Remotes

[TrishF]

I just tossed my Roku remote after several years of use because it broke (it came with the Roku Premiere+ purchased in 2017).  It used two AA batteries and I rarely had to replace them.  I purchased a Roku remote online, installed the two AAA batteries that came with it on Nov 8 and just had to replace them today - - 9 weeks later.  Hopefully the Duracells last longer.  As an aside, I could not find a Roku remote online that used AA batteries.

[RokuJohnB]

Hi @TrishF,

Welcome to the Roku Community, and thanks for the inquiry!
Please be advised that your Roku remote uses either AA or AAA-sized batteries, as indicated inside the battery compartment. If you have any issues with your Roku remote, always start by replacing the existing batteries with fresh ones. Roku recommends using batteries from the same manufacturer when possible.

If you need anything else, please let us know.

All the best,

John

[Emissary35]

I have Roku voice remotes still that came with Roku Ultras I purchased in 2017 that take double A batteries. In my experience they were terrible at giving you battery longevity, I'd have to change the batteries every three months.

The newer model remotes I got with my new Roku Streaming Stick 4K players have smaller remotes that take triple A batteries instead. The main difference is they removed the 3.5mm jack on the left side where you could plug headphones in on the older double A remotes. I've noticed the new triple A remotes are smaller and lighter and feel better in your hand to hold and the batteries do seem to last much longer, I went about 10 months before having to change one of them.

I still use the older double A remotes for my older Roku Ultras but I no longer leave the batteries in the remotes when I am done using the Roku, I take them out and notice barely any drain. These remotes are power suckers and they drain the batteries a lot even when your Roku isn't in use or isn't even plugged in.

Both the older and newer remotes still have the annoying issue of randomly popping up battery notifications on your TV screen that you have no option to disable in the settings. And all of these remotes still have the terrible design of having the volume and mute buttons on the right side of the remote, so you can accidentally press them when trying to pick up the remote.

I've said it many times here, overall these remotes are very poorly designed and they need a completely new redesign, which Roku is unwilling to do.

[thewhiz44]

My experience is that the AAA remotes do not have the battery life of the AA models.  I've had to buy a couple of remotes in order to get AA and the all important Mute button (for those pesky commercials)!  A AAA alkaline battery has about 1/2 to 1/3 the capacity of a AA, so the electronics in a AAA remote would need to be a lot more efficient to make up the difference.  I really wish that ROKU would release a more full-featured remote.  It could allow the TV streaming experience to be more cable-like.

[atc98092]

I don't find any real difference in battery life with my remotes with AA or AAA batteries. I have voice remotes the take one or the other. I generally get several months at minimum out of either size, and frankly that's perfectly acceptable. If anyone is using the headphone jack in their remote, that will drain the batteries far faster, since it is now also powering an audio amp in addition to the usual remote functions. The batteries in the spare bedroom (which gets little use) might last a year or more, and again it's a WiFi voice remote so it's always on at some level. 

[Bismarck318]

Spoiler

Pardon the spoiler, it appeared, & I'm inept enough to not know how to get rid of it. 

Remotes that use the WI-FI, require more power, also will not function when the top edge of the battery power is gone (meaning they still test (somewhat) "good" after they cease to function in the remote.  The ones that strictly use IR in my older Roku Device have lasted several years.

Larger AA's will store more power (mAH's) than smaller AAA's.  





 

[atc98092]

I agree that a AAA battery has less capacity than a AA. But capacity doesn't dictate how long they will last unless the devices using the batteries are identical. Since Roku has some remotes with  AA and some with AAA batteries, they must have determined that some remotes will still have an acceptable battery life with the smaller batteries. It can't be for the physical size difference of the batteries, because the remotes themselves are all the same size regardless of the battery used. 

[Bismarck318]

Right now I have a pile of AAA batteries on my dresser, that still test out good, yet will not power my Roku voice remote. A set now recently has been lasting from a week to a month. 

[Emissary35]

@atc98092 

"It can't be for the physical size difference of the batteries, because the remotes themselves are all the same size regardless of the battery used."

That is completely untrue. The Roku remotes that take the double A batteries are thicker (have more depth) than the Roku remotes that take the triple A batteries. Having the smaller triple A batteries in the compartment allows Roku to make the remotes slightly thinner which reduces the weight of the remote. Triple A batteries are also lighter in weight than the double A's, so the triple A remotes are easier to hold because they are overall not as heavy or as thick so they take up less space in your hand.

[atc98092]

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@Emissary35 wrote:

The Roku remotes that take the double A batteries are thicker (have more depth) than the Roku remotes that take the triple A batteries. 

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I'm not disagreeing with you. Most likely I haven't handled two different remotes close enough together to notice. I pulled the remote for my ancient 2 XS out of the drawer and put it next to the voice remote that I added to my Premiere. Yep, it's taller. Of course that old remote is really old, and I could also see Roku making the newer ones a bit slimmer. Not important enough for me to wander around the house comparing different remotes. 🙂