PikTV remote flashes sporadically

[M1-]

It flashes by itself for no apparent reason, eg when I moved it or unplug the power cable of the box. It’s distracting and also wasting the battery. Anyway to stop it from flashing or doing anything when it’s only supposed to be dormant? Thanks

[KHR · Accepted solution]

What does your remote look like? And what do you mean by flashing?

Is it the old Pik TV remote for the Pik TV Media Box? This equipment is no longer supported. Or is it the remote that comes with the new TELUS TV Digital Box (easiest way to tell is whether you have Netflix and Prime Video buttons).

The newer remote has an accelerometer in it, which activates the backlight when the remote moves - this cannot be turned off. The green and white LEDs at the top between the power button and input button should only flash for particular reasons, for example when you press a button, the green LED flashes to indicate that the button was pushed. The white LED flashes when the remote is trying to pair to the box.

I would look to see if there's a remote firmware update, and if you're up to date, you could factory reset the remote, or re-pair to your box and TV. Full details on the remote and troubleshooting are here: https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/telus-tv-digital-box-remote 

[M1-]

Thank you KHR for explaining so clearly. My remote seems working as per design then, which is not a good one due to the reasons in my original post. Will upgrading the firmware make it flash less eg when it’s moved or power cord unplugged from the box?

[M1-]

Forgot to mention that my remote is a newer one.

[KHR]

Hi @M1- moving the remote will almost always (unless the movement is very subtle) trigger the accelerometer, which will turn on the backlight. 

I always keep my set-top boxes plugged in, but after a quick test and consulting my hardware expert, it seems that because the remote is paired via bluetooth, when you unplug the box, that bluetooth connection is broken and the remote is searching for its mate. The blinking white LED is indicative of that searching. Is there a particular reason you unplug your box frequently? An alternative would be to force your remote to unpair from bluetooth and only use IR, but this would come with consequences (need direct line of sight between remote and box, voice control won't work...) 

I always recommend being on the latest firmware, but upgrading firmwares won't affect bluetooth pairing or backlighting.

[M1-]

Hi @KHR - I think the design could be improved by searching for/pairing with the box only when it's in use (white indicator light); when the box is powered off, ie with a blue light, the remote should hibernate as the system is off and it makes so no sense to pair and search all the time.

I unplug mine to save power. AIso I generally don't like to keep electronics on/powered unless I have to (recently found out that my firestick records and transmits recordings at all times, and I didn't even press the Mic button). So yeah I will keep my devices unplugged if possible when not in use. On that note, I haven't looked into this much but could you confirm if PikTV box/remote has a voice recording capability? Thanks again!

[KHR]

Hi @M1- I'm not an engineer, and far from an expert on bluetooth technology, so I can't really comment on why it's set up the way it is. That said, it seems the remote only attempts to re-pair with the box when the connection is broken or when the box has no power to it; when the box is in standby mode (blue LED), the connection is intact and the remote stays paired.

As for voice recording capability, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I would assume that the Google Assistant records your voice when speaking to it. I can tell you that there are no microphones in the box itself, only in the remote, and that the microphone in the remote is only activated by either a. the Google Assistant button or b. the OK button when you're in the search menu (magnifying glass top left in the UI). An always-on microphone in the remote would drain the batteries very quickly.

[M1-]

Okay I will make sure I don't use either button on the remote; I hope Telus takes customer privacy seriously and the mic on the remote does not record when the buttons are not pressed.