Fix Hulu Not Working On Roku [Free Online Tool]

If you’re struggling to get Hulu working on your Roku, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we list several confirmed fixes, listed in the order that will get you the fastest results.

Once you find the solution that works for you, don’t forget to vote (no registration required), so we can help others with the same issue.

In a rush? Here’s the short answer.

The most common reason for Hulu suddenly not working on Roku is a broken WiFi connection. You can usually fix this by restarting your WiFi router. Other common solutions include restarting your Roku (by unplugging it), checking for software updates, or removing and reinstalling the Hulu app.

We’ve also included some useful information at the bottom of this article, including:

• The most common fixes (according to real data from our users)
• Charts showing any recent spikes in issue activity
• Widespread historical issues
• A complete list of error codes with associated fixes

Check your Roku device supports Hulu

Sadly, Hulu isn’t compatible with all Roku devices. If you have an older device, you may not be able to access Hulu at all.

The latest Hulu app is supported on the following models:

• Roku Ultra
• Roku Premiere and Premiere+
• Roku Express and Express+
• Roku 3 and 4
• Roku 2 (model 4210X)
• Roku Streaming Stick (model 3500X or later)
• Roku TV
• 4k Roku TV

And classic Hulu is supported on:

• Roku 2 (model 2720X)
• Roku 1 (model 2710X)
• Roku LT (model 2700X)

But these models won’t have access to all of Hulu’s latest features (such as Live TV).

Check your internet connection

There are several internet connection issues that can prevent Hulu from working properly on your Roku.

Even if you’re reading this article on the same internet connection as your Roku, make sure to check these common issues:

• Is your WiFi working (is it connected to the internet)?
• Is the WiFi signal too weak?
• Do you have a slow download speed?
• Is a VPN causing connection issues?

With the first issue, Hulu won’t load at all.

If it’s one of the other three issues, Hulu may load, but be very slow and have buffering issues.

Is your wifi working?

Try to access your WiFi on another device, such as your phone.

Or run a network connectivity test on your Roku via:

settings > network > check connection

If it doesn’t work, you’ve likely found your problem – the WiFi is down.

You can usually fix WiFi issues by restarting your router and checking all the physical connections are in place. If this doesn’t fix it, you’ll need to contact your provider. 

Is your wifi signal strong enough?

If the WiFi is working, the next thing to check is your signal strength (this is a common issue if you’ve just moved or set up your Roku).

Run a network connectivity test on your Roku via settings > network > check connection.

The results will show you two important metrics.

• Signal strength 
• Internet download speed 

If they’re both fair, good, or excellent, skip the next steps until you reach restart your Roku.

If either of the results are poor, keep reading. 

Signal strength 

If the signal strength is poor, your Roku and Hulu are going to suffer from performance issues.

There are two solutions to poor signal strength:

• Move the TV / Roku
• Use a WiFi extender

Move the TV / Roku

Your Roku could be too far from the WiFi router, in which case you’ll need to move it (and the TV closer).

Your Roku could also be in a ‘WiFi dead zone’, which is a small area of weak signal, sometimes close to the router. Some surprising things can affect WiFi signals, such as fish tanks or plants.

If this is the case, moving the Roku around slightly can help.

Elevating the Roku or moving it from directly behind the TV are good places to start (a HDMI extender can come in very useful here).

Use a wifi extender

If you can’t (or don’t want to) move the Roku, you can bring the WiFi closer to the TV with an extender.

WiFi extenders boost the signal in areas where it’s a bit patchy.

I have several of these TP-Link RE315 extenders dotted around my house. They’re super reliable little workhorses that barely cost anything. Money well spent if you’re constantly running into weak connection issues.

Internet download speed

If your signal is fine, but the internet download speed is poor, it could be that another device on the WiFi is ‘stealing’ all the power by streaming or downloading big files.

Or you could just have slow internet.

If you have a compatible Roku device, try using an ethernet connection instead of a wireless connection. This generally results in faster speeds.

If this doesn’t work, contact your ISP (internet service provider) to discuss upgrade options.

What download speeds do you need for Hulu on Roku?

• >3.0 Mbps for Hulu’s Streaming Library
• >8.0 Mbps for live streams
• >16.0 Mbps for 4K content

Hulu note that you may be able to stream at a reduced video quality with 1.5 Mbps.

Turn off VPN (if you’re using one)

If you’re using a VPN, this could be the problem.

Using a VPN is technically against Hulu’s terms of service, so if they detect you’re using one, the app won’t work.

Or the VPN could have a weak connection which is causing problems with the internet.

I personally notice this when using cheaper, less stable VPNs. It can be extremely frustrating, especially as you’re not given any warning that the VPN is facing connection issues.

Simply turn your VPN off and see if this fixes the problem.

If it did, it may be time to consider a new VPN provider.

reset network settings

If you or anyone you live with has tampered with the network settings on your Roku or WiFi router (e.g by adding custom DNS settings), this could be affecting Hulu.

To fix this, reset your network settings to default.

Or you can change to another well know DNS server, and see if this fixes the issue.

Restart your Roku

If the WiFi is working fine, the next thing to do is restart your Roku. Restarting your device can solve a whole host of problems.

There are three ways to restart your Roku.

Manual restart

1. Unplug the Roku from the wall
2. Wait for at least 10 seconds (but I’d say 30 to make sure)
3. Plug the Roku back in and turn it on

Menu restart

1. Navigate to the Roku homepage (you can press the home button on the remote)
2. Select Settings
3. Select System
4. Select Power (if you don’t see this option, skip to the next step)
5. Select System restart
6. Wait for the Roku to restart

Remote restart

1. Press the home button 5 times
2. Press the up arrow 1 time
3. Press the rewind button 2 times
4. Press the fast forward button twice
5. This should force a restart

Once the Roku has restarted, check to see if Hulu is working again.

And don’t worry, resetting the Roku won’t do anything to the setup of your device (but a Factory reset does, more on this below).  You’re just clearing the cache.

All your settings and channels will remain (although you may have to log back into certain channels).

Verify that Hulu isn’t the problem

The problem could also lie with the Hulu app itself.

Try to access Hulu via another device. If this works fine you can skip these steps.

If you have a problem on the second device too – you need to troubleshoot Hulu.

Is Hulu down?

This is unlikely to be the issue, but it’s quick and easy to check.

To check if Hulu is down, you can:

• Check Hulu’s Twitter
• Check on a site like down detector

If there is indeed a user-wide problem with the app, all you can do is wait.

You could also check with Roku (via Twitter) and see if they are aware of any issues.

In April 2022 there was a major Hulu outage that you can see was apparent on down detector – one forum user said this:

“Hulu is currently suffering outages… You can try restarting your Roku, modem and router. But according to Downdetector Hulu is having issues”

Ello2022 – Roku community forum member

Have you reached your account limit?

On a standard Hulu account, you can stream from a maximum of two screens at a time.

If you try to stream from a third one, you will see an error message.

If you know the two people who are using your account – you can message them and tell them to get off!

If you’re not sure, you can remotely log out of all your devices by following these instructions.

If you regularly need to stream from more than two screens, Hulu offers an ‘unlimited screen add-on’ for Live TV subscribers.

Note: you should also make sure you’re up to date with all payments.

Check for updates

Software updates happen all the time. Your Roku should update automatically but for various reasons, this might not have happened. 

And if your software isn’t up to date it can cause issues (like Hulu not working). 

You can manually check for updates by following these steps. You need to check both Roku and Hulu. 

To check for Roku updates

1. Navigate to the Roku Homepage (you can press the home button on the remote)
2. Select Settings
3. Select System
4. Select System update
5. Select Check Now to manually check for updates

To check for Hulu updates

1. Navigate to the Hulu app
2. Press the * button on your remote
3. Select Check for updates

Note: sometimes updates can contain bugs, which cause issues. In this case, you may have to wait for a patch to be released!

Or the automatic update may corrupt.

This happened in August 2021 when Hulu released their 6.48.1 update.

Users complained:

“I’m trying to login into my Hulu and every time I get to my account it boots me back to the Roku Home Screen.”

shauknipp31 – Roku community forum member

But it was quickly resolved by manually updating the Hulu app again.

Sign in and out of Hulu

This is a simple solution, but it often works and is less hassle than the next option (which is to completely uninstall the Hulu app.)

In the Hulu app, navigate to the settings menu.

You should then see the option to ‘log out’ at the bottom of the menu.

Sign back in and test if the problem is fixed.

Uninstall and reinstall Hulu

Sometimes apps corrupt for a variety of complicated technical reasons.

To fix this, you can uninstall and reinstall your Hulu app. 

Note: if you purchased your Hulu subscription through Roku, then you will be unable to remove the channel unless you cancel your subscription.

To uninstall the Hulu app

1. Navigate to the Hulu app on your Roku
2. Press the * button on your remote
3. Press Remove app

You will then need to restart the Roku

This is very important – this will clear its memory so all traces of Hulu will be gone.

After restarting the Roku, you can reinstall Hulu: 

1. Press the Home button on your Roku remote
2. Scroll down to ‘Streaming channels’. This will take you to the channel store.
3. Press Okay
4. Scroll down and select Search channels
5. Type in Hulu
6. Scroll to the right and select Hulu
7. Press Add channel (you may be asked to enter your pin)

Hulu will be at the bottom of your channel grid when it reinstalls, but you can move it up if you wish (via the * button on the remote). 

You will have to re-login to Hulu when you open it.

Factory reset

This should be the last port of call because doing a factory will completely erase the Roku. 

It will be back to how it was when you bought it. 

But if nothing else has worked, it’s worth trying.

There are two ways to perform a hard reset.

• Press the physical reset button on the Roku device for 10 seconds (you may need something thin like an earring, a straightened paper clip, or a sim opener). Then wait for the device to reset.
• Reset via settings

To Factory reset the Roku via settings

1. Press Home on your Roku remote
2. Select Settings
3. Select System
4. Select Advanced system settings
5. Select Factory reset
6. If you have a Roku TV, select Factory reset everything. Otherwise, move to the next step.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions

Once you have turned the Roku back on you will need to set it up again. You can follow the on-screen instructions to do this.

Contact support

Finally, you can always contact Roku or Hulu customer support.

• Roku customer support: https://support.roku.com/contactus
• Hulu customer support: https://help.hulu.com/s/article/how-to-contact-Hulu

Let us know what worked