Backdrops and Photostreams removed from Roku? Here's what's going on

If you turned on your Roku device recently hoping to see your favorite family photos or enjoy some ambient artwork, you might have been met with a confusing message. Many users started reporting around yesterday that both the Photo Streams and Backdrops features weren’t working. Instead of launching normally, attempting to open them or having them start as a screensaver resulted in an error stating the “This channel is no longer available.”

This unexpected change quickly caused concern and frustration among Roku owners who rely on these features. Photo Streams allows users to upload and display their personal photos, turning their TV into a digital picture frame. Backdrops offers a curated selection of artwork and photography as an ambient display when the Roku is idle. Seeing them suddenly labeled as “removed” led some to worry that Roku had intentionally discontinued these popular features without warning.

One user on Reddit posted, “All of a sudden, Backdrops is just gone with no warning! Anyone know what’s happening? Similarly, there are numerous reports on Roku’s support forums with users discussing the same issue. They note that they’ve tried troubleshooting steps like restarting their devices or reinstalling the channels, usually without success initially.

However, despite the alarming message and some online speculation, it appears Roku has not intentionally removed Backdrops or Photo Streams. The issue seems to be a technical glitch. Roku support staff and community moderators became aware of the widespread problem and began investigating.

Users like RaBn reported interacting with tech support, who initially seemed unaware but eventually confirmed an issue existed and escalated it to their engineering team. Roku moderators also requested specific details from affected users, like device information and software versions, to help diagnose the problem.

Thankfully, a solution seems to have emerged. Several users in the Roku community forums, including one user named Pompey, reported that performing a manual system update fixed the issue. After updating their Roku’s software, the Backdrops and Photo Streams channels reportedly reinstalled and started working correctly again. Roku moderators also suggested users try checking for updates specifically for the affected apps and restarting their devices.

So, if you’re encountering the “channel removed” error for Backdrops or Photo Streams, don’t despair just yet. It seems to be a temporary bug rather than a permanent removal. Head into your Roku’s settings menu (Settings > System > System update > Check now) and try performing a manual update. With a bit of luck, that should get your favorite photos and artwork back on your screen.