Remotes

[IronGiant10]

I'm trying to set up my Roku Ultra to use RF. I've been tried unsuccessfully to place an IR sensor over the IR location on my 2020 Roku Ultra but can't seem to find it. There is another post with some vague information re placing the sensor in the middle of the front face of the roku ultra but that didn't work for me. If anyone has set up their 2020 Roku Ultra for use with an RF universal remote, I'd appreciate any information

[atc98092]

RF and IR are two different things. You seem to be confusing the two terms. The remote that comes with a Roku Ultra is RF, using WiFi Direct as its communications method. I know of no 3rd party remote that will control a Roku via RF. 

If you are trying to use a universal IR remote, you have to ensure it contains the correct codes for Roku players. Note that Roku TVs use a different code set than Roku players, so they are not interchangeable for IR use. 

Yes, the IR sensor is located somewhere on the front face of the Ultra. I'm not sure what you mean by "to place an IR sensor over the IR location". The IR sensor is contained within the Ultra, you don't need to place anything over it. The IR remote must of course have a clear line of sight between the remote and the face of the Roku. 

Don't forget you lose functionality with an IR remote compared to the RF remote the Ultra comes with. You lose voice control and remote listening.

[Strega]

I had trouble with "IR sensor over the IR location on my 2020 Roku Ultra" as well.  I think MAYBE the OP means: an IR blaster over the IR Sensor in the Ultra.  Just a guess though.

[IronGiant10]

Sorry I guess I need to clarify here. Yes, I'm aware IR and RF are two different things 🙂

I'm trying to place an IR emitter on the Roku IR sensor. I have IR emitters on all my other components so I can control them with RF and not worry about line of sight issues. The emitter connects to the URC base station. I'm just having trouble locating the IR sensor on the Roku Ultra is all. 

[atc98092]

Ah. Ok, now it makes sense. I wouldn't think the placement of the IR blaster would be very critical. My Premiere came with an IR remote, and it would work pretty much anywhere within the room I used it, without pointing it right at the Roku. The IR would bounce off the wall as long as the room wasn't too well lit. I realize the IR blaster has a more limited range, but I would expect it to work if it were placed anywhere near the front panel. I just used a very bright LED light and looked at the front of my Ultra 4640 and could not detect anything behind the panel. I would guess it's opposite of the Roku label on the front left side, so likely closer to the right side of the panel. 

[IronGiant10]

No worries, I didn't explain the issue clearly. The company I used to do my home theater installation said it takes some trial and error moving around the IR emitter but after messing with it a lot and not getting it to work, I figured I would reach out to the community to see if anyone had a similar issue and could pinpoint the location of the IR sensor on the Roku Ultra. The roku remote is great and works well and my universal remote also works to control the roku but it doesn't have that RF functionality and convenience. 

[IronGiant10]

I found out that my URC universal remote wasn't programmed for IR and RF so it didn't matter where I was placing the emitter on the Roku - it wouldn't have worked without the proper remote programming. I had the AV company fix the issue with the remote programming so it will control the Roku using RF. The attached pic shows where the tech placed the emitter in case anyone else runs into this issue using a universal remote to control a Roku Ultra

[Tivoburkee · Accepted solution]

With a mrf-350 base station and the IR repeater in the proper place, having the software set to RF only should have worked also. So there's no IR coming out of the front of the remote, and it's communicating with base station by RF, then the base station turns it into IR and sends out the repeater cable to the front IR sensor of the roku. 

[Gang6]

Thank you for this post and pic.  I was struggling with exactly the same problem with my MX990 remote.  This fixed the issue immediately.