsung devices, Sonos killed off some of its older speakers (though decided to continue to support them with security patches instead of abandoning them as planned), and HBO removed its HBO Go and HBO Now streaming apps from some Apple TVs. HBO ended up pushing back its original cancellation date by two weeks, but it’s becoming commonplace for companies to end software and security support for older devices, despite the fact that those devices are still functional.
Getting new firmware to work on older devices sometimes results in glitches, so depending on how old that device is, it may or may not be worth the time and money to get it to work with new features. The Roku LT 2400, which is one of the models which will no longer be supported, was released almost 10 years ago. The older models also don’t support 4K, and a few don’t even support 1080p, so it probably doesn’t make much financial sense for Hulu to continue support for those devices.