# Roamio Remote Problems



## hhh222 (Jul 28, 2005)

Howdy....I've got 2 tivo remotes set up for rf and have had intermittent problems from the get go with buttons not responding on occasion. Example--on occasion I might have to press the skip button 4 or 5 times before it responds but it will eventually respond (this is with both remotes). The last 2 days most buttons would not respond until I restarted the unit. Anyone else experiencing this type of problem?


----------



## eric102 (Oct 31, 2012)

I have Roamios, Minis and a Bolt and have never had the issues you are having. Sounds like some sort of interference problem, have you tried IR mode just to make sure the buttons are OK?


----------



## choco (Nov 3, 2000)

When you press a button, could it be switching to IR mode so that you need line of sight? You can tell by the color that flashes at the top of the remote: yellow = RF mode, red = IR mode.

For us, it sometimes randomly switches to IR mode, and then we have to get one button press to register with line of sight before it starts working in RF mode again. Sort of a pain, but we've learned to deal with it now that we can tell what it's doing.


----------



## hhh222 (Jul 28, 2005)

The light on the front of the Roamio responds to the signal from the remote but that's all. If no one else has experienced this, it must be a bug in my unit.


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

choco said:


> When you press a button, could it be switching to IR mode so that you need line of sight? You can tell by the color that flashes at the top of the remote: yellow = RF mode, red = IR mode.
> 
> For us, it sometimes randomly switches to IR mode, and then we have to get one button press to register with line of sight before it starts working in RF mode again. Sort of a pain, but we've learned to deal with it now that we can tell what it's doing.


Apparently RF pairing of remotes can vary in quality, I.e., there is pairing and then there is *good* pairing.

I had exactly this behavior and lived with it for months. Since it was blinking yellow most of the time I assumed my remote was paired for RF operation and these problems were just normal -- or my remote was defective.

However, I finally contacted TiVo support via email and got a response suggesting a "global reset" and giving this link:
https://support.tivo.com/SupportPor...-Perform-a-Global-Reset-for-my-Remote-Control
After performing this reset and re-pairing my remote is finally acting like I thought it should. It never falls back to IR (red light) operation and the TiVo response for all actions seems more snappy. It's been a couple of weeks since the reset and my batteries are not fresh (80%) so I'm convinced this fix is permanent and real.


----------



## michael1248 (Feb 14, 2002)

I had similar problems. I ended up working with TiVo Help over the telephone for about 30 minutes. The solutions finally took hold, but not before several attempts that didn't work. 

Call TiVo Help and have a nice full glass of patience within arm's reach!


----------



## ss-stingray (Aug 25, 2013)

I had the same problem until I put in new batteries........


----------



## choco (Nov 3, 2000)

dlfl said:


> Apparently RF pairing of remotes can vary in quality, I.e., there is pairing and then there is *good* pairing.
> 
> I had exactly this behavior and lived with it for months. Since it was blinking yellow most of the time I assumed my remote was paired for RF operation and these problems were just normal -- or my remote was defective.
> 
> ...


It doesn't happen too often to us, and probably less often when the batteries are newer/stronger. We've done a global reset in the past, but maybe the 2nd pairing wasn't good enough either, lol. Will give it another try.


----------



## hhh222 (Jul 28, 2005)

Thanks everyone for you responses. I'll try the global reset and go from there.


----------



## RoyK (Oct 22, 2004)

I had those problems for months after I bought my roamio. It is sitting in the open in an entertainment center 12 feet straight in front of me. When i got it I just unplugged my TiVo HD, put it's cable card in the roamio and placed the roamio on top of the HD. One day I got frustrated with the remote performance and repositioned the roamio so that it overhangs the front of the HD by a few inches. Bingo. Works like a champ ever since. Maybe the antenna in the roamio was being interfered with by proximity to the HD's metal box?


----------



## LoveGardenia (Apr 24, 2015)

I have a problem with my Roamio Remote not holding a code to control TV power/ volume for more than a couple of days and it drains the battery fast. Do I need to reset the remote or replace it? I have an older peanut remote working with the Roamio and TV at the moment.


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

LoveGardenia said:


> I have a problem with my Roamio Remote not holding a code to control TV power/ volume for more than a couple of days and it drains the battery fast. Do I need to reset the remote or replace it? I have an older peanut remote working with the Roamio and TV at the moment.


If your remote batteries are good Alkaline models and don't last at least a month your remote is defective. Mine last much longer than that. From what I've read TiVo usually replaces remotes without too much fuss at least if you're in the one year warranty period. They will probably make you try a global reset before they agree to replace it.


----------



## RoamioJeff (May 9, 2014)

ss-stingray said:


> I had the same problem until I put in new batteries........


Bingo!


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

I have this issue as well. The remote is in RF mode, does not drop into IR mode.

And in any case, the light on the Roamio Plus front panel indicates it's getting a command, it just won't execute it until I hit the same button several times.

Fresh batteries don't help.

I will attempt to clear the remote and re-pair it, but confidence is low that this will work. I suggest there's some kind of issue with some of the boxes.


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

dougdingle said:


> I have this issue as well. The remote is in RF mode, does not drop into IR mode.
> 
> And in any case, the light on the Roamio Plus front panel indicates it's getting a command, it just won't execute it until I hit the same button several times.
> 
> ...


Not sure what you mean by "clear" it but, just to be clear, what you should try is a "global reset", which is not just re-pairing the RF. Start with the link given in my post #5 in this thread.


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

dlfl said:


> Apparently RF pairing of remotes can vary in quality, I.e., there is pairing and then there is *good* pairing.
> 
> I had exactly this behavior and lived with it for months. Since it was blinking yellow most of the time I assumed my remote was paired for RF operation and these problems were just normal -- or my remote was defective.
> 
> ...


Well for unknown reasons my remote went back to "poorly paired" operation yesterday. I did the global reset and re-pairing again and that fixed it (but for how long?). The TiVo system info keeps saying the remote batteries are at 80% although they have been in use a long time and I'm wondering how valid that reading is.

Coincidentally (I assume) this happened the same day skip mode was finally activated on my unit. There was no software update associated with this.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

dlfl said:


> Well for unknown reasons my remote went back to "poorly paired" operation yesterday. I did the global reset and re-pairing again and that fixed it (but for how long?). The TiVo system info keeps saying the remote batteries are at 80% although they have been in use a long time and I'm wondering how valid that reading is.
> 
> Coincidentally (I assume) this happened the same day skip mode was finally activated on my unit. There was no software update associated with this.


So I read all the FAQs on the RF remotes, and one buried item in there said to keep the TiVo away from network switches as they might interfere with RF remote operations.

I have a Netgear switch in the equipment cabinet about two feet from the TiVo. It's one of the 'consumer' versions that has a plastic housing. Just for giggles, I replaced it with a 'commercial' Netgear switch that has a metal housing, and so far, the remote has worked perfectly for about two hours of me torturing it trying to get it to act up, when last night I had to constantly repeat button presses to get it to respond.

Confidence, as they say, is moderately high that this may have been my issue. We'll see in a few days if it continues to work.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dougdingle said:


> So I read all the FAQs on the RF remotes, and one buried item in there said to keep the TiVo away from network switches as they might interfere with RF remote operations.
> 
> I have a Netgear switch in the equipment cabinet about two feet from the TiVo. It's one of the 'consumer' versions that has a plastic housing. Just for giggles, I replaced it with a 'commercial' Netgear switch that has a metal housing, and so far, the remote has worked perfectly for about two hours of me torturing it trying to get it to act up, when last night I had to constantly repeat button presses to get it to respond.
> 
> Confidence, as they say, is moderately high that this may have been my issue. We'll see in a few days if it continues to work.


I've just swapped remotes since I saw the red LED a lot in RF mode. It was a pain to swap also.

To test that battery indicator, get some Lithium batteries. They should say 100%, until they die quickly. My last pair lasted about a year.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

After using TiVos for almost 10 years, I can't believe how badly the Roamio RF ones perform.

Aside from having very limited IR range to control other devices, *at least two of the ones I have* now INSISTS on being in IR mode for the first 3 or 4 button presses calling a TiVo function, eventually switching to RF.

I have done a full reset of the remote per the TiVo support site, followed by pairing it, and that seemed to work for an hour, then it reverted to being stupid. I have 'forced' RF mode, again per TiVo support, and no change. I have tried new Lithium batteries, new regular batteries, makes no difference.

And one of the two is now also experiencing keybounce, where I will be in the guide and do PgUp and get two or more PgUp commands sent, followed by a totally uncalled for PgDown with the guide bouncing all over the place as it's happening.

This has been so disappointing. The one thing I could count on for a decade of use was the TiVo remote working properly, and now it's just a source of *immense *frustration, ruining much of the experience.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I feel for you. The dropping to IR mode happens to me frequently. Sometimes a reset helps for a while. I've learned to look at the remote when a button press fails. Sometime just waiting a few seconds fixes it for a while.

A full reset is a PITA since you need to reprogram all the other functions too. I've tried two remotes and Lithium batteries at 100%, all to no effect.

The delay is learned, like watching SNL from My Shows.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

dougdingle said:


> And one of the two is now also experiencing keybounce, where I will be in the guide and do PgUp and get two or more PgUp commands sent, followed by a totally uncalled for PgDown with the guide bouncing all over the place as it's happening.


It's actually not keybounce. It's user frustration. I'll punch, say, the PgUp button several times when the remote decides to be in IR mode, and somewhere in the sequence it will switch to RF mode, and the keystrokes from me repeatedly punching the button are stored and show up, with the guide bouncing all over the place.

I wonder how many other users are in this same boat??


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

So far my remote usually will go for a week, or several, before needing a global reset. If it gets to be any more of a nuisance I presumably have the option of just going IR only since I have line-of-sight to the TiVo.

I have a Logitech Review and two Fire TV's that use RF remotes and none of them exhibit these kind of problems.


----------



## hybucket (Nov 26, 2004)

Don't know if this thread is still active, but I'll give it a shot.
My problem with the remote is this: I have the original Roamio remote - it flashes "red" on the top when I push a button, so I assume it's in the IR mode. New batteries. Some of the time it works fine; other times, I will have to push button several times to get a response. When it doesn't work, the red light appears on the remote itself, but it does not blink on the TiVO. Sometimes it will take 2 or 3 tries, sometimes it works right away. It's livable, but a PIA. Anyone with suggestions?


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

hybucket said:


> Don't know if this thread is still active, but I'll give it a shot.
> My problem with the remote is this: I have the original Roamio remote - it flashes "red" on the top when I push a button, so I assume it's in the IR mode. New batteries. Some of the time it works fine; other times, I will have to push button several times to get a response. When it doesn't work, the red light appears on the remote itself, but it does not blink on the TiVO. Sometimes it will take 2 or 3 tries, sometimes it works right away. It's livable, but a PIA. Anyone with suggestions?


I continue to have problems with my Roamio remote as well, quite similar to yours. Strangely, my four Mini remotes seem to be able to stay in RF mode, but no matter what I do at the Roamio itself, it wants to use IR mode 90% of the time.

I have swapped in two different Mini remotes at the Roamio, doing a global reset and reprogramming, and the swapped in remote will actually work in (mostly) RF mode for a few days or weeks. But eventually, they all exhibit the same obnoxious behavior as the original Roamio's remote, working in IR mode 90% of the time. The remote moved from the Roamio to the Mini behaves properly and stays in RF mode. So logically, it's not likely the problem lies with the remotes, since they all stay in RF mode when talking to the Minis.

It's as if somehow the Roamio itself is telling the remote to revert to IR mode, which, while seemingly unlikely, is the only explanation I can come up with.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dougdingle said:


> I continue to have problems with my Roamio remote as well, quite similar to yours. Strangely, my four Mini remotes seem to be able to stay in RF mode, but no matter what I do at the Roamio itself, it wants to use IR mode 90% of the time.


My viewing space is small, about 160 sq ft. I use one basic Roamio very extensively. I block the front of the TiVo so that IR will not function. I find the remote dropping into IR mode without any pattern. I have one light in the room with two small (25w) LED bulbs. When the remote drops into IR mode I can, 100%, get it back by placing it where the light can not "see" it. I have turned off the light and never have a failure. This has been going on for a while. I'm going to buy a small incandescent light to see if the LED is really the problem. The room is on the second floor and full of equipment. There is a street light about 50 feet from my window, so it's never really dark. I don't live in a city. End of story for now.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

The room where my Roamio lives is all incandescent. The rest of the house has been switched to LEDs mostly, but my wife wanted to keep incandescents in the living room because she likes the way they go warm and soft when dimmed. So I don't have an LED interference problem where the Roamio lives. It's just bizarre and really, really annoying. 

I wonder if the newer RF/IR remotes suffer from the same problem.


----------



## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

hybucket said:


> Don't know if this thread is still active, but I'll give it a shot.
> My problem with the remote is this: I have the original Roamio remote - it flashes "red" on the top when I push a button, so I assume it's in the IR mode. New batteries. Some of the time it works fine; other times, I will have to push button several times to get a response. When it doesn't work, the red light appears on the remote itself, but it does not blink on the TiVO. Sometimes it will take 2 or 3 tries, sometimes it works right away. It's livable, but a PIA. Anyone with suggestions?


Isn't the original Roamio remote RF-capable and if so, why don't you pair it with your Roamio?

https://support.tivo.com/articles/Features_Use/TiVo-Remotes-RF-Pairing-Instructions

Scott


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

HerronScott said:


> Isn't the original Roamio remote RF-capable and if so, why don't you pair it with your Roamio?
> 
> https://support.tivo.com/articles/Features_Use/TiVo-Remotes-RF-Pairing-Instructions
> 
> Scott


I believe you've missed the point. For a lot of people, including me, the original Roamio RF/IR remote, when paired, refuses to stay in RF mode, and switches by itself to IR mode regularly, and by 'regularly', I mean like much of the time.

It is just the most annoying thing, since the remote is the interface between human and machine. TiVo has completely stonewalled the issue, pretty much refusing to acknowledge it even exists, and points people to the support page about resetting the remote to factory defaults and starting over with pairing and AV component codes.

I can't even begin to count the number of times I've done that - it's good for a week or two, then just starts reverting to IR mode regularly. Quite a few posts here from people suffering from the same problem. Strangely, it doesn't seem to happen with my four Minis, only the Roamio.


----------



## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

dougdingle said:


> I believe you've missed the point. For a lot of people, including me, the original Roamio RF/IR remote, when paired, refuses to stay in RF mode, and switches by itself to IR mode regularly, and by 'regularly', I mean like much of the time.
> 
> It is just the most annoying thing, since the remote is the interface between human and machine. TiVo has completely stonewalled the issue, pretty much refusing to acknowledge it even exists, and points people to the support page about resetting the remote to factory defaults and starting over with pairing and AV component codes.
> 
> I can't even begin to count the number of times I've done that - it's good for a week or two, then just starts reverting to IR mode regularly. Quite a few posts here from people suffering from the same problem. Strangely, it doesn't seem to happen with my four Minis, only the Roamio.


I can't help but wonder if it truly is intentional stonewalling, or, rather, is negligent customer tech. assistance (as, sadly, has been on the rise for too long a period).


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Mikeguy said:


> I can't help but wonder if it truly is intentional stonewalling, or, rather, is negligent customer tech. assistance (as, sadly, has been on the rise for too long a period).


I have experience with RF remotes with 3 different Fire TV models and their performance is much more robust.
I suspect it's a basic deficiency of design or hardware implementation and TiVo simply doesn't want to incur the cost of fixing it. Probably the problem is no more than a minor annoyance for most TiVo users. In my case I just learn the angles and locations to avoid in holding and aiming the remote.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

The RF capabilities of the remote were a big touted feature when the Roamio came out. TiVo made a big deal out of being able to locate the device inside an equipment cabinet and having the remote work properly. It's unfortunate that for some people, that just became an irritant. I'm one of those, having bought my equipment cabinet and designed things around the Roamio not needing to see the remote directly. I eventually spent around $80 for an IR repeater setup to get around the problem when I shouldn't have had to do that.

What I find interesting is that many people don't have the problem with their Roamios, and I don't have the problem with my Minis. But every remote I've tried with the Roamio eventually has the problem - sometimes it takes a few weeks, but it always returns.


----------



## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

dougdingle said:


> What I find interesting is that many people don't have the problem with their Roamios, and I don't have the problem with my Minis. But every remote I've tried with the Roamio eventually has the problem - sometimes it takes a few weeks, but it always returns.


I've never had an RF issue, with standard Roamio and Bolt remotes, and Slide Pros. From some reports above, there may be a room lighting consideration? My rooms are relatively low light, with incandescent bulbs.


----------



## CinciDVR (May 24, 2014)

dougdingle said:


> It's as if somehow the Roamio itself is telling the remote to revert to IR mode, which, while seemingly unlikely, is the only explanation I can come up with.


I've never had this problem, so am just throwing out a WAG, but maybe the Roamio thinks the battery level in the remote has dropped low enough that RF, which I assume is more power hungry than IR, shouldn't be used and so tells the remote to switch to IR. No idea why the Roamio would do this and not your Minis.

So a couple questions. Have you monitored the Battery % that the Roamio displays for the remote to see if it falls quicker than it should? Have you tried using a different brand of batteries? I know that sounds crazy, but I have some RF transmitters for my alarm system that will sometimes start to indicate low battery after about a week of replacing the batteries if I use Duracell alkaline batteries, but will work correctly consistently if I use Energizer alkaline batteries.


----------



## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

dougdingle said:


> I believe you've missed the point. For a lot of people, including me, the original Roamio RF/IR remote, when paired, refuses to stay in RF mode, and switches by itself to IR mode regularly, and by 'regularly', I mean like much of the time.


I didn't get that was the issue from hybucket's post which is why I replied.



dougdingle said:


> What I find interesting is that many people don't have the problem with their Roamios, and I don't have the problem with my Minis. But every remote I've tried with the Roamio eventually has the problem - sometimes it takes a few weeks, but it always returns.


We've had no problem here with the TiVo Slide Remote Pro and our Roamio Pro since October 2015 (remote was tossed in free with the longtime TiVo user special for the Roamio Pro).

Scott


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

While we are tossing out speculation, may I add mine? I am normally about 6 feet from my Roamio. Above the Roamio is a TV, below is my center channel speaker. I find that if I hold the remote at a higher level (from the floor) it will drop to IR mode frequently. To go back to RF, I just lower the remote to the same level as the Roamio and at the second keypress the LED turns amber. But here's the best part. If I walk into the next room, with a wall in between, I just need to point the remote at the general direction of the Roamio and RF works fine. It's as if the remote sends out a narrow beam and the closer I get the beam gets more narrow. I use the remote to power on/off the TV and control my AVR, located two feet higher than the Roamio without ever missing a button push. I have the front of my Roamio units blocked so IR never gets through. I have a similar problem on two other Roamio where I need to point the remote at the unit or they fail to work.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

Mikeguy said:


> I've never had an RF issue, with standard Roamio and Bolt remotes, and Slide Pros. From some reports above, there may be a room lighting consideration? My rooms are relatively low light, with incandescent bulbs.


As is my TV room. Lighting (in the room itself, hallway, etc.) doesn't seem to be relevant. I watch movies in the daytime on weekends, no lights on at all within at least 50 feet of the Roamio or remote, and the problem is still there.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

CinciDVR said:


> I've never had this problem, so am just throwing out a WAG, but maybe the Roamio thinks the battery level in the remote has dropped low enough that RF, which I assume is more power hungry than IR, shouldn't be used and so tells the remote to switch to IR. No idea why the Roamio would do this and not your Minis.
> 
> So a couple questions. Have you monitored the Battery % that the Roamio displays for the remote to see if it falls quicker than it should? Have you tried using a different brand of batteries? I know that sounds crazy, but I have some RF transmitters for my alarm system that will sometimes start to indicate low battery after about a week of replacing the batteries if I use Duracell alkaline batteries, but will work correctly consistently if I use Energizer alkaline batteries.


Good thought, but not the problem. I've tried the expensive higher voltage Lithium batteries (they read around 1.8 volts when fresh), rechargeable batteries (around 1.2-1.3 volts when fresh), and normal batteries (1.5 volts when fresh), and they all indicate 100% battery for a long time (a couple of months at least), and the remote still switches to IR most of the time.

As noted above, I've also tried swapping a couple of the Mini remotes into the Roamio space after a full reset and pairing, and after a week or so, they exhibit the same behavior, whereas the Roamio remote now controlling the Minis stays in RF mode.

It's quite maddening.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

JoeKustra said:


> While we are tossing out speculation, may I add mine? I am normally about 6 feet from my Roamio. Above the Roamio is a TV, below is my center channel speaker. I find that if I hold the remote at a higher level (from the floor) it will drop to IR mode frequently. To go back to RF, I just lower the remote to the same level as the Roamio and at the second keypress the LED turns amber. But here's the best part. If I walk into the next room, with a wall in between, I just need to point the remote at the general direction of the Roamio and RF works fine. It's as if the remote sends out a narrow beam and the closer I get the beam gets more narrow. I use the remote to power on/off the TV and control my AVR, located two feet higher than the Roamio without ever missing a button push. I have the front of my Roamio units blocked so IR never gets through. I have a similar problem on two other Roamio where I need to point the remote at the unit or they fail to work.


Keep in mind that when you use the remote to control the TV and AVR, it has to be by definition in IR mode to talk to those components no matter what the light on the remote says since they don't understand the RF signal at all. That is likely why they never miss a button push.

But that's an interesting thought. I'm going to try a few things today, starting with trying the remote from another room, and then playing with it for a while with all the other components in the cabinet turned off to see if any of those are interfering.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dougdingle said:


> But that's an interesting thought. I'm going to try a few things today, starting with trying the remote from another room, and then playing with it for a while with all the other components in the cabinet turned off to see if any of those are interfering.


Good luck. I've tried removing power from virtually every device. All I can promise is that when I hit a button, see a red LED, I can lower the remote (or block the front with my hand), and rf comes back. I no longer worry about it.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

I am currently a bit stunned and cautiously optimistic...

The remote has been working in full RF mode for several days now. At first I thought I had done nothing, but then I remembered that I had changed out three 30 year old Lutron Skylark dimmers in the room for wi-fi controlled TP-Link ones last Saturday. Since doing that, the remote has not dropped to IR mode once that I can tell. This is after more than three years of constant frustration with the Roamio/Remote setup.

As I said...cautiously optimistic.


----------



## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

dougdingle said:


> I am currently a bit stunned and cautiously optimistic...
> 
> The remote has been working in full RF mode for several days now. At first I thought I had done nothing, but then I remembered that I had changed out three 30 year old Lutron Skylark dimmers in the room for wi-fi controlled TP-Link ones last Saturday. Since doing that, the remote has not dropped to IR mode once that I can tell. This is after more than three years of constant frustration with the Roamio/Remote setup.
> 
> As I said...cautiously optimistic.


So hopefully that means that it wasn't a Roamio remote problem (well unless it's more susceptible to RF interference)?

Scott


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

That would be my guess at the moment. 

I'll just have to wait a week or three to see if the 'fix' is permanent, but for now the remote continues to stay in RF mode.


----------



## 53richart (Feb 26, 2019)

dougdingle said:


> I am currently a bit stunned and cautiously optimistic...
> 
> The remote has been working in full RF mode for several days now. At first I thought I had done nothing, but then I remembered that I had changed out three 30 year old Lutron Skylark dimmers in the room for wi-fi controlled TP-Link ones last Saturday. Since doing that, the remote has not dropped to IR mode once that I can tell. This is after more than three years of constant frustration with the Roamio/Remote setup.
> 
> As I said...cautiously optimistic.


As a ham radio operator, I find dimmers to be a major source of RF interference. Some other culprits are some LED lamps and switching type power supplies.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

53richart said:


> As a ham radio operator, I find dimmers to be a major source of RF interference. Some other culprits are some LED lamps and switching type power supplies.


Agreed (as also a ham radio operator). Especially 30 year old dimmers which otherwise worked well as dimmers for 30 years.

What intrigues me is how what is essentially a dumb remote would know to switch to IR mode because RF mode was not viable due to interference. The only explanation I can think of is that the Roamio somehow sees the degraded/swamped RF signal and instructs the remote to switch to IR mode. The Roamio can talk to the remote in some way or another as evidenced by the "Find The Lost remote" feature. So maybe not such a dumb remote after all.

I caution those following the thread that it's early days yet, and I want to see the thing working properly for a few weeks before declaring that my problem is solved.


----------



## timchi29 (Feb 26, 2005)

dougdingle said:


> It's actually not keybounce. It's user frustration. I'll punch, say, the PgUp button several times when the remote decides to be in IR mode, and somewhere in the sequence it will switch to RF mode, and the keystrokes from me repeatedly punching the button are stored and show up, with the guide bouncing all over the place.
> 
> I wonder how many other users are in this same boat??


----------



## timchi29 (Feb 26, 2005)

I'm so fed up with their remotes. I have 2 that dont work, and using the 3rd to share between 3 units.


----------



## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

dougdingle said:


> ...What intrigues me is how what is essentially a dumb remote would know to switch to IR mode because RF mode


The link between an RF remote and the TiVo is bidirectional. Among other evidence, as you yourself point out, the TiVo can send a signal to the remote so that it plays its locator tune.

If the remote is not receiving from the TiVo, it knows IR is needed.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

ej42137 said:


> The link between an RF remote and the TiVo is bidirectional. Among other evidence, as you yourself point out, the TiVo can send a signal to the remote so that it plays its locator tune.
> 
> If the remote is not receiving from the TiVo, it knows IR is needed.


Makes sense. The Roamio sends acknowledgement of received RF commands; if the remote doesn't see that, it switches to IR mode. Clever fallback, actually.


----------



## 53richart (Feb 26, 2019)

I am new to Tivo...enlighten me, please? How can you tell if the remote is operating via IR or RF? My Roamio OTA came with the VOX remote and included a Bluetooth dongle. Still sorting all this out.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

Don't know about the VOX remote, but on the "normal" remote that shipped with the Roamio, when the LED in the nose of the remote goes red on a button push, it is in IR mode, and when it goes amber, it is in RF mode.

The exception is for remote commands that speak to devices other than the TiVo. So while pushing volume, for example, the light will remain amber, but the remote is sending out IR to some component or another.


----------



## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

My Roamio OTA warned me recently that the batteries were low on my RF remote and needed to be replaced, so there is some sort of health check communication going on between the Roamio and the RF remote.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

An RF remote's battery condition can be viewed in System Information. With lithium they will show 100% and die a quick death. Other types usually show 90% and die slowly. Same for all devices. The other information in diagnostic as pertains to the remote should be ignored (except IR channel).


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

Well, it was too good to last...the remote for the Roamio is back to being in IR mode at least 2/3 of the time.


----------



## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

My Roamio remote is driving me nuts. Around 50% of the time it'll send multiple signals to the Roamio on a single key hit. Like if I press the Guide key there's a good chance that the guide will appear for a split second and then disappear. Or I'll want to punch in channel 1450, it'll start with 111. This is a relatively new remote - less than three months. I bought this new one because the previous one had started acting a different type of wonky. The remote's nose LED flashes red so I assume that it's in IR mode.


----------



## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

cheesesteak said:


> My Roamio remote is driving me nuts. Around 50% of the time it'll send multiple signals to the Roamio on a single key hit. Like if I press the Guide key there's a good chance that the guide will appear for a split second and then disappear. Or I'll want to punch in channel 1450, it'll start with 111. This is a relatively new remote - less than three months. I bought this new one because the previous one had started acting a different type of wonky. The remote's nose LED flashes red so I assume that it's in IR mode.


If it's RF capable I'd do a global reset on the remote and pair it to eliminate ir as an issue.
I have also had a few bad Tivo remotes with double click symptoms and I just replaced them and all was fine, so I'd move to RF and see what happens.


----------



## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

cheesesteak said:


> My Roamio remote is driving me nuts. Around 50% of the time it'll send multiple signals to the Roamio on a single key hit. Like if I press the Guide key there's a good chance that the guide will appear for a split second and then disappear. Or I'll want to punch in channel 1450, it'll start with 111. This is a relatively new remote - less than three months. I bought this new one because the previous one had started acting a different type of wonky. The remote's nose LED flashes red so I assume that it's in IR mode.


You might try new batteries.


----------



## dougdingle (Jul 4, 2007)

cheesesteak said:


> My Roamio remote is driving me nuts. Around 50% of the time it'll send multiple signals to the Roamio on a single key hit. Like if I press the Guide key there's a good chance that the guide will appear for a split second and then disappear. Or I'll want to punch in channel 1450, it'll start with 111. This is a relatively new remote - less than three months. I bought this new one because the previous one had started acting a different type of wonky. The remote's nose LED flashes red so I assume that it's in IR mode.


I have this problem on at least two (of five) of my RF remotes, even with new batteries. I think they're just poorly made and develop contact bounce.

The other remote issue I have on my Minis (but not my Roamio) is that if I'm 20-25 minutes behind in the buffer, after several "skip forward 30 seconds" commands, I'll issue one more and the image freezes for a second, then jumps to end of the buffer to live TV as if I'd held the button down for a couple of seconds (which I haven't). Happens consistently, and had happened with an older Roamio RF remote/A93 Mini, and also with its replacement, a MiniVox with the MiniVox remote.


----------

