Defective S20 remotes? Turn Samsung TV off but not on.

You sure did extensive testing. If only all OPs had as much info. OTH, their problems are simple in comparison to yours.

The observation that one works says it has to be the instances of the remotes.

The observation that three do not work says the odds are against you getting one that works.

I'll reread the remote doc & see if I can find anything with your problem in mind.

I'll look at the Samsung manual to see what I can find on the vol+.

I do have one question - With the TV on does the Power button on the u-verse remote turn it off?

One thing you can try is to cover the IR sensor on the TV with something barely transparent, like tissue paper or newsprint.. If that works, this tape has worked wonders with U-verse STBs & may work for the TV if the new remotes are just too strong for the TV - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-2-in-x-150-ft-Vinyl-Electrical-Bundling-Tape-Silver-30002664/202741845#specifications

If you cover it & it does not work at all, take some layers away. If it works for othr functions, but does not solve the problem, add more layers.

Here's anoter thought -

When you program the power list, yo press the "on-demand" button to add the TV.

when watching, you press the on-demand button to go to the on-demand channel.

Try that. If tha does not work, the button is not making contact.

thanks aviewer, some interesting ideas.

I confirmed that the "on-demand" button is working correctly.

re: the idea that the IR sensor might be getting overpowered, I've run into that before a few years ago with an IR repeater so I know exactly what you mean and thought it was worth a test, so I just did it and unfortunately it didn't help.  I did learn a few things:  with 8 layers of black electrical tape, the remote wouldn't work beyond about 12" from the sensor, and the AT&T remote had only slightly greater range (maybe 1") than the original Samsung remote, so it doesn't appear to be a significantly stronger signal.   

While testing, I noticed that the AT&T remote has two IR emitters, vs. only one on the Samsung, so I decided to test blocking one of the AT&T emitters with tape, but that didn't make any difference either.

I learned a trick some years ago for visually confirming that IR emitters are working -- I have "night vision" security cameras that see infrared, so I held up the "good" and the "bad" remotes to the camera, and was able to confirm flashing light coming out of both emitters, so that rules out at least one type of defect.

I've been googling a bit to see if there is some easy way to decode IR at home, using an IR sensor connected to a computer, but I didn't see any simple solutions.  I think if I could compare the decoded signals from my original remote and the AT&T remotes, that would likely reveal the issue.

re: your question about the power button turning the TV off:  YES, it always works turning the TV off.  Just not on.   I've run into a similar symptom before with a Yamaha receiver that used distinct codes for "Power On" and "Power Off", which universal remotes generally can't deal with.  But in this case, I'm pretty sure the Samsung "Power" code is exactly the same for "on" and "off" because there is a single "Power" button on the original Samsung remote.   So it is really hard to envision why the AT&T remote only works when turning the TV off.  

I entered the Samsung as a device in my harmony programming for my Logitech remote to see the IR functions available. I found the TV does have three power functions - OFF, ON & toggle

I would like to say they are just using the wrong one, but you have a remote that works. Also, there is that thing with the vol+.

It is either the remotes are faulty or the signal is getting corrupted from toggle to OFF. IT could be faulty remotes that are corrupting the signal. But, there is nothing you can do about that & why does it not affect the other TVs? You really did cover the problem well. You should pursue the IR corruption.

You say you tried black tape. That was (long ago) posted as a solution for some IR problems. Used it myself. But it is too big a hammer for this case. Also, I do not see layers of black tape  beyond one will make a difference.

The grey tape is magical. A year plus ago, I ws plagued by my DVR FF control morphing into something else at least six times a night when FFing through many ads all night. After placing the grey tape, it did not happen once since.

Many people do not want to run out & get the tape. But, some have & have been amazed. So, I suggest the paper alternative. But, multilayers may be needed. It is a subtle thing. So, I cannot guarantee it will work. But, I can guarantee it will amaze you if it does work.

If you are going to start spending signifficant money on an IR analyzer.I suggest it would be better spent on a better remote. If you can think of some other feature/factor that would make it worthwhile, you need a Logitech Harmony Smart Control. Here is my experience to showcase what it can do - https://forums.att.com/t5/Using-your-U-verse-TV/Logitech-Harmony-Smart-Control-Remote/m-p/4028946#M2963

Thanks for the additional thoughts.  Interesting that there are three different power functions.

I'll keep the option of using a different tape color up my sleeve.  I actually had used the paper approach previously with my IR repeater problem, and then found that black tape worked just as well in that instance.  This time around I tried white tape first, but got to about 10 layers and the remote could still work from across the room, so clearly that tape was too transparent to IR, so I switched to black. My reason for doing so many layers of black tape was to find a way to determine the relative strength of the AT&T remote vs. the Samsung, so I wanted to get to the point that the remotes barely worked at all, to see if there was a significant difference in range between the two.  

I don't want to go the Harmony route because I'm trying to keep all the remotes the same, so I would need to buy four of them.  As it is, the four AT&T remotes are all working, except for the issue of having to use a two-button sequence with one remote to turn on the Samsung.   For now I'm just going to use the low tech approach of putting a sticker on that remote to flag the extra step.  Maybe at some point AT&T will build an "S2" version of the remote and at that point I may buy one to see if that fixes it.      

wow that's amazing, same problem. this just came up on google for an "s30-s1a turns tv off but not on" search. i'm ok with the volume up workaround since its just me. that's awesome you found a way to make it work!

(so the workaround also appears to apply to the s30-s1a as well, btw)

thank you for the diligent work!

Same problem here with an (older) but still modern features Samsung 37"...
S30 remote also won't remember the Vizio sound bar code. Annoying!