How to Turn On Closed Captions on Roku

Roku gives you two ways to control captions: a system-wide setting that applies to supported content, and a per-video option you can change while something is playing. Individual streaming apps can also have their own subtitle controls, which is the most common reason captions behave differently from one app to another.

Before you start

• Your Roku player or Roku TV is on, connected to your display and showing the home screen.
• You have the Roku remote. The options button (marked with an asterisk) is needed to change captions during playback.
• The show or movie must include caption data. Roku displays captions supplied by the app or broadcast; it does not create them. If a title has no captions, no setting will add them.
• The caption setting is stored on the device, but the caption text arrives with the video from the streaming service or, on a Roku TV, from the antenna or input source.

Menu names can vary slightly between Roku OS versions and device models. If a label below does not match exactly, look for the closest option under Accessibility or Captions in the Settings menu.

Step-by-step instructions

Turn captions on for all supported content

• 1. Press Home on the remote.
• 2. Open Settings.
• 3. Select Accessibility. On some older software versions, captions are listed directly under Settings as Captions.
• 4. Select Captions mode.
• 5. Choose a mode: Off, On always, On replay, or On mute. Which modes appear depends on your device and software.
• 6. Press Home to return and start playing something.

On always shows captions whenever the content provides them. On replay shows captions briefly after you use the instant replay button, which helps when you miss a line. On mute shows captions only while the TV is muted, on devices that support it. To undo the change, return to Captions mode and select Off.

Turn captions on or off while watching

• 1. Start playing a show or movie.
• 2. Press the options button (asterisk) on the remote.
• 3. Look for Closed captioning or Captions in the side panel.
• 4. Use the left and right arrows to pick a mode, then press the options button again or wait for the panel to close.

In many apps this changes the same system setting described above, so the choice may carry over to other videos. Some apps do not use the Roku panel and instead show their own subtitle or audio menu, usually opened from the player controls on screen.

Adjust how captions look

Under Settings, then Accessibility, look for Captions style. Depending on your software, you can change text size, font, color, edge effect, background and opacity. The menu shows a preview as you change each option. Apps that draw their own subtitles may ignore these style settings.

Check the output

Play a title that the streaming service lists as having captions or subtitles, and let it run past the opening so dialogue is on screen. Captions should appear within a few lines of speech. Then check that the text is readable against both bright and dark scenes. If it is not, change the background or edge setting in Captions style.

Caption timing, accuracy and line placement come from the source. Live broadcasts and live streams often use real-time captions that lag behind speech or contain errors, and that is not a Roku setting you can correct.

Common problems and next steps

• Captions don't appear in one app: check whether the title offers captions, then open that app's own subtitle menu during playback. An app setting can override the Roku setting.
• The options button has no caption option: the current app handles captions itself, so use the app's player controls instead.
• Captions won't turn off: set Captions mode to Off in Settings, then check the app's subtitle menu, because some apps remember their own choice.
• Captions appear only sometimes: Captions mode may be set to On replay or On mute rather than On always.
• Style changes have no effect: the app is likely drawing its own subtitles. Look for size or appearance options inside the app.
• Captions are out of sync: stop and restart the video. If the delay persists on the same title, the problem is in the caption track from the provider.
• Options still look different from this guide: check for a system update under Settings, then System, and compare the menu again after the update.