# The sad IR - infrared misery **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions & Help\ **Created:** [December 11, 2018, 10:01am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297 "2018-12-11T10:01:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Edwin\_D](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/edwin_d/32/136417_2.png) [@Edwin\_D](https://community.homey.app/u/Edwin_D)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/127 "2021-05-05T06:36:08Z")
> [@Schnobias](#): > > Receiving commands and learning from my remotes does work, pretty well actually How would you know if you cant get Homey to retransmit what it learned? I think is the other way around: dedicated apps that know what codes to send seem perfectly able to do so. However, understanding and replicating transmissions from any brand and model in the world well enough to be able to replicate that is harder than you might think. I think that is why Athom still advertises IR transmission capabilities but put its learning functionality under experiments. I also think it’s why Athom is so adamant that each brand should have it’s own app to support that brand. Promising that anything should work is like asking every brand to do things exactly the same, which they don’t in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. It is why I prefer Z-wave over Zigbee because the standard is better defined, but it comes at the expense of high cost due to reliance on a single party that upholds the standard. ---
**Author:** ![Undertaker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/undertaker/32/53278_2.png) [@Undertaker](https://community.homey.app/u/Undertaker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 7:21am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/128 "2021-05-05T07:21:33Z")
> [@Edwin\_D](#): > > It is why I prefer Z-wave over Zigbee because the standard is better defined, but it comes at the expense of high cost due to reliance on a single party that upholds the standard. Try the Conbee Stick for Zigbee. It recognizes almost everything, has a long range and a great mesh. In contrast to Homey, completely problem-free Zigbee! ---
**Author:** ![Schnobias](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/schnobias/32/30206_2.png) [@Schnobias](https://community.homey.app/u/Schnobias)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 8:17am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/129 "2021-05-05T08:17:37Z")
As far as I know, IR should show up on a camera of a phone, it does not. Not even with commands from the database. Do you have a different idea of how to test without needing to buy extra equipment? ---
**Author:** ![Edwin\_D](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/edwin_d/32/136417_2.png) [@Edwin\_D](https://community.homey.app/u/Edwin_D)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 8:40am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/130 "2021-05-05T08:40:56Z")
I’m not sure you could diagnose it correctly. It could just be the learnt code doesn’t translate to anything usefull. I think only developers working with IR could really tell based on the learn-retransmit example. So an app such as @Ria_Banis used should be the only outside way to prove the transmission capability works as advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Edwin\_D](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/edwin_d/32/136417_2.png) [@Edwin\_D](https://community.homey.app/u/Edwin_D)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/131 "2021-05-05T08:46:32Z")
> [@Undertaker](#): > > Conbee Stick for Zigbee. Can I just plug that in to an average charger, because i believe or does it need a microcontroller and software, doesn’t it? Because that is a bit awkward. But having said that, I do own close to 50 zigbee devices linked directly to Homey in a stable network (stable since V5 firmware, zigbee reset and manual fix of flows) - so that works ad advertised for me, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Undertaker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/undertaker/32/53278_2.png) [@Undertaker](https://community.homey.app/u/Undertaker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 9:03am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/132 "2021-05-05T09:03:43Z")
I use the Conbee on a Raspberry Pi 3b +. The finished software is available on the manufacturer’s homepage. It is very easy to set up the software. I now have 90% of my Zigbee devices on the Conbee. The failure rate is 0.0%. ---
**Author:** ![Rocodamelshekima](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/rocodamelshekima/32/8209_2.png) [@Rocodamelshekima](https://community.homey.app/u/Rocodamelshekima)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 10:35am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/133 "2021-05-05T10:35:17Z")
> [@Schnobias](#): > > As far as I know, IR should show up on a camera of a phone Just if the camera doesn’t have a ir filter! Most of the times the back camera of a phone has a filter, front doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_S](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_s/32/45779_2.png) [@Russell\_S](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_S)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 10:21pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/134 "2021-05-05T22:21:36Z")
As Rocodamelshekima mentioned using a camera to verify that IR LEDs are working is not a totally fool proof way of testing. While I was testing my system i came across the same issue with IR learning . The way I tested my LED’s was to go around my house and find a device (my home theatre unit) that is listed on the IR data base and tested that to verify my LED’s were ok… My results were my IR LEDs physically work. I can turn my Onkyo receiver on and off no prob… After some research I found out many have experienced the same problem trying to learn remote controls. From what I can tell the IR learning feature simply doesn’t work and has never worked since it was added and doesn’t actually do anything… ---
**Author:** ![Schnobias](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/schnobias/32/30206_2.png) [@Schnobias](https://community.homey.app/u/Schnobias)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/135 "2021-05-06T14:32:57Z")
Yeah, I don’t own any device with IR codes in the database. I will probably get a Broadlink emitter, sadly the RM4 Pro is not supported yet in the homey app. ---
**Author:** ![Russell\_S](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/russell_s/32/45779_2.png) [@Russell\_S](https://community.homey.app/u/Russell_S)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/136 "2021-05-07T14:56:05Z")
Unfortunately you will have to get a 3rd party IR/433Mhz bridge of some sort. Some of the earlier Broadlink models might be ok. Ive personally found it very frustrating . Only 30% of my devices are listed on the data base. The ones that don’t work are from large main brand manufacturers, or are popular generic Chinese remote controls that are very common and have a chipset that’s very widely used and have been around for years. These chipsets and protocols are used in millions of remote controlled devices. They aren’t very sophisticated and are very easy to “learn” on a technical level yet i can’t use any of them with my Homey even though it has hardware that’s physically capable of doing so… A good learning system would fill a very big hole … 😩 ---
**Author:** ![Fekik](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fekik/32/34271_2.png) [@Fekik](https://community.homey.app/u/Fekik)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/137 "2021-06-27T18:51:16Z")
> [@Russell\_S](#): > > very The IR function should be repaired ASAP. I would use it much, but now I have to buy additional device that I dont need. Homey has IR, but bugged system. ---
**Author:** ![Dijker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dijker](https://community.homey.app/u/Dijker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/138 "2021-06-27T19:42:13Z")
@Fekik have you contacted Athom support? ---
**Author:** ![PetervdK](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/petervdk/32/20669_2.png) [@PetervdK](https://community.homey.app/u/PetervdK)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/139 "2021-06-27T20:55:35Z")
If you wouldn’t need it, you did not have to buy it. So if you have to buy it, apparently you do need it. ---
**Author:** ![Fekik](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fekik/32/34271_2.png) [@Fekik](https://community.homey.app/u/Fekik)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 5:43am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/140 "2021-06-28T05:43:45Z")
I have just done so. Thanks for tip. ---
**Author:** ![Dijker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dijker](https://community.homey.app/u/Dijker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/the-sad-ir-infrared-misery/5297/141 "2021-12-17T19:39:03Z")
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