andycivil's video: How to fix a remote control that s not working

Your remote control isn't working, and you've turned to YouTube for help. I'm going to give you a structured way to think about what could be wrong and how to fix it, and I have a neat trick to help you that you may not be aware of. The first thing to do is to find out if there's any light coming out of the LED on the front. If you were trying to fix a different kind of remote control, I apologise. You can't see this with the naked eye, but your cellphone or digital camera can almost certainly reveal it for you. Compare the faulty one with others; if it's the odd one out then you're looking at the remote itself being to blame. Don't be fooled by the weak purpleish colour, remotes use infra-red and are brighter than they look here: just so you know. If you look in slow-motion, you can see that the LED pulses a code for the button pressed. If the light from the problem remote looks weaker than the others, or it starts to work if you move closer to the TV, the likely diagnosis is also the easiest: are the batteries going flat? Measure with a meter if you have one, or a purpose-made battery tester. Or simply see if fresh batteries makes the light brighter. Check for corrosion around the battery terminals too. If there is a signal from the LED but it's still not working, the second diagnosis might be that there isn't line-of-sight from the remote to the sensor. Sinced we can't see the beam with the naked eye, we forget that we're effectively shining a flashlight on the sensor. You don't always need a completely clear path, but it helps. Here are some reasons why line-of-sight might be your issue: 2a. You're pointing the remote at the TV because that's where the result is seen, but it's actually the blu-ray player or satellite box that you're controlling, so that's where the sensor is. 2b. Something is blocking the sensor. Often, it's not obvious where the sensor is, because they cover it over with a dark filter that keeps the sun out, or it's hidden underneath like on my TV here. It might be something trivial that's got in the way. 2c. Is there bright sunlight? The filter will do a good job of only letting through the Infra-red, but it's not perfect. Pull the blinds, and check for dust on the sensor. If there is a signal, and there seems to be line of sight, another possibility is that you've accidentally put the remote into the wrong mode. Some remotes can control multiple devices, but perhaps you always use it for one thing, and you'd forgotten that it could do others. If your toddler pressed the "Satellite" button, but you're trying to use the TV, it's not going to work; the codes will be wrong. Lastly, are some buttons working and others not? You can check this again using the digital camera trick. In most cases, every button will transmit something, so look at the buttons you use most, versus some rarely-used ones. Any difference? You could be suffering from spilt orange juice or worse. In this case, you need to take the thing apart and clean off the keypad. Use a thumbnail or a flat knife to pry apart the clamshell, and check out the keys. They're often constructed with a rubber button sheet like this one, and a board with printed contacts that are bridged by the conductive pads. I find the best solvent for this is methanol (or methyl alcohol), sold as "methyl hydrate"; denatured alcohol (known as methylated spirit) is similar. It's poisonous and flammable, so take care and don't breathe it. Clean off anything sticky, and wait for it to dry; it doesn't take long. I hope one of these turns out to be your issue, and you get yours working again; good luck.