Install-from-search launches arrive without contentId on Roku OS 15.3+ / 16.0 since ~Oct 27 (only source=hs-search)

Roku Developer Program
1

Since around Oct 27, 2026, users who install our app from a Roku Search result often get a first launch without the deep-link parameters. The app receives only:
?source=hs-search
?source=hs-voice-search
No contentId, mediaType or other parameters. Before Oct 27 the same flow launched with the full deep link.
So the user picks a specific title in search, installs the app, and lands on our home screen instead of the content they chose.

What we see (launch telemetry, US, first launch after install)

Roku OS Search installs launching without contentId, before Oct 26 After Oct 29
15.2 and older ~3–9% ~3% (unaffected)
15.3.4.x (all builds) ~4% ~60%
16.0.4.x (all builds) ~5% ~64%
  • Gated by OS version. OS 15.3 and newer are affected; 15.2 and older are not. The 15.3/16.0 builds were already on devices before Oct 27, so this looks like a server-side change that only applies to newer OS versions.
  • Only affects the install path. Users who already have the app still get the full deep link from Roku Search, at normal volumes.
  • The contentId doesn’t arrive later either. After these launches we receive no roInputEvent with contentId / mediaType. Users who end up on the content got there by searching again and launching a second time (median ~90 s later), and that launch includes the contentId.
  • Timing: the change started on Oct 27 (US Eastern), was back to normal for about 12 hours on the morning of Oct 28, then returned at the levels above. That looks like a staged rollout.
  • The app wasn’t changed. No release or config change on our side in that period.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Use a Roku device on OS 15.3.x or 16.0.x, with a Roku account that has never installed our app.
  2. In Roku Search, search for one of app titles and select it.
  3. Install the app from the prompt.
  4. Look at the launch arguments in Main(args).

Expected: contentId and mediaType or relevant param are present, as before Oct 27 and as on OS 15.2.
Actual: only source=hs-search in ~60% of cases.

Questions

  1. Was anything changed around Oct 26–27 in the install-from-search flow, or in how deep-link parameters are passed after install, for OS 15.3+?
  2. Is this intended? If so, how should apps get the selected content on the first launch after install (another parameter, a delayed roInput event, something else)?
  3. Is anyone else seeing a drop in deep-linked installs from search over the same period?

Thanks!

3

I created a ticket for of our teams to look into this, can you DM the the channel ID for your app so I can pass that to the team? Thanks!

4

please check your DM