Remotes

[lburgher]

I have a Soundbar and an Ultra with 4 remotes (2 remotes for each unit) and all have been working fine for years. But recently, a remote to the Soundbar became nonresponsive, and I've been unable to "properly" pair a replacement remote to the Soundbar ever since. Note that several remotes, including the one that became nonresponsive, can "control" the Soundbar, but without fully completing the pairing process (see details below).

1. The Ultra seems to work correctly, except that it aggressively "seizes" any unpaired remotes it finds, without instructing it to do so. The only way to get any remote to "work" with the Soundbar is to unplug the Ultra.
2. With the Ultra unplugged, only one remote will pair CORRECTLY with the Soundbar (meaning it shows up in the list of paired remotes), and that is the one that originally came with the Soundbar.
3. Performing the pairing process on the Soundbar with ANY other remote does NOT finish successfully, although it will now work (temporarily) to control the Soundbar even though not listed as a paired remote.
4. Restoring power to the Ultra causes it to "seize" the remote so that it no longer controls the Soundbar (except for the one that successfully paired).

I've replaced the batteries, rebooted both units multiple times, ran many pairing processes, told both units to forget all the remotes, bought new remotes, and a few dozen combinations of all these things in a variety of orders.

Question 1) Is it normal for the Ultra to "seize" a remote without being explicitly instructed to pair with a new remote?

Question 2) Is it normal for a remote to be able to control a Roku while that remote is NOT shown in the list of remotes attached to that unit?

Any insight on this problem will be appreciated. Thanks!

[AvsGunnar]

@lburgher 

If you go to the Settings/Remotes & Devices/Remotes and instead select "Add Devices" can you get the desired remote to pair to the Streambar?

Unplug the Ultra during the above process.

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As to your questions, I have various model numbers of the Roku Ultra and I can use a few different of my remotes that are paired to the different models amongst all of them via IR. (ie. even though they are paired to another, I can still point them at at unpaired device and control it via IR).  However, I cannot use any of these paired remotes with my other non-Ultra models.

It is possible the Ultra and Streambar are sharing some of the same IR codes/same codes allowing you to control them without pairing. (which may explain why it is controlling it and not showing up in the list of paired devices).

I gifted my Streambar to a family member so no longer have it for testing this.

[lburgher]

Thanks for your reply.

In the "add device" section, it still asks you what kind of device, and it seems that "remote" is still the only sensible choice. This takes me through the exact same process as I get from following the "remotes/add new remote" path.

The net result is the same, which is that the remote works until the Ultra is powered on. Here are the exact steps I just did:

1) Unplug Ultra.
2) Unplug and repower Streambar.
3) Test the remote, the Streambar does NOT respond.
4) Initiate the pairing process from "Add Device" using device type "Remote".
5) Press and hold the pairing button on the remote, light begins to flash.
6) Wait a few minutes, light never stops flashing, Roku says "still looking".
7) Test the remote to see that the Streambar IS RESPONDING. Use it to back out of the "still waiting" process on Roku.
😎 Check the list of remotes to see there is still only one remote connected, not the one I'm trying to add.
9) Use the problem remote to scroll through menu choices (just to see it work), and observe two tv's (in adjacent rooms). Remote is controlling Streambar.
10) Power on the Ultra, and after boot, the remote is now controlling the Ultra, no longer the Streambar.

[AvsGunnar]

@lburgher 

On the occasion I have trouble pairing a remote, I begin the pairing process and then Restart the device.

(again, unplug the Ultra like you did and leave unplugged and take the batteries out of all the remotes except the one you want to pair with the Streambar).

1. Start the pairing process with the desired remote near the Streambar. (press appropriate button(s) on remote.

2. Unplug the Streambar and then plug back in. (allow it to reboot to Home Screen).

3. Wait for about 10 seconds and see if this now helps the Pairing process to continue.

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Otherwise, I think I would consider Factory Resetting the Streambar (press and hold reset button for 30+ seconds) and see if that finally resolves the issue.

I would work on getting the Streambar to pair with the remote before pairing others to the other devices.  Might not hurt to restart router as well to clear out any wifi-direct networks that may be interfering with the pairing process. (each device will produce a wifi-direct network for these RF Voice Remotes to connect to).  As long as a Roku device is unplugged, it won't be able to emit/broadcast this private network.

[lburgher · Accepted solution]

My problem was resolved by performing a factory reset on the stream bar. Upon restart, none of the remotes worked to control it, but I placed one in pairing mode, and it paired automatically with no further effort. I repeated on a second remote which worked equally well.

So, the remotes are back to normal. I reconnected to WiFi, and began the dreaded task of relinking a zillion streaming services, but all is finally handled.

[RokuTakashi]

Hey, @lburgher 

Thanks for letting us know that your issue is all sorted out!

I'm glad to hear you were able to resolve it and found a solution. This will help other users in the Community who are having similar issues.

A big shoutout to @AvsGunnar for their help, too! If you have any more questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out or start a new thread. We're always here to help!

Thanks,
The Roku Community Team.