How can I control my Sonos Port with a remote control?

Hi @eulerfx, Thanks for reaching out and welcome to the community. Regarding your concern about controlling the volume on the Sonos Port, however, The Sonos Port doesn’t have an IR receiver to control the volume of the Amp and the speakers connected to it. 

Let us know how you get on with the advice above.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Ok, I understand there is no IR receiver to control the volume. 

Is there no way to control the volume on my Sonos Port with a hardware remote control?

No, only a phone, tablet, PC or Mac using the Sonos controller or one of the alternates.

Hi @eulerfx, thanks for the update. I agree with @Stanley_4 that a phone, tablet, PC, or Mac are capable of controlling the Sonos App. 

Let us know how you get on with the advice above.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Can someone confirm whether the Lutron Caseta Audio and/or Senic Nuimo hardware buttons work on the Port’s variable line-out volume, like they control the standalone speaker volume?  I have never tried it, but would like to know… (yah, lazy!-)

Hi @tracker, Thanks for reaching out. Regarding your concern, you may check this link for the compatibility of those 3rd party integrated channels with Sonos.

Let us know how you get on with the advice above.

We're here to answer any further questions you have.

Hi, @Simon B , Thanks for responding.  BUT: (1) The link you provided does not answer the specific question posed: Does “volume control” -- which of course all those devices do! -- extend to “variable line out” on the Port?  (2) Also note that the chart in that article does not even list the Senic Nuimo which Sonos sells from the website.  (3) Is that why you did not recommend any of those devices in response to @eulerfx asking, “Is there no way to control the volume on my Sonos Port with a hardware remote control?”

Let us know how you get on with the implied advice in #2 above.

And #1 & #3 above are, in fact, any further questions I have, which you may now answer!

Hi @tracker, thanks for the update. Regarding your concerns, on the 1st question. Yes, it does control variable out if it's not on pass-through, ‘Pass-through’ is for use with ‘Works with Sonos’ amps/receivers that are able to register with the Sonos API for external control via the Sonos controller app. The Sonos Port outputs a Fixed stereo signal, and the volume control in the app adjusts the level in the downstream amp/receiver directly. On your 2nd question, I’m also wondering why it’s not listed on the chart for the Seinic Nuimo, but I’ll make sure that we'll pass this on to our engineering team as the article could be outdated so we can check that further. on your 3rd question. Yes, We do not recommend any specific brands because we want to promote and keep fairness with third-party partners of Sonos. on the last question, there are ways of controlling the Sonos port, for example, is the Seinic Nuimo, wherein you should have the Seinic Nuimo hub control set for this to work. but If you have further clarifications, you may call our Sales team for further assistance. 

Let us know how you get on with the advice above.

The Sonos Community is always here to help

Just as a datapoint, I control my Sonos Port using an IR remote, but it requires a Python program running on a Raspberry Pi (or other computer), and a ‘FLIRC’ IR receiver.

The code is available here if anyone wants to try it:

  https://github.com/pwt/SonosKeyController

I can use the IR remote to play, pause, go to next/previous tracks, control volume, and play favourites, but I could set it up to do anything that’s supported by soco-cli [1]. It works very well for me (especially as the Port has dispensed with the convenient front panel controls found on the Connect).

[1] https://github.com/avantrec/soco-cli

Ikea Tradfri remote provides volume, play pause, skip, back and is cheap and reliable ime.

Requires an ikea hub, but if you already have a smart hub it may work with that.

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/tradfri-remote-control-00443130/