Infrared
You can control infrared-controlled devices, such as a TV, air conditioner, amplifier, or soundbar, from Home Assistant without touching the handheld remote control. You can also send signals from the handheld remote control to Home Assistant. Home Assistant does this through an infrared remote adapter. To learn how the integrations work together, refer to the Infrared integrationIntegrations connect and integrate Home Assistant with your devices, services, and more. [Learn more].
This page explains which remote adapters you can use, how to set up infrared control, and where to place your remote adapters.
Infrared remote adapters
An infrared remote adapter is a small device that sends and receives infrared signals on behalf of Home Assistant. It connects to Home Assistant over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or other technology. An infrared remote adapter is also known as an infrared proxy.
- For some devices, there is a ready-made infrared proxy project that you can install from your browser. To see what is available, refer to the ESPHome infrared proxy projects.
- These integrations also provide infrared remote adapters:
- Zigbee Home Automation: Zigbee infrared emitters and receivers.
- Broadlink: Broadlink universal remotes with infrared, such as the RM mini and RM4 pro.
- Shelly: Shelly devices with built-in infrared.
- SMLIGHT: SLZB-Ultima devices.
- MQTT: infrared emitters and receivers that you connect through MQTT.
Setting up infrared control in Home Assistant
You can set up an infrared remote adapter (proxy) to control devices directly from Home Assistant.
Prerequisites:
- Administrator rights in Home Assistant.
- An infrared-controlled device, such as a TV, air conditioner, amplifier, or soundbar.
- An infrared remote adapter. For devices to choose from, refer to Infrared remote adapters.
- Place the infrared remote adapter within line-of-sight of the infrared-controlled device. Infrared signals do not pass through walls or other objects. For more details, refer to About device placement and coverage.
- In Home Assistant, add the integration for your infrared remote adapter. Home Assistant creates a separate infrared entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] for each emitter and receiver it provides.
- To add the integration, follow the steps in the integration documentation.
- Add the integration for your infrared-controlled device, such as LG Infrared. To find all of them, browse the Infrared-controlled category.
- To add the integration, follow the steps in the integration documentation.
- During integration setup, when you are asked which infrared emitter to use, select the emitter from your infrared remote adapter.
- If you have infrared-controlled devices in different rooms, place multiple infrared remote adapters around your home.
- During setup of the infrared-controlled device, select the remote adapter closest to that device.
Viewing your infrared remote adapters
You can see all your infrared remote adapters in one place from the Infrared configuration panel.
- Go to Settings > Connectivity > Infrared.
- At the top, a status summary shows how many of your infrared remote adapters are currently online.
- Select Devices to open the list of infrared remote adapters. For each one, you can see:
- The name of the adapter.
- The type: emitter, receiver, or both.
- When it was last used.
- To view more details, select an infrared remote adapter to open its device page.
About device placement and coverage
Infrared is a line-of-sight technology. Unlike radio-based technologies, infrared signals do not pass through walls, furniture, or other objects. The placement of your infrared remote adapter has a direct effect on how reliably your devices respond.
For the best results, keep the following in mind:
- Place each infrared remote adapter so it has a clear, unobstructed line-of-sight to the devices it controls.
- Keep the adapter within the range supported by your adapter’s emitter strength and the device’s infrared receiver sensitivity.
- Point the emitter towards the device’s infrared receiver window. A physical remote works best when aimed at the device, and an infrared remote adapter is no different.
- Avoid placing the adapter where strong sunlight, direct light from fluorescent lamps, or other infrared sources shine onto the device’s receiver, as these can interfere with the signal.
To cover devices in more than one room, use a separate infrared remote adapter in each room. Infrared signals do not travel between rooms, so a single adapter cannot control devices behind a wall or in another space. During setup of each infrared-controlled device, select the remote adapter that is closest to it and has a clear line-of-sight.
Infrared terminology
This section explains the key terms that the Home Assistant documentation uses to describe infrared control.
Infrared remote adapter (proxy)
A device that relays IR commands on behalf of Home Assistant. An infrared remote adapter is also known as an infrared proxy.
It has the following characteristics:
- The infrared remote adapter is the hardware device.
- The infrared remote adapter contains one or more emitters, and sometimes a receiver.
- Each emitter and receiver is shown as a separate entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] in Home Assistant.
To choose one, refer to Infrared remote adapters.
Infrared emitter
The component of your remote adapter that sends out IR signals. This is the same kind of signal a physical remote sends. An emitter is what actually controls a device. In Home Assistant, each emitter appears as an infrared entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] that other integrations can use.
Infrared receiver
The component of your remote adapter that catches IR signals sent by a device like a handheld remote. Home Assistant can use those signals, for example to update the entity’s stateThe state holds the information of interest of an entity, for example, if a light is on or off. Each entity has exactly one state and the state only holds one value at a time. However, entities can store attributes related to that state such as brightness, color, or a unit of measurement. [Learn more] or trigger automationsAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more]. Each receiver appears as an infrared entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more].
Infrared-controlled device
The appliance you want to control, such as a TV, air conditioner, amplifier, or soundbar. It listens for IR signals but does not connect to your network. Integrations for these devices are listed in the Infrared-controlled category.
Infrared entity
The Home Assistant representation of a single emitter or receiver. This is what you select when configuring an integration for an infrared-controlled device.
Troubleshooting
The device does not respond to commands
Symptom: “The command is sent, but nothing happens”
You send a command from Home Assistant, the infrared emitter’s stateThe state holds the information of interest of an entity, for example, if a light is on or off. Each entity has exactly one state and the state only holds one value at a time. However, entities can store attributes related to that state such as brightness, color, or a unit of measurement. [Learn more] updates to show it was used, but the infrared-controlled device does not react.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, try the following steps:
- Make sure nothing blocks the path between the emitter and the device:
- Infrared signals do not pass through walls, furniture, or cabinet doors.
- Remove any objects between the emitter and the device.
- Check the distance between the emitter and the device:
- Move the infrared remote adapter closer to the device.
- The usable range depends on your adapter’s emitter strength and the device’s receiver sensitivity.
- Point the emitter towards the device’s infrared receiver window:
- Aim the emitter the same way you would aim a handheld remote.
- Reduce infrared interference:
- Avoid strong sunlight, direct light from fluorescent lamps, or other infrared sources shining onto the device’s receiver.
For more details, refer to About device placement and coverage.
The wrong device responds, or a device in another room does not respond
Symptom: “Commands reach the wrong device”
A command controls a device in the wrong room, or a device does not respond even though another one does.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, try the following steps:
- Check which emitter is selected for the infrared-controlled device:
- Open the integration for your infrared-controlled device, such as LG Infrared.
- Confirm the selected emitter belongs to the infrared remote adapter in the same room as the device.
- If needed, select the emitter from the adapter closest to the device.
- If you have devices in more than one room, use a separate infrared remote adapter in each room:
- Infrared signals do not travel between rooms.
An infrared receiver does not pick up signals
Symptom: “The receiver’s state never updates”
You send a signal from a handheld remote, but the infrared receiver’s stateThe state holds the information of interest of an entity, for example, if a light is on or off. Each entity has exactly one state and the state only holds one value at a time. However, entities can store attributes related to that state such as brightness, color, or a unit of measurement. [Learn more] does not update to show a recent timestamp.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, try the following steps:
- Aim the handheld remote directly at the infrared receiver.
- Move closer to the receiver and make sure nothing blocks the path.
- Replace the batteries in the handheld remote if signals are weak or intermittent.
- Reduce infrared interference from strong sunlight or other infrared sources near the receiver.