For years, we at Solid Signal have been asked if DIRECTV offered a voice remote. Although I personally don’t understand it — I’m perfectly fine pressing buttons — voice remotes have been popular with other pay-TV providers. Unfortunately, the answer to that question has been “no.” DIRECTV did offer a voice control system through its app for some time. I reviewed it when it rolled out a decade ago. I just took another look at that review, and I remember how hard it was to say anything really nice about the whole system. 2013 was just too early for that kind of technology and it just plain didn’t work well. The voice control system never was a big hit. It proved so unpopular that they took it out. No one, myself included, noticed. I didn’t even look for it until 2021, and that’s when I noticed it was gone.
The day the world changed
Well, that’s a bit melodramatic, but still. In April 2023 DIRECTV introduced its Gemini box for satellite TV. As a combination of Genie client and streaming box, its Android TV operating system gave it the ability to have a voice remote. Again, being completely honest with you all, I still don’t use it. But at least I get to say DIRECTV has the option now. Unlike the older system, I can say confidently that if you want to use voice control with DIRECTV’s Gemini, it does work quite well. Voice search is probably the best feature, and it also gives you some limited general functionality. For example you can say “weather” and it will give you the weather.
Of course, this has brought folks back to the table, and even people with older DIRECTV hardware are now asking if they have the option of a voice remote. That part, unfortunately, hasn’t changed.
There is no voice remote for older DIRECTV hardware
I’m sad to say it, because I know people want it. Still, it’s the truth. Unless you have a Gemini, there is no remote control that will add voice commands. You can technically use the Gemini remote for any DIRECTV box in infrared mode, but the voice button simply doesn’t do anything.
There’s a slight workaround, though. And you have Amazon to thank for it.
Alexa, help me out with this.
You can use any Alexa-enabled device, including the Alexa app for your phone, to add voice control to your older DIRECTV system. The DIRECTV system must be connected to the internet, but other than that it’s quite easy. I created this tutorial back in 2018 when the DIRECTV Alexa skill rolled out. I just checked, and it’s still available. Get it here. With it, you can issue voice commands to your heart’s content. It’s still not what I would call full-featured, since you can’t control search for it as intuitively, but it does work. The skill hasn’t changed in some time and still bears the AT&T logo although DIRECTV is no longer owned by AT&T.
If you truly want voice control for your DIRECTV box, Gemini is still your best bet. But the Alexa skill is something, and something is better than nothing.
