Can't configure Samsung remote to work with new Ray

Q

Just got my Ray, and hooked it up to a fairly modern Samsung TV via optical connection (

Model Number : UN50J6200AFXZA

). However, I cannot configure the Samsung RF remote to use the volume buttons to control the Ray. I followed the guidance via the mobile app to add the Ray as a Home Theater device etc.

The guidance says to “go back to the Universal Remote setup menu and select one of the other input devices you’ve added, like a cable box or Blu-ray player. Select the other input devices and choose Use with Home Theater. Do this for all of your active inputs.”

Are there any Samsung owners out here with the same issue

MVSV 1 year ago

I actually got the Ray to set-up with my 2022 65” Samsung Frame after several days of trying.  I just wanted to give an update to let you know what worked for me.  

I first turned my Ray upside down to make sure that the signal from remote got to Ray.  In the Sonos app I actually had set-up as an IR remote turned off.  I followed the directions in this link exactly:  https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3444?language=en_US.  When I got to step 6 in set-up I hit done anyways even though the Ray was still not responding to the remote.  I went back in to set up another device as it stated in step 7, but ended up backing out of the set-up process when it got to selecting the brand because I thought there is no way this remote is going to work.  After, that I remembered I had not turned IR on in the Sonos app and went back in and turned it on and sure enough it worked.  I have the Ray sitting on our dresser underneath the television.  At set-up I had the frame box sitting next to the Ray and it worked perfectly from any angle or distance.  When i tried to hide the Frame box behind the dresser again the signals to the Ray were not working.  As soon as I moved the box next to the Ray again it worked again.  Hope this helps someone!

Yes you are correct on this setup. Here’s whats happening.

The Samsung Frame has a One connect box. On the end where the USB port is, there is an IR emitter hidden inside the vents. You can see it flash IR with your camera on your phone as you press volume up or down once you have added a device to the Samsung Universal remote section. This will be a line of sight control to the Ray. then go into Sonos and do the TV remote setup with IR ON.

If you cannot place the One Connect box near the Ray, add a simple IR repeater to this setup and you’ll be good.

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34 replies

Q

correction: model # is UN55RU8000FXZA

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Would this be of any help?

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3444?language=en_US

Q

Thanks 106rallye, that is the very article I followed.

Update: so it seems, the remote sort of works. However, I literally need to be right next to the Ray to actually adjust it’s volume with my Samsung remote.

If I move more than about 3 feet away, the remote does nothing. So, if I am sitting on the sofa about 8 feet away, I cannot adjust the volume. I have to get up and stand directly in front of the Ray/TV, and voila, I can adjust the volume using the remote.

Now my question is how to I get this thing to work in a normal usable manner?

N

I am having the exact same problem. I have the Samsung Frame TV and can’t get the Sonos Ray to detect the remote no matter what. Not even standing next to it. Would LOVE a solution here if one exists. 

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Could this be a “line of sight” issue? As I understand it Samsung TV’s or the Connect box will emit the ir signals when the remote is configured for ir. At least that’s how my Connect box (2019 Samsung QLED) commands my TV provider’s settop box that is in the same space in the cabinet the TV is resting on. 
 

If the line of sight between the TV/Connect box and the soundbar is inhibited, the signal won’t reach the soundbar. When you are standing close to the soundbar, the ir signal could reflect off your body and so reach the soundbar.

Q

FWIW, I have made progress. What I have done is put the Ray on top of a couple of Jenga blocks. I think this little bit of elevation allows the remote to “see” the sensor at the bottom of the Ray. Now I am able to adjust the volume from any point in the room using my Samsung remote.

P

I have a theory on a potential solve with 2 caveats… A) I am NOT a professional, B) I have no incentive (financial or otherwise) from this post. 

Ray only supports Optical Out for audio, so while your TV may be HDMI ARC compatible, Ray is not… this I believe might be the issue to solve for. 

ARC (Audio Return Channel) or the more advanced eARC allows for 2-way audio flow between TV & soundbar and furthermore unified volume control.

The solve may be an additional accessory called an “HDMI ARC Audio Extractor with Digital HDMI Optical SPDIF” which can be found on Amazon here- https://a.co/d/bCLFYrG.

 

Haven’t tried yet as this is a working theory, but am ordering today so fingers crossed!

Airgetlam

I’d be interested in your report, once you’ve tried it. Looking at the picture, it’s hard to tell how effective it will work, especially given that ARC normally handles higher spec signals than SP/DIF does . It also doesn’t seem to be a passthrough device, as there’s no HDMI output for video, like there is on the competing products. Of course, it’s also much cheaper…

I’m particularly interested if this device feeds back to the TV set what formats it can handle via that ARC port. 

Most TVs (currently) that have ARC also have an optical port, so often this type of device is unnecessary. That may change in the future. (or now...I’ve not been perusing TVs recently)

Bruce
C

I am having the exact same problem. I have the Samsung Frame TV and can’t get the Sonos Ray to detect the remote no matter what. Not even standing next to it. Would LOVE a solution here if one exists. 

Hi- has anyone been successful with setting up ray with the frame tv? I’m at a loss- remote won’t sync

Ken_Griffiths

Hi- has anyone been successful with setting up ray with the frame tv? I’m at a loss- remote won’t sync

Have you tried the instructions mentioned earlier and shown in this link:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3444

J

I enter the model number s36 but its not recognized on the device. Is there an alternative?

 

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

What’s an s36?

Airgetlam

Pretty sure that’s the Ray’s ‘designation’, although it’s extremely unlikely that any TV manufacturer would know/use it. The key is to get the TV remote to use IR, the Ray will ‘learn’ whatever is then presented to it. There is no ‘preset’ set of IR codes that Sonos uses, for any of their devices, to my knowledge. 

Bruce
N

Hi. I have got the same issue. Has anyone had any success? 
Thanks 

Airgetlam

Is the remote a ‘smart’ remote, that doesn’t communicate to the TV via IR normally?

This might be a similar issue that many had with the PLAYBAR, in which you need to tell your remote to use IR rather than some other form of communication. Check the TV’s manual for these instructions.

Bruce
106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

I have a theory on a potential solve with 2 caveats… A) I am NOT a professional, B) I have no incentive (financial or otherwise) from this post. 

Ray only supports Optical Out for audio, so while your TV may be HDMI ARC compatible, Ray is not… this I believe might be the issue to solve for. 

ARC (Audio Return Channel) or the more advanced eARC allows for 2-way audio flow between TV & soundbar and furthermore unified volume control.

The solve may be an additional accessory called an “HDMI ARC Audio Extractor with Digital HDMI Optical SPDIF” which can be found on Amazon here- https://a.co/d/bCLFYrG.

 

Haven’t tried yet as this is a working theory, but am ordering today so fingers crossed!

Just read this. I do not think this is a solution for the remote not commanding the soundbar. Yes, the commands with an HDMI-ARC capable TV and soundbar are passed through the cable, but only when using an HDMI cable for the whole signal path. The optical cable is not capable of relaying commands from a remote. The Ray needs an optical cable, so needs a signal from the remote itself.

Ken_Griffiths

@PlanetM8M 
I agree with @106rallye, the enabling of ARC/eARC will not make an RF TV remote work with the Ray when the TV itself is connected to optical - the Ray needs an IR remote to control its volume and there’s no getting around that fact - but note any IR remote will do the job of controlling the volume in most cases, and a good many RF remotes do have IR too such as the LG magic remote, for example, so perhaps check with your TV manufacturer to see what they can perhaps suggest.

C

I actually got the Ray to set-up with my 2022 65” Samsung Frame after several days of trying.  I just wanted to give an update to let you know what worked for me.  

I first turned my Ray upside down to make sure that the signal from remote got to Ray.  In the Sonos app I actually had set-up as an IR remote turned off.  I followed the directions in this link exactly:  https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3444?language=en_US.  When I got to step 6 in set-up I hit done anyways even though the Ray was still not responding to the remote.  I went back in to set up another device as it stated in step 7, but ended up backing out of the set-up process when it got to selecting the brand because I thought there is no way this remote is going to work.  After, that I remembered I had not turned IR on in the Sonos app and went back in and turned it on and sure enough it worked.  I have the Ray sitting on our dresser underneath the television.  At set-up I had the frame box sitting next to the Ray and it worked perfectly from any angle or distance.  When i tried to hide the Frame box behind the dresser again the signals to the Ray were not working.  As soon as I moved the box next to the Ray again it worked again.  Hope this helps someone!

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

So this is a "line of sight” issue?

M

I actually got the Ray to set-up with my 2022 65” Samsung Frame after several days of trying.  I just wanted to give an update to let you know what worked for me.  

I first turned my Ray upside down to make sure that the signal from remote got to Ray.  In the Sonos app I actually had set-up as an IR remote turned off.  I followed the directions in this link exactly:  https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3444?language=en_US.  When I got to step 6 in set-up I hit done anyways even though the Ray was still not responding to the remote.  I went back in to set up another device as it stated in step 7, but ended up backing out of the set-up process when it got to selecting the brand because I thought there is no way this remote is going to work.  After, that I remembered I had not turned IR on in the Sonos app and went back in and turned it on and sure enough it worked.  I have the Ray sitting on our dresser underneath the television.  At set-up I had the frame box sitting next to the Ray and it worked perfectly from any angle or distance.  When i tried to hide the Frame box behind the dresser again the signals to the Ray were not working.  As soon as I moved the box next to the Ray again it worked again.  Hope this helps someone!

Yes you are correct on this setup. Here’s whats happening.

The Samsung Frame has a One connect box. On the end where the USB port is, there is an IR emitter hidden inside the vents. You can see it flash IR with your camera on your phone as you press volume up or down once you have added a device to the Samsung Universal remote section. This will be a line of sight control to the Ray. then go into Sonos and do the TV remote setup with IR ON.

If you cannot place the One Connect box near the Ray, add a simple IR repeater to this setup and you’ll be good.

M

I actually got the Ray to set-up with my 2022 65” Samsung Frame after several days of trying.  I just wanted to give an update to let you know what worked for me.  

I first turned my Ray upside down to make sure that the signal from remote got to Ray.  In the Sonos app I actually had set-up as an IR remote turned off.  I followed the directions in this link exactly:  https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3444?language=en_US.  When I got to step 6 in set-up I hit done anyways even though the Ray was still not responding to the remote.  I went back in to set up another device as it stated in step 7, but ended up backing out of the set-up process when it got to selecting the brand because I thought there is no way this remote is going to work.  After, that I remembered I had not turned IR on in the Sonos app and went back in and turned it on and sure enough it worked.  I have the Ray sitting on our dresser underneath the television.  At set-up I had the frame box sitting next to the Ray and it worked perfectly from any angle or distance.  When i tried to hide the Frame box behind the dresser again the signals to the Ray were not working.  As soon as I moved the box next to the Ray again it worked again.  Hope this helps someone!

This worked for me on a newer Samsung TV. Thank you! Essentially I turned off the ‘Use IR’ tab in the Sonos App BEFORE going through the process of setting up the Universal Remote in the Samsung TV settings, via the link you provided: support.sonos.com/s/article/3444?language=en_US

Similar to you, I went ahead and started to set up a new device (my Xbox), then backed out. I then toggled ON the ‘Use IR’ tab on the Sonos App, then went ahead and completed the ‘Remove Control Setup’ and the process worked. Now I need to figure out how to have the ‘Sonos (Optical)’ pop up not show up every time I change the volume.

D

SOLVED:  Solution described above in pieces, only caveat when volume up or down is pressed on the Samsung remote the IR signal does not come from the actual remote to the Sonos box.  The remote triggers the One connect box which is typically buried out of sight to emit the IR signal to the Sonos ray.  So the only solution is to buy an IR Repeater on Amazon.  The IR sensor will sit behind the One connect box facing the vents and the emitter is placed directly under the Sonos logo on ray.   

The optical audio only as opposed to the ARC HDMi creates this need for a workaround.

Ken_Griffiths

@drshanahan,

I’m quite lucky as my LG magic remote works fine with the Ray/Surrounds/Sub in the Kitchen/Diner, but admittedly I’m slightly surprised that HDMI-ARC was not its default connection, particularly as Sonos make/sell an Optical-to-HDMI adapter. Even the smaller 24” LG TV’s come with an ARC port connection these days. I guess that it will be something that will come with the Ray (gen2) in a few years time. 

Anyhow, I’ve been impressed with the Ray/Surround audio quality and have recently added the Sub-Mini to the room and that has taken the setup to a whole new level - I’m really pleased with the ‘mini’ Home Theatre. It’s absolutely ideal for our Kitchen/Diner area.

I

SOLVED:  Solution described above in pieces, only caveat when volume up or down is pressed on the Samsung remote the IR signal does not come from the actual remote to the Sonos box.  The remote triggers the One connect box which is typically buried out of sight to emit the IR signal to the Sonos ray.  So the only solution is to buy an IR Repeater on Amazon.  The IR sensor will sit behind the One connect box facing the vents and the emitter is placed directly under the Sonos logo on ray.   

The optical audio only as opposed to the ARC HDMi creates this need for a workaround.

@drshanahan 

Finally somebody being able to explain what Samsung cannot clearly document of their own products. That part where you explained the IR emitter is embedded in the Samsung One Box as opposed to the remote transmitting IR is the real issue. You have to re-read or almost read between lines in the Samsung box documentation because most information is focused on eARC and CEC where you do not need IR. Also Sonos should warn Samsung Frame users about this for the specific case of Ray and using optical only!

It makes sense for Frame users where you have the one box hidden and sitting side by side with other components like your cable box or blue ray player. The Sonos soundbar will never be hidden so the fact that the IR is in the box and not in the remote is the downside!

Many thanks, you cut mounting frustration and potential return of the Sonos Ray. Even tough the Samsung remote is the issue I will not return my Samsung Frame just because of the remote not having IR. 

I

SOLVED:  Solution described above in pieces, only caveat when volume up or down is pressed on the Samsung remote the IR signal does not come from the actual remote to the Sonos box.  The remote triggers the One connect box which is typically buried out of sight to emit the IR signal to the Sonos ray.  So the only solution is to buy an IR Repeater on Amazon.  The IR sensor will sit behind the One connect box facing the vents and the emitter is placed directly under the Sonos logo on ray.   

The optical audio only as opposed to the ARC HDMi creates this need for a workaround.

@drshanahan

Finally somebody being able to explain what Samsung cannot clearly document of their own products. That part where you explained the IR emitter is embedded in the Samsung One Box as opposed to the remote transmitting IR is the real issue. You have to re-read or almost read between lines in the Samsung box documentation because most information is focused on eARC and CEC where you do not need IR. Also Sonos should warn Samsung Frame users about this for the specific case of Ray and using optical only!

It makes sense for Frame users where you have the one box hidden and sitting side by side with other components like your cable box or blue ray player. The Sonos soundbar will never be hidden so the fact that the IR is in the box and not in the remote is the downside!

Many thanks, you cut mounting frustration and potential return of the Sonos Ray. Even tough the Samsung remote is the issue I will not return my Samsung Frame just because of the remote not having IR. 

Forgot to credit @MVSV for the help with the solution too!

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