General > General Technical Chat
Roku Remote Kills Batteries
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Peabody:
What I found with my Model 3 Roku is that my phone's Wifi Analyzer showed a second network on the same channel that my router uses, and potentially interfering with it, and that was the Roku's Wifi Direct channel. Since I'm using an IR remote, I found a way to turn that off.

In theory I think it's possible the remote may use more power looking for the stick when the stick is powered down.  You should be able to test that theory.  But in the end, you may just want to install a power switch on the remote.   Or build your own Arduino Wifi Direct remote.  :-)
metrologist:
It is a curious thing because there are probably millions of these remotes out there so I either have a solvable problem or most people are simply replacing their batteries more often.

I suppose I could fire up my RTSA and see what's happening in the WiFi spectrum.
perieanuo:
wifi remotes it's not serious stuff regarding power consumption, will never be, it's by design, that's why alternatives were born and that's why i love that nvidia shield + remotes, even the china gyro ones are ok with batteries
metrologist:
Got some images. First is 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi band. When the remote is powered up, it does this scan. There is always something on just above 2.45 GHz. When the remote connects or after some time, the scanning stops (but comes back periodically if it does not connect). It does not appear to use this band because it does something similar in the 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi band. Again, there is something always on 5.8 GHz, but that is the channel the remote uses because I can see the intensity increase when I use the remote. All three images are attached. I do not know what is using the Wi-Fi channels here as there is always something there and I turned off all of my devices. Next I will turn off my router and see if that stuff goes away - yep, that's just my router broadcasting stuff on its channels.
metrologist:
Roku instructed me to connect the streaming stick to a permanent USB supply. That seems to help the remote turn off because otherwise it stays in a perpetual phone home mode. I had the Roku streaming stick plugged into a USB port of the TV, which turns off with the TV.

If the batteries get too low, the remote will stay on and finish them off to nothing, rechargeables might get damaged. Likewise if it just cannot connect to home.

I noticed that neither the Roku Ultra box nor the Streaming stick ever turn off and are always on. All that seems like poor design decisions. Aren't mfgs supposed to care about device efficiency, not wasting electricity, and helping to save the environment? However, the devices do go into a sleep mode and present a screen saver 24/7/365.25.   :(
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