How to pause live television with Roku

Live Roku Subscription and FAST Channels

When watching live streaming channels on a Roku device or eligible Roku Premium Subscriptions (such as Peacock and Fox One), you can pause and rewind live TV. No USB drive is required. How far back you can go depends on the channel type and the provider's rights.

How to use pause for live FAST and premium content

How the 30-minute buffer works

Your Roku TV keeps a rolling 30-minute buffer.

This means:

• If you pause for less than 30 minutes you return to the exact spot you paused.
• If you pause for more than 30 minutes you return to the earliest available point (some content will be skipped).
• If the program ends while paused you can resume your show or jump to the live point in the next show.

Rewind live Premium shows and events

When you’re watching an eligible premium live App (like Peacock), you can rewind the action or fast forward to the action.

Start a live program over from the beginning

On eligible Roku Premium Subscription live channels, you can restart a program you joined late.

Note: Start Over depends on the provider's rights and may not be available for every program.

Pause over-the-air TV on your Roku TV

If you use an antenna (or cable without a set-top box), you can pause live TV on your Roku TV for up to 90 minutes.

What you need

• A Roku TV
• An antenna or cable service (no set-top box)
• USB 2.0 flash drive
• At least 16GB of storage

Note:

• 16GB gives you the full 90-minute pause.
• Larger drives do not increase pause time.
• The USB drive will be erased during setup.
• You cannot save recordings or transfer them.

Set up over the air Live TV pause

To turn it off, unplug the USB drive.

How over-the-air pause works

• Recording starts automatically when you tune to a channel.

• Press Play/Pause to pause.
• Press Rewind to go back (even if you didn’t pause).
• You can rewind up to 90 minutes.
• After 90 minutes paused, playback resumes automatically.

You will lose your paused spot if you:

• Change channels
• Exit Live TV
• Turn off the TV

What happens if…

The show ends while paused

• Resume from your paused point by clicking the OK button.
• You can jump to the current live show by clicking Jump to live.

You paused more than 30 minutes

• Playback resumes from the earliest available point in the buffer.

Note: You will miss part of what originally aired after pausing for more than 30 minutes.

The next program is blocked by parental controls

• You’ll need to enter your PIN to start watching that show

You open the Live TV Guide

• If you press Back, you can return to your paused content.
• Press Guide on the Directional Pad on your remote to return to the Live TV Guide
• If you select a new channel, your paused content will be lost.