Remotes

[hiroshi87]

I know that Roku doesn’t guarantee sound bar control, but our Roku 3 Gaming Remote has worked great with our Sony sound bar for years, and now all of a sudden it stopped controlling volume. Was there some update or did something happen to the firmware that prevents this from syncing?

[RokuMary-F]

Hi @hiroshi87,

Thanks for your first post in the Roku Community!

For us to better understand the issue you are experiencing, can you please provide us with more detailed information about the issue you are experiencing? When did this issue first start occurring?

We also recommend taking a look at our Support page to troubleshoot remote issues: Why is my Roku® voice remote not controlling power and volume on my TV? | Official Roku Support

Please keep us posted and we'll continue assisting you from there.


Best regards,
Mary

[Salty13]

I’ve been having the same issue starting a few days ago. It’s happening with two different Roku remotes on two different tvs. One is a Roku-based TCL 6 (hooked up to a Vizio 5.1 via eArc), and the other the small Roku 4K that you plug into a non smart tv (this tv has no external speaker system). I was thinking maybe there was a software update that broke some compatibility. 

Sorry I don’t have a fix, but I came across your post and fingered I’d chime in. Hoping for a solution. 

[RokuMary-F]

Hi @Salty13,

Welcome to the Roku Community!

We understand that you are facing an issue with the Roku remote not working. We would be happy to look further into this issue but we will need more details. Can you please provide us with the following information:

• Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
• Roku remote model
• tracker ID when this issue occurs (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button 5 times, followed by the Back button 5 times, and provide us with this ID)
• steps to reproduce the issue you are seeing

We appreciate your patience while we investigate this issue and We look forward to your responses for gathering your details.


Best regards,
Mary

[GTforTV]

Has there been any resolution to this issue?  I am still not able to control the sound on my sound bar.  It seems coincidental that my last software update was done on 5-13 and these same issues are being noted in the following 1-2 weeks.  Is there a fix for this change?

[RokuArjiemar]

Hi! @GTforTV,

Thank you for reaching out to the Roku Community!

Before enjoying an enhanced listening experience, you must connect your Roku TV Wireless Soundbar to a TV powered by Roku OS. This is done through a discovery process called pairing, which establishes a secure wireless connection with your wireless soundbar. Because this pairing information is retained even when your devices are powered off, it is typically only necessary to pair your wireless soundbar once. 

This article helps you troubleshoot problems you may encounter during the pairing process and provides steps you can take to find a solution. How to resolve issues pairing your Roku TV Wireless Soundbar.

Please keep us posted on what you find out, and we will be more than happy to continue assisting you further. We look forward to hearing back from you.

Thanks,

Arjiemar

[G573]

I also recently started having this problem of no longer being able to control my Sony soundbar with the Roku remote after being able to for the past year. No sound is output from the soundbar as well and sound defaults to my tv speakers. Any update on a cause or solution?

[RokuArjiemar]

Hello! @G573,

Thanks for the post,

We appreciate your response regarding your Sony sound bar. We're pleased to assist.

HDMI includes a couple of lesser-known features called HDMI-CEC and ARC that use two-way communication over the same connection to simplify how you use and set up your entertainment system. These features may be disabled by default.

• Have you ever had any external devices connected?
• How long did that connection last?
• Have you looked at the settings on your device?
• Have you tried switching ports?

In the meantime, please perform some troubleshooting steps to fix your issue.

1. CEC steps:
a. Press Home on your Roku remote.
b. Scroll and select Settings.
c. Select System
d. Select Control Other Devices (CEC).
e. Scroll and highlight the system audio control.
f. Check the box to enable system audio control.
g. Highlight 1-touch play
h. Check the box to enable 1-touch play.

2. ARC steps:

• Perform Roku TV CEC steps A through D.
• Scroll and highlight ARC.
• Check the box to enable ARC.

Check if the external device works in all aspects. Try restarting the TV, then trying the steps again if they don't work. Try using different HDMI or USB cables.

Please keep us posted on what you find out, and we will be happy to continue assisting you further. We look forward to hearing back from you.

Thanks,

Arjiemar

[KingNyRican]

It happened to me, and it took me a while to notice, but the HDMI of the soundbar has to be plugged in even if you use optical like me. Then I did a remote setup for tv and boom, it worked. 

[Xacto]

The instructions for hdmi connection don't work for me because my LG soundbar only uses an optical audio connection. Pairing the remote with the TV succeeds but the volume control only works momentarily, then disappears. All of this worked fine until recently. Roku seems to have changed something in a software upgrade. What is it?

Roku streaming stick 4k running on a Panasonic Viera plasma TV with a LG soundbar.