Remotes

[Cami10b]

Hi is there any fix to the remote using up batteries too fast even if I'm not using the roku batteries lasts only 2-3 days

[makaiguy · Accepted solution]

If you have a Voice Remote (one with a microphone and has to be paired to your Roku, rather than a point-and-shoot remote that connects by infrared) read on.   Otherwise you can skip the rest of this message.

Voice remotes control via WiFi directly to your Roku, not going through your local WiFi network.   Since the Roku has only a single WiFi radio, the Remote must use the same Roku channel that your Roku is tuned to for your local network.

There is some evidence that one cause of battery drain for those with point-anywhere WiFi remotes can be your router using a channel that is has a lot of interference from nearby routers using the same channel. This is more likely to be a problem in the more heavily used 2.4 GHz wifi band where it can also get interference from other sources like BlueTooth and microwave ovens than in the 5 GHz band.

If you have access to your router's setup, try configuring it to use a different WiFi channel to see if this helps the situation. If you are connecting in the crowded 2.4 GHz band, channels 1-11 are supported. Channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap each other and so give you the best chance at reducing congestion, so try each in succession, although depending on what channels your neighbors are using, other channels in the 1-11 range may work best. Also, reducing router bandwidth from 40 to 20 kHz may also reduce interference.

Note that optimum channel choice can be a moving target as neighbors bring new routers online in your vicinity, or reconfigure their routers to use different channels. I periodically use a WiFi analyzer app on my smart phone that can show me which available WiFi channels have the least congestion and I change the channel my router uses accordingly. I don't know if that explains my battery longevity (usually 3 months or more with fairly heavy use) but it's probably worth a try to see if it helps.

[mbaranek]

How about you fix your problem, not seeing other wifi device drain batteries in one or two days,

Bad design

[RokuJharra-Q]

Hi @mbaranek,

Greetings from the Roku Community!

We appreciate the feedback and information you and other community users provided about this issue. 

Please feel free to reach out if you have any further reports or issues with your Roku device or remotes. Whether you start a new thread or inform us about any problems you're encountering with your Roku device, we genuinely want to help, and your input is valuable to us. Rest assured that we are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

Our goal is to ensure you have the best streaming experience!

Thanks,
Jharra

[crob75]

I've been using Roku with voice on 4 of my tv's for about a year.  For the last month the remotes for my Magnavox and Toshiba tv's have been draining quickly. I'm not having this problem on the Samsung and TCL-Roku Tv's.  What is the solution?

I do not know how to change router configuration.

[RokuJharra-Q]

Welcome to the Roku Community, @crob75!

We appreciate you bringing your Roku remote's battery health concerns to our attention. We would be more than happy to offer you further information and suggestions to help. While Roku remotes are designed for longevity, certain factors can contribute to faster battery drain.

• Heavy usage of private listening on the remote itself--using the mobile app will save your batteries!
• Congested Wi-Fi network around the device--the reason for this is that most remotes will use RF to connect to your Roku player and constant reconnection will use more battery.
• Or viewing lots of short-form content, like YouTube, where a streamer could go through a few hundred button presses in an hour.

Furthermore, we offer a Roku Voice Remote Pro (2nd edition) with 50% more battery life than the previous edition, with USB-C charging that typically lasts three months per charge. Live TV is one button push away, and you can pull up your favorite apps and adjust settings, like closed captioning, at any time with the quick launch button.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Best regards,
Jharra