Control IR Devices with Home Assistant EASILY - Broadlink RM Pro 

How many of you are still juggling multiple remotes!? 😱

3 years later and this video is still helpful. Thanks so much Lewis!!

One thing that makes adding commands a little easier, is you can add multiple lines to the "learn commands" section, I did this for a fan remote by adding: power, light, reverse, fan 1, fan 2 ... fan 6. Then you can just keep an eye on the notification section of home assistant to make sure you're picking up the commands in the right order.

If you are adding an rf remote code, HA will ask you to hold the button down first while Broadlink scans the rf spectrum first for the right frequency and then it will prompt you in notifications to press the button one time to capture the code. It is a tedious process and you may have to also watch the orange light too on the broadlink. It took me a while to figure that out. The IR scanning is as the video shows. RF scanning requires two steps to capture the code.

Much simpler than other guides on internet, thank you.

Thank you so much, you just saved my RM 4 mini from the garbage bin. It was laying around here being useless for a whole year! But now, it finaly does, what it has to. Like, put my LED candles on, when the TV goes on and set the right color. Fabulous. I love your way of explanation, a child can do it with your lesson... ;-)

Just what i needed on my HA journey. I have a lot of RF and IR remotes in my kitchen so this is perfect. Great clear video.

An excellent video, thank you very much! I wanted Home Assistant to control (= start & stop) my IR remote controlled air heat pump based on room temperature and electricity prices. Works like a charm 😊

I was literally just trying to integrate the RM mini! Thank you!

This is awesome. I can now hide my kvm and all the cords away under the desk and switch between my work and home PCs without a remote control. Thanks!

You are a lifesaver! Been struggling with this. Thank you for making it easy. Love your videos!

Thank you. I have DIY ambient lightining behind my TV using an Rpi running Hyperion. My issue was always I could only connected 1 HDMI into it. So I had to choose if I wanted the light strips to mimic what was coming in through our firestick or through cable box. But now I can pickup an HDMI switcher with IR remote, plug both the firestick and cable box into the switch, plug switch into the RPI and use broadlink RM to control the switch!

I just love you now. You saved my life. I was seeking for this for ages!

Thanks for the breakdown on this, it helped me to set up my BL mini!

You are an absolute lifesaver, this tutorial is fantastic and really helped.

Thanks very much. I just bought one of these on the strength of your video to see if it will be a viable replacement for my now-discontinued Logitech Harmony. Beautifully-explained and worked first time. I must say that I'm a bit of HA nerd though but for the lay-person, it should be ok. Lay-people, WARNING: He speaks fast, so have pause at the ready and you'll be grand!

Been looking to integrate my RM PRO for ages, thanks!

Love your videos, always very helpful. Exactly what I needed in order to read tbe IR from the remote control. The only problem I have faced is creating and saving the scripts, no matter which way it tried it didn't let me save the script.

Great video straight to the point. Explaining this complicated setup process is not easy. Maybe a two part video would help.

Thank you for another great video. as always informative, latest information, as well as slow and simple enough for everyone.

Great video, i'm getting one of these soon, this is the best tutorial i have found so far! Thanks

Excellent video. Thank you. Got my new projector and fan setup quickly using this video as a guide :)

Great custom guide! If you're trying to automate an Air Conditioner use of the SmartIR integration can make it much quicker and simpler as people have already worked out the codes. There's other videos on youtube that show how that's done.

Brilliant thanks. I wasted a day yesterday trying to remember how to do this but forgot 2 simple steps. You refreshed my memory. Wish there was an easier BroadLink integration though.

Great video bud! Just about to head down the rabbit hole here. Chose this RM Pro only because this seems to be the only IR blaster that anyone talks about in HA. I have worked with other devices in other systems. This seems straight forward enough to use though. Unsure if this is the best choice, but the deed is done! One note to any that see this - IR is very susceptible to light noise - Make sure you are learning codes in an area that doesn't have a lot of sun or any flickering light sources. Other platforms have you trigger the IR signal 3 time (or more) and the software will average the signal eliminating anomalies. Honestly, I would recommend placing the remote and the learning sensor under a cover to make sure you get the cleanest signal. Noise is fine as it can be ignored (and more IR remotes send the signal more than once anyway), so these issues would usually go unnoticed. I presume that the .storage file that contains the codes and the scripts can be shared, so I plan to post mine out to the HA forum as I complete the mappings (save someone else the effort (I know that's the first thing I went looking for and was sad to not see!) Cheers!

This video was very helpful, thank you!

Thank you Bro, excellent video as always!

THIS video is soooo helpful. Thank you!

so helpful and timesaving your video!!! Thank you so much ❤❤

Best Broadlink to HA explanation by far👍🏻 ps. If got the RM mini 3!

Watched the video whilst I already had integrated RM4 Pro. Wish you had made this video a year ago. I had however done same as you and created scripts with buttons.

Excellent video, thank you!

VERY VERY Helpful! Thank you!!!

Again love from India. Waiting for this video.thank for tutorial.. 🙏🏻

Thanks man. Cant believe this video is 2 years old. I have the scripts in HA but I am struggling to create a thermostat card to control my Split AC. I have 5 of them and have tried to find a solution for some time. What I am finding is the quick solutions don't have my make/model of AC and some solutions are no longer supported etc. I am no good at YAML so its even more daunting.

Thanks for the detail in the video, wish i'd found this one earlier.

Now that was super easy :) Thank you Lewis

You just saved my ass from a lot of hussle! ZHX for your clear explanation!! Nice job!

Very good tutorial. Works well thanks.

Awesome video!

I always out of breath after watching your videos! :-D Nice video! I'm in the process of using that device to control my A/C and I'm still struggling a bit with Climate and Thermostat things...

Thanks for this! I'd considered getting one and decided it's not for me based on this video. I'll keep using my Harmony Hub and remotes for now.

Thanks a lot for youre video!

Yup... i have 2 rm4c in my HA to control aircond.. tv.. fan.. really love the learn process 😁😁😁

Thank you so much!

I'm new to Home Assistant. First, your videos are SO helpful... thank you! Second, I freaking LOVE Home Assistant! Is there a way to back up the learned commands? It would be a huge PITA to have to re-learn all the codes after a re-install of HA.

wow this is amazing!

Wow so user friendly

Love the broadlink devices. I have it with some ir blinds and my rf ceiling fan and of course my tv and sound system. One button lowers the blinds turns the tv on sets the ceiling fan light off and the fan to low, turns the tv on and changes to plex and goes to my movie folder/section. The other button reverses that. Also put it all in automations in home assistant. When I start playing a movie on the firestick on plex/netflix it will do the blinds and lights and fan. Really one of my favorite devices.

Thankyou! Great guide

on passage approx 7:00 / 7:20 where you typed each command separetedly, u can use - command_name on each one line for one command to avoid that time consuming process... and learn all commands in one run

Hi Nice video Just to let you know @3:58 you can get device IP address by clicking Device info ther you will find it also you can find MAC address PID , DID and other information :)

Thanks for putting this together. I got this device in order to control an IR electric fireplace. The problem is, in order for the fireplace to be fully turned on, on its original remote, you need to click the on button, after that the heat button once, a 2nd time, and than a third time. So a combination of 4 total button presses. To your knowledge, does the Broadlink RM Pro have a way to program a combination of button clicks into a SINGLE click (that triggers it)? I hope that this makes sense... thanks :)

Thanks for this video as always nice and easy to follow had a few issues getting the Broadcom connected to the WiFi and learning the remote was not fun. But I think I’m there. However my device as a separate on off switch do you know how I can combine this into a toggle switch? Save having an on and off button on the dash board ?

I made my own ESP based IR extender. Took about 30 minutes and about $10 bucks. Been working with HA for a year now. Not one issue.

Thanks for the video!!!, missing the second part... read IR or RF from device to HA, for example for RF Door sensor to communicate to HA the change of state, or use a universal/old remote to fire events from other remote controls. maybe you can consider do it in another tutorial.

Thanks for the help

I just bought a Broadlink RM4 and this video is a must-watch because setup, though not difficult, is far from self-explanatory. I use it mostly to implement Alexa commands; for example you can say "Alexa, TV Pause" whatever you are watching; a script pauses the TV, the Firestick, the Sky Box and the DVD player. That's also handy in other scripts e.g. to pause the TV when someone presses the doorbell, before announcing "there is someone at the door" and putting the doorbell's camera image on the screen. Question 1: is this integration "local", i.e. not using the cloud? I assume it is? My previous solution used a generic IR blaster set up through Smart Life exposed to Alexa through (a lot of) Smart Life scenes, so the argument for adopting the Broadlink solution could be more than just that it is a cooler device. Question 2: you mentioned fleetingly that a remote might send different commands from the same button e.g. for power on and power off. How can I tell? Toggle commands are the bane of my media-programming life because it is too easy for devices to get out of step, so that e.g. the TV truns on and the Sky Box turns off. I am in any case hoping to make my HA scripts smarter than my Smart Life scripts because HA has access to state -- i.e. I can check that the TV is on before turning it off. Remark: It would be a great addition to Home Assistant in the future if we had a library of remotes to load instead of having to learn every button (as the Broadlink app does). Some devices actually have more IR commands available than the physical remote implements, e.g. "set input to HDMI3", which therefore cannot be taught by the method you describe.

You read my mind :D I was actually discussing this on discord while ago so happy that you have made a video :)

very useful tutorial

Thanks for the video! What is the best place to have the ir controller since you can have a verry big living room with IR devices everywhere. Do you have pictures where you tested this ?

+1 for rocking the MKBHD merch!

well-done Man

Great timing. I was just looking into controlling IR with hassio. Thanks for the video.

Hi Really good video!!! I followed it just the other week. But then I upgraded HA and now these no longer work. Do you have a quick guide to update to whatever the new forms are?

Thanks for the nice video! Now I'm considering to resume my project of IR automation using ESPHome.

Thanks! Now I'll find out if this works the same with the RM4 mini.

Juggling multiple remote (my elderly Mom needs them) but the unreplaceable remotes are wearing out. So I have 2 RM Mini 3 that I hope I can build into a workable remote of some kind. Now to figure out a IR (or something ) receiver. PS yes I know a year late, still a good usable video. 🙂

I had setup where i had connected like 10 consoles and long combination of commands to switch between them... Then my drive died so here i am to refresh my memory :)

Awesome Video. I am having some issues with the LG Magic remote however. The RM4 Pro is able to assign a generic WEBOS template if I search within the app and control the TV entirely but if I try and get the RM4 Pro to learn the rf frequencies in HA, nothing happens. Any thoughts

You can use home assistant button to call a service instead off running a script. You also don't need to have a entity because you can pick your own icon and have your own name. Side note: the RM3 mini works.

Interesting! Question: instead of sending commands from the RM4 (remote.send_command), can it listen to an IR signal and then trigger an action via HA? Goal: trigger some HA automation from my sofa using my TV remote's IR keys.

you're the best

If I was to use a RM4 Mini to toggle a light, is there any way this can be set up as a switch? I’ve tried using an input boolean, with some automatics to run the scripts as you’ve shown, but when I link it to Alexa it still shows as an input Boolean. Changing the device_class in the Customization UI didn’t seem to help. Any help would be great!

Hi!! I was wondering if there is a way to create a temperature button. Not a temp up or down, but one that would set the AC to a fixed temp when pressed...

When I first saw this it looked super confusing but after I did 1-2 codes it was SUPER easy and I have it setup now like harmony where I have action buttons for each "scene" since scenes can't use scripts. Can you make a part 2 for this where you do more advanced things? For example, it would be nice to have HA know the state of a successfully run script and be able to switch and turn off certain things while leaving some on. Another thing is I use the app on my ios and then setup siri BUT when I say the siri command it lists all the actions I created rather then just do the command I literally said for it to do. It's as if it wraps all HA actions into all the commands so no matter what I say I want to run it will list them all and I have to say it again.

Advanced made simple 💪🥳

I use Node Red for all my automation, how would I tell it to turn off my fan? I understand how to setup the automation for when to do it but what do I use in node red to call the command?

Is there anyway for the icon to change colors to indicate power on and off? I have some lights on ir, so it would be great for the mushroom theme I just set up

What if you have multiple ir remotes in different rooms that does the same thing (controlling mini splits), do you have to create same scripts for each remote?

hahah! the intro made me laugh out loud! :D

I have a broadlink for controlling old stuff like VCR. But I have not integrated it into homeassistant yet. What would be GREAT is to have something that LOOKS like a remove but lets you connect the buttons to scripts so you are able to use a remove... that looks like a remote... in HA. Any ideas?

Is there any way to figure out the IR codes without the original remote that you know of? I have an expensive component switch that originally came with an IR remote but I don't have it and it's impossible to find online

Greatful for the in-service. I know what universal remote system I won't be buying just yet.

Does broadlink have a physical remote? I use my harmony companion to control all my av rack that is situated in garage via RF / IR I personally couldn't use my phone as a primary way of controlling my av kit. I just want to pick a upa remote turn TV on to what ever pre defined sequenced macro. I like the idea of adding lots of other ir rf bits of kit not just av kit though. Video definitely helped with seeing the potential of the rm4 though 🙂 nice one

Could this broadlink also be used to detect IR signals? Say I press a known power command on a remote for my tv, Coult the broadlink receive this and via a HA script send a IR Power on signal to say my sterio?

Even if you program a remote control into it by learning, is it still line of site? In other words, this still has to be in the same room, right? I have one in the bedroom but i want to send a remote control signal to the electric fireplace in a different room.

thx

Is it possible to add Codes manually in the Broadlink Storage Section when you dont have a Remote anymore for a Fan f.e.?

MKBHD shirt, nice!

I wish there was a remote code database like the Harmony so you don't need to manually learn every button

Hi. Thanks for the video. Are the steps the same for a Broadlink RM3 PRO+ ? I can get IR working but not RF???

There is a custom component for home assistant called smartir that allows you to more easily control climate, tv and fan devices without going through all the learning process. Works with the broadlink devices and others.

Question, but can we create a script/automation that when RM4 receives a RF signal it triggers something in HA?

I'm paralyze and need something to channel surf and turn off & on devices using voice command. Would I be able to do it with google mini?

Once setup, can I remove Internet access to the Broadlink and still be able to control it from HA?

Hey Lewis, does Broadlink sell an IR extender blaster separately? I have some devices that are inside my cabinet and some that are outside, what's the best way of dealing with that scenario? Could I buy multiple broadlink devices maybe and have them work together in some way? Thanks!

I need one of those, but with mulltiple transmitters-on-the-ends-of-cables so I can IR control devices hidden away in a wardrobe. Any suggestions?

What if i already have setup remote on broadlink app, can that be imported in assistant?

Love the video. very informative. Has anyone manage to get the Sky Q remote to work. I've taken it out of Bluetooth mode and the orange light goes out when I press a key but won't operate the Sky Q STB. I've also tried it directly from the app and still no joy. Can anyone help please?