Remotes

[MajorRexHavoc]

I have a Roku Ultra 4802X which came with the VERY annoying rechargeable remote. So far, for the several months I have had this unit, my wife and I, or friends over, have had to forgo movie night or catch a favorite show because we find the remote dead. And a dead remote means a dead Roku.

As much as people hate the low battery warnings on screen, we never got even one low battery warning. The remote goes from working fine, to DEAD! Usually working the night before, but dead the next day.  At least with a replaceable battery remote I can just slap new batteries in and be good to go. But with the Pro remote, I have to wait a long while for the remote to charge. (Partial charges often go dead in the middle of a show, so that’s not good!).

Did the designers actually ever use this remote idea as a customer would? I guess no.  Sorry, but this is one of the dumbest ideas yet. And I had an old IR remote I thought I could use in a pinch, but nope, it seems you have removed the IR receiver from new units. So this brain dead idea make my Roku often useless (more often than I would expect) when the remote, without a low battery warning, goes dead. DUMB!  At the least put up a low battery warning on the screen so I’ll know to charge it that night. Sorry for my annoyance, but as a previous-life set top box engineer, we always said your device is a failure if something cause the box to not work when needed.

I find this remote issue a total FAIL! I guess I’ll have to buy a regular voice remote to avoid this issue going forward. 

[renojim · Accepted solution]

I have a couple of pro remotes and have never seen that problem, so it's not universal.  You might try to contact support at https://support.roku.com/contactus to see what they have to say.

The 4802 definitely has an IR sensor, so I don't know what the problem is there.  I would suspect the remote if you haven't verified it works on another device.  You can also use the app on your phone/tablet as a remote in a pinch.  Only sticks (that plug directly into an HDMI input without the need for a cable) don't have IR sensors.

Roku Mobile App - Free for iOS® or Android™ | Roku

[MajorRexHavoc]

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear it’s not a regular issue, but still think a remote that can go dead with no way to use the device is a bad design. Although I was unaware there was a way to use the phone app as a controller, so I can check this issue off the list. Thank you. 

I did check that the IR remote is sending IR codes by shining it at my phone camera and observing the LED. (I have two old remote, both flashing the LED and neither controlled the Rojku.) Unless the IR receiver is on the back of the unit, they did nothing. They are from an early unit. Maybe just too old?

I’ll give Service a try again. I went there before and I could not find a way to reach a real person, always pointing me at useless info for this issue or asking me to check the forum.  Still think I might buy a regular voice remote as a backup. 

Thanks for your reply. 

[Tivoburkee]

These extra Roku IR remotes wouldn't happen to be Roku tv remotes? Do they have power button and volume keys? Roku tv' s use a completely different IR code then stand alone Roku's like the Ultra. 

[MajorRexHavoc]

Well, that is a good question. A buddy said he had two old Roku remotes and dumped them on me. Now that I look closer (they are very similar) I see volume keys on the side, so I suspect these are both TV remotes. Sigh. Another mystery solved. 

[RokuAustin]

Hi @MajorRexHavoc 

Go ahead and contact customer support directly, as these remotes will hold a charge between two weeks and two months depending on your usage. 

You can reach them at http://support.roku.com/contactus.

Send me a PM here if you're still having an issue. Going to go ahead and close your thread, but feel free to send me a note or start a new thread if needed, and thank you for letting us help! The customer support team will make sure you quickly get back to streaming. 

[Sophia666]

I 100% agree that there is a flaw I have a Roku TV and bought this Voice Remote Pro and it does the same thing will not charge I plug it in charge it and when I go to use it it shows up as almost all the way dead and says I need to charge it.

Spoke with someone from support and he said that I have to order a new one because my warranty is no good.   And I told him well there is no way that I should be having to purchase another remote. It's only been 2 years and this is supposed to be the new pro remote. He told me that it was just an accessory. It doesn't come with the smart TV and that's he cannot do anything about it that I just need to purchase another one and I said I am not purchasing another 1? I don't care if I don't have a year warranty just shy of over a year whatever and that this remote was absolutely 100% made. For smart T v's cause he told me it wasn't made for the T v's because he told me it wasn't made for the T. V's just a device and I was so limited.

I would ask to speak to a supervisor and he said one would call me the next day. And it was just b*******. You know what when I 1st saw the?  The commercial for the new pro remotes in the hand free sat and you wanna talk to it? I thought it was really cool and they made it seem like know. It was gonna last long and it was better and newer and course. I wanted something that was gonna go great with my? Smart TV. And no. Way? Shape. Or form. Did I think that it would just not stop working one day and have to keep on purchasing new remotes?  This is the 3rd one I am not doing it and the support staff was so rude. He didn't want to even connect me to a supervisor he just said contact the manufacturer for tv . Nothing is wrong g with my tv . I purchased  the remote from roku  not the tv manufacturer.and then he said its an    accessories  and that's why it don't work because it don't go with the tv   it mainly for roku devices  . That the tv manufacturers  should help with the original  remote . I literally wanted to just lose it right there. Wow .  I like my roku smart t v and I really liked the remote as well When I 1st got the pro remote I absolutely freaking love it what I don't like is having to keep on buying remote because it's not. Lasting and then having somebody from the support team from roku tell me a bunch of c*** instead of just sending me a new remote.  Or coming up with excuses? I mean honestly I don't think it's too much to ask and what II spend on everything else that comes out. You know streaming and everything else why if they know that their remote is faulty why they just Wouldn't send you a new one I mean like i purchased it? You have a faulty remote what really is the problem? I'm not gonna pay for another one? I paid for it the 1st time and it was actually very pricey and all it came with was a year warranty.  I'm sorry I had the remote for 2years I think since I bought it from roku whether it has a warranty or not. It should last way longer than 2 years and I should be sent out another remote. No problems no anything else? I. Mean? I don't think it's that hard especially when there is nothing that I did to the remote. It wasn't stepped on it wasn't gotten wet it. Wasn't you know just not taking care of it's something with whatever however it was made that it's not working. You know with no fault of mine so I believe that I deserve a new remote.  Without support being condescending rude and not owning up I already met to their own stuff

[RokuAustin]

Hi @Sophia666! The Voice Remote Pro is designed with all Roku devices in mind, including the Roku TV and I'm sorry the agent gave you bad information. I can see you're scheduled for a supervisor call later today and the team should be able to assist you directly.