Question

Pairing AppleTV 4k Siri remote with Sonos Beam when connected with optical HDMI

  • 13 August 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 1382 views

Hi community,

I am streaming content through my Apple TV 4k (5th gen) to a projector and my Sonos Beam. The projector doesn’t have an ARC port, so I use an HDMI audio extractor to split the audio off the HDMI using the Toslink optical connection (supplied). My viewing experience has improved significantly!

However, I am yet to be able to control the volume of the Beam with the Siri remote and need some assistance! I have followed the instructions in the Sonos post without luck. The Siri remote does not have a mute button, so the TV remote learning process fails with the current iteration of the Sonos S1 app (I have a gen 1 Play 5, hence the old app). I have followed numerous troubleshooting steps in the “Video and Audio” settings of the AppleTV, tested the CEC and Remote settings with numerous variations without luck.


I understand that I will have to use the IR remote function to control my Beam’s volume given that I’m using the optical connector. And while I’ve had the Beam responding to the remote through the learning process, I cannot complete the task - even when waiting for the app to timeout, as suggested in the linked post. This scenario must have been deprecated or forgotten about by the app developers. The remote will control the Beam’s volume when connecting through Airplay, so I know it can work!

 

I really appreciate the assistance from anyone who has experienced this type of setup!

Cheers.


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1 reply

Userlevel 5
Badge +13

Hi @Kevbot, welcome to the community! I really appreciate all the efforts and details here. Below are the steps that you need to follow from the article you’ve shared with us.

First, grab a remote that you no longer use or one that controls a TV in another room of your home. We’re going to teach your Apple TV remote to send commands that are from this unused remote. This way, the volume buttons on your Apple TV remote will only be seen by the home theater speaker and the popups on your TV will no longer appear.

On your Apple TV:

  1. Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Control TVs and Receivers.
  2. Set this to Off.
  3. Next, go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Volume Control.
  4. Select TV via IR.
  5. Select Learn New Device (add the remote that you’re not using on the same setup).
  6. Follow the on-screen steps to program your Apple TV remote to use the codes from the secondary remote you picked up earlier.
  7. Now you will need to teach the Apple TV remote to the home theater speaker:
    • Open the Sonos app for iOS or Android. From the Settings tab, tap System.
  8. Select the home theater room and tap Remote Control Setup.
  9. Follow the in-app steps using your Apple TV remote. You will be prompted to program the Volume and Mute buttons on the remote. Since the Apple TV remote does not have a mute button, just wait a minute for this to timeout and continue. After completing these steps, this remote will be the only remote that controls your home theater speaker volume.

Let us know how it goes and if there’s anything else we can help you with.