Yes, many Samsung smart TV remotes come with built-in voice control features. This allows you to control certain functions of your Samsung TV using voice commands spoke into the remote.
What is Voice Control on a Samsung TV Remote?
Voice control on a Samsung TV remote refers to the ability to use your voice to carry out certain commands rather than having to press buttons on the remote.
For example, you can say commands like:
- “Volume up”
- “Switch to HDMI 1”
- “Search for Stranger Things”
And the Samsung TV will follow these voice instructions.
This makes controlling aspects of your smart TV much quicker and more convenient than hunting around for the right buttons on your remote.
Which Samsung TVs Have Remotes with Voice Control?
Many modern Samsung smart TV remotes come equipped with a built-in microphone to pick up voice commands.
In particular, higher-end Samsung smart TVs from the last few years typically include remotes with voice control capacity.
For example, Samsung QLED 4K TVs, Samsung The Frame TVs, along with premium Crystal UHD models will often come with Smart Remotes that have voice control functionality.
You’ll be able to tell if your Samsung remote can accept voice commands – it will have a microphone hole embedded into the remote.
| Samsung TV Model Year | Voice-Enabled Remote Included? |
|---|---|
| 2023 models | Yes |
| 2022 models | Yes |
| 2021 models | Yes |
| 2020 models | Some premium models |
| Older models | No |
So while newest Samsung TVs are likely to support voice commands through the TV remote, older or cheaper entry level models may not have a microphone built into their remotes.
How to Set Up Voice on a Samsung Remote
If you have a compatible Samsung remote with voice control, how do you go about setting it up?
The process is straightforward:
1. Turn On Voice Assistant
First, you need to make sure a compatible voice assistant service is enabled on your Samsung TV.
By default, this will be Samsung’s own Bixby assistant – the equivalent of Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant, but designed by Samsung specifically for their own devices.
You can turn on Bixby by:
- Going into the Settings menu from the homescreen
- Navigating to General > Voice
- Selecting “Voice Assistant”
- Choosing Bixby
Make sure the Bixby wake word (“Hi Bixby”) is also switched on here.
2. Sync Remote
Next, you must sync your physical remote to work properly with the TV’s voice control functions:
- Under TV settings, choose “Remote Control > Sync remote”
- Follow the on-screen prompts to sync your Samsung remote
The remote and TV will exchange Bluetooth pairing requests – accept these when asked.
3. Check Microphone Access
Finally, give permission for the Bixby service to access the microphone on your Samsung remote:
- Go back into settings and open up Bixby Voice
- Under “Voice Wake-Up” make sure “Remote Only” is selected
- Then choose “Microphone Settings” and pick your remote
- You should get a “Microphone Enabled” confirmation
Now Bixby can listen for and action commands spoke into the remote!
What Voice Commands Work on a Samsung Remote?
Once fully set up and activated, what kind of instructions can Bixby carry out via the Samsung remote microphone?
There are a wide variety of commands it can recognize, including:
TV Controls
- Turn the volume up / down
- Mute / unmute the TV
- Change the channel
- Open channel guide
- Adjust picture settings like contrast and brightness
- Turn captions on and off
Smart Hub & Apps
- Launch apps like Netflix and YouTube
- Search for a movie/show to watch
- Open the homepage Smart Hub
- Check weather forecasts
- Control smart home devices
Inputs
- Switch source to game console or Blu-ray player
- Swap to different HDMI ports
TV Status
- Turn TV on or off
- Check remaining battery charge on remote
So in summary – most core TV controls, smart features, inputs and setup options can be managed just by speaking into your Samsung remote.
The Benefits of Voice Control on a Samsung TV Remote
Why is having voice control via your Samsung remote useful? There are several key benefits:
Hands-Free Control
You can change channels, adjust the volume, open apps and carry out various commands without needing to touch the remote. This is convenient if your hands are busy doing something else!
Speed & Accuracy
Using your voice can be much faster than manually looking for the right buttons and options to navigate Samsung TV menus. And voice recognition accuracy has improved significantly in recent years.
Accessibility
If someone has difficulty manipulating a traditional remote, voice commands offer an extra layer of accessibility and independence in controlling their TV.
Limitations of Samsung Remote Voice Control
Voice commands via the Samsung remote aren’t perfect though – there are some limitations:
Restricted Functions
While you can control primary TV and smart features by voice, deeper options like white balance calibration, network configs and account linking require button inputs. So the remote isn’t quite as fully-featured as menus accessed manually.
Speech Processing Issues
The microphone and speech processing tech still occasionally struggles with unusual accents or in noisy environments with lots of clashing sounds. You may find voice commands do not always work 100% of the time.
Requires Subscription
To enable the full range of Bixby voice assistant smart functions and apps, your Samsung TV needs an active Samsung account tied to paid services like Samsung Plus. Without this, functionality is more restricted.
Conclusion
To wrap up – modern Samsung smart TVs generally do allow voice control functions through their remotes’ built-in microphones.
You can use voice commands to manage various TV settings, smart apps, playback controls and inputs. This helps speed up navigation compared to button-pressing and offers accessibility.
But the technology still has some limitations around flexibility of commands and the need for proper account registration to unlock the full Bixby assistant ecosystem.
Going forward, expect Samsung to expand the range of voice control features to cover additional TV configuration and content options for future models.
