ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.

In a recent filing in California, a user is accusing Roku and TCL North America of issuing defective software updates that render TVs unusable. In some cases, the suit alleges, the TV only shows a black screen. In other instances, the TV gets stuck in a boot loop, freezes, or restarts repeatedly. A replacement set suffered similar problems.

The plaintiff in this case appears to not be alone. In the comments section on TopClassActions.com, a site that compiles current class action lawsuits, dozens of other users reported similar problems, many explaining that their TVs were either unusable or degraded to the point of being unusable after only a few months.

Many users on Reddit reported similar issues, with comments like "Netflix would freeze up and crash constantly, the TV would just randomly shut off or reboot," and "it's been too laggy and slow to use without a separate set-top box since less than a year after I bought it."