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JimWood's avatar
JimWood
Reel Rookie
4 years ago
Solved

Roku 2 infared remote slow to respond but only with TV on

Hooked my Roku 2 to a different TV and I have to hold the buttons down for a long time to get it to respond.  The white light on the front of the unit does not blink right away.  If I turn off the TV the light blinks instantly when I press a key on the remote so it is receiving the signal from the remote.  Why would turning the tv on/off make such a difference and what might be a fix?  I have restarted everything several times and the buttons clearly work because the white light blinks as is should with the TV off.  I can get it to work if I hold the buttons down for a few seconds but it is frustrating.

Thanks if anyone has ideas of how the TV could be causing this.

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  • DBDukes's avatar
    DBDukes
    4 years ago

    JimWood 

    The Roku 2 model 2710, released in 2013, came with a WiFi Direct remote, so I'm assuming you have the Roku 2 model 4210, which came with an IR remote, and was released in 2015. The 4210 is actually a Roku 3, just in a different casing and with a different remote in the box, and was a pretty good device in its day.

    It doesn't make much sense that an IR remote would perform differently depending on the TV being on or off, as the TV shouldn't interfere with the infrared signal.

    Are you sure it's an IR remote? What is the device model number? Settings > System > About

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  • Ello2022's avatar
    Ello2022
    Roku Guru
    4 years ago

    A Roku 2 was released back in 2011. It’s way passed it’s prime. I usually replace my Roku devices every 4-5 years. So your best bet would be to upgrade to a newer model. Have you tried a factory reset? New batteries in the remote?

  • DBDukes's avatar
    DBDukes
    Community Streaming Expert
    4 years ago

    JimWood 

    The Roku 2 model 2710, released in 2013, came with a WiFi Direct remote, so I'm assuming you have the Roku 2 model 4210, which came with an IR remote, and was released in 2015. The 4210 is actually a Roku 3, just in a different casing and with a different remote in the box, and was a pretty good device in its day.

    It doesn't make much sense that an IR remote would perform differently depending on the TV being on or off, as the TV shouldn't interfere with the infrared signal.

    Are you sure it's an IR remote? What is the device model number? Settings > System > About

    • JimWood's avatar
      JimWood
      Reel Rookie
      4 years ago

      Thanks for the response.  I have 4210x-Roku 2 Software 10.5.0 Build 4208-04.

      Before I turned on the tv I hit some arrow buttons on the remote and the white indicator light on the Roku blinked as I pushed.  I then turned on the TV and I had to hold the up arrow for several seconds to get it to move to get to Settings.  I accidentally discovered that if I hold a button longer than needed for something to happen then the delay problem goes away.  It's kind of like holding a button causes the remote to repeatedly send the signal, say, from an up/down arrow.  Once I do that it works normally.  Strange.

      I tried this several times: turn off TV,  test remote and the white light, turn on TV, let it get going, hold an arrow for a while, then it works.  I noticed when the TV comes on the white light goes out briefly then comes on.  I also noticed the white light is gone if I unplug the HDMI cable.  So the TV is doing something to the Roku.  TV is an older Sony Bravia plasma.  I also tried pairing the remote but it just spins, suggesting it can't figure out what model TV it is.  When I used the Roku on a more modern TV I could turn off the TV with the remote, but not on the Sony.

      Other than being curious what the cause of this is, I'm OK now that I know the "hold the button for a while" trick.  If anyone else has ideas, would love to hear them, but it's not essential.

      Thanks in advance.

      • DBDukes's avatar
        DBDukes
        Community Streaming Expert
        4 years ago
        JimWood wrote:

        ... I also tried pairing the remote but it just spins, suggesting it can't figure out what model TV it is.  When I used the Roku on a more modern TV I could turn off the TV with the remote, but not on the Sony....

        The Roku 2 model 4210 came with an IR remote. Those don't pair to anything. What you've written indicates you are not using the Roku remote that came with the device. What is the remote?