# RF remote not working at all with new Roamio OTA



## galandy (Aug 13, 2006)

Hello,

I just got a brand new Roamio OTA. However, once I pair the remote in RF mode, the Tivo does not seem to respond at all. It only works when switching to IR mode.

I reset the remote several times, and restarted the Tivo as well. Is there any way to troubleshoot what's going on with RF mode?

Thanks


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

galandy said:


> Hello,
> 
> I just got a brand new Roamio OTA. However, once I pair the remote in RF mode, the Tivo does not seem to respond at all. It only works when switching to IR mode.
> 
> ...


When the TiVo gets a command the amber LED lights. The remote LED is amber for RF, red for IR. Both ok?


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## galandy (Aug 13, 2006)

JoeKustra said:


> When the TiVo gets a command the amber LED lights. The remote LED is amber for RF, red for IR. Both ok?


The remote lights both work fine, depending on the mode the remote is set to. They are amber for RF and red for IR. However the tivo amber LED light only blinks when the remote is in IR mode. Nothing happens when the remote is in RF mode.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

galandy said:


> The remote lights both work fine, depending on the mode the remote is set to. They are amber for RF and red for IR. However the tivo amber LED light only blinks when the remote is in IR mode. Nothing happens when the remote is in RF mode.


I guess that you have tried the remote control pairing under settings, Remote control setup, Part 5:Remote control pairing? Under system info there is a Remote Address: which is I guess starts at zero (where mine is). By testing this I lost my Battery Level.


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## galandy (Aug 13, 2006)

JoeKustra said:


> I guess that you have tried the remote control pairing under settings, Remote control setup, Part 5:Remote control pairing? Under system info there is a Remote Address: which is I guess starts at zero (where mine is). By testing this I lost my Battery Level.


Yes, first I reset the remote, which causes the amber light to blink. Then I go to "Part 5:Remote control pairing", which causes the remote to stop blinking. It looks like it is paired? But the Tivo does not receive any command after pairing.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

galandy said:


> However the tivo amber LED light only blinks when the remote is in IR mode. Nothing happens when the remote is in RF mode.


Sounds like your REMOTE is bad.

When I'm using the Roamio remote in RF mode the LED will blink AMBER when sending commands to its paired Roamio; however, occasionally, the remote will temporarily lose its RF connection with its Roamio and will fallback to IR communication and the LED will then blink RED for a command or two.

If you're not seeing ANY LED blinks when in RF mode, it makes me believe you have a bad remote. (Which is possible, my personal sampling has been 1 bad remote received out of 10 total.)

edit: Contact TiVO and I'm sure they'll fix you up, right quick.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

I have read in other discussions that the roamio remote is flaky with regard to RF function.
The one I have likes to switch between RF & IR on its own; but works either way.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Teeps said:


> I have read in other discussions that the roamio remote is flaky with regard to RF function.
> The one I have likes to switch between RF & IR on its own; but works either way.


I'm having the "IR fallback" issue with a Roamio remote, but I haven't gotten around to testing whether the issue might abate if I moved the paired Mini from behind the 65" WiFi-enabled LED TV to a distance as far as my HDMI cable might allow.

I've heard tell that LED TVs can cause WiFi interference, so I'm wondering if they might also affect the remote's RF connectivity.


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## RoyK (Oct 22, 2004)

Teeps said:


> I have read in other discussions that the roamio remote is flaky with regard to RF function.
> The one I have likes to switch between RF & IR on its own; but works either way.


The remote that came with my roamio was that way. I'd have to stab the play button four or five times sometimes to stop a fast forward. The red led was flashing instead of the yellow even though the remote was in RF mode. Then it would work fine for a while then do it again.

It got so annoying that I bought a new remote from Amazon. It does the exact same thing. Usually working just fine then getting in that flaky mode.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

krkaufman said:


> I've heard tell that LED TVs can cause WiFi interference, so I'm wondering if they might also affect the remote's RF connectivity.


Never heard that, but as RoyK posts below.
The problem lies in the remote not outputting RF as evidenced by the red led instead of amber.
My remote acts the same as Roy's


RoyK said:


> The remote that came with my roamio was that way. I'd have to stab the play button four or five times sometimes to stop a fast forward. The red led was flashing instead of the yellow even though the remote was in RF mode. Then it would work fine for a while then do it again.
> 
> It got so annoying that I bought a new remote from Amazon. It does the exact same thing. Usually working just fine then getting in that flaky mode.


Good to know that a new remote is also having rf/ir switching problems.
I won't waste the $$$ for a replacement.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Teeps said:


> The problem lies in the remote not outputting RF as evidenced by the red led instead of amber.


Yeah, I understand the symptom, and it happens because the remote/host RF communication is temporarily lost... for some reason. You'll find the remote will revert to IR whenever you reboot the TiVo, as well, since it loses the RF connection.

Apparently the RF connection between these remotes and their host is tenuous.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

I know plasma TVs can cause interference. Never heard of LEDs doing that though. 

I remember reading back shortly after the Roamio came out that here were a few people with remote issues and someone opened their TiVo and noticed a small wire with connector wasn't seated properly. After they seated it and made a good connection, all was well. May be worth a shot.


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## tarheel115 (Oct 21, 2011)

One of my remotes is having the same problem amber sometimes red other times


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

tarheel115 said:


> One of my remotes is having the same problem amber sometimes red other times


It will be red when you press any buttons programmed for the TV functions like input, volume, mute, etc. Is it only red when you press these buttons, or sometimes when you press TiVo specific ones?


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## tarheel115 (Oct 21, 2011)

Tivo fuctions.. I wait after red appears and then it goes amber and works after a few attempts


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## galandy (Aug 13, 2006)

After talking with Tivo's Customer Service, they are sending me a replacement remote... if that doesn't work, then they will have to replace the Tivo itself... hope it doesn't come to that!


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## Time_Slip (Dec 10, 2013)

Tivo and D buttons to put in rf mode
Tivo and C buttons to put in ir mode

*Transmit RF during pairing:* Why they dont put this in the text of step 5 is beyond me.
Tivo and Back buttons at the same time

*Erase all paired remotes from tivo box:*
Clear
Enter
Clear
221
Clear

Tivo remote global reset: *Worked when remote was going in and out of rf*
Make sure ir is covered up (front of remote)
Power and Tivo buttons at the same time
3 thumbs down
Enter
Then pair rf again with the box


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## Time_Slip (Dec 10, 2013)

I received a brand new OTA Roamio.
The remote was in rf mode but not working.
I erased all remotes from the box and then did a global reset with the remote. (see the steps above)
Then I paired the remote by the settings on the box.
During pairing I made sure the remote was in rf mode then I Transmitted the rf pairing by holding the Tivo and Back buttons at the same time.


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## gespears (Aug 10, 2007)

I have the Roamio and two mini's all using RF and have never had a problem even when I cart the remote into the kitchen to change channels in there.

Just wanted to drop my .02 so people don't think all the RF remotes are flakey.


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