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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."