Hulu will stop working on some older Roku devices starting later this month. According to a recently updated Hulu support page (via Ars Technica), Roku Streaming Player (models 2400 to 3100) and the Roku Streaming Stick (model 3420 or older) will no longer be supported as of June 24th, 2020. You can check the model number of your Roku device under the System > About section in the Roku Settings.
All of the affected models were released in 2012 or earlier and, obviously, have not been sold in quite some time.
These devices are not compatible with the latest Hulu app and are therefore losing access to the streaming platform altogether. They currently use the Hulu classic app, which does not support features like Premium Add-ons or live TV.
Users of the affected Hulu devices may see error messages like “Hulu is no longer supported on this device,” or “your user session has expired” after June 24. You may not be able to even sign in to the app.
Hulu says newer Roku devices with model numbers 3500 and later are compatible with the latest Hulu app.
The devices include Roku Ultra, Roku Premiere and Premiere+, Roku Express and Express+, Roku 3 and 4, Roku 2 (model 4210), Roku Streaming Stick (model 3500 or later), Roku TV, and 4k Roku TV.
These devices must be updated to firmware version 8.1 or higher to get the latest Hulu app. The modern version of the app offers several new features that are not available on the classic version.
Those include features like My Stuff, Profiles, and Guide, as well as the ability to like/dislike shows and movies. It also offers content from HBO, Cinemax, and STARZ (if subscribed), in addition to Hulu’s Streaming Library.
Hulu joins Netflix to drop support for older Roku devices
Hulu isn’t the only streaming service to drop support for older Roku devices. Netflix also stopped working on some Roku models last year as they didn’t support the digital rights management (DRM) the platform now uses.
This could be the very reason for Hulu dropping support for older Roku devices as well. Roku OS 8.1 was released in 2018 with support for updated DRM, which publishers are increasingly pushing for. Since older models are not compatible with the new firmware, Hulu has no option but to drop support for them.
Hulu recently released a major overhaul of its user interface, arranging contents in much cleaner ways.
The new version of the app lets users get to their destinations with fewer clicks. The update will be rolling out to all compatible devices in the coming weeks.