Forum Discussion

MajorRexHavoc's avatar
MajorRexHavoc
Binge Watcher
3 years ago
Solved

Voice Remote Pro not holding charge.

I have a Roku Ultra 4802X which came with the VERY annoying rechargeable remote. So far, for the several months I have had this unit, my wife and I, or friends over, have had to forgo movie night or catch a favorite show because we find the remote dead. And a dead remote means a dead Roku.

As much as people hate the low battery warnings on screen, we never got even one low battery warning. The remote goes from working fine, to DEAD! Usually working the night before, but dead the next day.  At least with a replaceable battery remote I can just slap new batteries in and be good to go. But with the Pro remote, I have to wait a long while for the remote to charge. (Partial charges often go dead in the middle of a show, so that’s not good!).

Did the designers actually ever use this remote idea as a customer would? I guess no.  Sorry, but this is one of the dumbest ideas yet. And I had an old IR remote I thought I could use in a pinch, but nope, it seems you have removed the IR receiver from new units. So this brain dead idea make my Roku often useless (more often than I would expect) when the remote, without a low battery warning, goes dead. DUMB!  At the least put up a low battery warning on the screen so I’ll know to charge it that night. Sorry for my annoyance, but as a previous-life set top box engineer, we always said your device is a failure if something cause the box to not work when needed.

I find this remote issue a total FAIL! I guess I’ll have to buy a regular voice remote to avoid this issue going forward. 

remotes
  • renojim's avatar
    renojim
    3 years ago

    I have a couple of pro remotes and have never seen that problem, so it's not universal.  You might try to contact support at https://support.roku.com/contactus to see what they have to say.

    The 4802 definitely has an IR sensor, so I don't know what the problem is there.  I would suspect the remote if you haven't verified it works on another device.  You can also use the app on your phone/tablet as a remote in a pinch.  Only sticks (that plug directly into an HDMI input without the need for a cable) don't have IR sensors.

    Roku Mobile App - Free for iOS® or Android™ | Roku

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  • renojim's avatar
    renojim
    Community Streaming Expert
    3 years ago

    I have a couple of pro remotes and have never seen that problem, so it's not universal.  You might try to contact support at https://support.roku.com/contactus to see what they have to say.

    The 4802 definitely has an IR sensor, so I don't know what the problem is there.  I would suspect the remote if you haven't verified it works on another device.  You can also use the app on your phone/tablet as a remote in a pinch.  Only sticks (that plug directly into an HDMI input without the need for a cable) don't have IR sensors.

    Roku Mobile App - Free for iOS® or Android™ | Roku

    • MajorRexHavoc's avatar
      MajorRexHavoc
      Binge Watcher
      3 years ago

      Thanks for the info. Glad to hear it’s not a regular issue, but still think a remote that can go dead with no way to use the device is a bad design. Although I was unaware there was a way to use the phone app as a controller, so I can check this issue off the list. Thank you. 

      I did check that the IR remote is sending IR codes by shining it at my phone camera and observing the LED. (I have two old remote, both flashing the LED and neither controlled the Rojku.) Unless the IR receiver is on the back of the unit, they did nothing. They are from an early unit. Maybe just too old?

      I’ll give Service a try again. I went there before and I could not find a way to reach a real person, always pointing me at useless info for this issue or asking me to check the forum.  Still think I might buy a regular voice remote as a backup. 

      Thanks for your reply. 

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

        These extra Roku IR remotes wouldn't happen to be Roku tv remotes? Do they have power button and volume keys? Roku tv' s use a completely different IR code then stand alone Roku's like the Ultra. 

  • RokuAustin's avatar
    RokuAustin
    Community Manager
    3 years ago

    Hi MajorRexHavoc 

    Go ahead and contact customer support directly, as these remotes will hold a charge between two weeks and two months depending on your usage. 

    You can reach them at http://support.roku.com/contactus.

    Send me a PM here if you're still having an issue. Going to go ahead and close your thread, but feel free to send me a note or start a new thread if needed, and thank you for letting us help! The customer support team will make sure you quickly get back to streaming.