Voice Commands and Remote Not Working

[MikeV]

My Bell remote with voice commands does not work AT ALL! I have the newest model of streamer box and remote. 

I received a new box and remote to try and fix the problem..and still no luck.  I am brand new to Bell, from Rogers, and I am very disappointed.  Their voice remote works flawlessly. 

No matter what I say...there is no response.  Occasionally, if I stand right next to the box (inches away) it might pick up a word. 

Am I the only one having this problem?  My technician told me that all the boxes do not work.  Is this true? Very upsetting.  

[Ivy]

I cannot use the voice feature on my tv. Just get the spinning  circle like it is searching for something. I installed the google app on this tv.

[ScottyB · Accepted solution]

We just got Fibe TV last week.  Google Assistant initially worked fine on 3 boxes and 3 remotes.   Then it stopped working on all 3.   Tried all of the suggestions in this thread - rebooting, disconnecting & reconnecting, etc., etc. and nothing worked.  Figured it was a problem in the system and not with my hardware, so on a hunch I removed my Google account from the Fibe TV system.  Now Google Assistant works perfectly fine.   I'll add my Google account back as I need it, but for now I'll leave it off so the Assistant works.    

[Genesis]

I'm not surprised I'm not the only one having this problem!! This feature being added to their promotional ads, along with stating they have the fastest internet speed, is indeed very close to false advertising, and extremely disappointing. 

[AlexS]

It’s probably because the remotes and boxes are too close, all paired to each other & all of them are running at the same time. My family still use the old Bluetooth Slim on the new box & even just one of this would interfere with the new remote’s buttons and/or Voice Assistant.

[Genesis]

Glad I'm not the only one having this problem. Mine works sometimes, but not all the time. Very frustrating when want to find something on demand and it doesn't work. The One Demand option on the "Home" screen is useless.

[Genesis]

HAving the same problem, and brwosing through the "Home" pages, I found the check for updates, just got the snake chasing its tail for hours.

[AlexS]

Can’t really understand wdym… Just go to settings and forget all the remote and re-pair the box with the one you use frequently.

[MIKEY3]

I know what you mean, I'm a brand new Bell Fibe customer and my microphone voice command doesn't work at all no matter what I do and follow the instructions and still Nothing!

[DaveH]

Same problem - I have 4 new boxes,  voice command worked once on one of them and nothing else since. I have tried:
- unpair / repair the remote
- remove Google Id and try with out, then sign again and try
- reboot the box / reboot the remote (remove batteries and replace)
- hard reboot the box
- factory reset the the box. 
  (particularly frustrating after I spent an hour customizing the guide channels view only to have to do it again)
- swear at the remote (in frustration)

I am starting to think that there is, in fact, no  microphone in the remotes at all.

I recently switch from Rogers Ignite - and although those remotes were kind of ugly at least they worked every time. My bell remotes are flaky at best:
- sometimes very laggy
- randomly disconnect
- occasionally lock up (need to remove/replace batteries in order to reset them)

This is the same on all 4 brand new boxes.

[Nikki]

Hi DaveH

Does your remote blink red or green when you press a button.  It should blink red to show that it is connected via Bluetooth.  Voice will only work if they remotes are connected via BT.  I had a similar issue with one of our TVs and could never get it resolved - switched to a Fire stick.

[Genesis]

I have this problem as well. After several frustrating phone calls to the "Helpless" desk, and a couple of escalation's of this problem up the ladder, I was finally informed that they are aware of this problem and are "working on it". A new update is allegedly coming in September 2023(??????) Here's hoping.😖 I am definitely NOT holding my breath for this.  

[AlexS]

Do you put those remotes close to each other or pair them with every box? Have you considered to opt for tv boxes that don’t require a pay tv service? They have lots of same functions and abilities.

[AlexS]

Bell’s tv systems are called mediaroom, mediakind or what so ever. They are a global company, so implementing changes need time. Can’t afford to keep separate highly customized systems for every client lol

[DaveH]

boxes are all in separate rooms, far from each other.  each remote paired with one box only. I am paying for this service sop I expect it to work.  I am not sure how advocating a switch to another service advances the dialog - other than, perhaps, catching Bell's attention if they start seeing higher customer defection rates.

[DaveH]

"Can’t afford to keep separate highly customized systems for every client lol"
...assuming you are being facetious here since I would hardly call this a highly customized system:

The Bell boxes are just branded Android TV boxes - and Mediaroom is is just a 3rd party IPTV content management platform that Bell licensed - you are correct that is a fairly widespread platform with dozens providers round the globe. Mediaroom has nothing to do the remote however.

The remote issues are more likely tied to the interoperability between the Android TV platform and remote HW/SW  which is from the Austrian based company Ruwido.  Responsibility for testing, bundling and ensuring that updates, firmware and releases will work for customers still sits squarely with Bell (and Bell's management of its vendors and suppliers)