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Rjreiffer8640's avatar
Rjreiffer8640
Streaming Star
8 months ago

Pairing Roku Remote turns off the IR signal - Model G851X (vs EARC issue)

I have found, through a LONG process, that on the Roku TV model G851X there is a serious issue.  It comes with the Roku Voice Remote Pro.  When I first installed the new TV (replacement for troubleshooting eARC issue) it started using the Roku Voice Remote Pro immediately without the pairing so I continued to complete the setup.  I did not pair the remote at this time.  In order to use my soundbar I had to use the Optical interface. 

I thought, why not give the new remote and TV a try with learning the IR code from the remote since eARC had obviously not been fixed yet.   

I then put my sound bar in learning mode (volume up, volume down, mute) and low and behold it worked!  I could then control my volume on the soundbar with the remote (using the Optical interface).  Now this went on for about a month and then I decided to actually pair the remote (so I could see the battery indicator).  As soon as I paired the remote to this TV the programing of the remote TURNED OFF THE IR INTERFACE!

If you do a factory reset on the voice remote pro and point your camera at the IR interface while pushing the volume up button you can see the IR signal (purple light picked up by your cell phones camera).  As soon as you pair it they turn off the IR signal (once again verified by pointing my phone camera at the interface).  Now that "might" make sense IF you could actually control stuff via eARC, however when using the Optical interface it makes NO sense to turn it off.  

They need to either leave the IR interface on ALL THE TIME or have an option to turn it on or off. 

I ended up grabbing another Roku remote that worked with the TV (from an Insignia) and then used it's IR to program the soundbar.  

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4 Replies

  • Tivoburkee's avatar
    Tivoburkee
    Community Streaming Expert
    8 months ago

    They won't be changing that ever, many people have multiple Roku tv's next to one another the only way to control them separately is to pair wifi remote to each one. But if it continued to send IR at the same time as Wifi you can never control Roku tv's separately. 

    • Rjreiffer8640's avatar
      Rjreiffer8640
      Streaming Star
      8 months ago

      But how many have multiple Roku Tvs each with an Optical output?  That is NOT the norm. They need to leave IR on if Optical is selected OR fix the earc issue!

      • Tivoburkee's avatar
        Tivoburkee
        Community Streaming Expert
        8 months ago

        Tv's with optical are being phased out, arc/earc is taking there place. 

        What is wrong with your earc? I have arc/earc on my Amazon Omni Five tv connected to my Roku Streambar Pro with no trouble at all.