Visual Walkthrough: Exactly Where to Click to Move Apps on Your Roku Screen
By James H. Sterling
When you own multiple Roku devices linked to a single user account, such as an office Roku Express and a living room television, you might expect your custom layout to mirror across both screens. Roku OS synchronizes app ownership across linked hardware, but it does not consistently mirror exact tile coordinates across different screen sizes.
If an OS update reshuffles your layout unexpectedly, or newly added channels drop into your top row without permission, follow these troubleshooting checks:
First, check if your device recently took a software update. Navigate to Settings > System > System update > Check now. When Roku applies a major firmware upgrade, it occasionally shifts promotional placements (such as the default "The Roku Channel" icon) back toward row one. You can safely select that tile, hit the Asterisk star button, and push it back down the grid.
Second, verify that the remote control button is firing correctly. If pressing the star button fails to trigger the contextual overlay, check your remote's pairing status under Settings > Remotes & devices. Infrared (IR) remotes require an unobstructed direct line of sight to the device sensor; dirty lenses or dying AAA batteries frequently cause the Star command to register as an OK click, opening the app instead of its settings.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
