Remote pairing is a process that “teaches” your Tortuga preamp the ID number of your Apple (or legacy Tortuga remote) so that the preamp will listen to that remote and ignore all others.
Do I need to pair my remote?
A remote is included with each Tortuga Audio preamp and that remote will already have been paired with your preamp. However, if you lose your remote or otherwise replace it with another, you will most likely need to pair any new replacement remote with your preamp.
Why is pairing necessary?
Every Apple remote has an internal ID number. There are 256 possible ID numbers. The purpose of the ID number is to allow the use of different remotes for different Apple and non-Apple products. You may have an Apple remote for your Apple TV in addition to your Apple remote for your Tortuga preamp. Without ID numbers it would be chaos with both devices reacting to any remote. Pairing is usually only required with a new remote. Pairing may also be required after a major firmware upgrade.
Can I change the default ID of my Apple Remote?
Yes! But the only reason for doing so is if you have two Apple remotes for two different devices and both remotes happen to have the same ID number (one chance in 256). The Apple remote ID can be changed by simultaneously pressing both the Menu and the Enter/Center key on the Apple Remote for 5+ seconds and then releasing. Nothing noticeable will happen – no beeps or flashing lights. This process will change the ID number to some new value. After changing the ID you will then have to pair the Apple remote with your Tortuga preamp.
How do I pair my remote with my preamp?
Pairing your remote with your Tortuga preamp is a fairly straight forward process that can be accomplished in less than a minute.
Below you’ll find a step by step guide on pairing your remote.
| Step | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turn Preamp On | Preamp must be plugged into power and turned on. Since the preamp presumably can’t respond to the remote yet, turn on the preamp by a brief press/release of the encoder control knob. |
| 2 | Place Preamp Into Pairing Mode | ** All V2 & early vintage V25 preamps with 7-segment displays ** Press/hold in encoder pushbutton for 20+ seconds and then release. The displays should begin blinking indicating the preamp is now in pairing mode. ** Later model V25 preamps with 7-segment displays ** Same as above except don’t release pushbutton until the displays goes blank (turn off) after 20+ seconds indicating preamp is now in pairing mode. ** V25 & V3 preamps with OLED display ** After 20+ seconds the display will change and explicitly say that the preamp is now in pairing mode at which point the preamp is in pairing mode and you can release the encoder pushbutton. |
| 3 | Complete the pairing process | Press the center/enter button on the remote to complete the pairing process. The display will stop blinking or otherwise change display confirming that the preamp has responded to the remote and is now paired. |
| 4 | Test the remote | Use the remote. The preamp should now respond normally. If not, repeat the above process. |
Trouble shooting
Preamps with OLED display
“The Pairing Mode” message appeared on the display, I pressed a key on the remote, but the preamp still does not respond to my remote”
Occasionally the pairing process fails even if you did everything right and thus must be repeated. Pressing the Up or Down button to complete the pairing process is usually more reliable than pressing the Center button.
Preamps with 7 segment displays
“I press/hold the Encoder push button for 20 seconds and release and the display blinks for only a second or so and then stops or the display goes blank”
This probably means you didn’t hold the Encoder push button in long enough.
It’s also important that you don’t turn the encoder while holding in the encoder push button. This will confuse the controller into thinking you want to change the input.