This is what happens if you leave a Roku device plugged in 24/7

Often, we don’t think much of leaving devices plugged in, and that makes sense. Many of them are designed around it — it’s not like you need to unplug your fridge or smart lamp periodically. In some circumstances, though, it’s a legitimate concern. If you leave a phone plugged in most of the day, it can sit at full charge, degrading its long-term battery health. If you leave a heater on, there’s a risk it could spark a fire.

So what are the potential issues with leaving a Streaming Stick or Roku Ultra plugged into your TV all day, every day? You’ll be glad to hear that it’s largely a beneficial thing — but there are at least a couple of reasons you might want to unplug your streamer every now and then. And the conditions behind your TV could play a role.

Why leaving your Roku plugged is mostly a good thing

Don’t sweat the technique

The first reason, naturally, is convenience. Although you can potentially power a Streaming Stick from a TV’s USB port, forcing it to turn on and off alongside your TV, that’s going to leave you waiting for your Roku to finish booting anytime you want to stream something. With a permanent wall adapter, a Stick (or Ultra) is almost always ready to go, just idling whenever you turn off your TV.

There’s no huge power consumption from these devices, either. A Streaming Stick typically consumes 5W while active, and an Ultra about 18W. You may have lights in your home drawing more than 18W. And after about 20 minutes without streaming or hitting any buttons, Roku OS triggers an “auto power savings” standby mode. This can cause HDMI handshake issues on some TVs — if it keeps happening, you can disable standby by going to Settings -> System -> Power -> Auto power savings.

I say Roku devices are “almost” always ready to go because of another advantage: automatic updates. According to the company, its products check for app and OS updates every 24 to 36 hours or so. That means that if you leave one plugged in, it’s more likely to download and install these updates overnight, when no one is watching anything. In fact, I’ve never once had an update start unless I triggered it manually (by going to Settings -> System -> Software Update -> Check now). If your streamer is off for several hours every day, you’re drastically increasing the odds that you’ll have to wait for an update to finish before you can enjoy your couch time.

Something you might be concerned about if you’re on a fixed data cap is bandwidth consumption. Roku estimates that active video streaming can consume anywhere between 1.35 and 11GB per hour, depending on resolution. When idling, though, data use tends to plummet dramatically, unless some sort of software update is running. Most people should be fine then, particularly since unlimited internet plans are increasingly common. When a cap is in effect, it’s far more important to limit viewing hours and resolution — an option called Bandwidth Saver (under Settings -> Network -> Bandwidth saver) can halt streaming automatically after four hours without control input.

What are the downsides to leaving a Roku plugged in all the time?

The risk of slow degradation

Credit: Roku

The biggest, if any, is going to be software performance. Roku OS and its apps have to cache temporary data in order to function — but not everything gets cleared in a timely fashion, and it’s possible for corrupted, outdated, or otherwise useless cache files to slow your device down. Power cycling an Ultra or Streaming Stick will force it to clear its cache, though you should wait a short time afterward before plugging it back in again. 30 seconds to a minute ought to do.

Less likely than cache problems is trouble with processes. Like any smart device, a Roku streamer has various processes running invisibly in the background. If these are interrupted, it can lead to serious glitches, potentially including app crashes. If you want to solve or prevent these, rebooting your device forces processes to start from scratch.

The smallest concern is heat. I say that because, as I mentioned, Roku’s devices consume very little USB or wall power, which is the main source of the waste heat that gradually degrades electronics. The TVs they connect to are far more power-hungry. That said, there’s no denying the fact that low power consumption is technically worse than none at all.

There are factors that can compound heat, such as direct sunlight or high ambient temperatures. As a rule, Roku devices are designed to operate within ambient levels between 32 and 95F (0 and 35C). If a unit isn’t getting much airflow and/or your thermostat is cranked too high, that could in theory push things into dangerous territory, although your device isn’t automatically going to fail at 100F. It’s just detrimental to overall longevity.

Something also worth mentioning is dust. Let’s face it — most of us are terrible about cleaning the rear of our TVs, if we ever do it at all. Over time, that accumulating dust traps heat, increasing intensity. It can even lead to static shocks, which risks damaging equipment — or at least an unpleasant zap when your finger is close by.

How often should you unplug Roku devices?

Use your best judgment

There’s no prescribed formula for this. Based on my first-hand testing, you may be able to leave them powered and running indefinitely, with low odds of running into any of the threats I’ve called out. Even faulty caching is unlikely to matter — Roku OS is a deliberately lightweight platform, and with RAM and processor power growing every generation, it may be a long time before anything you’ve bought recently encounters a slowdown.

If you’re trying to get the most out of your hardware, you might consider unplugging once per month. That’s enough time for clearing the cache to have an impact, and it’s an excuse to give your device a quick cleaning and cooldown. While you’re at it, inspect the HDMI and USB ports — this might be a chance to spot and remove gunk, or fix any bent pins. Be very gentle, since there’s a risk of inflicting damage instead of undoing it.

Outside these parameters, the only reasons to unplug are if a device becomes uncomfortably hot to the touch, or there’s a major thunderstorm inbound. That first one may be a sign of a defect, in which case it’s wise to get a replacement streamer. If a storm is inbound, there’s a risk that your device could be overloaded in a lightning strike. Of course, if your home theater setup doesn’t have proper surge protection, you may lose far more expensive equipment.