Customer Ratings & Reviews

After multiple attempts to pair this remote with our Onkyo receiver and multiple calls to customer support, I was told that the two were incompatible, and we'd just have to continue using the original receiver remote. We got it to consolidate to one remote, so we returned it.

Not the easiest to program. Instructions are not very clear and pdf on line with codes is way too small to read.

This did NOT work as per the employee (in the TV section) described.

This programable remote from Philips has an attractive brushed metal appearance and backlighted keys and can control up to eight devices. The packaging describes it as a "Universal" remote, but a close reading of the package warns that although it is pre-programed to work with Samsung TVs and Roku boxes, it will not work with the Roku stick or Amazon devices. That limitation alone significantly limits it universality. As best I can determine, the main use for Bluetooth with this remote is to pair it with your smartphone for programming. You download an app to program the remote, and, the app selects IR codes for the device you want to control. It was easy to use it to control my TV, my Blu-ray player and my Apple TV box, as seperate devices, but its utility stopped there. The code initially chosen by the software for my Onkyo Receiver turned it on, but could not turn it off. I downloaded several different codes for the Onkyo, but none of them worked completely. And the manual downloading is rather cumbersome. If you wanted to be able to turn the receiver on and off and control the volume, there was a code for that. But if you used a code that let you cycle through the inputs on the receiver, you lost the ability to turn the receiver off. I called tech support and confirmed that there were only four available codes for the Onkyo at the time I tested the device, and, unfortunately, none of them worked completely with the Onkyo. I feel confident that limitation will be addressed over time as more codes are made available but lack of codes and lack of a learning feature erased the utility of the device for me. You can also create "scenes" with this remote, which allow it to control several devices which are used together, like your TV, your home theatre receiver, and a streaming device. But in my set up, the scene programming was rather useless. I use the Onkyo as a switcher between my devices to feed a single input on my Vizio TV. If I wanted to set up several different scenes, say, one to stream from the Apple TV, and another to watch a Blu-Ray, I could do that, but I would still have to cycle through the Onkyo inputs on each scene to select the proper device to watch by multiple button presses on the input button programmed for the Onkyo. It was impossible to set up scenes where the proper Onkyo input was automatically selected by the remote. In my set up, this rendered scene feature as useless. I was relegated to cycling through the programmed Onkyo input button to get to the device I wanted for each seperate use of the remote. And I still had to walk up the the Onkyo receiver and manually turn it off when I got through watching anything because of the limited codes available to control it. The final kicker was that the remote always defaulted to the input control for the TV, not the Onkyo, when I wanted to tell it to switch inputs. Press the TV button, then power on the TV. Check. Press the button to control the Onkyo, then power on the Onkyo. Check. Then try to cycle through the inputs on the Onkyo by pressing the input button on the remote. Failure. The remote would only cycle through the input for the TV. Even if I hit the button to control the Onkyo again, I sill got the inputs from the Vizio on my screen, not the Onkyo inputs. A further limitation of this universal remote is that it's IR transmitter seemed to be rather weak. My couch is about 10 feet from my TV and Apple TV box. I had to lift up the tested remote to the exact level of the Apple TV and point it precisely at the box for the button commands to be read correctly. My other remotes do not demand that level of precision to control the Apple TV. I question whether a person unfamiliar with my livingroom devices would be able to pick up this device after it had been properly programmed and use it to turn on all the various devices and successfully watch them, and then get all the devices turned off after they finished. I do know one thing. They would still have to walk up to the Onkyo receiver and turn it off manually. Becuase of the limitations described, I could not reccomend this device generally. You might have better luck with your particular devices if all the codes are available via the software, but you would have to be luckier than me for that to happen. And even if all the codes are available to you, the scene feature is of limited utility without the availablity of a learning feature.

Very easy to set up. I used the app to set up the remote. Worked with my LG TV, I reset it to use with another TV, I used the app for that too, it was a piece of cake.

The Phillips 8-device remote is a nice looking product that's priced aggressively, but that come with a number of limitations. If the devices you wish to control are fairly basic, it may fit your needs. This device is certainly priced at the low end for a programmable, 8 device remote. It's decent looking but doesn't have the solid feel of high end products. You use the Phillips app to set up devices or create scenes. It’s easy but basic. It comes preset for a Samsung TV and a Roku streamer. However, if you have a Roku stick that uses Bluetooth for control, you're out of luck. It only uses Bluetooth to talk with the Phillips app on your phone. Another big limitation in my book is that it does not work with any Firestick products. It uses an IR blaster to control devices, and calling it a blaster would be a stretch. I found it had to be directly pointing at the IR receiver on a device to work. It also took a couple of tries with the app to get it programmed, and then the control was limited to basic functions. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Products like Harmony remotes are very pricey and take some effort to really customize, but they can control nearly anything including Bluetooth devices. This Phillips remote was too limited for my use and needs.

Love this. Nice to have one remote for everything. I ended up buying two

I'll start with the pluses of the Philips Universal Remote: It's supports 8 devices. With all the gadgets we have dangling from our TV's now this is a huge plus. I can control everything and still have a spare button for the next thing I buy. The shape is pretty comfortable and the light up keys are bright enough to be helpful but not so bright to be distracting in the dark. Now why I'm not really feeling the remote: You have to use an app to program the remote. Apps to set up devices are, in general, slow as molasses. Manual set up runs at the speed of me. Apps run at the speed of a progress bar and response from the server. Programming my TV took far to many tries and when I had to start over because it failed... I HAD TO START OVER. All the way from input number one to whatever the correct code was to get my TV connected. It was slllloooooowww waiting for each code to be input. After I got the TV I went to the Roku. Since it had BT and advertised Roku support I was expecting a BT connection to pair the remote. Nope, it's line of sight with the IR blaster. I have a Roku Ultra that does have an IR receiver, but I put in an inconspicuous spot with the remote blaster from my other universal remote to control it. To use the Phillips I have to rearrange my set up so everything has direct site to it. So for the purpose of testing, I moved the Roku. Next I went to set up a Scene to turn on the Roku, AV receiver, and TV - I can't use CEC because the receiver uses a weird protocol and cycles through every connection a minute after powering on so I rely on my remote to manually select input and turn on devices. Scenes are bad. There's very little control and if you make a mistake...just like grabbing remote codes, you're starting all over. If you try a 15 button sequence and make a mistake at 14, you gotta cancel and redo the steps again. I feel sorry for the guys doing the full 40 and making a mistake at step 39. I'm not a fan of the button layout. The Back and Home button need to be near the directional button. I was hoping I could reprogram the buttons but that wasn't an option. Having those two frequently used buttons for streaming devices somewhere in the upper middle isn't very intuitive. I have an Nvidia Shield, Xbox, PC, and PS4 connected but after the frustration of setting up the first device I decided it was time to quit, especially with the poor implementation of Scenes. I'll just keep using my current remote until they finally shut down the service and hope something better comes along.

Batteries die very quickly because of the backlight and the backlight dulls as the batteries die. I wouldn’t buy this again.

Works fine; typical universal remote for multiple devices

Great remote easy to program and works great highly recommend

This remote was easy to program and quick to set up

It has Bluetooth and it works okay with the device it is paired with.

Love the remote ! Initially I was really worried the remote wouldn’t be compatible w the latest tv but it paired GREAT and it connects to your mobile device which makes it 20x BETTER ! Sometimes the remote freezes but I think that has something to do w the Bluetooth bc once I go in the app it’ll be fine again .

Nice remote. There was a bit delay after a button press but works okay,

I’ve had the Philips 8 Device Bluetooth Remote Control in the sliver color for almost a month now. I initially had problems with my remote and needed to have a replacement sent out, so I won’t discuss the challenges I experienced from what I believe was a defective remote. However, after being put in contact with a customer service representative I received a replacement remote that I have been using for the past few days. The remote is arrived well packaged and included everything I needed expected batteries. But there’s a quick start guide and an app you can download to get you up and running. The remote is easy to set up if you have compatible devices. I was able to connect three of my devices (TV, Streaming Device, and a Bluray Player), but I wish I could have connected all eight KD my devices. I also wasn’t able to take advantage of all the remote has to offer. There are several buttons that do not work and I find myself having to find the original remotes to use those features (i.e. sleep, home, eject). Those devices that the remote is able to connect to, worked fine. The range isn’t that good and it has to be an unobstructed view pointing directly at the device. The remote looks nice and has a lot of neat features, but there needs to be more work done to ensure it works with more devices. It has 47 buttons but I am only able to take advantage of about 10 and still need to grab the other remotes. This remote, as currently constructed is not ready to replace my other main remotes.

Easy to connect to devices, but the range is very weak. 5 or more feet away and the remote stops working.

Small buttons. Pressing the buttons on the remote results in unpredictable actions-moving one space, two spaces, continuously or not at all. Remote requires aiming the device exactly at the component to be controlled.

I tried installing this universal remote to replace my existing universal remote. However its capabilities were limited so I returned it for a full refund.

Just is just what my daughter needed. The sound is loud and the quality is good. I would purchase again in the future.