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MarcoCole's avatar
MarcoCole
Newbie
6 years ago
Solved

LG smart remote to control Roku

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!
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  • Tivoburkee's avatar
    Tivoburkee
    6 years ago

    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.

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  • Midnight_Voice's avatar
    Midnight_Voice
    Channel Surfer
    5 years ago

    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's avatar
      Tivoburkee
      Community Streaming Expert
      5 years ago

      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's avatar
        Midnight_Voice
        Channel Surfer
        5 years ago

        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's avatar
    Tivoburkee
    Community Streaming Expert
    6 years ago

    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.

  • Dad_Vader's avatar
    Dad_Vader
    Newbie
    5 years ago

    tldr: yes, it has the capability.  I set mine up using the "Set Top Box" option in the Magic Remote configuration screen.  You'll have to input the manufacturer.  Next, it shows the "Menu" button, Try it, and if it doesn't work, it'll give you another incantation of the same.  In my Roku Smart Soundbar, the second one worked fine.  

    The other thing to be aware of is for ARC, the Roku soundbar feeds into HDMI port 2.  (It's specifically labeled as ARC on the back.)  The supplied Roku cable supported both 4K at 60/s and ARC. 

    • Midnight_Voice's avatar
      Midnight_Voice
      Channel Surfer
      5 years ago

      Dad_Vader 

      Perhaps you should have ‘read’.

      Most Roku devices will work, except for the Streaming Stick, which uses wireless rather than IR, and a protocol that the LG magic remote cannot emulate.

      LG really did not give me a satisfactory answer as to how they have the Streaming Stick in the list of Roku devices the magic remote can be configured for, as it is now pretty clear that it can’t.

      But it does seem that all recent Roku devices use IR, not proprietary wireless, so Premiere, Express, and the Soundbar are controllable.

      I wasn’t sure about the Soundbar, though, so pleased to see that the magic remote can indeed control it.

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

        The roku soundbar and streambar uses the same IR commands that roku 12 years ago used, just with a few new commands for tv power, volume and mute. Which roku cec commands to control whatever tv its connected to, if the tv responds to cec signals.