Playbar with multiple remote controls

  • 11 March 2013
  • 23 replies
  • 6122 views

Can the playbar understand multiple remote controls? I have a media server remote control as well as a TV remote control. Lets say I have the media server remote in my hand, normally, this wouldn't be able to turn up the TV volume (as it controls just the volume output from the media server). Can the playbar understand both to save me reaching for the TV remote everytime?

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23 replies

Would like to know this too. My LG have two remotes and the volume only works on one remote.
Userlevel 2
Same here
A friend of mine bought one last week so I asked him to test this yesterday, seems that it can only handle one remote. He tried going into settings to add another but couldn't find this - he said that you can run through the setup wizard again but this only allows for one remote.
Another LG user here with two remotes, could do with a solution to this
I would love an update to allow this.  I have the cable box remote and TV remote.  The smart TV remote is great, but my wife likes the cable box one better.  Id like both to be able to adjust the volume.  
me too! please fix this - or provide an official response.
My new TV (Panasonic has to remotes as default) Please update so it will be possible to add more than one remote to the sound bar.
My new TV (Panasonic has to remotes as default) Please update so it will be possible to add more than one remote to the sound bar.
Any news on this topic? I really wann use both remote controls of my brand new Samsung TV. - I think it is Standard these days to have two of them - Full Version and convenient One - Sonos what is your answer?!
Userlevel 5
Badge +2
You might want to consider a universal remote control to consolidate multiple controls.

The Logitech Harmony series is quiet popular among Sonos and HPC users with multiple remotes, playback sources, AVR settings etc.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/harmony-remotes
Userlevel 2
Bernhard, you're missing the point. We want to have two or three remotes that control the playbar so that no matter where you sit, a remote is near by. Can I buy 3 Logitech remotes and have each of them work on the same playbar?
Userlevel 5
Badge +2
Bernhard, you're missing the point. We want to have two or three remotes that control the playbar so that no matter where you sit, a remote is near by. Can I buy 3 Logitech remotes and have each of them work on the same playbar?
No, Sonos only registers one remote.

I haven't tried this yet, but if one of your remotes has a learning capability and can pickup other remote sequences, it might be able to replicate the codes from the remote thats registred with the PlayBar. 
Just got my new playbar. My Sony TV has a standard remote plus a really cool touchpad remote. Also have the Comcast remote. Paired the Comcast one and then tried the others and no luck. So I went to this forum and was amazed that in 2 years Sonos has been silent on the subject. No is an answer you know.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Just got my new playbar. My Sony TV has a standard remote plus a really cool touchpad remote. Also have the Comcast remote. Paired the Comcast one and then tried the others and no luck. So I went to this forum and was amazed that in 2 years Sonos has been silent on the subject. No is an answer you know.

Hi Joe,

The PLAYBAR is only capable of learning one remote's controls at a time. After you've decided which remote to have it listen to you can go into Room Settings Settings > TV Settings and set up that remote.
I have a Vizio TV remote, an Xfinity X1 voice remote, and an Apple TV 4th Gen remote all working with the PLAYBAR. I'm guessing that's because I taught the Xfinity and Apple TV remotes to work with the TV volume before getting the PLAYBAR.
Just bought my play bar yesterday.. Had I known this, I would have bought a much cheaper sound bar that wild wort with two remotes. This is a real inconvenience.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Just bought my play bar yesterday.. Had I known this, I would have bought a much cheaper sound bar that wild wort with two remotes. This is a real inconvenience.

I too found myself bemoaning the fact I could only control the volume of my Playbar with one of my 4 remotes and my Iphone, my Ipad and my PC.

Then I stopped, slapped myself about a bit and then got on with my life
Have they updated this or are they going to so we can add another remote???
I agree. This will be a very important software update for a lot of users. (Tv, Apple tv, mediabox, a Logitech Harmony is not possible to replace these RC's).
Just bought my play bar yesterday.. Had I known this, I would have bought a much cheaper sound bar that wild wort with two remotes. This is a real inconvenience.

I too found myself bemoaning the fact I could only control the volume of my Playbar with one of my 4 remotes and my Iphone, my Ipad and my PC.

Then I stopped, slapped myself about a bit and then got on with my life


I’m glad you can move on from life, but this is a pain in the rear for me. I’m trying to cut the cord and TiVo, AppleTV, and my LG OLED set don’t have the same apps available. I may need to move to a mix of two or more remotes vs my old world of just using the TiVo. My $699 PlayBase should be smart enough to handle three stupid IR codes (vol up/down and mute) from a couple sources. Or at least accept the. Same damn codes from multiple remotes. My TiVo remote can mute the TV, my LG remote can mute the TV as well. All seem to work fine and my TV sees all of the remotes fine. Sonos? Heck no. Mute only works on one remote no matter what contortions I try.

If you’re ok with your seethe, great. In the meantime please don’t belittle other people’s request for a solution to a basic feature.
The Sonos PLAYBASE will accept one set of signals, as you have programmed it. As long as you set all of your remotes to use the same set of codes, it will accept signals from any of them. That's the only restriction, and why you can use a programmable remote like a Harmony remote. If you were to set up the LG remote to emulate the TiVo remote (or vice versa), and tell the PLAYBASE to react to the one set of codes, then both remotes would work with the device.

It just can't deal with 2 different sets of transmissions for the same command.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Just bought my play bar yesterday.. Had I known this, I would have bought a much cheaper sound bar that wild wort with two remotes. This is a real inconvenience.

I too found myself bemoaning the fact I could only control the volume of my Playbar with one of my 4 remotes and my Iphone, my Ipad and my PC.

Then I stopped, slapped myself about a bit and then got on with my life


I’m glad you can move on from life, but this is a pain in the rear for me. I’m trying to cut the cord and TiVo, AppleTV, and my LG OLED set don’t have the same apps available. I may need to move to a mix of two or more remotes vs my old world of just using the TiVo. My $699 PlayBase should be smart enough to handle three stupid IR codes (vol up/down and mute) from a couple sources. Or at least accept the. Same damn codes from multiple remotes. My TiVo remote can mute the TV, my LG remote can mute the TV as well. All seem to work fine and my TV sees all of the remotes fine. Sonos? Heck no. Mute only works on one remote no matter what contortions I try.

If you’re ok with your seethe, great. In the meantime please don’t belittle other people’s request for a solution to a basic feature.


It’s a non-problem. Your making an issue where there isn’t one. Unless your different remotes aren’t available when you’re viewing a different video source the. It matters not one jot which one I should used to control the Playbar/Playbase volume.

You call it belittling, I call it pointing out nonsense.
I called it belittling because that’s the definition of the word: make (someone or something) seem unimportant. You called it nonsense which again belittles my concern (and misused the word nonsense since my concern is comprehensible). I have multiple remotes which cannot fulfill each other’s functions but no matter the programming I cannot get the mute button to the Sonos to work consistently across them. Yet this has never been an issue with other components. My TV sees the mute signal from all the remotes so the coding I’ve set them all to apparently works. My Marantz AV receiver worked fine with these remotes previously.

Again, I am not asking for the Sonos to be programmed for two or more different IR coding schemes, I just want it to work across multiple remotes all programmed to control the same TV. You may not consider that something worth worrying about and so perhaps move on from this thread. I find it strange that I am ridiculed for a basic request in a forum on fairly extravagantly priced wireless speaker systems. Then again, I should not be surprised.