Introduction
Most times the internal storage capacity that comes with Roku devices are not enough to satisfy the needs of users, which prompts them to make use of an external storage drive. Some Roku users have encountered an error that says “not enough space”, at times it is correctly telling the user that the space on it is low, but in some instances, there is more than enough space on the device. Let us know about why Roku Says Not Enough Space? If not enough space is an error,how to solve this error? How to add more storage to roku devices which show not enough space in this article.
There have been several reports of such errors from different users, who claim to have space available on the external storage device which they connected to their Roku device and some even confirm that their storage drives are not damaged by testing it on their phones and PCs. There have also been cases where users did not connect the external drive properly.
How Much Space is Available on a Roku Device?
The amount of storage space available on Roku devices varies across the different models sold. They range between 256MB-8GB. The following are some of the different models available:
- Roku streaming stick with a storage capacity of 1GB
- Roku ultra 4800 with 2GB
- Roku ultra 4640 with 1GB
- Roku fire stick with 8GB
These numbers do not fully represent the number of channels/applications that can be stored on the devices, newer models have improved the number of channels/applications that can be added by optimizing the size of the applications. Unfortunately, you can not check the amount of storage left on your Roku device, this is really disappointing to users because most would like to be able to check how much storage they have left so as to properly manage the space available to them and to also know when to offload unused applications/channels.
How to Add More Storage to Roku?
By connecting an external storage device you add more space for channels and applications installed on your device. A USB drive or SD card can be placed in the designated ports on the back panel of your Roku device(a type 2 SD card is recommended, could be higher). Channels stored on external storage can not be transferred from one Roku device to another. Although SD cards can now hold as much data as the USB drive they are still not as fast, opting for a hard drive with USB 2.1 and above will serve you longer and will be faster than most of the SD cards out there.
Some Common Ways to Fix the Error
The “not enough error” usually pops up after a few months of usage. It is common to see the error when you’re trying to download a new channel/application or when you are trying to launch an application. Here are some of the common ways to fix the issue:
- Make sure your Roku device is up to date; If the Roku device is set to download update files automatically, these files may take up disk space until the update is installed. Go to Settings > System > System Update to see if you can enable the Roku to finish the update.
- Get rid of unused channels; remove all applications and channels that you hardly use to free up some much-needed space.
- Clearing cache data from the device can free up a lot of space. Cache data usually consumes a large portion of the storage after using the device for a while.
- Connecting an external storage device can also help add more space in the case where the user hasn’t been using one already. SD cards, USB sticks, and hard drives are some storage devices that can be connected to your Roku device.
If you tried all the methods listed above and you still couldn’t get past the error you could try rebooting or restarting the device. Resetting the device is another hack that can be used. After trying all these and there is no progress contact Roku customer care.
Conclusion
Roku devices have a very limited internal storage capacity, there is an opinion that it is that way because Roku devices are meant to be used primarily for streaming. Although most users would prefer devices with larger internal storage capacity, the feature that allows users to connect almost unlimited external storage is a great solution to the low storage dilemma. After a few months of constant streaming and downloading on the Roku device, you will likely encounter an insufficient storage error. Roku needs to work more on optimizing the storage usage by applications and channels, to give a better all-round experience to users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I connect my USB drive to my Roku device?
Yes, your USB drive can be connected to your Roku device with ease.
Can I transfer channels from a Roku device to another using an external storage device?
No, you can not transfer channels from one device to another using an external drive. You will have to download the channels again.
