Remotes

[cee3peeoh]

I have an old ROKU streaming stick and the remote that does have an LED and pairing button quit working.  I bought a new simple remote which just arrived and it has no button or LED for pairing.

It also does not work on the streaming stick.  Did I get the wrong remote?  There was only one simple remote available to order for replacement.  The ROKU website only says the remote without the pairing button does not need pairing.  It does not say how to make it work.

I also have a scam alert.  Hello Tech is a scam site that comes up first in any search for ROKU. 

According to the online chat in which I assumed was ROKU talking to me, they wanted $79.00 to send out a technician to get my remote working.  I jumped all over them calling them scammers and they finally admitted they were not ROKU.  S.O.B.'s!  

I should have been more diligent looking at the address bar but their website is conveniently similar to ROKU's.  I was taken in but not taken.

nd they finally admitted they were not ROKU.   S. O. B.'s!

[Tivoburkee]

Sorry but you did buy the wrong remote. The simple Roku remote is IR only remote, but Roku Sticks only respond to wifi remote, which all have pairing buttons. 

[cee3peeoh]

Thanks.  How do I send the wrong one back and be sure to get the new one?  Better yet, is there a more advanced remote for my stick?  I do not have a ROKU TV. or an internet capable TV.

[Tivoburkee]

What you need is the Roku Voice remote, which can be purchased at walmart for about $19.88:

Roku Voice Remote (Official) for Roku Players, Roku TVs and Roku Streambars - Walmart.com

I'd buy it in the store, have it right away. 

Or buy from amazon:

Amazon.com: Roku Voice Remote (Official) for Roku Players, Roku TVs and Roku Streambars : Electronic...

To return you'll have to get in touch with Roku support, and they NEVER charge you, only scam sites do. 

[Strega]

I wonder what search engine you use?  I typed roku into Google, Bing and Duck Duck go and didn’t get HelloTech on the first page. 

I did find HelloTech by searching for them specifically and I am not convinced they are a scam.  They appear to be a company that will send you a tech for a fee and do things like take a TV out of the box, hang it on the wall, and connect it to devices and services for people who don’t want to do such things themselves. 

[cee3peeoh]

I didn't just type in roku, I typed in the problem I was having about pairing with a new replacement ROKU Simple remote.  I cannot tell you the exact words but I saved the entire conversation.  I had 30 years as an alarm technician/ service technician so I do know a bit about what I am talking about and I have had my fill of  tech support that does not listen and online chats that do not read what I type.  I try to explain the problem in the initial text as a basis of where I am in the troubleshooting process.  

The conversation started to go downhill from the tech support's first reply by not reading it was a Simple remote without a pairing button as in the photos and drawings they show in their instructions online.  By the way, the remote came in a plastic bag with no instructions.  Later on, they wanted to schedule an appointment for a tech to come out and pair it for me for $80.  That's when I called them scammers for selling me a remote that would not work, without any instruction manual, then offer to have someone else with the knowledge to pair it for more money.  This is when they admitted they were not ROKU.

Enough about them, I "assumed" because of several factors and was again burned because I "assumed".

We have now determined I have the wrong replacement SIMPLE remote. I saw nowhere on the website a choice of IR or pairing.  That being here nor there, how do I return it and what is the correct one I need to ask for?

[cee3peeoh]

Thanks for the reply.  I didn't buy the voice remote because it was more money and I didn't need it.  I thought it might not have been compatible with the old streaming stick I have so I opted for the exact remote I had that quit, or so I thought.  I really only need to return the IR remote and get the pairing remote.  How do I do that?

[Tivoburkee]

The voice remote is the only remotes that will work with Roku stick, but if your stick is purple, no current Roku remote will work. Remember only wifi remotes work with Roku stick, it will not work with ANY IR remote, which includes the simple Roku remote and ALL universal remotes.  Sticks do not have an IR sensor to accept IR commands, sorry. 

[cee3peeoh]

The voice remote is the only remotes that will work with Roku stick,

Apparently not because my ROKU stick came with the ROKU SIMPLE remote with the pairing button and it does work with the stick.

I am in the process of returning a remote they sent me by mistake and it is my responsibility for shipping cost to return the wrong remote.  Is there someone I could speak to at ROKU other than their online jump through all the hoops system then we will think about helping you?

If not, I can just shop around for another streaming stick that is not ROKU.

[Strega]

The Roku simple remote is an IR (infrared light) remote which requires line-of-sight.  Roku “stick” products plug directly into the HDMI port which is typically on the back of the TV, which precludes an IR (line-of-sight) remote from working.

See the description of the simple remote here:

https://www.roku.com/products/accessories/roku-simple-remote#!

From that page: “Compatible with:  All Roku players (except Roku® Streaming Stick®, Roku® Streaming Stick®+, Roku® Streaming Stick® 4K, and Roku® Streaming Stick® 4K+)”

Because those stick-format players don't have IR receivers for the reason mentioned above. 

IR remotes don’t really need much documentation.  You just put batteries in and point them at the device. They're very different devices from RF remotes.