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How to connect LG TV Magic Remote with Sonos Playbar

  • 18 April 2020
  • 11 replies
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This a mystery!

After a lot of trial and error and help from Sonos Tech Support, I got the LG Magic Remote to operate my Sonos Playbar so the TV sound comes through the Playbar and volume can be changed with the remote. 
Then I disconnected the Playbar from the TV to put the TV on a swivel stand. When I reconnected both devices, the Magic Remote no longer operates the Playbar. I followed exactly the same steps as before .. but no luck!
Any suggestions are most welcome !
TV: LG 50UN7300PTC. Purchased April 2020 - new model 
Sonos Playbar
Connected via optical cable.
Steps:
1. Connect Playbar to TV. Several ways to access this function, I clicked Set Top Box icon at top of remote next to power button. Followed steps to add PlayBar via optical cable, selected Sonos from list of brands, and TV screen confirmed Playbar was successfully connected. In Sound Out on TV, chose Optical. 
2. Disabled two LG Sound Out functions - SIMPLINK and LG Sound Link.   (This was the crucial step first time around) 
3. On the Sonos app on mobile/tablet, Settings/System/Playbar/Add Remote control and followed steps to pair the Magic Remote with Playbar. NOTE: This only worked when TV was OFF as this forces Magic remote to use Infrared (Playbar only recognises IR, but Magic Remote uses Radio Frequencies when TV is on.  (It no longer uses Bluetooth). Turning TV off activates the IR. 

***Despite all settings being the same as previously, now when I press volume controls on Magic Remote, the NULL sign appears on TV screen and Magic Remote no longer controls the Playbar. The Sonos app can still be used for Playbar volume control. 

Any ideas?***

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Best answer by catherine101 19 April 2020, 09:13

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11 replies

This a mystery!

After a lot of trial and error and help from Sonos Tech Support, I got the LG Magic Remote to operate my Sonos Playbar so the TV sound comes through the Playbar and volume can be changed with the remote. 
Then I disconnected the Playbar from the TV to put the TV on a swivel stand. When I reconnected both devices, the Magic Remote no longer operates the Playbar. I followed exactly the same steps as before .. but no luck!
Any suggestions are most welcome !
TV: LG 50UN7300PTC. Purchased April 2020 - new model 
Sonos Playbar
Connected via optical cable.
Steps:
1. Connect Playbar to TV. Several ways to access this function, I clicked Set Top Box icon at top of remote next to power button. Followed steps to add PlayBar via optical cable, selected Sonos from list of brands, and TV screen confirmed Playbar was successfully connected. In Sound Out on TV, chose Optical. 
2. Disabled two LG Sound Out functions - SIMPLINK and LG Sound Link.   (This was the crucial step first time around) 
3. On the Sonos app on mobile/tablet, Settings/System/Playbar/Add Remote control and followed steps to pair the Magic Remote with Playbar. NOTE: This only worked when TV was OFF as this forces Magic remote to use Infrared (Playbar only recognises IR, but Magic Remote uses Radio Frequencies when TV is on.  (It no longer uses Bluetooth). Turning TV off activates the IR. 

***Despite all settings being the same as previously, now when I press volume controls on Magic Remote, the NULL sign appears on TV screen and Magic Remote no longer controls the Playbar. The Sonos app can still be used for Playbar volume control. 

Any ideas?***

EDIT - just saw that LG Magic Remote controls volume on Sonos app .. but not the TV. ?? 

@catherine101 Thank you for bringing your concerns to us here and welcome to the Sonos Community. I would first suggest a power re-boot off/on from the outlet of your TV and Playbar for 15 seconds then test the remote when reconnected. This sounds like an issue with how the TV and remote are configured to work as Infrared (IR) and/or how the Playbar is getting or seeing the remotes signal. How is your Playbar setup/positioned? Is it mounted above or below the TV or on a table top? How is the lighting in the room, is there lots of sunlight in the room? Is there anything near the Playbar sensor that could block or deflect the signal from the remote? How far away are you from the Playbar with the remote when testing?

I would also ask that you test another remote that your know is an IR remote and set that remote up to control the Playbar. If that IR remote works fine then use the link to setup your LG Magic remote once more and test with the Playbar. You can then follow up here with the testing steps and a new diagnostic report number along with the above requested information.

Thank you so much I’ll try again this morning and let you know.  An old IR Remote (not a Magic Remote) from previous TV works fine with the PLAYBAR.  I did also have the new TV and Magic Remote working with the PLAYBAR as well so it must be a glitch.  

@catherine101 Thank you for the quick follow up. When you can follow up on the provided steps above. If you’ve had the IR remote working in the past along with your LG Magic remote lets check off the testing steps above to save you a call to LG when a refreshed/re-booted TV and Sonos may clear up things. We can only hold one TV remote code in our memory so try the two remotes test again after re-booting steps if needed.

Hi John 

I just did the power reboot as per your instructions and no luck. 
There are no obstructions  between remote and PLAYBAR 

The room is not particularly light 

I am right near the PLAYBAR when trying to reconnect it 

the PLAYBAR is positioned below and in front of TV which is mounted on a stand  

 

the old IR remote from the old TV still operates the PLAYBAR like it always did 

but the new Magic Remote does not work with the PLAYBAR  When I connect it using the SONOS app my phone shows a confirmation screen that I’ve successfully added the new remote  but when I use the remote I see that the white light doesn’t activate on the front of the PLAYBAR  When I use the old remote, when I press a volume button a little white light responds on the PLAYBAR  

So even though the SONOS app tells me the new remote is connected it isn’t  

any ideas ?  
thanks so much for your help   

 

Is there a way I can wipe the PLAYBARS memory so I can connect the new remote ? 

For example can I switch it off and remove it from my home network using the Sonos app and then add it back on from scratch ? 
 

Last week I had the new Magic remote working with the PLAYBAR. The key steps were 1.  ensuring the TV was off when doing the “Add a new remote” process with the SONOS app to activate the IR on the remote and 2. Deactivate the LG Sound sync. Feature on the TV  

So it is possible as it was working perfectly  

 

I noticed when I successfully connected it using the SONOS app that the little white light On the front  of the PLAYBAR flickered during the process. 
This time round there is no light flickering which makes me think that the new remote isn’t pairing with the PLAYBAR even though the app says it has.  It is remembering the old remote. 

Hi. I did a factory reset of the PLAYBAR and set it up as new into my network.  I set it up as a new device on the LG TV 

I set up the Magic Remote as new on the Sonos app.
 
However the old IR Remote still operates the PLAYBAR but the new magic remote does not. 

it seems that the PLAYBAR still remembers the old remote and the Sonos app confirms a new remote has been added when it hasn’t. 
 

strange ?!  

Hi John 

victory declared as the LG MAGIC REMOTE 

now controls the Sonos PLAYBAR 

I spent most of this morning fiddling around trying different things eg factory reset of PLAYBAR, removing batteries from remote, disconnecting remote from TV and reconnecting - but nothing worked 

Each time I used the SONOS app to connect the Magic Remote to the PLAYBAR it showed a confirmation - but not once did it work.  When I tried to change volume the white light (the IR beam) did not come on at the front of the PLAYBAR  which means the remote wasn’t connected  

My suspicion is that the new LG TV models have new software for connecting PLAYBARs and other soundbars that overrides the need to link the PLAYBAR to the remote with the Sonos app.  That makes logical sense because doing the linking operation on the TV and the Sonos app is a duplication. 

The software to connect the TV to a sound bar is brand new and is completely different to all the examples shown in Sonos guides and community forums. 
Sonos is now listed as a sound bar brand so there’s no need to select another brand then choose the remote type 

The LG TV performs the connection with the PLAYBAR and shows a confirmation screen that it’s connected via optical cable and the remote will work. 

here’s how I got it working 

  • I used the Set top box button at the top of the remote to add a new soundbar. Instead of choosing Sonos I tried two or three different brands and each time got a confirmation from the TV 
  • Then I did it again and selected Sonos 
  • I didn’t touch the Sonos  controller or use it to pair the remote with the PLAYBAR 
  • I disabled LG SOUND LINK and SIMPLINK on the TV
  • victory ! 


So my theory is that the new LG TVs now link

with Sonos and Magic Remote without involving the Sonos app.  
I haven’t confirmed this with LG customer support as frankly I found them pretty unhelpful last week and today  

hope that’s helpful let me know if you want any more info  

 

@catherine101 Thank you for the follow up information. I am glad to hear that you have got things working with your LG Magic remote. I would only recommend in the future to avoid doing a factory reset of your Sonos products, unless directed to in a phone call, email or Sonos Community post. They typically do not fix an issue and may end up leading to other issues.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us here in the future with any of your questions or troubleshooting needs.

I am in the same position having just bought the new LG OLED CX48. From what I gather the LG magic remote is not IR, but RF. I see in Catherine101’s opening post that this was established, and that the Sonos (in my case the Playbase) responds to the LG remote as an IR device when the TV is off, but does the remote not revert back to RF when the TV is on, resulting in the Sonos not responding?              Confused!

See new posts near end of https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/latest-2020-lg-tv-cannot-control-playbar-volume-6842660?postid=16450491#post16450491

Now works...