Community discussions

[Iona-D]

Here is another accessory to consider when you want to upgrade your Roku devices.  Next time I am in the market for another remote which addresses some of the, ahem, weakness of the included remotes of the more inexpensive models or you are happy with your present devices but not the included remote in the box, or simply not ready to fully upgrade just yet (like me), I would give this Voice Control one a serious second look:

https://www.tomsguide.com/opinion/this-dollar30-roku-accessory-fixes-one-of-rokus-biggest-problems

All Rokus that are less expensive than the $70 Roku Streaming Stick 4K Plus  don't include this little gem. 

What a shame.  Well, buying just the remote should be a lot cheaper at around $30 US dollars than buying new devices way before you need to replace your present devices.  

The choice is yours.

[Emissary35]

In my opinion it's not worth buying that remote at all, there are complaints here in which people say the rechargeable voice remote won't even charge properly for some people and it keeps popping up battery notification messages when you press buttons even though it shows 100% charge.

The regular voice remotes are battery killers that spam your screen with low battery warnings also. All of these voice remotes that Roku makes are defective and have several issues. None of them are worth paying for separately.

You are better off getting a non Roku made IR universal remote that works with Roku devices. I have one that I purchased back in 2013 and it works perfectly on any Roku that doesn't need to pair to your remote (like a stick) to work. Mine takes two triple A batteries and they last over a year before I have to change them. I also never get any annoying messages popping up on the screen telling me about the battery levels because it isn't paired. I can also control the TV power, volume and mute buttons with it.

My advice is search around for a remote like this if you really want to get over the stress of dealing with the terribly designed Roku remotes, because it doesn't look like they are going to redesign and replace them any time soon.

[atc98092]

Just to add another data point. I'm in a hotel right now, and connected my Stick 4K+ when I was settled in. I had not charged the remote for my last two trips. The last trip was a bit over a month ago. When I checked the battery level, it was at 67%, so it's been used for two 4 day trips since it was last fully charged, with several weeks of no use in between. Mine appears to be holding its charge just fine. I did top it off again, and it's now showing 100%. I have another trip in two weeks, so I'll be checking its charge level then, after using it again here for the next three days. 

And, I had no issues connecting to the hotel WiFi using the hotel/dorm option. I do not have this Roku as part of the beta test group, so this is the same OS version that anyone else would have. 

[Emissary35]

@atc98092 Can you charge the Voice Remote Pro while you are using the Roku or do you have to do it when the Roku is not in use? Also how long did it take to fully charge from the 67% to 100%? I've never had one of these remotes so I'm curious.

[makaiguy]

Yes, you do see complaints of Voice Remote Pros that lose their ability to take a charge, but I've had this remote for well over a year and have noticed no loss of charge holding capacity or ability to charge.  I don't know if I just happened to have gotten lucky and received a good one, or if my usage pattern has something to do with it.

Many (most? all?) rechargeable batteries deteriorate if repeatedly allowed to overcharge. Both my Samsung phone and Lenovo tablet even have optional features that will cut off charging before the battery reaches full charge to prevent or limit this deterioration.

I've always made a point to disconnect my Voice Remote Pro from the charger when it reaches full charge, or slightly before. I especially try to avoid letting it charge unattended overnight. The charger I use outputs 2 amps and the remote charges fairly quickly. You can check the charge level via Settings > Remotes & devices > Remotes > Voice Remote Pro > About on your Roku. If I don't want to exit what I am doing just to check the charge level, I just unplug from the charger and observe the popup on the upper right corner of the screen.

[atc98092]

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@Emissary35 wrote:

@atc98092 Can you charge the Voice Remote Pro while you are using the Roku or do you have to do it when the Roku is not in use? Also how long did it take to fully charge from the 67% to 100%? I've never had one of these remotes so I'm curious.

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Yes, it still functions when it's plugged in charging. I'd say it took less then 30 minutes to go from 67-100%, probably closer to 15 minutes, but honestly I wasn't tracking it. I used it pretty heavily last night, and I just checked it's charge level after using it for another 15-20 minutes. It's reporting 97%, about what I would expect with the use it's had since I charged it yesterday.