How to Add Channels on Roku and Remove Ones You Never Watch

Your Roku home screen can fill up fast. You add a few apps to try them, a free trial here and a movie channel there, and soon you are scrolling past rows of icons you never open. The good news is that Roku makes it simple to add exactly what you want and remove everything else, and you can do it in a few different ways.

This guide walks you through adding channels from the device, the Roku website, and the mobile app, and how to remove channels and keep your home screen tidy.

Quick Answer

To add a channel on Roku, press Home on your remote, open the Streaming Store, search for the channel you want, and select Add Channel. To remove a channel, highlight its tile on the home screen, press the Star button on your remote, and choose Remove Channel, then confirm. You can also add and remove channels from the Roku mobile app or your account on the Roku website.

What Roku Calls a Channel

On Roku, an app is called a channel. Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and Spotify are all channels, and they all live in the grid of tiles on your home screen.

Adding a channel does not always mean you can watch everything straight away. Many channels are free to install but ask you to sign in or pay for a subscription before you can stream.

How to Add Channels Directly on Your Roku

The easiest way to add a channel is right from your TV. You only need your Roku remote and an internet connection.

1. Press the Home button on your Roku remote to go to the home screen.
2. Scroll down in the left-hand menu and select Streaming Store. On some older models this may be called the Channel Store.
3. Browse the categories, such as Movies and TV, Music, or Free, or use Search at the top to find a specific channel by name.
4. Select the channel to open its details page. You will see a short description, a rating, and screenshots.
5. Select Add Channel. If the channel costs money, Roku will ask you to confirm the purchase and may ask for your Roku PIN.
6. Wait for the channel to install. When it finishes, select Go to Channel to open it, or press Home to find it at the bottom of your home screen grid.

New channels appear at the end of your grid. To move a favourite to the top, highlight its tile, press Star, choose Move Channel, and place it where you want.

Adding a Channel With a Code

Some smaller or specialist channels are not listed in the public store. The developer may give you an access code instead. You cannot enter these codes on the TV itself. You need to sign in to your Roku account on a web browser, go to the Add Channel section, type the code, and confirm. The channel should then appear on your device within about a day, or sooner if you run a system update check from Settings.

Be careful with codes shared on random forums. Only add channels from developers you trust.

How to Add Channels From the Roku Website

1. Open a browser and sign in to your account on the official Roku website.
2. Open the Channel Store and browse or search for the channel you want.
3. Select the channel, then select Add Channel on its page.
4. Turn on your Roku or wait for its next automatic update. The new channel will download and appear on your home screen.

How to Add Channels From the Roku Mobile App

The free Roku app for iPhone and Android is also a handy way to manage channels with a proper keyboard for searching.

1. Open the Roku app and make sure your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Roku.
2. Connect the app to your Roku device if it does not connect automatically.
3. Open the Channel Store section inside the app and search for the channel.
4. Tap Add Channel and wait for the confirmation message.
5. Check your TV — the channel should appear on the home screen shortly afterwards.

How to Remove Channels You Never Watch

Removing a channel takes less than a minute, and it frees up space on the home screen so the channels you actually use are easier to find.

1. Press Home on your remote to see your channel grid.
2. Highlight the channel you want to remove. Do not open it — just move the highlight onto its tile.
3. Press the Star button on your remote. It is the button with an asterisk symbol, usually near the top right of the remote.
4. From the menu that appears, select Remove Channel.
5. Confirm that you want to remove it. The tile will disappear from your home screen.

Removing a Channel From the Mobile App

You can also remove channels in the Roku mobile app. Open your installed channel list, open the options for the channel, and choose Remove — helpful if your remote is lost.

What Happens to Subscriptions When You Remove a Channel?

This is the part many people miss. Removing a channel does not cancel a subscription. If you pay for a service through Roku Pay — meaning Roku bills you for it — you need to cancel that subscription separately, either from the channel options menu before you remove it, or from the subscriptions page in your Roku account online.

If you subscribed directly with the service, for example on the Netflix or Disney website, removing the Roku channel has no effect on your billing at all. You simply lose the app on that TV until you install it again. Before removing any paid channel, it is worth checking how you pay for it. Roku itself advises managing subscriptions through your account, and you can read the official steps on the Roku support guide to cancelling a subscription.

Channels You Cannot Remove

A small number of pre-installed system channels cannot be deleted. If Remove Channel does not appear in the Star menu, that channel is protected.

Move the tile to the bottom of your grid so you rarely see it. A protected channel uses very little storage.

Keeping Your Home Screen Organised

A quick tidy-up every few months keeps your Roku fast to use. Here are habits that help:

• Remove trial channels as soon as the trial ends if you did not continue the subscription.
• Group your most-used channels in the top two rows using the Move Channel option.
• After adding a channel, open it once and sign in straight away, so it is ready when you actually want to watch.
• Keep your Roku PIN set for purchases, so nobody adds paid channels by accident. You can manage this in your account settings, and if your connection also feels sluggish while you organise things, our guide to fixing slow Wi-Fi at home for smoother streaming can help you sort that out too.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Removing a channel to cancel a subscription: As explained above, deleting the app does not stop billing. Cancel the subscription first, then remove the channel.
• Pressing OK instead of Star: Pressing OK opens the channel. The remove option only appears when you press the Star button while the tile is highlighted.
• Forgetting your Roku PIN: If adding a paid channel is blocked, the PIN in your online account controls it. Reset it on the website rather than guessing repeatedly.
• Adding channels from untrusted codes: Stick to the official store or codes from developers you know. Random codes from social media are a common source of poor-quality or misleading channels.
• Removing a channel on one device and being surprised it stays on another: Removal can behave differently from adding. Check each device if you want a channel gone everywhere.

Conclusion

Adding and removing channels is the simplest way to make your Roku feel like yours. Add channels from the Streaming Store on the TV, from the Roku website, or from the mobile app — whichever is closest to hand. Remove anything you never watch by highlighting the tile, pressing Star, and choosing Remove Channel. Just remember to cancel any Roku-billed subscription first, organise your favourites at the top, and your home screen will stay clean, quick, and easy to use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to add channels on Roku?

Most channels are free to install, but many require a separate paid subscription or a free account sign-in before you can watch. The channel page in the store shows whether there are in-channel purchases or subscription costs before you add it.

Why can I not find the Remove Channel option?

You are probably pressing OK, which opens the channel, instead of the Star button. Highlight the tile without opening it, press Star, and Remove Channel should appear — unless the channel is a protected system channel that cannot be deleted.

If I remove a channel, will I lose my watch history and profiles?

Your watch history and profiles are stored by the streaming service in your account, not on the Roku itself. If you reinstall the channel later and sign in with the same account, your profiles and progress should return.

How many channels can I add to my Roku?

There is no small fixed limit that most people will reach. Roku devices can hold a large number of channels, but an overcrowded home screen becomes slow to browse. Keeping only the channels you use regularly is the practical approach.

Can I add a channel to one Roku but not another on the same account?

Channels added to your account tend to sync across devices signed in to that account. If you want different channels on different TVs, the cleanest solution is to use separate Roku accounts for each device.