A warm welcome here in the Roku Community, @LA503!
Thank you for letting us know about your issues with your Roku simple remote. No worries! We'd be happy to help.
Before proceeding, please confirm whether certain buttons on your Roku simple remote do not work or never function. Also, when did this initially start happening?
Moreover, here are a few tips to make sure there is nothing blocking the path between your remote and streaming device.
For reference, here's our support article dedicated to this: How to fix your Roku simple remote that is not working
We'll be looking forward to your update so we can continue assisting you from there.
Best regards,
Carly
You indicated you have a "Simple Remote" and @RokuCarly answered appropriately. But sometimes users call remotes "Simple Remote" when they really are not.
And as to the "new remote", what remote did you get?
Roku Simple Remote (recently renamed to "Players" remote) is an infrared (IR) remote with no microphone, power, volume, or mute keys. It works with any Roku streaming device, except for Roku Streaming Sticks which have no IR receiver because they are usually used behind the set where IR cannot reach. Roku Players remotes also cannot be used with Roku TVs (and vice versa) because Roku TVs use a different set of IR commands than Roku streaming devices do. Players remotes are not, and cannot be, paired to the Roku -- you just point them at the front of the Roku where its IR detector is and press the buttons.
If, instead, you have a point-anywhere remote that controls via WiFi, it must be paired to the Roku you wish to control. See this Roku article for help in setting up and pairing the remote: https://support.roku.com/article/360011621473