'Roblox' Desktop Player Thinks Players Are on Mobile, Rendering It Unplayable — Here's Why

In the world of Roblox, there are some major advantages to the way the game is set up. For one, the game itself is free, which means that, regardless of your ability to pay, there are ample games to choose from that suit any number of fancies and preferences. While many games do have some paid in-game options, the overall experience of Roblox is free.

But the fact that it's free has lent itself, perhaps, to an endless number of glitches throughout the years because anyone who wants to create a game can do so, regardless of experience. But every now and then, the game experiences a system-wide glitch, leaving players frustrated. That happened again when players found that the Roblox desktop player seemed to think that their PC was a mobile device, rendering the game unplayable temporarily. Here's what happened.

In July 2025, Roblox users reported that they went to bed with Roblox working just fine, logged into their PCs the next day and discovered that the downloader (desktop player) suddenly considered their device to be mobile. This means that it provided movement and jump options on the screen and refused to acknowledge several keyboard inputs, rendering the game unplayable for many.

On TikTok, multiple users reported the issue, one posting a video of the problem and asking for anyone to help them fix it. In the comments, unfortunately, no one had any answers. Just ample commiseration. Some offered fixes that seemed to work for them, but most seemed to be stumped. The original poster, @gino0652em3, added, "Pretty sure this is because the new Roblox update. This happened to people few years ago and it was because of the update pretty sure."

And it seems as though they were correct. In the past, players have noted similar glitches after Roblox updates that seemed to throw off the game's ability to recognize game device access.

Now that we know that it's not just you, you're probably asking how to fix this utterly frustrating and game-ruining glitch.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time it has happened. In 2023, players found themselves unable to play due to a similar glitch, with the desktop player misidentifying player access.

On a Reddit post demanding answers about the glitch, multiple users added to the original poster's plea, hoping to find answers as to why their desktop player was suddenly unusable.

One user lamented, "REALL, the second I hopped off a game I was on, Roblox had to 'update' and suddenly thinks I'm on a phone or something, whatever the case is, I want my shiftlock back."

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there's any workaround or fix.

On the Roblox developer's blog, a user asked about the glitch. One of the Roblox staff members replied, "We’ll have a fix turned on shortly." And other users have noted that, in the past, only an update to the game with a patch has fixed the glitch.

So, unfortunately, if your desktop downloader thinks your PC is a mobile device, all you can do is wait for that patch.