Auxility Remote for Roku TV
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ROKU PRIVATE LISTENING

Roku Private Listening, Explained.

Private listening sends Roku audio to headphones so late-night TV stays silent. Here is how the official feature works, which devices support it, and where Auxility Remote fits in.

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Works over Wi-Fi · no pairing · no original remote required

The short answer

Roku calls it Headphone Mode, and there are three official routes: the Roku mobile app, a voice remote with a headphone jack, or Bluetooth headphones paired directly to supported devices. Auxility Remote does not do private listening and does not intend to — it is a control app. Use Roku's own app for the audio and ours for everything else; they run side by side on the same network.

Private listening is the one thing on this site we will tell you to get somewhere else. It is a genuine Roku feature with three official implementations, each with its own device requirements and its own limits, and none of them is something a third-party control app can provide. This guide covers all three properly, because a page that pretended otherwise would earn one download and one angry review.

Diagnose it

The three official routes, compared

Each has different device requirements. Pick by what you own rather than by which sounds most convenient.

RouteWhat it needsLimits worth knowing
Roku mobile app (Headphone Mode)The Roku app on your phone, on the same wireless network as the device. Works with Roku players and Roku TVs generally.Up to four mobile devices can listen at once. Not supported with analog over-the-air broadcast, and not on a Streambar or Soundbar when the source is an external device or Bluetooth.
Voice remote with a headphone jackA compatible voice remote — the first-edition Voice Remote Pro among them — with the jack on its side.Only one remote at a time, and plugging headphones into it deactivates Headphone Mode on every connected mobile device. It also drains the remote battery noticeably faster.
Bluetooth headphones paired to the deviceA supported device and headphones running Bluetooth 4.2 or greater. Path: Settings, Remotes and devices, Wireless headphones, Add new wireless headphones.A specific model list. Roku Ultra and Ultra LT, Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus, the Streambar and Soundbar family, and the newer Roku-branded televisions are in; Roku Express, Premiere and the Streaming Stick 4K range are explicitly not.
Auxility RemoteNot applicable.This app does not stream audio and does not offer private listening. It is a control app, and it runs alongside Roku's app rather than replacing it.

Step by step

How to fix it: Roku Private Listening.

Each step takes seconds. No original remote, no pairing code, no account required.

  1. Decide which route your hardware supports

    Check three things: whether your remote has a headphone jack on its side, whether your device is on Roku's Bluetooth headphone list, and whether you are willing to install Roku's own app. The app route works most broadly; the other two depend on specific hardware.

  2. For the app route, get both devices on one network

    Install Roku's mobile app and make sure your phone is on the same wireless network as the Roku. Open the Remote tab and tap the headphone icon. The television speakers mute automatically once it is active.

  3. Turn the volume down before putting headphones on

    Roku prints this warning in bold, and it is worth repeating: do not put your headphones on until the volume is at a safe level. Audio routed to headphones can arrive far louder than the television was playing.

  4. For the remote route, just plug in

    On a compatible voice remote, plug headphones into the jack on its side. A headphone icon appears on the television and you adjust the level with the volume keys on the remote. Unplug completely to hand the audio back to the television speakers.

  5. For Bluetooth, pair on the device itself

    Open Settings, then Remotes and devices, then Wireless headphones, then Add new wireless headphones. Scanning can take up to about thirty seconds. If the menu item is absent, your device is not one of the supported models.

  6. Keep Auxility Remote for the controlling

    Run both apps together on the same network. Roku's app handles the audio; ours handles instant connection, the full button set, typing from the iPhone keyboard, channel launching and multi-device switching. Neither interferes with the other.

Why this app does not do private listening

Private listening means streaming the television's audio to your phone in sync with the picture, which is a fundamentally different job from sending button presses. The control channel this app uses carries commands, not media, and building an audio path would mean building a different product.

It would also be a bad trade for you. Roku already implements this properly in its own app, with the synchronisation handled by the platform that owns the audio. A third-party approximation would be worse and would exist mainly to avoid admitting the feature belongs elsewhere. So we say plainly: for headphones, use Roku's app.

The precedence rule between the three routes

The routes are not independent, which surprises people in shared households. Plugging headphones into a compatible voice remote deactivates Headphone Mode on every connected mobile device — the remote wins. If someone else was listening on their phone, their audio stops.

The mobile route is the sociable one: up to four devices can listen at the same time, which makes it the right choice for two people watching late at night. The remote route is deliberately single-user, and the Bluetooth route pairs to the device rather than to a person, so it behaves like a speaker swap.

The device-support details that catch people out

The Bluetooth route has the fussiest requirements. Roku Ultra and Ultra LT, the Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus, the Streambar and Soundbar family and the newer Roku-branded televisions support it. Roku Express, Roku Premiere and the Streaming Stick 4K range explicitly do not, which is counter-intuitive since the 4K models are otherwise the more capable devices. If the wireless headphones menu is not there, that is your answer.

The remote route has its own trap. The first-edition Voice Remote Pro has a headphone jack; the second edition does not. Buying the newer remote expecting the same feature is an easy and expensive mistake, and it is exactly the kind of detail worth checking against Roku's own comparison before ordering.

Private listening support by device

Roku Ultra and Ultra LT
Among the best supported. The mobile app route works, and these are on Roku's list for pairing Bluetooth headphones directly to the device.
Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus
Support direct Bluetooth headphone pairing as well as the mobile app route. Note the distinction from the Streaming Stick 4K range, which Roku lists as not supported for Bluetooth.
Roku Express and Roku Premiere
Explicitly not supported for direct Bluetooth headphones. The Roku mobile app route remains available, which is the practical answer for these models.
Roku TV
The mobile app route works broadly. Direct Bluetooth headphone pairing is limited to the newer Roku-branded televisions rather than to Roku TVs generally, so a third-party Roku TV likely needs the app route.

Technical reference

Headphone Mode: the technical picture

Roku's official implementations, their device requirements and the precedence rules between them.

Technical detail for this guide. You never need any of it to use the app — it is published so the page can be checked against the real behaviour of the device.
Detail Value
Official name Headphone Mode. Roku uses "private listening" in some regional articles for the same feature.
Mobile app route Roku mobile app, Remote tab, headphone icon. Phone and Roku must be on the same wireless network. TV speakers mute while active.
Simultaneous listeners Up to four mobile devices at once on the app route.
Precedence rule Plugging headphones into a compatible voice remote deactivates Headphone Mode on all connected mobile devices. Only one remote can use it at a time.
Bluetooth pairing path Settings, Remotes and devices, Wireless headphones, Add new wireless headphones. Scanning can take up to 30 seconds; the menu only appears on supported devices. Headphones need Bluetooth 4.2 or greater.
Bluetooth device support Supported: Roku Ultra and Ultra LT, Streaming Stick, Streaming Stick Plus, Streambar, Streambar SE, Streambar Pro, Smart Soundbar, and newer Roku-branded televisions. Not supported: Roku Express, Roku Premiere, Streaming Stick 4K and 4K+.
Remote hardware note The first-edition Voice Remote Pro has a headphone jack; the second edition does not. Headphone use drains the remote battery faster, so unplug when not listening.
Documented exclusions Not supported with analog over-the-air broadcast television, and not on a Streambar or Soundbar when the source is an external device or a Bluetooth input.
This app No audio path of any kind. The control channel carries keypresses only. Private listening is out of scope by design, not pending.
Devices covered Roku devices with a Headphone Mode route: Roku TVs (TCL, Hisense, onn., RCA and the Roku-branded series), Streaming Stick, Express, Ultra, Streambar.

Common questions

Roku Private Listening — your questions answered.

What is private listening on a Roku?
Roku calls it Headphone Mode. It routes the television's audio to headphones so you can watch at a comfortable volume without disturbing anyone. Roku offers three official routes: its own mobile app, a voice remote with a headphone jack, and Bluetooth headphones paired directly to supported devices.
Does Auxility Remote support private listening?
No, and it is not a feature we are working towards. This is a control app — instant connection, the full button set, keyboard typing, channel launching and multi-device switching. For headphone audio, use Roku's own app, which implements it properly. Both run side by side on the same network.
Which Roku devices support Bluetooth headphones directly?
Roku Ultra and Ultra LT, the Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus, the Streambar and Soundbar family, and the newer Roku-branded televisions. Roku Express, Roku Premiere and the Streaming Stick 4K range are explicitly not supported, which catches people out since the 4K models are otherwise more capable.
Can two people use private listening at the same time?
Through the Roku mobile app, yes — up to four mobile devices can listen simultaneously. The remote route is single-user, and plugging headphones into a compatible voice remote actually deactivates Headphone Mode on every connected phone, so the remote takes precedence over everyone else.
My new Voice Remote Pro has no headphone jack. Was that removed?
Yes. The first-edition Voice Remote Pro has a headphone jack on its side; the second edition does not. If private listening through the remote was the reason you bought it, check Roku's comparison of the two editions before ordering a replacement.

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Auxility Remote replaces the remote over Wi-Fi the moment your iPhone joins the same network. No pairing code, no account, no original remote needed.

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An independent app by Auxility, Inc. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Roku, Inc. Roku is a trademark of Roku, Inc., used only to indicate device compatibility.

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