If you woke up recently, turned on your TV, and saw a bright orange or yellow icon screaming "Howdy" right in the middle of your carefully curated home screen, you aren't alone. It’s annoying. One day your Roku is exactly how you left it, and the next, there’s this uninvited guest sitting between Netflix and Hulu. Roku launched Howdy—their $2.99-a-month ad-free streaming service—in August 2025, and they didn’t exactly ask for permission before dropping it onto millions of devices.
Most people just want to remove Roku Howdy app because it feels like digital clutter. Or worse, it’s bloatware you never signed up for. But here’s the kicker: many users are finding that even after they hit "Remove Channel," the app resurrects itself like a horror movie villain a few days later.
✨ Don't miss: What Do Technology Mean? Why We Keep Getting the Definition Wrong
The Step-by-Step Way to Remove Roku Howdy App
Let's start with the standard protocol. If your Roku is behaving, this is the only thing you'll need to do. Honestly, it's the same way you'd delete any other channel, but there's a specific "gotcha" if you accidentally clicked a free trial.
- Grab your Roku remote and hit that Home button.
- Find the Howdy app icon. Don't open it; just hover over it so it’s highlighted.
- Press the Star button (*) on your remote. This is the "Options" key.
- Look for Remove channel in the list that pops up.
- Confirm the removal when the TV asks if you’re sure.
That’s it. Usually. But if you see Manage subscription instead of "Remove channel," you’ve got a problem. Roku won't let you delete an app if it thinks you have an active billing cycle or a free trial running. You have to go into that "Manage subscription" menu first, select Cancel subscription, and only then will the removal option actually show up.
Why Does the Howdy App Keep Reappearing?
This is where things get frustrating. You delete it, you go to bed, and two days later, it’s back. This isn't usually a virus. It’s actually Roku’s OS pushing "featured" content.
There was a known bug throughout late 2025 where Roku's system updates would force-reinstall Howdy as part of their "mandatory" middleware. Essentially, the TV thought the app was a core part of the operating system rather than an optional channel. If you're stuck in this loop, you need to check for a system update manually. Go to Settings > System > Software update > Check now. Roku released a patch in November 2025 specifically to address the "resurrecting app" issue.
Dealing with the "Ghost" App and Home Screen Chaos
Some people have reported that even if they don't see the app, their other icons have moved around. Roku Guru "StreamerUser" over on the official community forums suggests that if the app won't stay gone, the best "lazy" fix is to just move it.
Instead of trying to remove Roku Howdy app and failing, just move it to the very bottom of your list.
Highlight the app, press the Star button, and select Move channel.
Drag it all the way down past the stuff you actually watch.
For some reason, the Roku OS is less likely to "refresh" or "reinstall" a channel that is already present on the device, even if it's hidden at the bottom. It’s a bit of a psychological defeat, but it saves you the headache of deleting it every Tuesday.
A Quick Warning About Subscriptions
If you accidentally signed up for the $2.99 Howdy plan while trying to click away from a pop-up, removing the app from your TV does not stop the charges. You’ve gotta handle the money part separately.
- Log in to my.roku.com on a computer or phone.
- Click on Manage your subscriptions.
- Find Howdy and turn off "Auto-renew."
Is Howdy Actually Worth Keeping?
Look, I get the hate for forced installs. It’s invasive. But just so you know what you’re deleting: Howdy is basically Roku’s attempt to compete with the "cheap" tiers of Discovery+ or Peacock. It has about 10,000 hours of stuff—think Mad Max: Fury Road, The Blind Side, and a bunch of '90s sitcoms. It’s ad-free, which is rare for three bucks.
If you like classic movies and hate commercials, you might actually like it. But if you’re like most of us and already pay for five other services, it’s just one more bill you don't need.
Actionable Next Steps to Clean Your Roku
If you want your home screen back to normal, follow this checklist right now:
- Cancel first: Check your Roku account online to ensure no "Howdy" subscription is active.
- Update the OS: Run a manual system update to make sure you have the patch that prevents the app from reinstalling itself.
- The Mobile Trick: If the remote isn't working, open the Roku Mobile App, go to "Devices," select your TV, go to "Apps," and long-press Howdy to delete it from there. It sometimes works when the TV menu glitches.
- The "Bottom Row" Strategy: If it still comes back after a week, don't delete it. Just move it to the very last slot on your home screen so it stays out of your sight.
Cleaning up your device shouldn't feel like a part-time job. Once you've cleared the subscription and updated the firmware, the "Howdy" nightmare should finally stay in the rearview mirror.