Siri Remote on Apple TV 4k

Almeuit

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So weird thing i have noticed lately ... My remote needs charged every 1-2 weeks. I have friends who swear they go months without a charge (I believe them -- no reason not to).. But my remote is a 1-2 week life then flop.

I don't do anything insane or play games with it. My normal routine is turn the TV on at night, put it on a channel, and maybe change the channel 2-3 times within a 4-7 hour period. Very light browsing of the menu to find what I want and sit.

Just curious what others are experiencing. I am most likely going to contact Apple. It isn't a huge issue since re-charging isn't the end of the world but I am just curious as to why mine is acting so funky. I searched online and see some posts of people having the issue but it definitely isn't everyone.
 

Rob Phillips

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Yeah we have two Apple TVs and go months between charges even with daily use (it’s our main source of television). Maybe try restoring your remote and setting up as new.
Seriously though, that’s not normal. Seems like something is wrong.
 

Almeuit

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Yeah we have two Apple TVs and go months between charges even with daily use (it’s our main source of television). Maybe try restoring your remote and setting up as new.
Seriously though, that’s not normal. Seems like something is wrong.

Yeah I decided to do a true test where I document what happens so I know 100%.

I am charging it tonight. I will keep tabs from 100% tonight -> throughout the week and see exactly what is going on.
 

Almeuit

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Okay. Tested yesterday.

At 10:30 PM I turned the Apple TV on. Remote was still 100% from the charge the night before so it didn't lose any while asleep. I put DirecTV Now Beta on and watched the same channel for a few hours. I touched the remote maybe once within that few hours to prevent inactivity otherwise it sat on the table.

It was at 74% battery when I went to shut off the Apple TV to go to bed. So from 10:30 PM to around 3:30 AM it went from 100% to 74% with one interaction.

Definitely something going on o_O
 

Rob Phillips

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Okay. Tested yesterday.

At 10:30 PM I turned the Apple TV on. Remote was still 100% from the charge the night before so it didn't lose any while asleep. I put DirecTV Now Beta on and watched the same channel for a few hours. I touched the remote maybe once within that few hours to prevent inactivity otherwise it sat on the table.

It was at 74% battery when I went to shut off the Apple TV to go to bed. So from 10:30 PM to around 3:30 AM it went from 100% to 74% with one interaction.

Definitely something going on o_O

That’s definitely not right. I smell a warranty replacement!
 

Lee_Bo

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I got a 4KATV three weeks ago and haven't charged the remote yet and it gets used every morning and night.

Ok the other ATV's we have, if the remote stops working I normally just use the iPhone app while the remote is charging.
 

Almeuit

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I got a 4KATV three weeks ago and haven't charged the remote yet and it gets used every morning and night.

Ok the other ATV's we have, if the remote stops working I normally just use the iPhone app while the remote is charging.

Yeah no iPhone remote for me... I use a Pixel 2 XL :p.
 

Almeuit

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A buddy got his Apple TV 4k last night so we compared on the phone our firmware versions of the remote. Mine is way lover then his (something like 0x075 and his is 0x099).

I think I need to find a way to update the firmware and that may solve my issue. The stuff I have found online so far are older articles that don't seem to work. I wonder if I get on Apple Chat if they will tell me how to manually update the remotes firmware since it doesn't seem to be doing it automatically.
 

Almeuit

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Okay I decided one more test with a buddy. I charged my remote up to 100% on Friday last week. I have been using it but when it is idle (such as watching TV for 3-4 hours) I place it on a table now. Before it was on a table but on a book that I am studying (For some certs) and it seems to have solved the issue.

My only guess (purely a guess) is that the gyro sensor in the remote maybe stayed active as it sat on the book? Maybe it thought it was in my hand or something? Idk. Placing it on an actual wood / flat surface seems to have resolved it. As of last night the remote was at 85% battery. So from Friday night to Tuesday night it lost 15%.

Would most say that is more around the norm? I mean it is better then a 30-40% drop that I was seeing before for sure.
 

Almeuit

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Okay -- all is working. I place it on the table (flat / hard surface) instead of sitting on a book that I keep on that table and it seems to have resolved itself. I would almost say the Firmware update did it but that just happened last night (to 0x0100 or something)... otherwise it was on the same firmware.

My Guess? When it was sitting on the book the gyro didn't sense it as idle so the remote stayed active and the drain was caused due to that. Now that it lays flat no issues.

Results so far below......

Full Charge - 2/23/2018
Current Charge - 78% - as of 3/6/2018

Drain much better / way less even with the same usage. I am a happy camper :D.
 
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Almeuit

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5/1 - Update.

Charge - 63%. Still haven't charged it since that full charge on 2/23/2018. Just wow. So glad it is fixed lol.
 

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