Samsung soundbar controlled by 4K remote but not 2021 4k remote?

[sUnit_1]

I have the following setup at home and for some reason the volume controls only work on the 1st gen 4k remote and not on the 2nd gen 4k remote. What's going on?

TV: Samsung UN60KS8000
Soundbar: Samsung HW-M360 - through digital optical cable (does not have an HDMI connection)
Apple TV: 1st gen Apple TV 4k

Both remotes work flawlessly with 1 single difference - when pressing the 2nd gen 4k remote volume buttons, the TV shows the digital optical cable icon but the soundbar does not change the volume.

I've tried repairing the 1st gen remote and then the 2nd gen remote, I've tried pointing the remote directly at the Apple TV with nothing in the way, unplugging the Apple TV completely, unplugging the soundbar completely, turning literally everything off, unplugging and plugging back in again, but it is always the same issue.

If I unplug the soundbar and put the audio through the TV speakers, the 2nd gen remote works flawlessly.

Is the 2nd gen 4k remote just not able to do it if it's through a digital optical cable for some reason? Why would that even be?

 

[w5jck]

Don’t know about digital audio cable, but the 2021 remote definitely works to control my soundbase via an HDMI-CEC connection between the TV and the soundbase. When I use the volume buttons they send a signal to the TV which in turn sends the signal to the soundbase. If your TV and soundbar support HDMI-CEC, that is a good way to accomplish the same thing.

 

[AnthroMatt]

Not exactly the same situation, I have a very old Bose system with digital optical output in the bedroom and no Apple tv remote can power the system on/off, but it works to change the volume with no issues. With a Harmony remote, the options to "Power On" and "Power Off" also won't do anything to the Bose system, but the "Power Toggle" option does turn it on and off."

 

[Ramonsterrr1981]

I had something similar, it was just slow. But here’s the solution:

Settings>remotes and devices>volume control>learn new device

then use the remote that came with your soundbar to teach the Apple TV the input method (IR signal) for this device. After going through these steps, finish it and try again with your Apple TV 4K 2021 remote. Should work properly now.