I thought something was wrong with my Roku Express when I tried booting up YouTube TV and couldn’t find it. Thankfully, there wasn’t a problem with my hardware—YouTube TV disappearing from Roku devices is an ongoing problem.
But now there is an actual solution.
YouTube TV Disappeared From Your Roku? You’re Not Alone
On Reddit, the Roku Forums, and Google, the same story has cropped up: YouTube TV has disappeared from Roku devices entirely (or won’t launch if it’s still there). Roku Community posts have also noted that you can’t reinstall the YouTube TV app, or even find it in the store, either. Stranger still, this problem is mostly limited to Roku-branded devices, like its smart TVs and streaming boxes—which I can personally attest to with the latter. YouTube TV was missing entirely from my list of apps.
RelatedThere are plenty of ways to fix a broken Roku TV or Roku streaming device.
What made the problem worse was that simply restarting my Roku Express didn’t solve the problem, and as it turns out, many others experienced the same disappointment. And it didn’t appear to be an issue with lesser hardware, as one person with a Roku Ultra, the more expensive option, was also having issues.
Luckily, both Roku and YouTube responded quickly to the community’s needs by providing solutions and patches for the issue.
How to Fix YouTube TV Disappearing From Your Roku
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You can get YouTube TV back up and running on your Roku device in one of two ways—by updating your hardware or using an alternative app, like the YouTube app (rather than YouTube TV). For the former option, you have to:
- Using your Roku remote, press the Home button and go into Settings.
- Select System > Software update.
- Pick the Check now option to run a manual check for updates. You must be connected to the Internet to do this!
After the update is complete, assuming there is one, search for YouTube TV among your apps or check it out in the app store. If it’s there, go ahead and reinstall it. If it still isn’t showing, there’s another solution. Using the YouTube app instead, you can open the sidebar on the left and access YouTube TV that way.
This sort of problem is bound to happen, especially when Roku has a myriad of devices with varying performance levels. This has happened to Roku devices before. Back in 2024, some people reported that Roku TV was having problems with YouTube TV, too, but this mostly affected Roku smart TVs and the live channels. Roku quickly patched the issue. Similarly, a simple Roku update should restore functionality this time around.
