Technology, and nothing really, lasts forever. There will be a time when you have to replace your old devices. Hopefully, it’s on your own terms. I had to replace one of my TVs on a whim once, and nobody likes to drop hundreds of dollars out of the blue, but duty calls.
If you have a Roku Streaming Stick, the end will eventually come for it as well. The good news is it’ll probably last longer than you expected. Streaming sticks aren’t typically put through a lot of wear and tear, thanks to them being plugged into the back of your TV. They aren’t likely to be messed with by a child or animal, and I don’t know how often you mess with the back of your TV. My stick just gets plugged in, and I don’t even think about it unless I want to move it around. What I’m saying is that your stick should be just fine as long as you don’t mess with it too much. The updates, on the other hand, are something you should be concerned about.
4.5/5
- Dimensions
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3.7 x 0.80 x .45 inches
- Integrations
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Roku Smart Home, AirPlay, Apple Hom, Alexa, Google Home
Physically, it’ll last a long time
Don’t worry about it
Although it’s not quite the same thing, I have a Google Chromecast, which has since been discontinued, still hanging around. I don’t use it anymore because I moved on to a different platform, not because it broke down. For things like this, you’re unlikely to break the actual device since you’re not really playing around with it too much. There’s nothing that can really break unless you throw it down to the ground and stomp on it.
In my experience, that’s never been a problem, and I can’t think of many devices I’ve lost simply because they broke. Of course, you might be clumsy and drop something on the ground. Thankfully, your Roku Streaming Stick isn’t as fragile as your phone is, so it can probably survive that a few times.
I really don’t think there’s anything to worry about from a physical standpoint. If your stick is plugged into your TV for years, it’ll be just fine. Even if you pack it away into a box, it’ll be fine as long as you don’t throw that box around or put it underwater. I can’t think of anything I’ve ever had that was unplugged for years and didn’t work again once I plugged it back in. I have a Nintendo 3DS from years ago that somehow still has a charge in its battery despite me not using it for a long time.
Software will slow down much faster
This is the real thing to watch for
While your Roku will be physically intact and continue to work, it’s the software that’ll eventually fail it. With each new hardware refresh, your current stick gets older. Devices typically receive updates for a few years, but you’ll start to notice as time goes on that you aren’t getting the big changes anymore.
If we use my Apple TV 4K as an example, you’ll see the first-gen model hasn’t been getting things like the Snoopy backgrounds or Liquid Glass in the tvOS updates. It still receives the actual tvOS update, but the features that come with it are absent. That applies to many devices, but it really varies by what’s being added.
In 2026, the PS3’s Netflix app is finally coming to a close. The PS3 is 20 years old, and while your console still works, the app won’t any longer. That’s the kind of thing that’s most likely to happen to your Roku and other streaming devices. Companies will simply stop pushing updates for their apps on older devices. In the PS3’s case, that took decades to happen, so it really differs by device. The Roku 4, released back in 2015, is no longer getting the latest updates, so if your device is approaching 10 years of age, maybe that’s when you should consider an upgrade. Of course, wait and see if support is dropped before making another purchase.
My advice would be to keep on using your device as long as you’re happy with its performance. For basic Roku Streaming Sticks, we’re talking about things that don’t come close to breaking the bank, so even if something goes wrong, you can always get a replacement. Roku especially feels like something that is always on sale, so finding something for cheap is never difficult.
In my experience, I typically upgrade something before it dies out. For example, the rise of 4K TVs led me to get an Apple TV 4K, and that means a 1080p stick doesn’t cut it. Things like that make me want to upgrade my old stuff long before they actually break down. I use a 1080p Roku Streaming Stick with my 1080p TV in my basement, so it’s not like the old stuff becomes useless. What I have to do is find other ways to keep my devices alive.
I think most people will be happy with their Roku devices for a long time, and there’s no need to worry about their looming death. Aside from freak accidents, your Roku will have plenty of life ahead of it.
