Xperia ZL, IR-Blaster doesn't seem to work with Remote Control App
Hello everyone.
A week ago I bought the xperia zl phone and I tried to also use the pre installed "Remote Control" App to use the built in Infrared blaster. I can't make it work though. What I did is:
- I manually installed two deviceds (projecter / av receiver).
- Through the remote control software I programmed some keys in holding the original remote of the device in front of the infrared blaster of the ZL. The Remote Control App told me that it 'Learnt the command'. I then saved everything and tried to use the programmed button but both deviced don't react. It seems the infrad signal is not sent out.
- I also tried to hold the infrared blaster of the zl really close to the deviced - still no reaction.
Do I miss something? Does infrared have to be switched on seperately? I checked in the apps and all Remote Control Apps / Service seem to be running.
I did uninstall / disable some sony apps before but I don't think I disabled relevent apps for the remote control to work....
"a hardware problem in some units. It's not a general problem that occurs with all Xperia ZL" ??????????????? Yeah sure. I haven't met anyone with the learn feature working.
[INDIA] GLEAMJEWELS: Sony India helpline has no information regarding remote control app
[UNKNOWN] mlonline: (Sony?) support didn't know about this issue and made me do a 'software repair' over the sony software first. Issue is still not resolved.
[MALAYSIA] bt7: a reply from Sony Care: (...) it have been ecalated to the management and once they have solution for it, a firmware will be developed. (...) Local Sony Center (Malaysia) has not heard of this issue.
[UNKNOWN] Ivasi: issues confirmed from India, Russia, Germany, etc
[INDIA] shail0101: chasing this issue since 3 months but no proper response . Service centers say they do not have solution.
[UNKNOWN] mlonline: initial topic starter, even tried sending to the Swiss repair center of Sony. They (Bachmann AG) refused the warranty and sent a bill of 60 CHF. Phone visited repair centers with solution yet to be confirmed.
[Malaysia] bt7: Send for repair and contact local support are of no help, and problem is still there. Local Sony is not aware of this issue.
[INDIA] drpurupatil: Sony India has taken note of this problem. They have tested the phone for manual setup and found it defective. No report on a fix yet.
Adding mine:
[NETHERLANDS] Imported the phone from Germany and am dealing with Sony Germany for support. Their reply: "We don't think, that this is a hardware defect. We cannot garantuee, all functions for all other devices. Even though the device is in the list, this doesn't mean that you can manually set-up all functions or that the devices are actually compatible.". This is one of the default statements which to me indidates that the problem is too technical for them to understand properly.
So far my experience with Sony support (a read-only support-forum, HTTP 500 errors when trying to submit a simple contact form, inconsistent 'answers' to support requests) has been unsatisfactory. Based on the E-mail with Sony Germany and the support chat I had, I now unfortunately hold the capabilities of Sony Support in low regard.
Reading the forum, multiple customers from around the world (Germany, Malaysia, India, Russia and The Netherlands now too) are complaining about this, and there have yet to be reports from members who had the issue resolved to their satisfaction. Local support often doesn't know about any proper solution and it seems the customer knows more about the problem than Support does.
I feared that once the Xperia support forum re-opens, people would be posting their discontent in this thread. Therefore I warned Sony Support to take my E-mail seriously as I believe Sony will get a bad reputation if their 'support' continues on this path.
In my opinion Sony would benefit greatly from having a global (internal) database that registers support calls like these. By sharing knowledge with local Sony offices and service locations, all local support would know about this problem and have a uniform solution procedure in place (a repaired or replaced unit). This would save time and money, not to mention Sony's public image.
Here's a starter entry for the database for all (local) Sony support offices pertaining to this problem:
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There is a confirmed problem with either the Remote Control app or the Infrared (IR) hardware in (some if not all) Sony Xperia ZL units. The app offers two features:
A list of devices and manufacturers with known Infrared commands for that Manufacturer. This function works as intended but Sony can not guarantee that the consumer's target device is in the list nor that commands offered will work on the target device.
Additionally, the Remote Control app offers a "Manual setup" function that should learn (record) Infrared commands straight from an actual remote control. This would make the ZL compatible with pretty much all static IR devices, provided a remote control is available to learn the commands from. This function does not work as intended.
The preliminary conclusion is that the problem is hardware-based. Consumers should be instructed to send their device in for repair under warranty as this problem is not caused by their doing.
Sony India has replaced my handset but the new handset also has same problem. I also tried 4 different handsets but manual setup didn't work on any handset . Even the service head who had called me from Sony India had faced same problem . So are there any handsets in India which have working ir hardware? How to know which units have defective hardware before opening the box?
Rickard can you please introduce yourself to this thread whether you are officially Sony's engineer so that I can put my points clearly to Sony India with your reference and your opinions. Thanks.
I'm fully support an idea offered by drpurupatil and Bouvrie.
I'm from Russia, bought Xperia ZL about a month ago and have the same problem with IR. Sony needs to officially accept this technical problem with their smartphones and share this information with all authorized service centers and distributors.
Nokia had taken back all the defective batteries from the consumers in India in 2007 and replaced with new batteries. Sony should do same thing by taking back all defective Xperia ZL phones from market and give New one to its customers. Very soon I am moving to consumer court in India where I will demand this for my Indian Consumers.
Thank you for contacting Sony Xperia Support. We are sorry about your dissatisfaction about our support.
To exclude a hardware defect of your phone, you can send it to the repair center.
In the Netherlands you can contact the Phone House. They will send your phone to our Repair Center.
I feel somewhat hesitant to send in my phone, based on the experience of drpurupatil and with no positive feedback from mlonline yet. Perhaps if someone from Sony ( Rickard ?) could share some more technical information about the cause of the malfunction and assure that the problem is indeed fixable by sending it in, I would be more confident to go down that road.
Until then, I expect the road to be long, with me ending up without a phone at all not to mention many EURo's lighter.
Sony India Customer Care always insist to use Preset Remote Devices in the app given. Many times they told me that Remote will work only for listed devices in the remote application. Then why InfraRed Receiver as well Transmitter is given in Hardware? This illustration is for SONY INDIA who doesn't know about this app.
I PMed mlonline a week ago, asking about his experience.
However, I think he abandoned all hope for Sony's product as he hasn't replied to my PM and his last signin to the forum was in July. This is a bad omen, especially since he started this thread in the first place, and it's marked as solved instead!
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