Solving playback issues

[Phito11]

I own two Roku Ultras, both are connected to LG TVs, one has an LG soundbar, the other only uses the TV's built in speaker.  On both, I've been having an issue where when I click the up or down volume control on the Roku remote just once, the volume keeps going all the way up, or all the way down.

I've tried updating, restarting the Roku Ultra, updating and restarting the TVs, updating and restarting the sound bar on the one that uses the sound bar, but that has not fixed the issue.

If I use the LG TV's built in apps to watch the same streaming services, I don't have the problem whatsoever.  The problem is obviously with the Roku devices themselves, both of my Roku Ultra's are just two years old.

The questions is now, is Roku doing this on purpose to force you to buy new ones?  Or is this a software issue that they have not bothered to fix.

For now I'm just going to disconnect both Roku Ultra devices and either use the LG TV's built in apps, or switch over to the Amazon Streaming stick.

If anyone at Roku knows what's going on and can fix this please let me know, and no, buying a new Roku device is not an option.

[SoundAdvice]

Having the same problem with a new (2 month old ) Roku Ultra. It appears to be generated from the remote sensor signaling volume + or - rapidly repeating, as if the button is being held down. I've also noticed this glitch when scrolling. The remote seems to continue to send left,right,up,or down signals more than once, skipping over several selections. With the volume control, my LG TV has a red IR sensor that flashes once with each notch when raising or lowering the volume. When the volume jumps up or down more than requested, the TV's IR sensor light flashes rapidly, until I cover the ROKU remote's IR emitter with my hand. The ROKU remote, in my opinion is  glitching electronically - It does not appear that the volume contact points are at fault since it "sticks" when navigating with the arrow keys too. I assume the remote will need to be replaced with an updated version. I also suspect there will be more complaints as more bad units are sold. I also suspect customers are going to get very angry when this glitch causes damage to their TV's audio speakers.

Restarting, resetting, re-pairing does not seem to help for more than a few days.

I'll be following along, looking for any new info. Seems ROKU is not standing behind their product. I can't actually reach them to complain and simply doing an exchange for another remote that does the same thing does not seem appealing to me either.

[RokuERey]

Hi @Phito11,

Thanks for keeping us posted and for letting us know about this behavior you're experiencing.

Could you tell us if this issue happens every time, or is this an intermittent case? When did you start seeing the issue occur?

We'd like to see more about what's going on here and we'll more information.

Best regards,

Rey

[RokuERey]

Hi @SoundAdvice,

Thanks for joining us here in the Roku Community!

We're sorry for the inconvenience. This is not what we aim for. We would also like to take a closer look into this. Seems you have already exhausted troubleshooting.

In this case, could you please provide the remote serial number? This can usually be found inside the battery compartment.

Please keep us posted.

Thanks,

Rey

[Phito11]

Hi Ray,

    Thank you for replying.

This has been going on for several months now, it happens not every time we adjust the volume, but it does happen every day we use both our Rokus.

As I mentioned in my post, this doesn't happen with the Amazon fire stick, or when using the TVs remote and it's apps. 

I also can control the volume of the Roku with the TVs remotes, and it still happens, so the issue seems to be with the Roku Ultra units themselves and not the actual Roku remote.

Thank you.

[RokuERey]

@Phito11,

Thanks for the prompt response!

We've got you. Could you share with us the remote serial number that has an issue? This can be found at the back of the battery compartment. 

Keep us posted.

Thanks,

Rey

[SoundAdvice]

Hi there Rey. Thanks for reaching out about my volume control issue. I have an older(2014) LG tv. The original LG remote and Verizon Fios remote both actively control the volume without error. The Roku Ultra streaming device with the re-chargeable voice remote causes the volume up or down to "stick" for about one second, after being pressed and released once. I've been using the Roku setup about 2-3 months now. It became apparent about three weeks in. I attributed it to either IR interference or low battery. I charged the remote to 100 % and made sure nothing was blocking the IR sensor. Didn't help, so I went through the pairing process again. That appeared to stop it from "runaway volume" control incidents, for two weeks, only to return. This time I started keeping a mental note of the remotes position in the room, putting any other remotes in a drawer, weather the recessed light LED dimmer was on or off, re positioned my FIOS router, checked battery charge, re- paired remote and tried to switch to CEC protocol. (TV not supported). Used in daylight or total darkness. No changes.

I have the remotes voice selector to the OFF position. I haven't attempted to switch it on to see if it resolves the problem .... yet.

I took a look at the remote. It's the "voice remote pro" and has rechargeable batteries. I do not see a serial # on the remote or listed in the settings "about" menu.

The SKU# on the units box is :4802R

Serial #: S0DA2246524R

Remote Model #: RC795

Remote Firmware : RTN4244

The "runaway" condition does not seem follow any perceptual pattern. I'd say it ramps up or down rapidly about 20% of the time I change the volume. Of course it is most problematic at night ( kids are sleeping ) and the commercials/ads volume needs to be adjusted because they're shockingly loud compared to the actual watched content !

I'll reiterate that I believe it's root cause is within the electronic circuit of the remote. From looking at the unit opened up on youtube, the vol up and down switches are separate independent components. I suppose if there were a "lot" of defective switches,used during production - it could be a defective physical switch component. However, I've also attempted to note how long the up or down IR command will fire sequentially - seems to be a maximum of 50 or 60 times before it stops by itself. It will stop immediately if the volume button in the opposite direction is clicked. I'm not sure if clicking the volume in the same direction has the same affect, since it catches me off guard, so I naturally compensate in the opposite direction - especially when it's getting louder.

I've also noticed that navigating menus or apps with the purple arrow keys, sometimes skips two or three times, horizontally. I don't recall having seen it happen vertically.

During the volume issue, I can tell the remote continues to send rapid IR commands by looking at my TV's IR sensor. The TV's IR sensor flashes once, each time a volume command ,click up or down is sent.

I hope I've provided some insightful info.

[RokuTakashi]

Hi, @SoundAdvice

We appreciate you for keeping us updated and providing insightful details regarding this issue.

May we know on what channel/s have you noticed this issue occurs? Does the volume fluctuate up/down while using or streaming in an app or does it happen too while on the Home Screen?

Your response to clarify the issue would be much of help.

All the best,
Kash

[Phito11]

Hi Kash,

It happens on any channel, or any app I'm using, such as Netflix, HBO, Prime, Apple Music.

Thank you,

[RokuCarly]

Thanks for confirming, @Phito11.

In this case, we will request additional reinforcement from our Support team regarding this matter.

Kindly send us a PM as we will be requesting personal information. (to send us a PM, select my username > select view profile > send this user a private message)

We'll be waiting for your response!

Best regards,
Carly