If you have a DirecTV system hooked up to an audio/video receiver or surround sound system, you might wonder if it’s possible to set the DirecTV remote to control the volume. The good news is that you can, and in this guide, we will show you how.
One of the most common questions when using a DirecTV remote with a sound system is whether it’s possible to program the remote to turn the sound system on and off. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Unlike older remotes, the DirecTV remote will only control the receiver and the volume of one other device. It will not power a sound system on or off unless that sound system uses HDMI control to get that kind of information over the HDMI cable. A lot of modern sound systems do this, but you’ll need to consult your manual for the sound system to know how to turn it on and off.
To program your remote, start by pressing the Menu button while you’re on live TV. Scroll all the way down to Settings, then scroll all the way over to Remote Control. Press the Select button. Your remote should already be in RF mode. If it isn’t, you can watch one of our other tutorials to put it into RF mode. If you haven’t programmed your TV yet, go ahead and do that first. Even if you’re not going to use it for volume programming, your TV will make sure that it turns on and off when you turn on and off your DirecTV device.
Next, go down to Program Audio Device. Choose any audio device from the list. It doesn’t have to be one that you actually have. Select any model on the list. This may sound weird, but you have to do this first. Make sure that you’ve got your remote pointing at the receiver so it can get that information, and then select it. Even if it doesn’t work, you’ll need to do this to enable the Change Volume Lock menu. If you don’t change the volume lock to audio device, then you can’t actually program the audio.
Make sure the Use Audio Device option is selected and then press the Select button on the remote. At this point, you can select your actual audio device. Try not to select it from the list. Instead, put in the entire brand as much as you need to get the branding that you want to show up on the screen. Enter in your entire model number. Chances are it’s not going to show up on the list, but that’s okay. Allow the receiver to program the remote, and it’s actually going to work this time. Using the volume up and down should control the volume for your actual audio/video receiver. As long as it does, you can say done and exit to live TV.
Programming your DirecTV remote to control a home theater system isn’t always easy, but now that you have the secret, you know how to do it.