Klipsch sound bar volume problem

[Popcorn Papa]

This is truly incredible. My wife and I have new Pixel 2 XL phones. When she flips her phone from side to side it causes our Klipsch sound bar to max out. Any idea or help in solving this? I've had to unplug my sound bar, which is a real problem.

 

[Chris Tidwell]

I am having the exact same problem. I have a Pixel 2 XL and when I wave the screen at the sound bar it will increase the volume of my Klipsch sound bar. I played around with this for a little bit today and noted the following.

- Putting the phone in Airplane mode does not have any affect. It will still increase the volume.
- Waiving the back of the phone towards the sound bar does not make the volume increase.
- When I place my rubber phone cover on the screen (backwards) and wave it in front of the sound bar, it did not increase the volume.

It possibly has something to do with the screen and the frequency it gives off. It possibly could match a frequency that is used to change the volume. I am still searching for an answer.

 

[04wrx1990]

So we had the opposite problem. When ever my brother walked into the room it turned our Klipsch sb all the way down. After some experimenting we found it to be the NFC signal from the phone. Turned NFC off and problem solved. At least for now. So it's in the settings where you would find your WiFi and Bluetooth settings. Aldi this makes sense why it worked with airplane mode on as NFC doesn't turn off in airplane mode as it's extremely short range.

 

[br125]

I was googling reasons for my Klipsch soundbar volume going up on its own (it has done this occasionally to full volume since I got it). I read this and it kind of hit me that it's happened more since I got this phone.

Sure enough, when I shake my phone, the volume goes up. Turning NFC changes nothing, still sends the volume up one step at a time, so I'm not sure if that is related to it going full tilt boogie on the volume. Definitely interesting though.


Edit: it seems to be the screen. If I turn it back and forth, the volume would go up one step at a time because it was only when the screen was facing the bar. I turned the screen towards it and moved my phone around and it went up to full volume in about 1 second. This is going to be annoying.

 

[antimadder]

I’m having this same problem with my S8 and S8+ phones & Klipsch R20b. Can’t walk into my bedroom with my S8+. if I get a notification, email, etc. anything that activates my screen, my rb20 volume instantly blasts 100%. Most annoying device quirk I’ve ever encountered. Haven’t tried disabling NFC, will try that tomorrow.

 

[antimadder]

Disabling NFC did not resolve the issue. Lame, have to return the soundbar.

 

[GSDer]

Disabling NFC did not resolve the issue.

Did you try turning WiFi off? Or putting the device in Airplane mode? Just to be sure that no RF interference is linked to the problem.

 

[antimadder]

Hello GSDer,

Yes I tried the following:

1. Disabled cell/mobile data.
2. Disabled bluetooth
3. Disabled WIFI
4. Disabled NFC
5. Enabled Air Plane mode.
6. Disabled any kind of "discovery" settings I could find on my S8+
7. Factory reset the Soundbar.
8. Verified that nothing related to the TV's optical audio settings are interfering.

I also have both S8 and S8+. I performed a factory data reset on my S8. Then I powered it off and removed the SIM card. When the phone rebooted, and at the very first welcome screen (nothing was configured and the phone, nothing was activated) While the phone screen was turned on, I faced the screen to the soundbar from 6 feet away and the sound bar instantly increased volume to 100%.

At this point, I have to agree with Chris Tidwell's comment previous post: (above)

"It possibly has something to do with the screen and the frequency it gives off. It possibly could match a frequency that is used to change the volume"

 

[antimadder]

I submitted a very detailed support ticket with klipsch, also included a link to this post. Hoping to hear something from Klipsch in the next 5 - 7 days.

 

[GSDer]

It wouldn't let me post just the 'fingers crossed' emoticon - said it was spam.
Well, fingers crossed that you hear anything at all...

 

[antimadder]

I received a reply from klipsch support.
At least it's something.


From Klipsch:

Unfortunately this is a known bug with those Samsung phones. What is happening is when your phone boots up and uses its facial recognition software the phone is sending out IR codes which happen to be the same codes we use on our sound bar. This is a problem that we have notified Samsung about multiple times and they still have not fixed. There isn't anything we can do on our end to fix the problem because we cannot change the IR codes that the sound bar uses. It is something Samsung has to fix. I would recommend contacting Samsung to file a bug report with them.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful,

 

[GSDer]

I received a reply from klipsch support.
At least it's something.

From Klipsch:

Unfortunately this is a known bug with those Samsung phones. What is happening is when your phone boots up and uses its facial recognition software the phone is sending out IR codes which happen to be the same codes we use on our sound bar. This is a problem that we have notified Samsung about multiple times and they still have not fixed. There isn't anything we can do on our end to fix the problem because we cannot change the IR codes that the sound bar uses.

Funny, the Pixels aren't using facial recognition (certainly not by default). And why would they be sending out IR codes? It's not like they're sending codes to some other device to unlock them; the facial recognition software would simply be passing some kind of secure token to the OS to tell it to unlock the phone.
The Pixel doesn't even have an IR transmitter built in!

Totally bogus explanation from Klipsch.

 

[Crushinfinity]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and pinned this problem down to the iris scanner when the phone lights up and tries to unlock the phone. If the red scanning light is facing the sound bar, the volume will skyrocket to max within 1-2 seconds. Try it out and see if you guys can recreate it with your phones.

 

[Photo_Drew]

proximity sensor uses IR?

 

[Bobby Smith Jr1]

I have a note 8 and my wife's iphone broke and is using my old galaxy s5 both our phones are turning the Klipsch soundbar up. I've tried everything I can think of without any luck!!!!

 

[O-bags]

Hello. So I don't know if anyone still cares about resolving this, but this issue annoyed me so much that once I finally conquered it a single tear rolled down my cheek and I would like you to experience the same.

You just have to map your normal tv remote to the soundbar. Hold down mute on the soundbar until it starts flashing, select the button you want to map, then press the corresponding button on your remote.

This guide says it best: https://youtu.be/yJWaBWrH7hQ