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Samsung Smart TV Remote


We bought the Samsung 55" UHD curved LED Smart TV on Amazon Prime Day July 12, 2016 but its smart remote won't control my Playbar's sound. I'm using the Optical jack on the TV and can hear good sound from the Playbar, but can't control the volume. I used the Sonos Settings --> Remote Control Setup to no avail... The remote seems to use IR.

Any ideas would be appreciated since both are 2016 models.
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Best answer by Ryan S 22 December 2016, 18:43

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59 replies

Userlevel 4
As others have noticed, the smart remote only functions when the TV is powered.

Are you able to control PLAYBAR volume/mute from the Smart Remote when the TV is turned off - i.e. you are listening to music on Sonos?


No. See final comment above. This is to be expected; the smart remote isn't actually smart. It depends on the TV to tell it how to behave, depending on which source is currently playing. So it's actually the TV that is smart, and when the TV is off the smart control is reduced to being a dumb on switch.

I know what you're thinking, it should fallback to some kind of "default volume control mode", and I agree, so maybe our next campaign with Samsung technical support can be this.
Userlevel 4
...it should fallback to some kind of "default volume control mode", and I agree, so maybe our next campaign with Samsung technical support can be this.
I've lodged this via Samsung's CEO contact form (google it, this varies by country) and got an acknowledgement of the feature gap and a thank-you-for-the-feedback note written by an actual human, which is a better response than I expected. So here's hoping it makes its way to a relevant product manager.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
We've created an FAQ on our support site to include directions for using the Samsung Smart Remotes with Sonos. If you have any questions or trouble, please follow the steps here.
Userlevel 4
We've created an FAQ on our support site to include directions for using the Samsung Smart Remotes with Sonos. If you have any questions or trouble, please follow the steps here.
The new FAQ is incomplete and misleading. In particular the last paragraph.

The K series comes with two remotes - one a smart device, the other a standard IR controller. If you want your Playbar's volume control to be adjustable with both (and who wouldn't?), then the Remote Control Setup in the Sonos app must be completed using the standard controller, not the smart one.

However the FAQ does not clarify this.

Yes it seems weird, and it is weird, but also happens to be true, and appears to be due to the smart controller emitting extra control codes before the standard volume up/down.

This is especially confusing because the Samsung TV requires that you use the smart controller during universal remote setup.

Re-tested today (23 Dec 2016) with Sonos version 7.0 and latest Samsung software 1154 on a KS9000.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
I'll pass that on inopinatus so they can look into it. The team will test it out and see about adding something to the end if needed.

Thanks!
I've noticed that the Samsung Smart View App on my iPhone can control the Sonos play bar volume. Confused how this is even possible as unlike the smart remote my iPhone can not emit IR. setup is a 2016 KS Samsung tv with play bar.
It must be controlling the Playbar volume via your home wifi network, as the Sonos app does.
I guess so, but this would demonstrate a level of sophistication by Samsung not demonstrated in their previous support of the Sonos Playbar.
Userlevel 7
Badge +21
Either that or it's telling the remote to send out the IR code that your Playbar is looking for.