Remotes

[MarcoCole]

Hi all! Putting this out to the Roku community to see if someone has figured this out... so I was wondering if there is a way to get LG magic remote to control Roku rather than having to go through the Roku remote separately. I’ve been trying to set up universal access and turned on CEC but it still does not seem to be able to control Roku. Do you know if that’s a capability? If so, are there other settings to turn on? When I go through device connector and set top box, it shows the test screen with a “click the button to confirm if magic remote is working properly” but it isn’t clear what to do from there. Nothing happens and when I indicate does not work properly cannot get anywhere to fix things. Any tips would be greatly appreciated or perhaps this is not a functionality that is supported. Thanks so much!

[Tivoburkee · Accepted solution]

Only the original Roku stick 3400 mhl version could be controlled via tv remote, no roku since can sorry. If the roku wasn't a stick, and received roku IR commands, and tv had a code for roku, then it would control the roku by IR only.

[Midnight_Voice]

Sorry I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ve just been wresting with this issue myself, and this was one of the threads I searched. So it may be too late to help the OP, but should help those that come after.

It’s quite right that Roku don’t respond to CEC (Simplink), but LG Magic Remotes are supposed to be able to control Roku devices via  Settings/All Settings/Connection/Device Connection Settings/Universal Control Settings, where you can specify a device plugged into one of the HDMI ports, and if the Magic Remote has its keypresses in its repertoire, IR or RF, it will operate it.

In fact, sometimes it will even sniff a new device and set itself up for it.

So our new LG 43” Nano just picked up the Roku Premiere I plugged into it, and worked it, straight off the bat.

But I wanted to use that downstairs, so I swapped in a Roku Streaming Stick+ instead.

No go; the LG didn’t auto-configure for it 😢

Now, after a lot of work, I have isolated the problem; the LG misrecognises the SS+, says it is configured, but isn’t. Even when I go so far into manual configuration as to be specifying OTT and then the model number, and get offered 3710X, 3810 (no X) and 3910X to choose from, it doesn’t work the SS+, a 3810X.

So in principle, LG TV Magic Remotes should work Roku devices; of the three current small devices, one works, one doesn’t, and I don’t know about the other one (the Express).

I’ll be on to LG in the morning and see what they have to say....

[Edited to get the model numbers correct]

[Tivoburkee]

It would work if the roku you had accepted IR commands which NO roku stick does, they can only be controlled with wifi remote. A roku stick has a hdmi connector built-in, it doesn't have hdmi port for a hdmi cable. Roku Express & Premiere look like a stick but aren't, they accept IR commands and have hdmi port for a hdmi cable. 

[Midnight_Voice]

Thanks, @Tivoburkee; that would explain why things worked for the Premiere, but not for the SS+, and would predict that they would work for the Express.

A couple of flies in that ointment, though 😢

Firstly, the LG Magic Remote is a dual RF and IR device; it talks to LG TVs via RF as standard. So it could perfectly well talk to the SS+ via RF, I would have thought

Secondly, the list of supported devices, as shown by the setting dialogue on the LG TV if you go to manual, includes the 3810; why would it be there if LG didn’t think they could control the SS+?

(I am, though, presuming that it says 3810 rather than 3810X, as there is a whole family of 3810 variants, and it will control them all; certainly the X is the most widespread and plain vanilla variant, I think, so I would expect it to be included).

Finally, though it is not an objection like the two points above, what has whether these devices have an HDMI port or not got to do with anything?

But I am still learning about LG TVs, though I have had Roku devices ever since the 3, so your guidance, as above and on my difficulties with it, would be very much appreciated.

[Edited to get the model numbers correct - thanks @Tivoburkee ]

[Tivoburkee]

The Roku stick+ is the 3810, or 3811, suffix doesn't mean a thing. Never heard of 3180? Roku wifi remotes use proprietary wifi-direct signal. If any thing other then the roku remote would control the roku stick+ it would be by IP, the internet, which isn't RF or IR. 

[StreamerUser]

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@Midnight_Voice wrote:

Thanks, @Tivoburkee; that would explain why things worked for the Premiere, but not for the SS+, and would predict that they would work for the Express.

A couple of flies in that ointment, though 😢

Firstly, the LG Magic Remote is a dual RF and IR device; it talks to LG TVs via RF as standard. So it could perfectly well talk to the SS+ via RF, I would have thought

Secondly, the list of supported devices, as shown by the setting dialogue on the LG TV if you go to manual, includes the 3810; why would it be there if LG didn’t think they could control the SS+?

(I am, though, presuming that it says 3810 rather than 3810X, as there is a whole family of 3810 variants, and it will control them all; certainly the X is the most widespread and plain vanilla variant, I think, so I would expect it to be included).

Finally, though it is not an objection like the two points above, what has whether these devices have an HDMI port or not got to do with anything?

But I am still learning about LG TVs, though I have had Roku devices ever since the 3, so your guidance, as above and on my difficulties with it, would be very much appreciated.

[Edited to get the model numbers correct - thanks @Tivoburkee ]

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LG Magic Remotes use Bluetooth, Roku "point anywhere" remotes use WiFi Direct.

[Midnight_Voice]

@Tivoburkee 

Yes, sorry, my bad, 3810 of course. I have corrected and annotated my earlier posts to reflect the correct order of the digits.

But thanks for confirming that when LG offer the 3810 as an option, that ought to control my 3810X.

You are still raising interesting questions that I haven’t though of before:-

Roku don’t have proprietary IR? (Maybe there’s an IR standard pretty much everybody uses?)

And it’s beyond the bounds of possibility that LG could be licensing, or even emulating, Roku’s RF protocol?

I’ll let you know what LG have to say when I ask them tomorrow why their 3810 setting isn’t working for me.

[Midnight_Voice]

@BraelynnAlex 

What model of Roku device do you have? My Premiere works, and we think the Express will work, as these are IR devices, but the jury is still out on the Streaming Stick+, as this uses RF.

@StreamerUser reports the LG Magic Remote as IR and Bluetooth only, but this would not explain how come LG show my 3810 Streaming Stick+ as one it can control.

As promised, I have raised the issue that I cannot get the Magic Remote to control it to LG support; and my 24-hour response came back that the issue has been escalated within LG, and this will be responded to within 72 hours.

So, nothing so far to indicate this is a known problem, or that LG know they have overreached themselves, or anything like that.

Further bulletins as events warrant....

[StreamerUser]

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@BraelynnAlex wrote:

Hi there, if someone gets the practical answer let me know... what I know 

It’s quite right that Roku doesn’t respond to CEC (Simplink), but LG Magic Remotes are supposed to be able to control Roku devices via  Settings/All Settings/Connection/Device Connection Settings/Universal Control Settings, where you can specify a device plugged into one of the HDMI ports, and if the Magic Remote has its keypresses in its repertoire, IR or RF, it will operate it.

In fact, sometimes it will even sniff a new device and set itself up for it.

So our new LG 43” Nano just picked up the Roku Premiere I plugged into it, and worked it, straight off the bat.

But I wanted to use that downstairs, so I swapped in a Roku Streaming Stick+ instead.

No go; the LG didn’t auto-configure for it

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It can't, because the SS+ doesnt have any IR control and doesnt allow incoming CEC, and LG's dont use WiFi Direct for remotes - that pretty much eliminates nearly every avenue of control, aside from network based (such as ECP)

https://developer.roku.com/en-gb/docs/developer-program/debugging/external-control-api.md