How are people managing to pair roku remote?

fresh batteries first, honestly. a low remote is the most common reason the pairing light never comes on, and it's worth ruling out before the unplug routine. and while you're sorting it, the roku phone app works as a remote over the same wifi, so you're not stuck without one.

First thing to check is which remote you've got, because half of them don't pair at all. If there's no mic button on it, it's the plain infrared one and it just needs pointing at the box, nothing to set up. If it does have a mic, take the battery cover off and hold the small button inside for about five seconds until the light starts flashing, standing close to the player while it does. If the light doesn't flash at all, pull the batteries, unplug the Roku for ten seconds, plug it back in, and put the batteries in while it's still booting up. That order is what usually gets a stubborn one to catch.