All technology eventually becomes obsolete, but sometimes it sneaks up on us. For example, would you really have guessed that some Roku streaming devices are so old that Netflix will no longer support them by the end of the year? As Cord Cutters News reported last week, some Roku users have begun to receive notifications that their devices will no longer have access to the Netflix app starting on December 1st, 2019.
“Due to technical limitations, Netflix will no longer be available on this device after December 1st, 2019,” explains the error message, which Netflix has also shared on its Help Center website. “Please visit netflix.com/compatibledevices for a list of available devices [though the specific devices are not listed].”
Netflix and Roku have yet to provide us a detailed list of all the devices that will lose Netflix support on December 1st, but Cord Cutter News says that there’s an easy way to find out if your box is affected. Apparently, if your Netflix app is not capable of auto-playing the next episode in a TV series, it’s time for an upgrade.
Cord Cutter News says that a Roku spokesperson confirmed that “the first two Roku models” will be the only ones to lose Netflix, but it’s unclear if that means the first two devices the company ever released, or the first two generations of models, which include the Roku SD, HD, HD-XR, XDS, and Roku 2 series. All of these devices launched in 2011 or earlier, so it’s hard to imagine many consumers have stuck with them for this long, but hopefully Netflix will share a full list of supported devices in the coming weeks so no one will be caught off guard.
The good news is that Roku’s current lineup of streaming players (all of which should support Netflix’s app for years to come) starts at $29.99, so even if you are forced to upgrade, you won’t have to break the bank.