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mgreen03
Contributor I
June 29, 2019
Answered

Beam IR sensor stopped recognizing remotes

I have a beam connected to optical on TV. Remote was paired and everything was working fine. One day remote volume control stopped working. I tried to set up the remote again but the IR sensor did not recognize when buttons were pushed. Tried a different remote and it didn't recognize that either. I can still control volume with the app but IR sensor does not seem to receive any signal. Any suggestions?
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    Airgetlam
    AirgetlamAnswer
    February 4, 2020

    There are some cases where an IR remote sensor gets overwhelmed by the light coming from the TV. You may want to try putting a 3x5 card tenting the location of the sensor, to ‘shade’ it from the TV’s light, and see if that makes a difference. If it does, then you can experiment further to find a solution. If it doesn’t work, then you’ve at least tried. 

    Bruce
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    nickc
    Lyricist I
    February 12, 2021

    My Sonos beam hast started doing this now. It has been fine for a couple of years but now it won’t respond to volume over IR. I’ve tried with the Sony TV remote and the Apple TV one. Both used to work perfectly with it.

    A power cycle has fixed it for now but I really think Sonos need to fix the bug.

      ykkung
      Contributor I
      March 10, 2021

      Good news! My Beam's remote volume controls now works again with latest firmware (v13.0 build 62186220). Will check it out for the next couple of days to confirm

      DunkirkPie
      Enthusiast II
      March 11, 2021

      My Beam is version v13.0 build 62186220 and the IR issue is as annoying as ever. 

        Nvc
        Lyricist III
        March 15, 2021

        Same issue here - with latest firmware and Nvidia shield remote. It just stops working, the status light no longer blinks when pressing the volume buttons. A power cycle is the only thing that gets it working again (so it’s not related to light sources or low remote batteries)

        Nvc
        Lyricist III
        March 16, 2021

        Someone else posted this: 

        “It sounds like the IR may be turning off and converting back to RF via commands from the TV. Could I get the make/model of the TV? If the remote has a model number, please include that as well.”

         

        Is this something that’s possible? That the TV (Sony in my case) turns off the IR functionality through the optical connection when it turns on? :thinking:

        Lars Jørn Nissen-Schmidt
        Lyricist I
        April 23, 2021

        My 2 year old Beam just started loosing control by IR remote (but come back after restart) - I have read the 65 different reply - what is status after two years discussion?
        Is there a fix - are newer BEAM fixed - or should I look for 3rd Sound options?

        Nvc
        Lyricist III
        April 27, 2021

        My 2 year old Beam just started loosing control by IR remote (but come back after restart) - I have read the 65 different reply - what is status after two years discussion?
        Is there a fix - are newer BEAM fixed - or should I look for 3rd Sound options?

        It’s still broken in 13.0.5. Worked for a couple of days and then it stopped responding again, requiring restarting the Beam. With me, usually after playing something via Spotify and then turning on the TV.

        Very annoying as my Sony Bravia also has issues when using the CEC/HDMI connection instead of optical (it doesn’t activate the sound system output on the tv sometimes, forcing me to manually switch from tv speakers to sound system).

          CP.
          Lyricist I
          May 6, 2021

          I have spent countless hours on the phone with technical support on this issue. I’ve also replaced one Beam. All since Christmas. Beam is connected to the TV via HDMI Arc. Using a Roku remote. 

          in my last conversation with support yesterday, they asked me to move the Beam to another tv. I just don’t know if it’s worth it. Have others tried this and “solved” their remote problem? Second TV would have to use an optical connection but same model Roku remote. 

          Nvc
          Lyricist III
          May 6, 2021

          I have spent countless hours on the phone with technical support on this issue. I’ve also replaced one Beam. All since Christmas. Beam is connected to the TV via HDMI Arc. Using a Roku remote. 

          in my last conversation with support yesterday, they asked me to move the Beam to another tv. I just don’t know if it’s worth it. Have others tried this and “solved” their remote problem? Second TV would have to use an optical connection but same model Roku remote. 

          That’s also what is marked as the “Best Answer” here: “ There are some cases where an IR remote sensor gets overwhelmed by the light coming from the TV. You may want to try putting a 3x5 card tenting the location of the sensor, to ‘shade’ it from the TV’s light, and see if that makes a difference.”

          But this problem has nothing to do with that, otherwise a simple reboot of the Beam would not solve this issue (temporarily). Very frustrating.

          CP.
          Lyricist I
          May 6, 2021

          Right. And the reboot of the beam does work, but only temporarily as others have experienced.

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