Contributor I

Answered

Playbar IR reader only registering when LG TV is off

29 replies
256 views

I've gone through all the universal control settings on my LG TV and selected optical and Sonos as the manufacturer. I've turned off SIMPLINK (LOL btw) and auto device detection. I've successfully gone through the remote control setup (TV had to be off to get that to work) on the Sonos app. The LG "magic remote" just refuses to work when the TV is on. Why would LG make it specific to the point you can select Sonos as the manufacturer if it just reverts back to RF/WIFI or whatever when the TV is on? I found some trick that if you hold the back and home button for 5 seconds it disconnects the remote smart features, at which point it does actually change the Sonos volume, but then the remote just reconnects when you hit okay. Am i doing something wrong or is this just a lost cause?

AirgetlamAnswer

What did LG’s customer service say? It sound odd, certainly, I’d be tempted to check the TV for updates, and reboot it by unplugging it from the wall for two minutes, but LG is ‘in charge’ of the remote, not Sonos.

Bruce

Show previous replies

S

soccin24

Lyricist I

Yes sir.

I de-register the remote and I can watch my current show and change the volume on sonos bar just fine

The minute you hit the trackball button to choose something else on the screen - it registers the remote and the volume buttons “disconnect”.

THE REMOTE WORKS AS INTENDED WHEN IT IS UNREGISTERED TO THE TV!!!! GO FIGURE.

It is an LG problem, not Sonos

I’m tinkering a bit more with settings and whatnot. Some blogs have said a hard reset on the TV could help, but not ready to do that and re-login to all of my apps for a likely zero positive outcome

Will use the Sonos app for volume in the meantime but that is entirely too annoying as well

It makes zero sense the ‘original’ remote worked just fine as intended but the new one can’t sync properly

kdowling

I don’t have an LG, but this didn’t help?

Unable to adjust the volume using the LG Magic Remote

M

Malcolm Mitchell

Contributor I

No I’m afraid not. Added to that my Home Theatre settings disappear every 10 minutes which makes it even more challenging

kdowling

Is it possible to tell your TV it’s using optical out? Then the remote would have to switch volume control to IR. Tell the LG it’s using anything other than Sonos. In the Sonos app, you could remove the remote and then set it up again, learning the IR codes from the magic remote.

Edit: or just keep SIMPLINK disabled and tell the TV it’s using anything other than Sonos. Some other AVR or soundbar that’s IR. Then have Sonos learn the IR codes when going through the Sonos remote setup procedure.

M

Malcolm Mitchell

Contributor I

Yep, disabled Simplink and told it it’s using IR. Tried (as recommended) saying I’m using Phillips and Bose. Sonos will learn the controls when the TV is off but not when it’s on. The remote volume buttons will work when the TV is off but not when it’s on

kdowling

It sure sounds like your new magic remote isn’t working the way it’s supposed to. I would take the problem to LG and see if they can figure out why.

buzz

Grand Maestro

Maybe light from the TV is overwhelming the PLAYBAR IR sensor. Investigate this using a piece of cardboard to cast a shadow.

Many phone/pad cameras are sensitive to IR. You can use this to verify when or if the remote is emitting IR.

M

Malcolm Mitchell

Contributor I

Tried that and added masking tape as well but didn’t work

S

soccin24

Lyricist I

My best guess is some kind of software update from LG the past year+ threw things off when syncing a new remote with the exact same settings as before.

A reddit user posted this 2 months ago as “solved”. His solution was to factory reset the LG tv. Then… went through all the steps of re-syncing things and supposedly it all worked as normal

I’m not ready to do that… yet.

Sign up

Login to the community