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Quick answer: Start the movie or show in The Roku Channel, press the Star/Options button on your Roku remote, and choose the captions/subtitles control or an audio track marked descriptive or audio description. For a device-wide caption preference, open Home > Settings > Accessibility > Captions mode (or Settings > Captions on some older software). These controls work only when the title or service supplies the relevant track.
Turn on subtitles or captions while a title is playing
The per-title control is usually the fastest and most reliable method because it shows the languages and tracks that are actually available for that movie or episode.
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- Open The Roku Channel and start the movie or show.
- With playback still active, press the Star/Options button on the Roku remote. Depending on the remote, it may be marked with a star or an options symbol.
- Open the captions, subtitles, or language control in the playback menu.
- Select the desired caption language or choose On. The wording varies by title and app version.
- Close the menu and continue playback. Captions should appear immediately when that track is present.
Roku’s playback menu can also expose sound and language controls. If there is no captions or subtitles entry, the current title may not include a caption track, or the app version and device may not expose the control.
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Audio description is not a subtitle mode. It is an alternate audio track in which a narrator describes important visual action, such as entrances, gestures, scene changes, or on-screen text, during pauses in dialogue. Roku describes descriptive audio as “an alternative audio track for the visually impaired.”
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- Start the title in The Roku Channel.
- Press Star/Options during playback.
- Open Audio track, Language, or the similarly named sound control.
- Choose the track labeled Descriptive, Audio description, Video description, or equivalent wording.
- Return to playback and listen for the narration. The original dialogue and effects remain in the mix.
An audio-description option appears only when the title provides that alternate track. If the audio menu lists ordinary languages but no descriptive option, there is no selectable description track for that title, or the current app/device combination does not expose it.
Set captions for the Roku device
A global caption setting can make captions turn on automatically across supported channels, but it does not create captions where a provider has not supplied them. On current Roku software, use:
Home > Settings > Accessibility > Captions mode
On older Roku software or some models, the equivalent path is:
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Settings > Captions
Roku commonly lists these modes:
| Mode | What it does | Availability note |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Turns captions off by default. | Available on supported Roku products. |
| On always | Requests captions whenever the service supplies a compatible caption track. | A provider’s own setting can override the device preference. |
| On replay | Shows captions for replayed portions of playback. | Behavior depends on the device and the service. |
| On mute | Shows captions when the TV is muted. | Not available on every Roku device. |
After choosing a mode, return to The Roku Channel and test a title. If the app has its own captions menu, that per-title or provider-controlled setting may take precedence over the Roku-wide preference.
Captions, subtitles, and audio description are different
| Feature | What you see or hear | Where to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitles or closed captions | On-screen text for spoken dialogue and, when supplied, background sounds, music cues, and sound effects. | The Star/Options playback menu, or the Roku captions setting. |
| Audio description | Spoken narration of important visual information mixed into an alternate audio track. | The Star/Options audio-track or language menu, when the title offers it. |
| Screen reader | Voice reading of Roku menus, buttons, and interface text. | Star pressed four times quickly, or Settings > Accessibility > Screen reader on supported products. |
Roku’s screen reader was formerly called Audio Guide. It reads the interface; it does not add narration to a movie or show. If a voice suddenly starts reading menu items, turn off the screen reader rather than changing the program’s audio track.
Why captions may not appear
Captions are supplied by the service with each title. Roku Support states: “Closed captions are available only when the service provider (e.g., Netflix, The Roku Channel, or Hulu) includes them with their content.” That means a Roku setting cannot force captions onto a video that has no caption file or stream.
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- The title has no caption track. A film may lack captions even when other programs in the same app have them.
- The app owns the setting. Some providers ignore or override the device-level caption mode.
- The menu is hidden until playback starts. Pause or resume the title, then press Star/Options while the video is playing.
- The language is different from the default. Open the captions menu and select the available language rather than assuming the default track is English.
- The platform differs. The Roku Channel on a Roku player, Roku TV, web browser, mobile device, compatible Samsung TV, or supported Amazon Fire TV installation can present different controls.
Fix captions that will not stay on
- Set the preference in the title first. Start playback, press Star/Options, and choose the captions or subtitles option. This confirms that the app recognizes the track.
- Set the device preference. Go to Home > Settings > Accessibility > Captions mode, or Settings > Captions on older software, and choose On always or another mode that fits your use.
- Check the same Roku profile. Roku notes that some sound-language and caption settings are saved per profile. Switching profiles can make a preference appear to reset.
- Try another title. If captions work on a different movie or episode, the original title most likely lacks the required track rather than indicating a Roku fault.
- Look for the app’s own control again. A provider-owned setting can override a global Roku choice, so select captions inside The Roku Channel whenever available.
If no title shows a captions control and the global setting has no effect, the issue may be the app version, device software, or platform-specific support. Menu names and button behavior can vary by Roku OS version, TV model, and app version.
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On-demand titles in The Roku Channel
For an on-demand movie or episode, use the Audio track or language selector in the Star/Options playback menu. Choose a track explicitly labeled descriptive, audio description, or video description. This is a title-level stream supplied by the content provider.
Roku TV broadcast inputs
On a Roku TV receiving broadcast television through its tuner, video description may be delivered through Secondary Audio Program (SAP). Open the television’s audio or SAP control and select the SAP option or language carrying the description. If a channel lists more than one SAP language, try each listed option.
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SAP is primarily a broadcast-TV mechanism and should not be confused with The Roku Channel’s on-demand audio-track selector. Only a small number of broadcast programs provide descriptions, so selecting SAP does not guarantee narration.
Where the controls appear on different platforms
| Platform | What to expect | Best first step |
|---|---|---|
| Roku streaming device or Roku TV app | The Star/Options playback menu normally exposes captions, sound, and language choices. | Press Star/Options while the title is playing. |
| Roku Channel on the web | Playback controls and labels can differ from a physical Roku remote. | Start playback and inspect the on-screen captions or audio controls. |
| Mobile app | Touch controls and menu names can differ by operating system and app release. | Open the player controls and look for subtitles, captions, or audio track. |
| Compatible Samsung TV or Amazon Fire TV installation | The app is available in supported markets, but the host platform supplies its own remote and interface. | Use the app’s playback controls first; do not assume Roku remote shortcuts apply. |
The Roku Channel is available on Roku streaming devices, the web, and mobile in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In Mexico, Roku documents availability on Roku streaming devices only. Roku also documents installation on compatible Samsung TVs and Amazon Fire TV devices in supported markets. Availability and menus can change by country, device, software version, and title.
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Common questions about the narrator and audio controls
How do I turn off the narrator on The Roku Channel?
Identify what is being narrated. If the voice describes scenes inside the program, press Star/Options, open Audio track, and select the standard language track instead of the descriptive track. If the voice reads buttons or menu labels, turn off the Roku screen reader with four quick presses of the Star button, or through Settings > Accessibility > Screen reader on supported products.
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Where is the audio-track button?
There is no single button label on every title. Start playback and press Star/Options; look for Audio track, Language, Sound, or a similar control. A title with only one supplied audio track may not display an audio selector at all.
Can I add captions to a title that has none?
No. Captions are available only when the service provider includes them with the content. Try another title or platform, but a Roku-wide setting cannot generate a missing track.
Why does my caption choice reset?
Check that you are using the same Roku profile, because some caption and sound-language choices are stored per profile. Also check the app’s own playback setting; provider-controlled options can override a device-wide mode.
A practical decision guide
- Need text for dialogue or sound effects? Choose captions/subtitles.
- Need spoken explanations of visual action? Choose an audio-description track.
- Want captions across supported apps? Set Captions mode under Roku Accessibility, then verify each provider.
- Watching broadcast television through a Roku TV tuner? Look for SAP, not the on-demand audio-track selector.
- Hearing menu instructions rather than movie narration? Disable the screen reader.
The most dependable workflow is to make the selection while the specific title is playing, then use the device-level setting only as a default. If the required option is absent in both places, the title, provider, platform, or region does not currently expose that accessibility track.
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