There is nothing worse than having 10 different remotes or simply not being able to find the remote. This particular problem gets really annoying when you use a soundbar or surround sound system that doesn’t actually have a physical power button.
What do you do now? The remote is nowhere to be found and you want the sound.
Bose is one of those. Bose does not have a power button so if you need to turn it on or off, you need a remote control to do so. Whether you lost the remote or it’s simply not working, you need an option.
In this situation, you can either try to make the broken remote work. Of course, if the remote is lost, you might just need to go out and get a universal remote or add the Bose speaker to your current universal remote.
Below, you will find a quick guide to both of these processes.
Table of Contents
Use a Universal Remote
Every universal remote is different. This means we can’t exactly walk you through a specific process for adding the Bose speaker to a universal remote. If you have the instructions that came with the remote, this should be your source.
If you use a universal remote for the rest of your TV and devices, you should be able to add the Bose speaker to this remote. Then you have everything in one place. If you can’t pair to the remote you already use, then you will likely need to purchase a new universal remote.
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Again, we don’t have a step-by-step guide to connecting to a universal remote. You will need to refer specifically to your universal remote and the instructions for that model. They all work differently. Most of them have a series of buttons that you use for programming.
If you have an old remote and don’t have your guide, you can look up the brand of remote and find the instructions online. You can most likely also find a YouTube channel to help guide you through the process as well.
There are tons of universal remotes out there so just check to be sure they are compatible with Bose or truly universally compatible.
Try to Fix a Non-Working Bose Remote
If your Bose remote is simply not working, there are a couple of things that you can try. It might just be that your speaker needs to be re-connected or even that your batteries are dead. Remotes do wear out over time so you may not be able to fix the issue.
However, give all these things a try before you give up on the remote.
- Check the batteries first. It may just be that you need fresh batteries in your remote.
- Double check your connections to make sure nothing has come loose.
- Try unplugging both devices and leaving them for several minutes. We recommend 5-10 minutes just to give the systems some time to “reset”. Then plug everything back in and see if this worked.
- Test the remote and soundbar on a different device to try to determine where the issue lies.
These are some great things you can do to troubleshoot and determine if you have a simple fix. The other thing that you can try here is to completely disconnect the soundbar from the TV and then attempt to reconnect and see if the remote picks up.
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Do I Have to Have a Remote?
The Bose soundbar is unique. While many speakers and soundbars have buttons that allow you to manually operate them, the Bose soundbar does not. If you have no remote or the remote isn’t working, your soundbar isn’t turning on or off.
You have to find a solution to get a working remote in order to control the soundbar or to turn it on. Some people are able to set their soundbar to their primary audio, so it just turns on automatically with the TV. This could potentially be a solution but it’s not always an option.
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This is done in your settings by changing over the audio settings to this particular connection.
When your remote stops working or you can’t find it, you essentially have three options.
- Troubleshoot to see if you can get the remote working
- Purchase a universal remote to replace the Bose remote
- Purchase a replacement Bose remote
Bose does supply remote replacements. You will have to pay for the new remote. You can look on the Bose website to see if your remote is available or reach out to Bose support for additional help in getting a replacement remote. They will be able to help you or direct you further.
Bose Control Space Remote App
Finally, there is one more solution that you might be able to try. Bose does have an app that is Control Space remote. This app is available in several different app stores. If you can download this app and connect it to your device, you don’t even have to worry about lost remotes or universal remotes.
This might be the easiest solution. The challenge is that some people have trouble using the app or simply don’t like to rely on a phone app for their device connections.
Conclusion
We hope that you find this guide helpful in understanding what to do to power on your Bose soundbar without a remote. Whether you simply can’t find the remote or your remote appears not to be working, you have options.
Be sure to give these solutions a try so you can continue to use your Bose soundbar without a hitch!
John Fleming is the senior editor for Audiophilez.com, covering everything from headphones to smart speakers. He is a graduate of Music Production and Technology. Before Audiophilez, John began his career as a staff writer for two different magazines, where he became a skilled storyteller across different mediums. When he isn’t writing, he can be found biking, reading books, and playing the piano.