Before my xiaomi phone, I never knew how powerful and useful IR blasters could be. Now, I don’t even know where the remote controls for my TV and AC are. I just use my phone.
I was recently considering a new phone and Xiaomi’s UI bugs and stutters have left me a little disheartened, so I looked at other brands but every time I looked at another phone, the exclusion of an IR blaster brought me back to Xiaomi. I think a few bugs can be tolerated for this amazing convenient feature.
No other brand seems to be including it. I saw Infinix adding them to their phones now but their UI is even worse.
Just a small appreciation post from me.
I started w redmi note4x then now w my redmi note 10 pro. Loving the IR blaster on these phones.
Wife was so impressed that she ditched her samsung to buy one too.
Oh I didn’t know ZTE phones have it. That’s really great to know. But their availability is a bit of a hit or miss. But still great to have another option.
I was really disappointed to see Samsung ditch them on their phones. Because I used a friends S6 edge to turn on the AC one time and that’s how I found these.
I blame most people as it was ditched because most people don’t use it.
Yup. It has it’s uses…
Hot take though: LG was better
A phone with an IR blaster needs an IR receiver so it can learn remotes for stuff that isn’t widely supported.
If only they kept microSD and headphone jack. Note 13 pro+ has none and some other “pro” note models usually have only one of them these days.
A headphone jack is something I’m seriously bummed about on the new Xiaomi phones. It’s always a nice thing to be able to plug in my earphones when my wireless earbuds run out of battery and it’s just quicker as well.
I’m fine with SD card especially since they’re putting 256 and 512gb storage but still something they shouldn’t have taken away.
HTC was better. LG phones store the codes in some way that you can’t use them anywhere else after learning the remote (https://github.com/irplus-remote/irplus-codes.github.io/issues/305). Otherwise hard agree.
My remote for the TV wasn’t working right either so I just deleted it and connected it again, working perfectly now.
Yeah, I saw some phones with the blaster and I’m loving the trend coming back.
Lol, we do not need it man. I do not have any IR supported devices in my home for last 10 years anymore.
speak for yourself
I didn’t know IR blasters on phones was a thing until I looked into buying a Xiaomi. It makes sense, I’ve never used it that much though.
i think you can use a type c jack headphone
That’s a cool feature on my phone I’ve got as well but I don’t watch TV at all
oneplus also has ir blasters. which has higher compatibility than xiaomi with appliances. my friend’s oneplus can control the AC in our office while my xiaomi doesn’t have the required configuration in the remote app
Hey same here! I have been on the Xiaomi Note series from 2017. Note 4 then Note 7 in 2020 and Note 10 Pro in 2022.
Another reason i buy Xiaomi is the “easiness” to unlock bootloaders, wether is it MTK or Qualcomm processors.
If the particular brand and model of that AC is not already available in the remote app, I believe you can suggest it to Xiaomi team within the app itself.
So you do not have any AC, TV, Ceiling fan?
Agree 💯. There is literally no reason for adding an IR blaster to any phone. They take little space and draw no power. I’m guessing it’s a money scheme to protect the big western phone companies that they want to hide from consumers and protect major phone, tv and other electronic corporations. May sound like another conspiracy theory but think about it??
I’m a tinkerer so the IR blaster is awesome as it can do loads of things around the house and in public. Aircon blowing at you while at a restaurant? No problem. TV at the hospital being abit loud? No problem. The best use I’ve ever had of it is when my kids hide the damn TV controller at home. Nothing beats a good old IR blaster
Yes, that’s a viable option. However, I would like to have one headphones for my phone, computer and to use with my gaming controller. The other 2 might not have a USB C port in many circumstances. It’s much easier when all 3 have a 3.5mm jack to just pull it out of one machine and put it in another.
Regarding this, I’ve found you can google the sister or parent company of that particular AC brand. And if those companies have a configuration in the xiaomi app, 90% of the time they will work. Most of these subsidiaries of a large conglomerate share the same frequency for their appliances so they can also share remotes.
That’s why I stick on rn12 pro plus because it still has a 3.5mm jack and the performance is still superb for me.
OnePlus introduced IR blasters starting from OnePlus 11R and even some Vivo flagships have it now.
Oneplus 12?
haha, true that, at this point xiaomi has become the product ambassador or ir blasters. they still keep them in every single phone they produce 😂
i like it
Universal remote controls are so cheap nowadays. I wouldn’t consider it as a decision-making thingy on Xiaomi. I have a few Xiaomi phones myself. Never like their OS, but bcuz their phones are cheap and nothing else.
How I wish this thread reaches /r/all ! The only reason I opted for a Xiaomi phone despite its batshit UI and camera is the availability of IR blaster.
My friend used to prank this way, until he goes “fuck it its my last day here!”.
He proceeds to shut off the projectors and tvs on our graduation.
I own a Redmi 10 5g and yes their IR blaster feature is very convenient, i always use it for my karaoke dvd player and for switching off the STBs and TVs in our neighbor😆
So does OnePlus.
I’ll second that. Comes in really useful when you can’t find a remote or the batteries are dead.
Why do you think that? Xiaomi IR Blasters are present on all phones, be it midrange, low end or flagship. The rest can all be replaced with adaptors. Both are most likely removed from all brands because of greed, but usbc to microsd or to jack adaptors are very cheap. Dunno why people don’t get them.
Agreed! This is still one of the main reasons I buy Xiaomi phones today. It’s great to see the IR blasters on both their flagship phones and the affordable options!
.. batshit UI and camera? While the Xiaomi 14 ultra currently has one of the best cameras on a phone, ever? 🤣 And the UI is subjective for everyone, btw. Except on low end phones, those can get slow.
I got the OnePlus 12r and it has an IR blaster. I will say, if my carrier network supported xiaomi phones better I would go that route.
What app do you use for your ac?
I’m curious what IR blasters can do and what for you are considering them?
Using Xiaomi phones since 10 years, model 14 at the moment.
Even if everything fails. The IR blaster never has, so that’s good.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^frutti_tutti_frutti:
*Yup, the IR blaster*
*Is a big reason I choose*
*Xiaomi over Samsungs.*
—
^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Just a quick question I’m upgrading from Redmi 9 to Redmi 13c both have NFC BUT I just heard that 13C has no IR Blaster???? Is that true?
Yep, it’s true. Xiaomi is also taking away the IR blaster on their budget devices which seems like such a slap in the face really.
Thanks for the prompt reply! I guess I will get a USB-C one for whenever I need that function.
I was okay with the 720p but the lack of an IR blaster was something that would have been a deal breaker for me if I has seen it earlier..
Tvkill is a cool app 😅
Of course mine is redmi 13C .. I don’t know if it has this IR ,, above on it there is know any sign of .. Maybe someone help if any
Agree though the range seems too short to turn off TVs in sports bars.
Maybe more people would use it if it would be more advertised
I used Motorola until they dropped the blasters. I now buy all Xiaomi phones. They are actually a great value.
There’s just so many weird oversights in the UI. For example on my POCO X3, if you have a repeating alarm that’s scheduled for some but not all days of the week, it will write “Mon Tue Wen Thu Sun | alarm i…” without showing how much time until the alarm goes off. I mean, they could’ve just put it in a new line but nobody seems to care. They even changed the UI a little in new updates but this problem still exists. Also on the lock screen, when you go pull down the menu curtain, sometimes it just shows the brightness bar and above it empty space where the WiFi, Bluetooth etc buttons should be. They also randomly changed the layout of the volume bar.
also tecno seems to have one of those things
While my primary phone is an Apple; I always use a Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco as the secondary phone due to the convenience of IR blaster. I don’t understand how Samsung or Realme have not realised the usefulness of an IR blaster.
I have a Redmi note 9. Which software do you use for the remotes?
It’s Mi remote. Should be pre installed on your phone. If it isn’t, you can get it from the play store.
Thanks!
Do you know if the ir can still be used with alternative os?