Remotes

[JPWolf]

I have a Roku Ultra Voice device with a remote which I have been using for over 2 years and over the lasts 2-3 months the batteries have been drained increasingly faster. At first batteries lasted a week but yesterday I put in a new pair of batteries and this morning they were completely dead.

I have done all the due diligence suggested in the forums including resetting the device AND the remote and apparently nobody has come up with a solution. I'm inclined to think that there is a problem with the remote. I do not have a complex wi-fi environment and the issue apparently occurs even when I turn the TV, device and remote off.

Please advise as to whether I should be getting a new voice remote and will that work with the existing Roku Ultra device.

Device: Serial #: CK385G305670 Model: 4660X2 

Remote: SKU 3226000304 Model: RC-AL4.

I like the simplicity of the ROKU but the Nvidia Shield TV Pro is starting to look pretty good.

[Strega2]

I suspect that battery life issues with Wi-Fi remotes is more environmental than device-based, so you might consider a plain-old IR remote (Roku branded or third-party.)

The only issue I have with IR remotes is that if you don't change the batteries until the remote dies, that could be 15 years later and you might have to clean some battery leakage out of the compartment. Not usually a big deal though.

[JWS9518]

I wish that the rechargeables in the remotes are easily changeable instead of being sealed and making the remote turn into more e-waste when they die.

[AvsGunnar]

@JWS9518 

The sealed batteries in the newer rechargeable remotes are replaceable. (available online).

Glued in place and leads have a simple male connector.

Easily changeable? (well, you do have to pry the remote apart. Some come apart easier than others).

----

As for the non-rechargeable Voice Remotes, some users have switched over to using rechargeable batteries (aaa and aa) and reported some success. (not throwing away so many batteries).  

The remote really is a luck of the draw.  I haven't had issues with the Voice Remotes for my devices with battery life, but just today did have a bum/defective rechargeable V1 Remote Pro arrive. (was for a  used/refurbished device so hoping a battery swap will fix issue).

[makaiguy]

@JPWolf-

A casual stroll thru this community will show that many people have a severe problem with battery life in their remotes.   But there are also lots of people (myself included) that do not experience this problem.  Is that due to some remotes being defective and others not, some Roku models being harder on remotes than others, or due to some other factor?  I don't know.
 
I *DO* know that if you have one of the remotes that has an earphone jack for remote listening, the earphone amplifier in the remote is activated and more quickly draining batteries whenever something is plugged into the jack, even when you are not streaming anything. Make sure you unplug the phones when not actively listening.
 
Beyond that, I've only seen one external factor suggested that may affect this.
 
There is some evidence that one cause of battery drain for those with point-anywhere remotes that connect to the Roku via WiFi-direct can be use of a router channel that is crowded by nearby routers using the same channel. It's been suggested that the remote has to work too hard constantly sorting through the information packets from other devices using the same channel such that it accelerates the battery drain.  This is more likely to be a problem in the more heavily used 2.4 GHz wifi band than in the 5 GHz band.
 
If you have access to your router's setup, try configuring it to use a different WiFi channel to see if this helps the situation. If you are connecting in the crowded 2.4 GHz band, channels 1-11 are supported. Channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap each other and so give you the best chance at reducing congestion, so try each in succession, although depending on what channels your neighbors are using, other channels in the 1-11 range may work best. Also, reducing router bandwidth from 40 to 20 kHz may also reduce interference.
 
Note that optimum channel choice can be a moving target as neighbors bring new routers online in your vicinity, or reconfigure their routers to use different channels.  I periodically use a wifi analyzer app on my smart phone that can show me which available wifi channels have the least congestion and I change the channel my router uses accordingly.  I don't know if that explains my battery longevity (usually 3 months or more with fairly heavy use) but it's probably worth a try to see if it helps.
 
Please report back to let us know how you make out.

[JWS9518]

@AvsGunnar As someone who has opened up my I-pod classics to replace the hard drive with SSD's and replace the battery, I would do exactly that. Unfortunately, most people won't or don't have the capability to do that and it ends up getting thrown away into the pile of plastic and electronic waste that keeps piling higher and higher.  I just wish companies would be more aware of the waste they create by not allowing something as simple as a rechargeable battery to be replaced easily.

By no means am I singling out Roku, this is an industry wide problem that includes nearly every brand of appliance and electronics.  I can't tell you how many times, for example, I have replaced my dehumidifier over the past 13 years, due to the fact that they don't last and are not repairable.  Oh wait, I can....11 to be exact.