Roku Streaming Stick Plus Hands-On: Wonky Start for Promising Streamer

Roku has a brand-new streamer -- the $40 Streaming Stick Plus -- and I've gone hands-on to see if it's worth the upgrade.

I was intrigued by the announcement of the budget Streaming Stick and the Streaming Stick Plus, as I feel they help streamline Roku's roster. The Roku Express 4K Plus, in particular, was an awkward product due to its confusing, lengthy name and the need to attach to the side of your TV like a barnacle. Yet, having spent some time with the company's new sticks, I admit for a while I wanted the old ones back.

After putting the new Streaming Stick Plus through its paces over the better part of a week, the biggest surprise I had was that it was buggy. Netflix crashed often, and HDR content spent a lot of time buffering. After a few resets I have managed to get the Stick Plus stable, but need to spend more time on it before I can give it a final score.

My current advice: if you need a new Roku now stick with the older Streaming Stick 4K which also happens to be a couple of bucks cheaper than this new device. I'll update this take when I feel that Stick Plus is ready for prime time, but for now the old version is better.

Read more: Best Streaming Devices of 2025

A long line of Rokus

Roku's streaming devices have been at the top of our "best lists" for many years as they have traditionally offered simple operation at an affordable price. I have reviewed dozens of Roku streamers and their competitors over the years -- from Roku's weird, MHL-only Streaming Stick to the Google TV Streamer -- and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus has, so far, given me one of the bumpiest rides that I can recall.

The Streaming Stick Plus is the middle child of three -- the Stick is HD, the Stick Plus I reviewed is 4K HDR and then, at the top of the line there's the Stick 4K. The main differences between the Streaming Stick Plus and CNET's current pick, the Streaming Stick 4K, is that the latter has Dolby Vision HDR and a Wi-Fi antenna built into the USB cable for boosted range. 

The new Streaming Stick Plus is the size of a USB thumb drive, about three inches long, and now includes a dimpled area with a light at one end. While this depression looks like a button it is not, though beside it there is a physical power button. The stick ships with a USB cable and Roku's Voice Remote. Roku told me you can plug this stick into any 5V/1A USB port, though my first choice of using my Marantz receiver didn't work. You can also plug it into a USB adapter if you want as well (not supplied)

The included remote has the same friendly layout as other Roku clickers with shortcut buttons, a microphone and TV controls. The feel of the buttons was a little spongey compared to other Roku remotes I've used, such as the Voice Remote, which has a firmer action. 

Same familiar interface and ads

If you've ever used a Roku device you'll be completely at home with the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, and the perks that have attracted millions of users in the past are here. You can still download hundreds of popular apps, and plenty of obscure ones, and the selection of free content is expanding all the time. The free Roku Channel remains front-and-center, and the included "live TV guide" still has dozens of live, linear channels. Interestingly, neither of them have their own shortcut buttons on the new remote.

The interface has had some additional tweaks since we last reviewed a Roku, and yet they're also ones you'll see soon on any other Roku device. While the Roku home screen started out as a collection of apps, the amount of content on display continues to grow, and purists may not like that. For example, as I write this, Roku has unveiled an Andor Fan Preview which appears as a home screen option. Apart from special one-offs like this, though, there are other permanent, though removable, shortcuts like Daily Trivia and a What To Watch section. 

What isn't deletable? Right now, the ads. When we used to complain about ads appearing on our streaming devices, it used to be ads for promoted programs. It was tolerable, but now Roku has ads for actual products and autoplay videos. When I was flipping through the home screen, as you do, an autoplay ad for paint suddenly appeared, audio and all. The ad reminded me why these things are so cheap, so that companies can sell you. 

Bugs, speed and other weirdness

The main issue I had during testing with the Stick Plus was constant buffering with any kind of HDR material, and it also had particular problems with Netflix. The Streaming Stick Plus is specified for HDR 10 playback, but it couldn't go more than a minute without stalling. Netflix refused to work altogether -- on either the cheaper Stick (which doesn't support 4K or HDR) or the Stick Plus. 

I did a network speed test and found that when using the Roku's own speed test, it hit 25 Mbps which is right on the edge of the company's recommendation for streaming HDR. After a couple of false starts, Fandango even gave me a message to watch in lower non-HDR quality. It's worth mentioning that I have a 1Gb connection at home with the router less than 6 feet away. Similar playback tests with a wireless Nvidia Shield Pro and even a TCL Roku TV in another room performed fine. After speaking to Roku they advised a reboot of both devices -- even though I had been powering them down and connecting them to different TVs -- and this seems to have worked. Will continue using them in the meantime to see if the issues reappear. Roku advises that Ethernet adaptors will work with the USB-C connection so this may be a fix for you if you find you're having similar difficulties.

There was some other weirdness as I was using the Stick Plus -- for instance, a big update in the last few days knocked out the remote control completely. I had to connect a different remote (holding down the Back and Home button) to get the original to work again. Of course, there's a huge caveat here in all of this: this is a brand new device, and like most software-based gadgets they can continue improve over time.

Outlook: Wait for now to buy

Given there's only twenty dollars separating the three devices, the Roku Streaming Stick Plus needs to work hard to justify its place between the two other sticks. In my experience, the older Streaming Stick 4K offers a better experience, and the Streaming Stick has all of the "don't need anything but a tune on my lips and the freedom of an open sky" that travelers require. The vanilla Streaming Stick may be barebones, but it's seemingly where a device this size maxes out in terms of performance. While it also had issues loading Netflix, its lack of HDR meant that I had no buffering issues when watching shows or movies. 

As I said at the top, if you really want a Roku right now, get the Streaming Stick 4K, and meanwhile I'll sit by and see if the Stick Plus can continue its bug-free run. Watch this space..