Volume, mute and playback controls
The lower half of the remote screen is the part you use without looking: volume, mute, and the four playback keys. They send the same commands as the plastic remote, so whatever responds to that responds to this.
Volume and mute
- Volume up and down step the TV's volume, and holding one repeats it.
- Mute silences the TV and tapping it again brings the sound back. It is also one of the two Control Center controls, for the moment when the phone rings.
- On a Roku streaming player, volume and mute reach the TV only if the TV accepts them over HDMI-CEC. If yours does not, the TV's own remote keeps control of the volume.
The playback keys
- Instant replay jumps back a few seconds — the same jump the physical remote's arrow makes.
- Rewind and fast forward step through what is playing. Tapping again goes faster, exactly as on the remote, because the channel on screen decides what the key means.
- Play/pause pauses and resumes. It also appears on the medium widget and in the Channels tab when the channel reports what is playing.
Why a key sometimes does nothing
The Roku passes these commands to whatever channel is on screen, and each channel decides what to do with them. Live television inside a channel that does not buffer cannot rewind; an advert cannot be skipped; a menu has nothing to pause. The command arrived — there was simply nothing for it to do.
FAQ
- Can I set the volume to an exact number?
- No. Roku's control interface offers steps up and down, not a level, so no remote app can show you a volume slider for the TV.
- Volume works but mute does not.
- A few TVs mute only through their own remote. Turning the volume down is the reliable alternative.
- Can I control volume while private listening is on?
- Use your iPhone's own volume buttons — during private listening the sound is coming from your iPhone, and the TV's speakers are quiet anyway.
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