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stillconfused's avatar
stillconfused
Channel Surfer
2 years ago

Roku Voice Remote Pro (rev 1) cannot control Samsung TV power or volume

Edited to provide correct model numbers (as they appear in Roku settings), and correct punctuation, I have a Roku Voice Remote Pro (rev 1, model RC795) from a Roku Express 4K (SKU 3942RA2).  I have ...
remotes
Tivoburkee's avatar
Tivoburkee
Community Streaming Expert
2 years ago

Take your Roku remote pair it to your wife's Roku, program it for the Samsung tv. Now re-pair to your Roku, the remote should still control the Samsung tv. 

  • stillconfused's avatar
    stillconfused
    Channel Surfer
    2 years ago

    Sorry for the confusion.

    To clarify, the Ultra 4660X is the only Roku we have set up.  I haven't set up the Roku Express 4K. I bought that just to get the rev 1 Voice Remote Pro.

    Both the original Gaming Remote that came with the Ultra (model RC193) and retail rev 1 Voice Remote Pro (model RC917, SKU RCS01R) control the Samsung TV power, and the attached Samsung HW-M550 soundbar power and volume, without any problem. The Samsung soundbar is connected to the TV via optical (TOSLINK) cable, not CEC.

    The original Gaming Remote and retail rev 1 Voice Remote Pro are configured to use IR, not CEC.

    I tried a lot of different things, but was not able to get the VRP model RC795 to control the soundbar volume, details below.

    I re-entered "Set up remote for TV control" for the original Gaming Remote RC193, just to see if there is a difference in the codes between the RC193 and RC795.  The Gaming Remote RC193 iterated 19 codes, and found the correct codes to control my Samsung TV and soundbar at code 19.  So, there is a difference in codes between the RC193 and RC795.

    VRP model RC795 iterates only 8 codes and fails to find the codes for the Samsung HW-M550/ZA Soundbar. 

    To recap:

    • I only have 1 Roku set up - Roku Ultra 4660X.  I don't intend to set up the Express 4K.  I bought it just to get the rev 1 Voice Remote Pro.
    • The Ultra's original Gaming Remote RC193 and Dec 2023 rev 1 Voice Remote Pro RC917 are able to control power and volume on both my Samsung UN65H7150AF TV and Samsung HW-M550/ZA Soundbar.
    • I can pair the RC795 with the Ultra 4660X
    • If I disable TV audio out to the soundbar and turn off the soundbar, Roku's "Set up remote for TV control" function is able to find the code to control my Samsung UN65H7150AF TV power and volume.  However, this code does not allow the VRP model RC795 control my Samsung HW-M550/ZA Soundbar power or volume.
    • With the soundbar enabled, the "Set up remote for TV control" function is not able to find the codes to control my soundbar, for the VRP model RC795
    • Even manually selecting each of the 8 available codes for the VRP model RC795, none of them control my Samsung HW-M550/ZA Soundbar.

    Things I tried.  None of these worked:

    • cycling power on the Ultra, i.e., unplugging for more than 10s, then plugging back in.
    • rebooting the RC795, i.e., pressing and holding the pairing button from 20s.
    • attempting to set up the RC795 to control TV via "add a device", not "add a remote".  It walked me through the same process, i.e., iterate 8 codes, with the same result.
    • find my remote from Ultra's settings, as per user Reaton1984 in this post.  Not able to control the soundbar. 
    • With soundbar disabled, and TV using its internal speaker, I entered Roku remote TV control setup for the RC795.  It muted the internal TV speakers with code 5.  VRP model RC795 is able to control TV power and internal TV speaker volume with this code.  However, when the soundbar is re-enabled and turned on, VRP model RC795 is not able to control the soundbar power or volume.
    • With soundbar enabled, I entered Roku remote TV control setup for the RC795 and "manually" selected each of the 8 codes one at a time.  That is, from "Set up remote for TV control", I chose a code even though I could still hear the music.  Each time, I re-enabled the soundbar, to no avail.  VRP model RC795 is not able to control the soundbar.
    My setup details:
    Roku Ultra 2018
    model 4660X
    software 13.1.4, build 1512-46
     
    Gaming Remote
    firmware 2.01.19.108
    model RC193
    This is the original Gaming Remote that came with the Ultra 4660X and controls the TV and soundbar.
     
    Voice Remote Pro (rev 1, retail)
    firmware rtn.4246
    model RC917
    SKU RCS01R
    This is the retail VRP that controls TV and soundbar, purchased Dec 2023
     
    Voice Remote Pro (rev 1, from Roku Express 4K)
    firmware rtn.4246
    model RC795
    This is the "new" VRP that came with the Express 4K.  It does not send codes to control the soundbar.
     
    2014 Samsung UN65H7150AF TV
    2017 Samsung HW-M550/ZA Soundbar, connected to TV via optical audio (TOSLINK) cable
     
    • stillconfused's avatar
      stillconfused
      Channel Surfer
      2 years ago

      Last follow up.  I bought a 2nd rev 1 Voice Remote Pro (retail, SKU RCS01R) online direct from Roku (8/6/2024).  The model delivered is an RC917, like the first rev 1 VRP I bought in Dec 2023.

      I paired this new VRP model RC917 with our Roku Ultra 4660X.  I did not need to enter "Setup remote for TV control".  After the remote as paired to our Ultra, it automatically controlled the power on our Samsung UN65H7150AF TV, and power and volume on our Samsung HW-M550/ZA Soundbar.  No other changes needed!

      So, that leaves me with several questions.  Roku Community and Support, please answer if you can:

      • Does the Roku Ultra store the codes identified from successfully setting up TV control on our other remotes, then send them to new remotes after pairing?  If not, how does this new VRP RC917 control our Samsung TV and soundbar, having never entered "Setup remote for TV control"?
      • Is the VRP RC795 that came with the Express 4K supposed to be able to control Samsung TVs and soundbars?  If so, is our VRP RC795 (that came with the Express 4K) broken?  If not, why is compatibility with Samsung devices restricted (compared with VRP model RC917)?
      • Is the RC795 not able to control our Samsung Soundbar because of something that I did?  Instead of going directly to "Setup remote for TV control", should I have stopped after pairing the remote to the Roku Ultra and just tried the volume controls?  If I did mess up the RC795 by entering "Setup remove for TV control", is there a way to truly reset it?  I tried rebooting the RC795 several times, i.e., pressing the pairing button for 20s until the blinking green pairing light stopped.  But that had no effect. 

      Thanks!

      • Tivoburkee's avatar
        Tivoburkee
        Community Streaming Expert
        2 years ago

        stillconfused 

         

        On your new remote point the remote at your cellphone camera and press both tv power button and the volume buttons, at different times. Do you see flashes from the front of the Roku remote? Or nothing? Flashes means it controlling your tv by IR. No flashes mean it's controlling the tv by wifi, in other words hdmi-cec. The Roku is picking up the wifi commands and then emitting cec over the hdmi cable to control the Samsung devices. With cec you don't need to program the tv brand, since all tv brands accept the same cec signal for say volume up as each other. It's not magic it knew your tv brand. 🙂