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Westleythequest's avatar
Westleythequest
Newbie
11 months ago
Solved

Roku ultra remote controls TV volume instead of sound bar. ( i think)

Roku ultra remote controls TV volume instead of sound bar. After I restart my roku and try changing the volume, it says tv speakers are off wich suggests its trying to change the tv volume instead of soundbar volume (but it only does it once). Ive tried different HDMI ports, tried every tv code with IR, and changed it to CEC, and changed the TV to CEC. I have an old VIzio TV (not smart). Oh and the power buttons work with the remote, just not the volume.

remotes
  • RokuArjiemar's avatar
    RokuArjiemar
    11 months ago

    Hello! Westleythequest,

    Thank you for posting in the Roku Community!

    We appreciate you contacting us about setting up the TV controls and volume issues with your Roku Ultra and soundbar. We're pleased to assist.

    After your Roku device is activated and set up, you can access the settings menu at any time to set up your voice remote to control your TV. If your Roku device is connected to an AVR or soundbar, we recommend temporarily connecting it directly to your TV during setup to detect the brand of your TV successfully.

    When using HDMI, only the brand of the directly connected device can be detected. It's best to connect your Roku device directly to your TV during setup. If you're setting up for surround sound, connect your Roku device to the TV first before making any connections to the AVR or soundbar.

    As described above, your Roku device plays music to help during the setup process. If you do not hear the music or it does not mute correctly, review the troubleshooting steps for setting up your Roku voice remote to control the power and volume on your TV.

    Your Roku voice remote cannot control other devices connected to your TV. However, using HDMI-CEC, you can indirectly control the volume of external devices such as an AVR or a soundbar if all your devices are connected via HDMI® and support HDMI-CEC with the feature enabled. Check the documentation for your TV, AVR, or soundbar to confirm if they support this technology, as manufacturers may use a different name for HDMI-CEC.

    Thanks,
    Arjiemar

4 Replies

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

    Why do you think it will control the Soundbar volume when you can only  program tv codes in?  How is the  soundbar connected to the tv? Hdmi or optical? 

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

        When programming the Roku remote, the brands you see in the menu are strictly TV brands, no audio devices, sorry. 

        When a soundbar is only connected to the tv by optical the only way to control its volume is by IR, and that IR isn't coming from a Roku remote. Some soundbars respond to tv codes from alike brands. Vizio tv codes control some Vizio soundbars. There are other soundbars that have learning feature where you teach your tv IR commands to the soundbar, or whatever IR commands you wish. 

        If the soundbar had been connected to more modern tv model via hdmi, then tv could control the soundbar via hdmi-cec. In that case the Roku remote would control the tv volume by IR, in turn the tv sends cec signal over the hdmi cable controlling the soundbar volume. 

        So, if your soundbar doesn't respond to your tv code set, and the soundbar doesn't have leaning feature, then the only way to control the Roku and your soundbar volume is with an aftermarket universal remote, sorry.