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How do I use TV volume to control Sonos Home Theater?


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While setting up my Sonos Home Theater with Playbase, I ran into trouble turning off the TVs speakers and (I think) skipped the step where the TV's volume remote control controls the Sonos system volume. Everything else is working properly, but I can't change the Sonos system volume except with the buttons on top of the Playbase. Is there a way for me to properly use the TVs remote control volume to control the Sonos system volume without going through the whole setup process again?
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Best answer by pkazmercyk 5 July 2019, 15:59

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14 replies

Userlevel 7
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At least we know it wasn't something wrong or malfunctioning... As the others are suggesting, a good way to go would be to use a universal remote capable of controlling multiple devices.
Userlevel 7
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@pkazmercyk, what kind of TV and remote are you using? When you go through those steps above, the TV may need to be on depending on what kind of remote you have. Just make sure you're pressing the + and - on the TV remote when directed.

Also, the Playbase is using IR, so your remote needs to be IR enabled. And easy way to tell if the IR is working, is to load up the camera on your phone, and look at the front of the remote using the camera, then press the volume up and down while watching the screen. You should see a purple or blue light from the front of the remote through your camera when you press the buttons. No lights, means the remote is using something else to communicate with the TV, such as bluetooth or RF. If that's the case, you may need to go into the TV settings to see if you can adjust things.
Userlevel 7
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Try this from the Sony website:

  1. On your TV remote control, press the HOME button.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Under Watching TV category, select External inputs.
  4. Select Cable/Satellite box setup.
  5. Select Cable/Satellite box control setup.
Or perhaps see it multi device remote, such as the Logitech Harmony series is, would work. I happen to love my Harmonys, and they control all of my devices with a single remote. No more trying to figure out which one needs to be grabbed.
Userlevel 7
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Logitech have a very good web site, and you should be able to check whether your specific tv model will work with their remotes. it's probably in the Support pages.
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Thank you!
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Unfortunately https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3402?language=en_US is not working. When I get to Remote Settings, I get instructions in the app to press the up volume button (it shows in red in the diagram), but nothing happens. (It's not clear if TV should be on or off, but I tried it both ways). If I tap "back" in upper left, the app tells me that first step was successful and to follow further instructions. The next screen tells me to press the up volume button 3 times, but nothing happens. Again, I tried the whole sequence with TV on and off. In any case I'm unable to get any further than instructions to press up volume 3 times.

If I exit the app, then relaunch it and go to Remote Control, it tells me there's already a remote paired with the Sonos, but using the volume button on my remote only changes the TV volume, not the Sonos speakers.

On top of all this, when I was done trying all this repeatedly, the Sonos speakers stopped working altogether.
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Hi Ryan. Thanks for the reply. My TV is a 2019 Sony Bravia, just a few weeks old. I tried your suggestion with the phone camera, but I don't see any color light on the front of the remote when I press the volume or channel buttons. I haven't been able to locate a TV setting that refers to IR, but will keep trying.
Might want to check your manual, or contact Sony. There should be a way to get it to emit an IR command, there's just too many TVs, DVD players, Blu-ray players out there that all need to have an IR command sent to them.
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Hi Ryan. Thanks very much for continuing to look into this. I was able to complete the cable/satellite setup as per above, but I still can't get past the first setup screen in the app. I posted in the Sony forums about IR or not IR, so hopefully that will sed some more light on this.
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Well this is odd. I haven't tried in a couple days to get the Sony remote to control the Sonos system. I just tried again for the heck of it and it worked the first time--well, it said it worked. However, the only thing I can control is 0 volume with TV remote and everything else. So I can turn Sonos volume off with remote, but whether I select 1 or 30 or 50*, I get a constant volume (whatever volume I last used for the Sonos system). i did notice, however that I can control the Sonos system volume for TV viewing from the app on my phone. Far from ideal, but at least I don't have to keep getting up. [* I'm wondering, if the TV remote is controlling the Sonos speakers, should I be seeing the TVs "native" volume display on-screen?]
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Hi All. Thanks for the replies. I just heard back from Sony:

"The supplied remote of this model uses Bluetooth® communication and not programmable with other devices. We cannot guarantee it's operation to any third-party devices."

Paul
Hi All. Thanks for the replies. I just heard back from Sony:

"The supplied remote of this model uses Bluetooth® communication and not programmable with other devices. We cannot guarantee it's operation to any third-party devices."

Paul

I noticed that your Sony reply mentions “the SUPPLIED remote” ... I would ask if they sell a remote for the TV that works via infra-red and where to buy one and how to change the TV settings to use the infra-red version. It’s unusual to have a TV that only supports Bluetooth and many manufacturers tend to offer alternatives, albeit at addition cost to their customer.
See this link:

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3402?language=en_US