Remotes

[Tweebler]

Get phone app to control Roku here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.roku.remote&hl=en-CA

[atc98092]

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@Tweebler wrote:

Don't bother with the official remote. Download the phone app and control Roku with that. The buttons actually work!!!  No more hassle.

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If the Roku is not connected to a network, a remote is required. If you're using a public WiFi (such as a hotel or college campus), the app will not be able to see the Roku, so a remote is required. When you first set up your Roku, a remote is required. So no, the app is not a perfect replacement solution under some circumstances. And if your Roku is a Stick model, it will ONLY work with an official Roku remote. No third party remote will work with any version of the Stick.

I don't know exactly what your beef is with the Roku remote, but it is neither clumsy nor error-prone. Certainly, any electronic device can fail. But I've used Roku devices for over 10 years, and have never had a remote issue with any of them.

[scoobyclub]

There's a huge volume of posts on remote control problems. Some may work just fine but there are a lot that don't including mine. 

[scoobyclub]

The app is a poor substitute for a proper working remote control. I want proper buttons and I don't want to faff around with unlocking etc each time I want to change channel or volume.
My universal remote control works much better than either my roku remote or the roku app.

[BB999]

Yes! If I wanted to use my phone as a remote I’d buy a chromecast. I bought a universal remote and it’s great. 
What I find problematic is that Roku must clearly know they are selling a product that does not work properly and they neither acknowledge it or do anything to correct it. It’s a form of corporate arrogance that ultimately loses business when a better mousetrap comes along. 
Also, very tired of people proclaiming they have never had an issue. That’s great. I never had an issue with my first, and still working Roku unit that is at least ten years old. But the two I purchased since then have had cr*p remotes. Telling me I’m wrong, or lying, because you have no issues is just ignorant. Hint, your experience is only your experience. 

[atc98092]

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@BB999 wrote:

Telling me I’m wrong, or lying, because you have no issues is just ignorant. Hint, your experience is only your experience. 

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Yes, and your experience is your experience. I would never tell someone they're wrong or lying about the way their personal equipment is working, other than a few very obvious people that were blatantly attempting to stir up trouble.

While there are quite a number of people with issues here in this community, remember that people without issues seldom post anything. When you look at the millions of Roku devices sold each year, I'd guess (my opinion, naturally) that the percentage of users with issues is small. That's of no help to users with problems, of course. The best we (other users, I'm not associated with Roku) can do is ask some questions to help troubleshoot and determine if the remote is the problem or if it's something else. Sometimes it's the remote, sometimes it's something else. But it helps to do these initial steps first to help isolate the problem.

[StevenCee]

@atc98092 " it is neither clumsy nor error-prone."  Seriously?  I've never in my life seen a remote more clumsy & error-prone in my life, and I've been around since before we had color TVs. There's no numbers, so you're forced to endlessly scroll through hundreds of channels, which itself is totally absurd. Then, saving time by using my voice to direct it to specific channels would be an improvement, however, that feature works about 20% of the time!

Sometimes it requires me to repeat the channel number as many as TEN TIMES, before it finally "hears" me, which is unacceptable. Then if that won't work, I then have to turn the TV off, & then back on, sometimes twice, before it will eventually work. As a last resort, if nothing else works, then I go through the "re-pairing" process, which means leaving the show I'm watching, opening the remote, etc, etc., a royal pain in the **bleep**. If you call a remote that you can't access any of the live ROKU channels directly, due to no numbers on the keypad, and a voice activated feature that mostly doesn't work, anything than "clumsy", perhaps a dictionary is needed.

This voice-activated "deluxe" remote is a joke, and Roku should be ashamed to put out so cumbersome & error-prone a device.

[BB999]

And unlike the folks who told me I didn’t purchase a Best Buy only unit (did this actually matter, other than as an identifier? Why make such an issue, and then actually be wrong!), or my batteries were at fault, I didn’t question their experience. There’s the difference. I stated my facts, have been proven accurate, and defended my reality. Never told people they were wrong. Never denied their reality. The amount of time spent rebutting people who told me I didn’t have my facts straight, which actually had zip to do with the issue I wrote about, was just annoying and a waste. A few people helped. One explained a possible reason the batteries get eaten up. One person backed up my fact of the Best Buy only unit that was quickly discontinued. And finally someone offered a specific solution of a remote that works. The rest was so much rushing in with hot air. I am VERY appreciative of supportive information. People telling me they have never had a problem with their remote is just whistling in the wind. Good on ‘em. I have an early Roku unit that has always worked perfectly. But that was not my issue. Like me going to a doctor and saying I broke my leg and she says she never broke her leg. What’s my problem?  Egad! 

[atc98092]

I completely agree about the lack of number buttons. It was OK when they were only used for streaming from channels that didn't include numbered lists. For Netflix, Prime Video, Vudu, and those sorts of channels, there was no need for number buttons. But with channels such as Pluto, ones offered from cable companies such as Spectrum or Comcast, and especially now with Roku TVs, the number buttons are extremely valuable. The last two TVs I bought I chose specifically because their remotes had number buttons. Otherwise I probably would have gotten another Roku TV. 

I have never bothered with the voice command, either with a Roku or other brands that offer them. The issues you describe is exactly why I don't bother. Siri works pretty well when I'm using CarPlay, but the voice commands built into my car are less than satisfying. 

If you are using the voice command issue as your error-prone opinion, I won't dispute that. But as a basic remote, i.e. just using the buttons that are there, and the overall shape and size of the remote, that's why I don't feel it's clumsy or error-prone.