JP1 Remotes

Are the days of "free" & cheap JP1 remotes gone?

I am talking about cable company provided remotes the one you get to control the cable set top box AKA cable box.

I was in a Comcast/Xfinity area and they said the grey and silver remotes are EOL (The URC-1167) and are no longer being made the new replacement remote the XR2 only has the traditional programming method and does not even have the JP1 pins

The same is true for the newer Charter/Spectrum remote the old URC-1060 has the JP1 pins but the newer URC-1160 does not and Optimum/Altice is also the same now

I know there is a lot of remotes to chose from but is JP1 in general going away? I have not seen a new JP1 compatible universal remote in years but I am not actively looking either

JP1 cable remotes are getting rarer. Don't forget to check for the single row 5-pin connector at the bottom of some newer remotes. There's also the AT&T S30 on Uverse, I think.

But a few decent, new JP1 models are still available retail:

Inteset (Amazon)
Insignia (Best Buy)
OARUSB04G (various)
URC7980 (Amazon)

The last two are interesting in that they have USB interfaces and even Bluetooth that we have added or are adding support for in Remote Master.

What does the 5 Pin connector do? I have a U-Verse remote somewhere I should check it to see if has that connector.

I bought a Nevo C2 on eBay and I am learning how to program it a little at a time but I don't think the Nevo will replace my Logitech Harmony 880 (at least not yet) I like both of them but neither are perfect.

I just wish the Harmony was easier to program as the UI & functions of the software leaves a lot to be desired.

I use the Nevo a lot to create device upgrades as it is very easy to get a good learn with it.

I also like the Atlas remote that the cable company's used to use.

I take it the cable company's want to maximize profits and that is why they are using the new remotes because they are cheaper? and people are less likely to keep (or ask for an extra one when they really don't need one, which I am guilty of ) them if you can't use them for another device like we could with the JP1 programmable ones

5 pin works with Remote Master the same as the 6 pin. I only mention it because you may not notice if your remote has one because it's on the bottom edge and female, not male and inside the battery bay. But you'll have to make a custom connector for your JP1.3 cable.

Who knows why we're seeing fewer UEI remotes from cable companies. Could be price. Could be that they don't want all their eggs in one basket and throw URC a bone. Could be they're still UEI remotes but with no pins.

I find Nevo way easier to program than Harmony since I can program whatever Activity macro steps I want, including discretes. Can't do that with Harmony.

In any case, no need to panic just yet. I'm sure you could buy yourself a lifetime supply of whatever existing JP1 model you wanted. I expect my Nevo stash to last at least 20 years, especially since the rest of my family just uses their phone to control everything in our house now via wifi.

I have Xfinity and a XR15 remote. It can send either RF and IR, but defaults to RF. The programming is partially automatic. If the cable box is able to recognize the TV, it apparently sends the programming instructions from the cable box to the remote via RF. For example we have an old Olevia TV, and it automatically programmed the remote for the correct setup code.

If it can't decide the correct code set, the cable box instructs the user to try various setup codes. These setup codes are completely standard UEI codes, so I think it is reasonable to assume that the remotes are made by UEI.

I haven't opened the remote to see if there is a way to interface to it internally, nor have I tried to detect any signals from the box to the remote.

No question the XR15 is UEI, as are all of Comcast's X1 remotes. They've issued press releases about it.

[strike]Here's the FCC's page for the XR15.[/strike]

Link doesn't work. But you can search for MG3-4352. It's the URC-4352BC0.

andgarden wrote:Link doesn't work. But you can search for MG3-4352. It's the URC-4352BC0.

I tried searching for both MG3-4352 and URC-4352BC0 but couldn't find either.

https://www.fcc.gov/search/

When you find a search string that works, you can provide a link like this:
https://www.fcc.gov/search/#q=MG3-4352&t=web

There are two models of note:

The version from 2018 and the version from 2015. The FCC makes it very difficult to create a permanent link to the relevant pages. The internal images links seem to be stable, though. The 2018 version has a UEI chip inside. The 2015 has a GreenPeak chip inside. But they are both UEI remotes.

I get "You are not authorized to access this page." when I try both of those links. I do recall that linking to FCC pages was difficult when I tried it a few years back. You'll just have to post the search terms that you're using.

Try this link and this link.

Or you can plug "MG3-4352" and "MG3-43523" into Google.

Bingo, those 2 links work

Okay old post I know but I'm visiting Vermont again (A Comcast/Xfinity area) I got some of the older silver ones from the return pile (they said they toos them as they no longer get used for new accounts or resent out due to EOL and the #1 media scare word ... yes COVID!) I got 3 of them they are nice for free!

I also took a few of the newer voice remotes XR15 (I think?)

Anyway not 100% JP1 related but are these Bluetooth? I have an older Sony XBR-55X850C and it has a Bluetooth remote (Sony calls it the touch remote as it has a touchpad thingy on it) I got both an IR and the Bluetooth one when I bought the TV.

Can I somehow sync the Comcast remote with Bluetooth? If not can I do anything with it as I live in a Charter/Spectrum area so I don't have the X1 box at my disposal anyway I cancelled TV anyway as it was like 85% of my bill but I did keep their remotes as I "never got any" LoL! They can't keep tabs on them like their other equipment so I kept them.