Forum Discussion

tonguetwister's avatar
tonguetwister
New Contributor III
7 years ago

XR 11 remote works only in line of sight

Been meaning to ask this for a while. Contour 2, Cisco 9865HDC DVR, Cox XR 11 remote. Even with battery levels at 100%, this remote will function *only* when pointed directly at the box.

By comparison, my Roku can recognize commands even when I point it behind my head.

Both are rated as RF but the performance difference is night and day.

What gives?

remote
XR 11
  • DustinP's avatar
    DustinP
    Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hi chaloots,

    Is there any improvement when you un-pair the remote to IR function, then re-pair the remote to the receiver RF again?

  • tonguetwister's avatar
    tonguetwister
    New Contributor III
    7 years ago

    I hadn't considered that but will give it a try and let you know. Thanks, DustinP.

  • DustinP's avatar
    DustinP
    Moderator
    7 years ago
    Okay chaloots,

    If no change, my next question would be if the response is found to happen on other Contour 2 receivers in the home, or even with one of your other RX-11 remotes. This would raise a question with it being a issue with the remote in use, or if the receiver is the culprit.



  • tonguetwister's avatar
    tonguetwister
    New Contributor III
    7 years ago

    I thought I knew how to do this, but when invoking Remote Settings>Remote Setup the only options I see are to either, A) set up control of my Sony TV (my brand) using new remote, or B) also control audio receiver using new remote (there is no external audio receiver other than the Sony TV).

    Unless there's another menu I haven't found, would you provide me with the proper path for navigating to the menu to re-pair the remote?

  • Karen_R's avatar
    Karen_R
    Former Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hello Chaloots,

    The steps for pairing the Contour 2 remote are listed below. Thanks

    1.Ensure the following:
    •Batteries are installed in the remote.
    •Your TV is on and set to the input for the Contour 2 receiver.
    •Your receiver is on.

    2.Press and hold the Setup button on the Cox remote for three seconds, until the red LED on the remote turns green.

    3.Press the Contour (Menu) button.

    Result: The LED on the remote flashes.

    4.Do one of the following:

    •Follow the pairing instructions displayed on the TV and enter the three-digit code
    •Press the Contour (Menu) button again and repeat until the instructions display. Then, enter the three-digit code.

    Result: The receiver and remote are paired.
  • Karen_R's avatar
    Karen_R
    Former Moderator
    7 years ago
    Chaloots,

    Here are the steps to unpair the remote if you need to do that first. Thanks

    Unpair Remote

    When not paired, the remote uses IR signal only and line-of-sight is needed to control a receiver.

    1.Press and hold the Setup button on the Cox remote for three seconds, until the red LED turns green.
    2.Enter 9-8-7.

    Result: The LED blinks green twice and the remote is no longer paired with the receiver.
  • tonguetwister's avatar
    tonguetwister
    New Contributor III
    7 years ago

    Well, un-pairing and re-pairing didn't seem to have much effect. Even with fresh batteries at 100% I *still* need to point the remote directly at the DVR, as if there was no RF feature. I've got a spare XR 11 and will try that one after un-pairing this one again tomorrow. I'll also try the other remote in the house as DustinP suggested.

    Thanks for the reminders on how to pair and unpair the remote, Karen_R. If only there was an additional setting to confirm that RF was, in fact, the default communication mode. 

  • Karen_R's avatar
    Karen_R
    Former Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hello Chaloots,

    You're welcome. We appreciate your feedback. Please let us know your findings. Thanks
  • tonguetwister's avatar
    tonguetwister
    New Contributor III
    7 years ago

    Before trying a replacement remote, as DustinP had recommended I ran a test in a different location, in a room with a Cox mini box, where lo and behold, much like my Roku remote performed in the room with the Cox DVR, the TV there responded to commands even with the XR 11 pointed behind me.

    I then went back to the room with the DVR, where I un-paired the XR 11 that had previously functioned in line-of-sight only, swapped out the 100% fresh batteries and paired that replacement XR 11 to my Sony TV. It too proved unable to successfully relay commands while pointed behind me. However, I did notice a wider angle of RF communication than before, a modest performance enhancement I will accept.

    Thanks, Karen_R and DustinP!