SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control
£18.99
Pros
- Just about works
Cons
- Useless on Fire TV Stick
- Wobbly Buttons
- Annoying 'Clicky' Sound
- Confused Brand
Today’s review is for the SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control. This all-in-one remote control can be used for different devices. But you can only use it on one device at a time. The Amazon page for this remote is littered with confliction, misinformation and mass confusion, and that’s just from the seller!
One minute you can use it for the Amazon Fie TV Stick, the next you can’t, they send you an instruction to connect to the Fire TV Stick and then warn you against it. Make up your bloody minds SZILBZ!
I’m a rebel so I’m going to attempt to use the SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control with my Fire TV Stick. Also, my youngest daughter has misplaced my original remote and we can’t find it, so this review is perfect.
I was using my iPhone to control the Amazon Fire TV Stick via an app. This app is OK, but it’s a pain to keep using in the long run, plus having a separate remote is easy for a family, just need to now keep any remotes away from my youngest.
So how did I get on with the SZILBZ remote? Did it work on the Fire TV Stick? Let me tell you all about it!
Packaging and Contents.
The SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control comes packaged in a Black cardboard box with poor translated English text printed on the outer box. The box measures 18.5cm x 7.0cm x 3.0cm.
Inside the box you’ll find the following items; 1x Remote Control, 1x User Guide, 1x Amazon Fire TV Setup Guide. Be warned though these guides are utter useless pieces of recyclable paper. They’re poorly written, confusing and above all filled with broken English and non-English words, such as; decvice, buletooth, batteru, learnig. But as you’ll see on the above image of the box the product is patented.
SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control.
The SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control is made from plastic, it’s Black in colour and features a mix of matte and gloss finished, so you’ll get plenty of fingerprints on one side of the remote. The remote itself measures 17.0cm x 5.5cm x 2.0cm It weighs around 100G. You’ll need to use 2x AAA batteries. If its quality that you’re after, then you’ve come to wrong product. On first glance and first handling you’ll be disappointed. The SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control is cheap and tacky.
You get a double-sided remote control, on the front is the usual suspects on a remote control, but on the reverse there’s a full QWERTY keyboard for you to full enjoy but probably never use.
To install the batteries simply pull away the cover on the reverse.
The buttons are wobbly and feel very cheap, they’re so wobbly in fact that they don’t always operate properly. They’re also very clicky, this clicky nose is enough to attract my kitten and she thinks a weird sounding insect is around and tries to scope it out. So, I must endure wobbly buttons, an annoying clicky sound and being attacked by a ferocious kitten. I just want to watch TV!
Pairing to Amazon Fire TV Stick.
This is the tricky part, to pair you need to still be able to use the original remote control that is already paired to the Fire TV Stick. In my case this remote was lost, but… I already downloaded the app to use the same time.
OK I lied, I downloaded it to wind up my family and be able to turn the TV over whilst they’re watching something else and make them believe the house is haunted or something. But this action saved me on this occasion as the app was connected and so I could pair the SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control.
The supplied instruction makes it very hard to follow along, but it’s just and over-complicated instruction as the process is very simple.
To use this with your Amazon Fire TV Stick you’ll need to do the following:
- On the remote press the OK button and the TV button together at the same time.
- A Red and Blue LED will flash quickly.
- Go to the setting menu on the top bar of your Amazon Fire TV Stick.
- Select Controllers and Devices.
- Scroll down to the option ‘Game Controllers’ and pair to this option via Bluetooth.
- If done correctly the Blue LED will flash quickly.
That’s it you’re all set.
Once connected you’ll be pleased that some things work the same on the SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control as you’d expect on the original control. But a lot of things don’t work, and frustratingly you’ll be finding this out for many days, every time you perform a task, you’ll be annoyed at just how poor the remote operates.
Using the Remote Control.
The remote control uses Bluetooth technology for use with the Amazon Fire TV Stick. This Bluetooth connection lasts for around 30 seconds before falling asleep and you need to wake it up by pressing any button before then pressing a button you want to use. You get a constant reminder of this by a little pop up on the screen, which goes away 10 seconds after each sleep and awakening of the remote control.
As mentioned above the buttons are terrible but worse is the fact that most of them are pointless and unusable for instance if you want to change the volume you can forget about that. Want to turn the Fire TV Stick on or even to standby, you can also forget about doing that too!
In fact, the only things that work is the main OK button, the directional button, home button, back button, pause/play and that’s it! Even the keyboard on the reverse doesn’t seem to work on any of the apps on the Fire TV Stick.
Confusing Statements from SZILBZ.
The most worrying thing is that SZILBZ don’t even 100% know what this remote can do. They warn you against buying it within their listing, quite strongly too. It’s like they’re trying to tell you don’t buy this remote control is total and utter shite!
But then they say how great it is and what it can achieve, before going onto don’t use is on the Amazon Fire TV Stick. But then they send you a separate user guide to pair to the Amazon Fire TV Stick? What is going on!
Apparently this remote will also work on other devices such as; Windows PC, Android devices, Projectors, and other pieces of technology. I’m not going to bother to be honest to do any of this but instead invest my time hunting around trying to find my original Amazon remote control.
Technical Specifications.
- Brand: SZILBZ
- Model: Bluetooth Remote Control
- Manufacturer Code: CR3 Air Mouse
- Manufacturer Reference: N/A
- EAN: N/A
- ASIN: B07QHYZF65
- Bluetooth Distance: 10M
- Compliance: CE, FCC
Conclusion.
The SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control is poor and I mean poor. SZILBZ have no idea what the product can do and effectively warn you off from buying it. Which is bizarre!
The actual usability of the remote is terrible. I mean it works but it’s so basic and frustrating it basically renders it pointless and unusable.
The supplied user guides are terribly written, full of useless informational crap and poorly translated using a basic copy and paste translation service. Not a single English-speaking member of staff read what was being printed, that much I can guarantee.
Overall the remote sucks and I’m actively searching for my original remote control.
If you want the SZILBZ Bluetooth Remote Control for yourself, it’s available for purchase only on Amazon. The RRP for this product is £18.99.
Product sample provided by SZILBZ in exchange for a detailed, unbiased review.
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