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Remote Battery Level

pp171
I plan to stick around

For about a month now, whenever I check the battery level, it shows exactly 39%, no more no less. I am using rechargeable batteries, and even when they are fully charged, it is always 39% I'm getting, when I do the check.

Originally, with the non-rechargeable batteries, that came with the remote, I was able to monitor them from about 80%, and down to 20%. That's when I started using rechargeable ones, and as I said, they were showing 39% when freshly installed, and the same even now, about a month later.

Weird!

 

***Edited Labels***

11 REPLIES 11

Re: Remote Battery Level

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

Rechargeable batteries have a lower voltage than say alkaline batteries when both are fully charged.  The battery level indicated by the IgniteTV box measures that voltage, so the 1.2V of the rechargeable battery measured by the algorithm may be equivalent to an alkaline battery which is down to say 39%.  Alkaline batteries my be say 1.5-1.6 V when new.  The discharge "curve" of a rechargeable battery may be more gradual than an alkaline.

 

Rechargeable batteries are not really recommended for these remotes, but if they work for you, good for you.  Here's a recent thread discussing batteries, levels, pop-ups, etc.  I tried rechargeable eneloop batteries in the IgniteTV remote and they didn't last long and the voice commends stopped working pretty quickly.  Those remotes had worked perfectly fine in the Legacy Digital Cable remotes, but those don't use voice commends.

 

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Ignite-TV/Can-you-disable-low-battery-warning-for-Ignite-remot...

 

Have you performed a restart of your gateway and boxes using the Ignite WiFi Hub App to see if that makes a difference in the level?  I believe you can also do a restart using Rogers - Settings - Help, but I'm not sure if that is as useful as using the app.  The app says a restart takes about 12 minutes, but I've usually found it to complete in about half that time?

 

It's also possible to do a factory reset of the remote, but then you'd have to reprogramme it for your TV/AVR if applicable.

Re: Remote Battery Level

pp171
I plan to stick around

I knew that rechargeable batteries have lower voltage, but the 39% I am seeing for a long time was still confusing. That's why I thought that something was "stuck", but I suppose it is all about the algorithm  of how they measure the actual voltage, that is not quite perfect.

 

By the way, I am using Rayovac rechargeable batteries. While it would be useful to be able to monitor their discharging, the good thing is they appear to be holding their charge very well. I guess that, at some point, I'll see that 39% go down, but they work fine, so it is what it is.

 

I did not restart the gateway through the app, but I did cycle power off and on. Turned it off for a few minutes, and powered it back on. I could try factory resetting the remote too. Reprogramming TV/AVR doesn't take very long, so maybe I'll give that a try.

 

Thanks!

Re: Remote Battery Level

pp171
I plan to stick around

I have just factory reset my remote, and voilà. My battery level is now 51%. So, it looks like it was stuck after changing the batteries. Everything is working fine now, as it only took a minute to reprogram TV/AVR.

Re: Remote Battery Level

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

Glad to see it's working. Thanks for the feedback and for trying both resets.

Re: Remote Battery Level

Curious_Len
I've been here awhile

I am a newish Ignite user. I was told the other day that it was time to change my batteries. I checked the level. It was 29%. I changed the batteries (alkaline) ... still 29% . Both batteries are fresh and test at 100%. Everything seems to work fine. So is this a variation of the glitch that's being discussed here?

Re: Remote Battery Level


@Curious_Len wrote:

I am a newish Ignite user. I was told the other day that it was time to change my batteries. I checked the level. It was 29%. I changed the batteries (alkaline) ... still 29% . Both batteries are fresh and test at 100%. Everything seems to work fine. So is this a variation of the glitch that's being discussed here?


Do you happen to have multiple Ignite Voice Remotes paired to the set-top box?  This is the case at my parents' home and it can sometimes be confusing figuring out which one actually has the low battery.  (When this happens, I pull the batteries out of all the remotes and then check the battery level in each remote, one-by-one, with only one remote powered at a time.)

Re: Remote Battery Level

Curious_Len
I've been here awhile

We have two TVs. Each with its own box and remote control. I assume (dangerous, I know) that each remote was paired to its own box when the Rogers guy did the set up. Can a remote be paired to two separate boxes?

Re: Remote Battery Level


@Curious_Len wrote:

We have two TVs. Each with its own box and remote control. I assume (dangerous, I know) that each remote was paired to its own box when the Rogers guy did the set up. Can a remote be paired to two separate boxes?


The remote will control the last box that it got paired to.  The low battery warning will be associated with the remote that you are actively using.

 

For me, the low battery warning pops up when I'm pressing buttons on a remote and the charge drops below a certain threshold.  I use rechargeable batteries, so I just drop in a freshly-charged set and the warning goes away.  I don't try to use the remote until the batteries run down completely and the remote quits.

Re: Remote Battery Level

Curious_Len
I've been here awhile

I did check after reading your note. The remote in the Den shows 29% even after battery replacement the second TV shows 98%. I wonder if the fix could be as easy as unplugging the box for a few minutes? Always something, eh?

Re: Remote Battery Level

57
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

An earlier poster in this thread did a factory reset of the remote and then reprogrammed it.

 

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Ignite-TV/Remote-Battery-Level/m-p/500786/highlight/true#M1590...

 

I wait to replace batteries until the remote no longer responds to voice commands. Button commands will last a lot longer.  I have replacement batteries nearby, so it's never an issue.

 

The alkaline batteries in my remote last about 6 months.  I occasionally use voice commands. I tried rechargeable batteries, but they didn't last very long for me. My wife's remote, which is used less, has the same batteries for 17months so far and she also occasionally uses voice commands.

Re: Remote Battery Level

-G-
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

@57 wrote:

An earlier poster in this thread did a factory reset of the remote and then reprogrammed it.

 

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Ignite-TV/Remote-Battery-Level/m-p/500786/highlight/true#M1590...


@Curious_Len It's the remote that measures the battery level, then passes that information to the set-top box.  I don't think rebooting the set-top box will have any affect but it also wouldn't hurt to do this, and it's an easy thing to try.

 

To factory reset the remote, enter setup code 9 8 1.  You can find instructions on how to do that here.

After the reset, you will need to pair and program the remote again.  The instructions on how to do that can be found here.

 

I would also try removing the batteries from the remote for a few minutes, press a few buttons on the remote to clear any charge that might remain in its internal circuitry, then reinsert the batteries.

 

Hopefully any or all of the above will reset your low battery indicator.

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