Remote drains batteries in a matter of days
4k stick plugged into dedicated, continuous USB power supply. The remote chews through batteries even with minimal use. This last instance, I loaded in brand new batteries before leaving town for 1...
Forum Discussion
Roku has known about their remotes being battery killers for years, they've literally done nothing. When you complain about these things eventually a useless Roku moderator will come along and copy and paste troubleshooting steps that never work. They will tell you to restart your device, repair your remote, put in new batteries, basically all common sense stuff you try first before even coming here to complain.
Then once you report back that you have tried those things and they don't work the Roku moderator will respond with useless questions like asking you to provide the serial number of your device, software version, all which have nothing to do with the issue.
So you comply and give them what they want and then nothing happens, sometimes you can get them to send you a replacement remote for free, but the replacement has the same problem as the original remote you came here to complain about.
Then the cycle repeats with the next person who has a remote problem and it goes on and on for years. Roku won't actually fix the problem because they are either too stupid to know how, or they just don't care and think it's not worth the money to redesign remotes that actually work.
Even the rechargeable battery version is full of problems, mine has never fully charged to 100% ever since I got it brand new and the charge dissipates very quickly with minimal remote useage.
Bottom line is the Roku remotes are a flawed design, everybody knows it including Roku and they will not fix it. It says a lot about the company!
It's probably best to look for alternative devices at this point because this will never change with the way Roku operates. There is no true customer support here, just the illusion of it with moderators who parrot the same script lines of steps that don't work again and again, it's very sad and pathetic.
Hi jgegenhe,
Greetings from the Roku Community, and thanks for raising this problem with us!
We will be more than happy to assist you further with this issue that you're having with the Roku remote. If the remote is not properly paired with the Roku device, it will drain the batteries in a few days. Please try the steps below.
Put your streaming device in pairing mode.
- Remove the power cable from your streaming device.
- Wait at least 5 seconds.
- Re-connect the power cable.
- Wait for your streaming device to power on and the Home screen to appear on your TV screen.
- Within 30 seconds of seeing the Home screen on your TV screen, put your voice remote into pairing mode.
Put your voice remote in pairing mode.
- Remove the battery cover on the back of your voice remote.
- Remove both batteries from the battery compartment.
- Wait 5 seconds, and then reinsert the batteries.
- If your remote has a pairing button, press and hold the pairing button for 5 seconds, or until you see the status light begin to flash.
- If your remote does not have a pairing button, press and hold both the Home button and Back button for 5 seconds, or until you see the status light begin to flash.
- If the status light does not flash, try replacing the batteries.
- Wait for 30 seconds while the remote establishes a connection with your streaming device.
Once your streaming device and remote are connected, the pairing dialog will appear on your TV screen.
Let us know how it works, and we will continue to assist you further.
Best regards, John
Literally did what Emissary35 just mentioned would happen. Re-pairing makes no difference. I woul like to hear how the issue is being addressed, not a set of troubleshooting instructions which people have been following for literally years now that have not made a difference yet. It is starting to become widely known that the remotes are a problem. I will not ever recommend a roku to anyone ever again, and not because of the remote issue, but because of the response, or complete lack thereof to the issue.
I originated this thread and am absolutely over it. Roku team members indicate a willingness to help but then go through a wrote set of troubleshooting points that *do not work*. At this point there is no question there is a known issue, and Roku is both morally and legally obligated to address it.
Roku team, what are you doing to escalate this issue and get to a lasting resolution for the innumerable people who have this problem?
jgegenhe Posted a similar thread, though this issue had come & gone (& returned) across 2 different devices & remotes, so I'm thinking it was something transparent like a software update.
I have gone to using a Fire tablet to prevent the pile of decent "used" AAA batteries from accumulating.
My rechargeable AAA's aren't cutting it anymore, though they may be old, or not holding High end power.
The "app" on the Fire seems to have changed over time, now it will switch over to my channel tiles on the Fire during use within an app on Roku (totally different issue).
The best remotes were the simple LOS (Line of Sight) IR remotes.
Thanks for sharing those steps I performed them and have marked on my calendar to remind myself to give you an update 14 days from now.
I perform the remote reset process on Wednesday March 6th 2024 early afternoon as well installed fresh batteries. Today I checked battery percentage at 10:00 a.m. EST March 9th 2024. The percentage is 85%. If forecasting the 10th day at 6% per day for battery usage - then on the 10th day battery percentage would be around 40% leaving 7 days of battery life. Are there higher grade AAA batteries that I should be using to get more than 3 weeks usage? My older Roku ultra x remote last three or more months. However those are AA batteries.
Rechargeable ROKU remote simply stopped charging. Strangely, at one moment it says "fully charged" on the screen, then 2 or 3 minutes later it shows empty charge. Have turned off Roku unit for 3 minutes, turned it back on, it is paired with my smart TV. I have used multiple cables, USB AC chargers that indeed charge my tablet and other devices, but to no lasting success on the ROKU remote.
I am confused by your response as the Roku remote model RC 833 I use requires AAA batteries there is no USB connection. Perhaps you meant to respond to somebody else.
We apologize for the confusion, DrD69!
May we know what Roku device you are using right now? (Roku Express, Roku streaming stick, Roku Ultra, Roku streambar, Roku TV-Specify)
Thanks, John
The new device model 3941x2 Roku Express 4K+ was purchased and setup in November 2023. Current Roku Software is 12.5.5 - build 4174-E4
Remote is RC-833 firmware rtn.4246
Current battery level 71% fresh batteries installed March 6th
