Remotes

[ComedyAddict]

What! No earbud jack in your new  Roku Voice Remote Pro Second Edition . What's the point of that? Don't you guys realize how most people watch these days. So you've tried to solve the battery drain problem by taking away the poorly designed audio earbud transmission/energy use problem. I have a remote head set - an around the neck type - that syncs with every device I own except the Roku, and its battery lasts for over a week. It can last much longer if you remember to turn it off (yes, it has an on-off button - an advanced technology Roku should investigate!).
So, Roku, you've taken one large step backwards with you new remote. I got an idea - go to your customer suggestion page and listen to your customers criticisms, especially on the battery problem. Or, better yet, just fix the removable battery door problem and go back to your old model.

[makaiguy]

@ComedyAddict-

I haven't received my Voice Report Pro Ed2 yet (any day now, we'll see...) but I agree removing the headphone jack is a step back.  Wired headphones are always in sync, Bluetooth headphones thru the Roku app can be out of sync and the sync delay adjustment in the app is a pain in the neck and doesn't always fix it.

I was given a Roku Ultra 4800 a couple of years ago that I just used for travel because I was happy with my Streaming Sticks at home.  But I installed it on my living room TV recently because Roku announced it is one of the models with the right chips to now directly feed audio to Bluetooth devices without having to go through the Roku app.

[RokuCarly · Accepted solution]

Hey @ComedyAddict, welcome to the Roku Community!

Thanks for your feedback about the Voice Remote Pro 2nd Edition! 🙏

While the Voice Remote Pro 2nd Edition doesn't have a headphone jack, you can still use the Roku mobile app with headphones for a great audio experience! 🎧

Check out this article for how to use Headphone Mode: How to use headphones with the Roku mobile app for Headphone Mode

 

Happy Streaming! 💜

Thanks,
The Roku Community Team

Was this post helpful? click Kudos 👍

[ComedyAddict]

When our older Pro remote could no longer hold a charge, I had to rely on my phone app while I waited for a replacement. The app is an excessive phone battery drainer - that's true whether you plug your earbuds into you phone or use bluetooth earbuds. Does not matter if the screen is off or not, the phone is constantly communicating with the Roku and draining battery.  

Here's a solution: fix the battery door problem and offer the removable battery model as an alternative. But don't forget the head jack!

We've used your competitors' streaming devices at friends houses and Airbnbs, and have decided to stick with Roku. However, your remote is your Achilles heal - fix it and you'll stay competitive in the market. 

We fixed our head jack problem by buying several of the older models (the ones with earbud jacks) - we keep the ones not in use charging so we always have a remote to use. When those wear out, we'll see if you've made improvements, and, if not, we'll find another brand, and, hopefully, by that time, your competitors will not also have gone the Apple way and forgone plug ins.

Have you heard, the European Union will force phone manufactures to have removable batteries by 2027 - hallelujah! 

[FranklinJ]

I actually don’t mind “no headphone jack” as I use Bluetooth from my ROKU directly to my SHOKZ bone conduction headphones, or Jabra headphones.  It’s the red flashing light on the RCB1r and request to pair 6 or more times a day I find annoying. Or that the remote won’t communicate the the base unit ROKU without pairing action

[Emissary35]

There are no pairing issues if you connect wired headphones. So removing that jack was a big mistake by Roku.

[FranklinJ]

Oh.  Never thought of that. 
they fixed one problem, and engineered another. 

[S2Srini]

Apart from the other issues mentioned by people with the Roku app, there is one big issue with removing the headphone jack -

If people want to take their Roku to a different location and are under public WiFi or non-private WiFi, they cannot use the app to connect to their Roku's on those WiFi networks and therefore cannot use the Private listening mode. An example of this is when people travel on vacation and take their Roku sticks to hotels for "on the go entertainment". The Roku app does not recognize the device on public WiFi and no private listening is possible. 

Bring back the headphone jack on the Roku voice remote!

[RokuCarly]

Greetings from the Roku Community, @S2Srini!

We appreciate your feedback about the Headphone jack on a Roku Voice Remote Pro. Rest assured that we will share this with the team. 

In the meantime, For the Roku Mobile app to work properly, it's essential to ensure that it is connected to the same network as your Roku device.

For more details about this, you may refer to our support article dedicated to this: How to use the Roku mobile app to control your Roku streaming device without a remote

Feel free to reach out if there's anything else you'd like us to address. We'd be more than happy to listen and take appropriate action.

Best regards,
Carly

[FranklinJ]

On public networks that filter the Roku data from the phone app, I have found value in using the blue tooth features of the Roku Ultra. I can choose between Jabra BlueTooth headphones or Bluetooth bone conduction earphones, although I’m sure any bluetooth enabled ear device can locate and attach to the Roku Ultra. 
this technique does not appear to work with the TCL television.