SofaBaton X1S Universal Remote with Hub & Customize APP

SofaBaton X1S — A Home Automation Powerhouse With Huge Potential Ahead The SofaBaton X1S has quickly become the command center of my entire home. I work with home-theater and home-automation equipment every day, and I’ve used more universal remotes over the years than I can count. Nothing I’ve touched matches the versatility, multi-protocol reach, and practical real-world capability this remote delivers. With IR, RF, Zigbee, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi support, this isn’t just a universal remote — it’s a universal controller. ⭐ What I Control With the X1S Here’s what this thing currently runs in my home: • Every TV in multiple rooms • A full home-theater projector setup • Room lighting and LED lighting • Motorized blinds, mini-blinds, and window shades • Smart AC, fans, and a bathroom heater • RF outlets for appliances • My router (rebooted through an RF plug) • My entire surveillance system • My home-security system — including arming/disarming Once everything was set up, it stopped feeling like “a remote” and became the central control hub for my whole smart-home ecosystem. ⭐ Remote + App = Total Control The handheld remote and the SofaBaton app mirror each other perfectly. The app works like a second remote, giving you full control even when the physical unit isn’t nearby. It’s fast, smooth, and extremely helpful in multi-room setups. ⭐ Suggestions for Future Versions (X2 / X3) The X1S is impressive, but a few additions would push it into legendary territory. 1. Customizable App Launch Buttons Instead of preset paid streaming buttons found on many remotes, fully customizable quick-launch buttons would be incredible. Let users create one-touch buttons for: • Tubi • Plex • YouTube • Smart-home scenes • Security toggles Physical buttons, a scroll-wheel menu, or a quick-launch panel would make this remote the most customizable in the industry. 2. Custom Icons for Activities A simple icon library — or lightweight custom icon uploads — would make navigation clearer and faster. ⭐ 3. App Interface & GUI Usability The hardware is outstanding. The app works, but the GUI would benefit from a more modern, intuitive design. Certain parts still resemble older universal-remote interfaces that became more complicated than they needed to be. Improvements that would help: • Cleaner layout • More intuitive navigation • Streamlined activity setup • Touch-friendly UI elements • Faster access to common functions Professional note: I think the visual approach used by Channels DVR is an excellent example of a clean, user-friendly smart-home interface. For context: I’ve used the SofaBaton U2 for years and recommended it constantly. The X1S is a major step forward, and the app now has room to evolve to match the hardware’s sophistication. ⭐ 4. Base Station Improvements The base station works very well for protocol management, but future releases could offer: • A more compact design • Additional mounting options • A higher-end model with extended range New Suggestion: A secondary wireless IR blaster would be extremely useful. If devices are spaced farther apart than the included IR-blaster cable can reach, users are forced to rely on RF/Bluetooth/Wi-Fi alternatives. A wireless IR module — connecting via Bluetooth, RF, or Wi-Fi — would allow IR control in rooms or cabinets without running long cables. This would dramatically increase flexibility for multi-room and multi-rack setups. ⭐ Final Thoughts The SofaBaton X1S is the most capable and forward-thinking universal remote I’ve ever used. It controls entertainment systems, lighting, blinds, HVAC, appliances, networking equipment, and even security systems — all from one controller. If you’re building a smart home and you want a single device that brings everything together, this is it. I’ve followed SofaBaton since the U1 croudfunding days, and with just a few refinements — customizable buttons, a modernized GUI, and expanded base-station options — the next generation could completely redefine the smart remote catagory. It has been my pleasure writing this review and making suggestions looking forward to the next release.

Well, the Sofabaton X1S is a work in progress ... On the positive side, the hand-held remote is well made and the simplicity of the layout might work for most streaming devices that you want to control with the X1S. However, if you want to use the Sofabaton X1S to control your Over The Air (OTA) recorder, note that the hand-held lacks a record button - as well as other transport controls. Perhaps Sofabaton's work-around for the lack of the record/transport buttons is that the device would be selected using the scroll wheel, and that one would actuate the button sequence using the scroll wheel / select actuations. For my ChannelMaster CM-7500, DVR+, OTA recorder, starting a recording using the X1S requires a bit of effort to scroll to the RECORD selection, followed by a press of the scroll wheel. Most of the confusion comes when you want to STOP the recording, which you do by scrolling and selecting STOP. However, the DVR+ wants you to confirm that you really want to STOP the recording, so a dialog appears on the TV screen asking for a CONFIRM. You then need to scroll to the OK selection and hit it to dismiss the dialog. At this point, perhaps you might think that the recording is over and you can watch OTA TV, but the OK actuation opens another dialog on the TV screen asking if you want to start a another recording. You then need to dismiss the dialog by scrolling to and hitting the EXIT selection. Otherwise, you need to wait a few minutes for the dialog to time out... At this point, I'm really irritated with Logitech for their abandonment of the Harmony remote, which had working RECORD/transport control buttons on the hand-held, as well as other features for easily dismissing the DVR+ dialogs. Another issue with the X1S is that each device as displayed on the hand-held's screen is listed as the manufacturer and not the model number (or preferably, a user-assigned name). Maybe there is a way to rename the device, but I did not find it. x1s-display.png For example, my media system includes a Sony XBR television, a Sony Blu-Ray DVD player, and a Sony Soundbar. Why must the Sofabaton X1S identify these devices using the name: "Sony" for all three devices? If you need to go to extended controls for the Sony Soundbar (like the rear speaker volume, for example), you need to remember which of the three "Sony" selections is for the Soundbar - before scolling to the control and selecting via the scroll wheel press. It is clear - that IF one can successfully configure the X1S, the best way to use it is for routine selection of devices for a desired activity as well as simplified configuration and control of your media system. The Sofabaton X1S is not practical for control of additional device features provided by the component's hand-held remotes that came with each component. In other words, using the scroll wheel for selection of these detailed commands is impractical. One might ask: what is the real purpose for the Scroll wheel and its display - given the issues with device naming and the actions required to select using the thumbwheel? Use of the original Remote I don't often record OTA signals on my ChannelMaster DVR+. When I would want to, I would use the DVR+ hand-held remote control - to set up and start a recording. The DVR+ remote would also be used to fast-forward through commercials or to go back in a recording to replay. This approach is superior to trying to use the X1S scroll wheel... In other words, don't think that the X1S will allow you to stop using your old hand-held remote that came with the component, in this case, the ChannelMaster DVR+ ... Problems with Learning from another Remote The control code database for the Sofabaton X1S covers many components from numerous manufacturers, but there are instances where you may not find a device for your component in the database. For such cases, Sofabaton offers a learning feature that is used to record control codes from an existing hand-held IR remote. Unfortunately, the recording of control codes from the hand-held (IR-only) remote can be affected by many factors, which can make the recording of IR commands unreliable. For example, I plan to use a model: UHDS-401A, HDMI switch (manufactured by OREI), for selecting HDMI sources in my system. The Sofabaton database includes other OREI devices, but not the UHDS-401A, so I tried to record the IR control codes using the "Code Learning" feature. I think that the UHDS-401A hand-held remote sends multiple control messages in rapid succession whenever a button is pressed, and the X1S hub does not do an adequate job of finding the button-press message's beginning and end. The X1S records a corrupted version of the IR control message, and for the UHDS-401A remote, any attempt to use the recorded IR message will be unreliable. The recorded IR signal may work perhaps 50% of each attempted actuation, which is not acceptable for reliable control of a devices' button selection. Also, the configuration of a set of IR control codes for some non-existing device's IR remote, requires that you start with some other (unrelated/different) device in the Sofabaton database. Rather than provide some simplified tool to define user-entered button names with recorded codes, Sofabaton requires that you must find some other device/remote in the database, which you would then edit to assign recorded IR control codes to pre-existing buttons provided for that selected device. For the OREI, UHDS-401A, I decided to start with the UHDS-402A (which is in the database) and to edit the buttons with reciorded IR codes. So, for selection of the "In 1" HDMI input, I need to edit the button named "Up" by recording the IR code, while pressing the button for that function on the UHDS-401A IR remote. Instead of allowing the user to change the name of the button to "In 1", I must refer to the button selection as "Up", because I can't edit the button name! I need to maintain a table somewhere else (like an EXCEL spreadsheet), so that I know what button name corresponds to which functional selection on the actual HDMI switch. Because the recording of the IR codes would have been corrupted anyway, it is evident that I could not have used the modified X1S UHDS-402A device from the database to reliably control an OREI, UHDS-401A switch. The only recourse I had to go with was to find some other similar, OREI device in the database that might control the switch. With a bit of research, I found that the OREI, HDA-934 device, which is available in the Sofabaton database, does reliably control the UHDS-401A, HDMI input selection. However, the HDA-934 device does not support control of other button presses available on the UHDS-401A IR remote... Note: I found during the process for defining an activity, that it may be possible to change the name for the button; however, I was not able to test the renaming capability, because of a non-recoverable communication issue. The Last Straw While I was working on the X1S activity configurations, I ran into numerous issues with hub communication, where the WiFi connection between my cell phone and the hub would disconnect. After many tries to reconnect and finish the activity configurations, the X1S hub eventually refused to communicate with my cell phone over the WiFi network. I felt that my only recourse was to do a factory reset of the X1S hub and to start over with the configuration. I went to the Sofabaton website and sent a chat message to Sofabaton support, asking how I could do a factory reset for the X1S hub. The chat was not active, but my support request message was sent, and I got an email back a day or so later: reset-x1s-hub.png Unfortunately, from the response from Sofabaton, performing a factory reset of the X1S hub, requires that you connect to the hub via WiFi, so that you can actually send the factory reset command. In my case, I could not connect via WiFi to the hub, so a factory reset was not an option. Note that the X1S hub did appear to work with whatever I had previously configured, so, for example, I could control my Apple TV with the Sofabaton X1S hand-held remote. The Bluetooth connection between the hub and hand-held apparently worked just fine, but the WiFi connection to my cell phone would not... Comment: The X1S hub includes a button to initiate Bluetooth pairing. It would make sense for the button to also function as a means to initiate a factory reset - by pressing and holding the button for say, 20 seconds. This way, the hub could be reset to a controllable state - without having to depend upon a WiFi communication link with the hub to issue the factory reset. I finally decided that the Sofabaton X1S was no longer worth the effort and that it was time to send it back to Amazon for a refund...

I like this remote. I received it as a gift, so I don't know that I would spend $200 on it, or on any fancy remote control. I would probably use either a less expensive universal remote or the original individual remotes before I would spend that kind of money. But because it was a gift, I found that I really like it and am glad that I have it. As long as it keeps working the way it is now, I will be a happy camper. My background is that I was a long time Logitech Harmony remote user having bought three or four of them over the years, none of which cost more than $50. Then when the last one of those wore out, I went to the SofaBaton U1 which wasn't as nice as the Harmony, but did a good job. Now, this remote brings me pretty much back to the functionality of the Harmony remote again, except it seems to function even more reliably, at least for me. My components have never gotten out of sync with each other, thus I haven't had the need for a Help button to get things back in sync like the Harmony had. Everything does what it's supposed to do with very few misfires. It took me about an hour and a half to set up the remote. Not all of my components were in the database, but I chose things that were close and it all worked except for my Media PC--that one I had to learn from the original remote, sometimes taking a few attempts to get each key button to learn correctly. But eventually it all got learned and it has been a really nice remote to use. I also like that it's rechargeable, that it can signal a lost remote, and that I can do remote functions from the phone app without even having the remote near me. The remote comes with three IR blasters that you can put in places that the main unit can't reach, but I didn't need any of them with my open cabinet. The remote feels good in my hand with a good weight. The screen seems easy to read. Again, I really like the remote and I hope that it lasts many, many years. But if it does eventually die, I really don't think I would purchase it for myself at that $200 price and would hope that someone would gift it to me again. UPDATE: 9 months later, I have become more frustrated with having to push buttons multiple times in order to do nearly everything. It will eventually do it, but the response is lagging especially when the remote battery isn't all the way charged to full. You can use the phone app instead of the handheld remote, and it works better but still isn't as responsive as I would like it to be. I would expect better response from a remote control at this price point especially after just 9 months of use.

I was extremely hesitant to drop this amount of money of a remote control, but my god is it worth it. Ignore the negative reviews, any failure to set this up is 100% user error, but it does take effort to set this up. I will detail explain my set up below. I have a diverse arrea of remotes for my custom home theater, all but one device was on the list, and one on the list need some heavy manual settings. Yes, it can take awhile to program, but it does have good directions in the app. The picture shows what I am up against, and yes, cable management if next on the list after mounting my sound bar below my mantle. Device list and what it took to get everything functioning on the X1S and Hub: ViewSonic Project (IR): On the list, I only needed to set up the power to perform 2 clicks as an activity. I swear ViewSonic has a setting option to make it a single click, but i couldn't find it and just made a double click action for the X1S. NvidiaShield (Bt): On the list, no additional setup. J-Tech HDMI hub (IR): On the list, but I had to manually set up HDMI 1-4 on the buttons I wanted. Ultemia D80 Boom (IR): D80 is on the list, but Boom is not. This too me the longest. It wasn't totally necessary, power, volume and mute were set, but I added almost everything from the Ultimea remote to the X1S. SilveMagic (R314Mhz): Not listed. I programmed this one from nothing. I found the it was RF at 314Mhz signal through trial and error. A tip for RF signal capture: It works best from about 3ft away from the hub. The 3 IR emitters for the hub were totally necessary. I place one on my project mount facing the projector, one inside my power/device cabinet, and one right below my sound bar. Once I mount my sound bar, it will be atta he'd to the motel right above the soundtrack and I expect it will work the same as it does now. The activities settings are incredible! I set up my POWER activity (Statup Sequence) to do the exact procedure the gets things working without a fuss. 0.5 sec delay Screen DOWN, 1sec delay, Nvidia Shield ON, 1 sec delay, Ultimea ON, 1 sec delay, Viewsonic ON, 29.5, sec delay, Project Screen STOP. It is absolutely perfect! Then to turn it all off, I click the OFF button in the top right of the remote (it run the POWER Shutdown sequence) shuts down and the screen rolls up. I did have the put a stop watch to time my screen for the exact time need to reach its perfect position and deduct the delays, I did a test run and found I needed a 0.5 sec adjustment and it was dialed in. The whole set up has never worked this well! Despite the 2hrs+ I spent dialing this all in, I dare say it was actually a fun processes. Everything was fairly intuitive, explained well enough in the app, and/or I was able to find more details online pretty easily. Again, this is so freaking awesome, it is absolutely worth the price to not need 5 remotes and do exactly everything I had hoped it could do and more!!! 🔥🔥🔥😙🤌🔥🙌🙏🔥👏👏👏🔥🔥🔥

Due to the end of support for my reliable, 12-year old Logitech Harmony One remote, I have been forced to look for a new one. I want intuitive tech. I want to take whatever it is out of the box, and be able to just start using the primary functions of the device, learning the nuances of it as I go. I don’t want to download the manual, or use the help section of the company’s website. And, I definitely don’t want to call or email customer support. I want “no muss, no fuss”. I expect a lot from my tech, because I’m willing to pay up to get the good stuff. This product is one of the least intuitive pieces of tech I have ever used. With my Harmony One, some tinkering was necessary to get devices controlled properly when using a macro. That said, the remote just worked. With the X1S, the macros require specific device instructions and tweaks that I would expect of professional gear, but not consumer-oriented tech. The build is good, if a bit light. I like my tech with a little heft to it to make it feel solid. The overall feel and use of the X1S is clean and smooth. It’s a good physical device. I do not like the scroll wheel. All of the other directional input is provided by the circular directional pad. Why would anyone want the most important function of the remote - using the macros to turn on everything in the correct mode with the correct inputs - to be a physically different process than the way you do everything else? There are profiles for many devices in the X1S database. Much to my dismay, the one for my Hisense 55A6H TV was glitchy, and needed a lot of fine tuning. I have given the X1S a fair test run, but at the end of the day, it is just a pain in the butt to use. When I get home from work at the end of the day, I don’t want to mess around with my remote to get my entertainment center to work properly. I just want it to work. Tech is fun for me, or, at least, it is most of the time. The SofaBaton X1S is no fun at all. I give it 2 stars. I would give it 1 star based on the software. The good physical quality of the X1S gets it an additional star.

It was hard to decide on a rating for this because the unit seems really well made and it almost worked for me. Sadly for gadget guys like me, the universal remote has gone the way of the wagon wheel but I still need one. I was wanting to replace my aging Harmony remote and this had decent reviews so I gave it a try. It almost worked. The issue I had may have been very specific to my set up but that is what these are supposed to be for. I have a smart TV (of course), a directTV box, a music streamer, a home theater receiver, and a Roku (which is mostly redundant with the smart TV). The issue I had was no matter the previous settings, if I turned it on to watch directTV it would switch the reciever to the right setting. But any other setting (like to "stream box", for the Roku) it just wouldn't send the right command to the receiver. I could manually change the input setting using the remote. But when I would set up the "activity" which is supposed to turn everything to the settings you need (and specify), It would not do it. It's a a pricey item at around $200 so it has to work and it didn't. The unit feels quality and it was mostly easy to set up...it just didn't seem to communicate to my specific equipment (Pioneer Receiver, in case that is relevant). Given there isn't much out there in this category, I'd still give it a try. Just be open to it maybe not working...but my guess is it will work.

I now have three SofaBaton remotes. I started with the SofaBaton U2 to replace the Logitech universal remote of the time. The SofaBaton U2 still works great so I expect the same longevity for the other two. In comparison to the U2 the process to setup devices and app usability have come a long way. Since I already had the X1 my devices already existed so getting them added to the X1S posed no real issue. I like the ability to quickly add all my Roku channels and double program the 4 custom buttons on the bottom of the remote. You can also add them as menu items of the activity. For me I put YoutubeTv as the red button short press and Netflix as long press. Yes you have to remember what the buttons are assigned but its a great feature to me. Pick up the remote click the scroll wheel to turn everything on then press one of the 4 buttons to access a channel. Efficiency. Another aspect is being able to program any of the buttons. For example I used the channel up/down and option (hamburger) button to control a bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. Now I no longer need to take the multiple remotes into the kitchen. I use the option button (long press) to turn on the bluetooth speaker. Regular mute button for the TV soundbar. Then the channel up/down controls bluetooth speaker volume. Long press mute for bluetooth speakers. Life is awesome. One button turns everything off. Something else to mention is that the bluetooth speaker wasn't in the database. I used the bluetooth speaker IR remote to program the X1S buttons. Once I verified it was working I uploaded the new device to SofaBaton so it will be available for the next person with that device. Pros: - Easy setup. - Backlite buttons. - HUB that sends IR along with bluetooth and wifi. - Customizable buttons and menus. - Macros. - Fast immediate sync to the remote as changes are made in the app. - Battery seems to be lasting. - Contacting support was quick and easy. Cons: - Built in battery - I expect the remote will far outlast the battery. - Android app has some language translations that don't match the field. Something I noticed but didn't cause me problems. It was easy to contact support and report the issue. Once devices are setup you won't be in the app again unless you upgrade devices so not a huge concern. - Price could make you hesitate but the reward of efficiency and one remote is worth it. Great product to have.

As someone with a home setup that includes a non-smart TV, AV receiver, Roku, Xfinity set-top box, Fire TV, and a Sound bar, managing multiple remotes was a challenge, especially for my mother when she visits or dog sits. I decided to try the Sofabaton X1S universal remote, and after two weeks of use, I’m thoroughly impressed with its ability to simplify my setup. Setup and Configuration Getting started with the Sofabaton X1S was straightforward. The process involved downloading the Sofabaton app, connecting the hub via Bluetooth, and then syncing it to my Wi-Fi network. The app is central to both the setup and operation, allowing you to add devices, configure activities, and customize button mappings. One feature I particularly appreciated is the ability to use the phone app as an additional remote, which means I can control everything even if the main remote isn’t nearby. Adding devices was seamless. The app includes an extensive database of remote codes, and for my devices, finding the correct code set was easy. For example, my Roku and Xfinity box were added in minutes. I did run into some issues with an older device, but the app's user-submitted codes helped me get it working. Configuring power settings and button layouts for each device was intuitive. I initially had some difficulty with the remote, experiencing lag and inconsistent performance. After some troubleshooting, I realized the issue was due to improper placement of the IR repeater eyes. Once I adjusted their positioning to ensure they were correctly aligned with my devices, the remote's functionality improved dramatically, and the lag was eliminated. Using Activities to Simplify Control One of the standout features is the ability to create custom activities. For instance, I created an “ROKU” activity that powers on the TV, AV receiver, and Roku, sets the correct inputs, and adjusts the soundbar—all with one button press. This has been a game changer, especially for my mother, who can now enjoy her shows without fumbling through multiple remotes. Daily Use The remote communicates with the hub via Bluetooth, and the hub sends commands to devices using infrared (IR) repeaters, which, after adjusting the IR placement, now work flawlessly in my setup. The remote is responsive and feels very much like using individual remotes. I also noticed that it transmits RF signals, though I haven’t had the chance to set that up yet. The physical remote has been easy to use. I also added shortcuts for common actions to make it even simpler for others. The app, however, has become my backup remote when I don’t have the physical one handy. It mirrors the remote’s functions, offering additional flexibility. Build Quality and Battery Life The remote is rechargeable via USB-C, and after two weeks of regular use, I haven’t needed to recharge it yet. Compared to previous universal remotes I’ve used, the Sofabaton X1S strikes a good balance between functionality and affordability. Overall Thoughts The Sofabaton X1S has made controlling my home theater setup much easier. The ability to use the phone app as both a setup tool and a secondary remote adds significant value. While I had initial issues with IR placement, resolving them made a significant difference in performance. For anyone looking for a Harmony remote alternative, this is an excellent option that simplifies complex setups and makes life easier for everyone in the household.

excellent appareil je recommande merci