Content:
- 1 Features of the remote control
- 2 Common causes of breakdowns
- 3 Options for breakdowns and methods of recovery after falls 3.1 Sequence of disassembling the remote control
- 3.2 How to repair the board
The remote control is a practical addition to your TV. It makes it easy to switch channels and make settings. But over time, the buttons stop working partially or completely. And it says that it’s time to repair the TV remote control. You can do it yourself, or take it for repairs. And if the device cannot be restored at all, you can always buy an analogue or original on the electronics market.
Features of the remote control
Any TV is controlled not only by the remote control, but also by keys located on the bottom, side or rear panel. It is more difficult when the remote control for the set-top box breaks down, without which it is no longer possible to make any settings. But in this case, it is easy to replace the device from a digital television provider or purchase a multifunctional remote control that will work with both the set-top box and the TV.
Important! If the TV does not respond to either the remote control or the control buttons, the problem is not with the remote control. It is necessary to diagnose and repair the TV.
The remote control itself is a wireless device that sends command signals to the TV via an infrared port. The TV has a receiver that recognizes commands and carries them out. Most remote controls operate on batteries or rechargeable batteries.
Universal remote controls can control TVs, players, and set-top boxes. They have a more complex scheme, but the causes of breakdowns and the principle of repair are similar.
There is a reaction only to some clicks
This happens when the insides of the remote control are heavily contaminated. Sweet carbonated drinks are often spilled on remote controls, the sugar of which creates a dielectric layer between the graphite contacts and the button pads. There can be many reasons, but if the board is dirty, it must be cleaned. This can be done using a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. You need to wipe the contacts carefully with almost no effort. This is especially true for rubber coins, which themselves do not conduct current, but are coated only with a special solution that is very easy to wipe off.
It is often useless to restore cheap analogues of remote control panels in this way, since the layer that conducts electricity is immediately erased.
Frequent causes of breakdowns
The first thing to do if the TV remote control does not work is to check the battery charge. Install new ones and make sure nothing has changed. Or the device started working. In this case, the cause of the breakdown is simple - failure of the battery or batteries.
It is much more difficult when one or more buttons stop working. Or the TV does not want to accept signals from the remote control. At the same time, the equipment responds quickly and correctly to stationary keys. In such a situation, the causes of failure may be:
- Frequent falls. This is the most common reason for remote control failure. Due to mechanical damage, quartz and other important elements fail. Minor consequences include the lid peeling off or cracks appearing on the body. One or more keys may also stop working; you have to press very hard on some of them. Often the remote control only starts working at close range.
- Water getting under the housing. Drinks are often spilled on the device, the most harmful of which are sweet juices and carbonated waters. They not only destroy contacts, but also contaminate the device. Often the buttons simply stick tightly to their place and it becomes impossible to press them.
- Long service life. All devices have their own expiration date. Constantly pressing the buttons may cause the contacts to come loose. And the remote control stops working correctly. Often, natural wear and tear of all components is one of the few reasons when you have to buy a new device.
In most cases, you can repair the TV remote control yourself. To do this, it is necessary to carry out diagnostics, identify possible breakdowns and select suitable tools to restore the device.
Device diagnostics
When all the remote control buttons do not work, you first need to change the batteries. On a low charge, it may respond to one or two presses, after which the device stops working again.
If replacing the batteries does not help, then this is a problem with the electronics. First you need to check the remote control. This can be done using a mobile phone camera.
The LED device is pointed at the camera, after which a random button is held on it and a photo is taken. A working button in a photo will produce a bright spot. This indicates a problem with the TV.
The diode lights up - the button works
Attention! There are situations when several buttons do not work. In this case, the problem is in the contacts or their coating.
Variants of breakdowns and methods of recovery after falls
Since mechanical damage is the most common cause of failure of the remote control, we will analyze the repair options in more detail.
It is because of falls that the connection between the contacts is broken, the button gets stuck or the signal from the remote control stops coming. Before disassembling, you need to check the TV remote control for functionality. For this:
- Take a smartphone with a camera. Launch Photo mode.
- Point the remote control at the signal source to the camera. And place the device as close as possible.
- Press any button on the remote control. If the signal is received, a thick red dot will appear on the phone screen. It will be noticeable even with a weak signal source.
If the signal does not appear. You can try changing the batteries. It didn’t work again - you need to disassemble the device and remove the board. Carry out a careful inspection of it and replace the failed element or solder the contact.
Remote control disassembly sequence
Like any equipment, disassembling the TV remote control during the repair process should be done consistently and carefully. The steps of the process look like this:
- Remove the battery cover. Pull them out.
- Check the presence of screws in the battery holders. If they are, unscrew them.
- If there are latches on the case, take a thin screwdriver or other thin flat object. And run along the body, starting from the bottom.
- Carefully remove the board. Set aside the plastic housing parts.
Important! Only someone who knows how to work with a soldering iron can disassemble a faulty board. If you don’t have such skills, you don’t have to disassemble the device.
How to repair a board
After you have managed to open the TV remote control, you need to take a magnifying glass and carefully inspect the board. Using a magnifying glass, you can clearly see where the contact is unsoldered or what needs to be soldered.
Often the LED becomes disconnected due to falls; it can be soldered back. You can also shake the board slightly. If you hear noise, the cause of the breakdown is in the quartz resonator. It can be replaced by the following steps:
- Find a small soldered box.
- Carefully remove it.
- Buy the same one at a radio equipment store.
- Replace the radio component.
After replacement, you must reassemble everything in the reverse order. Install working batteries. And you can check the serviceability of the device.
Structure and operating principle of the remote control
The remote control market is diverse with devices of different shapes and sizes. All devices consist of 4 elements:
- Frame.
- Pay.
- Keyboard matrix.
- Battery.
The board consists of a set of electronic components. These include:
- Keyboard microcontroller.
- Quartz resonator.
- Output transistor stage.
- Infrared LED.
Repairing the remote control board
The operating principle of the device is that there are microcircuits on the board, each of which is responsible for its own process. Pressing the button helps close the tracks. It is processed by a microcontroller. A sequence of characters is then generated and sent to the device's receiver using flashes of infrared light at a specific frequency.
The operation of the microcontroller is supported by a quartz resonator. Its reference frequency is approximately 250,000 kHz.
Remote control components disassembled
What to do if the buttons do not work selectively
Severe contamination, dust or sweet soda can cause a separate button to become stuck or broken. So, when liquid gets inside the device, oil condensation appears. And it can be eliminated quite easily on your own.
If the TV remote control selectively stops working, or there is no signal coming from some of the buttons, do the following:
- Disassemble the remote control according to the diagram presented above. First, unscrew the screws near the batteries after removing them. Run a thin object around the perimeter of the case to release the latches.
- Take a cotton swab or swab. Dip it in an alcohol solution or alcohol.
- Gently wipe the board with cotton wool.
- Look at the contact pads on the rubber part.
- Wipe the body. Keys. Do everything with light movements, without strong pressure.
- Pay attention to cleaning the spring contact. He goes to the batteries. And if it is very dirty, you can use sandpaper. But only for him.
- After cleaning, wait for all elements to dry and reassemble the device in the reverse order.
Important! It is not recommended to clean Chinese analogues of original remote controls. They often cannot withstand even simple disassembly, not to mention cleaning the contacts with alcohol. But you can use a weak soap solution on them.
How to wash the remote control
Having disassembled the remote control, we separate all the plastic and rubber parts and go to the bathroom, where we thoroughly rub the remote control body with a soapy brush, after which we thoroughly rinse off any remaining soap.
Rubber bands should be treated more gently. The part of which they close the contacts of the board is a conductive material applied to a rubber base. Do not scrub them with a brush. It is better to gently rub with soapy hands or simply rinse under warm water.
We send the washed parts of the remote control to dry on your favorite towel. It is advisable that the towel be clean. You can wipe it off, but again, do not rub the conductive areas on the elastic bands.
What to do if frequently used buttons do not work
Quite often, the most frequently used keys fail. This could be adjusting the volume, switching channels, changing the signal source. And even turning the TV on and off. In such a situation, you can restore the TV remote control. All you have to do is follow the following plan:
- Prepare foil, but only one with a paper base on one side.
- Choose a silicone-based glue, the “Moment” option is suitable. Or adhesive mixtures with a conductive base.
- Disassemble the device according to the diagram above. Pull out the rubber layer.
- Place foil paper on the back of the non-working button. In order not to purchase it on purpose, you can take the option from chocolate or cigarettes.
- Before gluing, you need to cut out a suitable size circle or square from the foil.
If you don’t want to cut and glue, you can buy a ready-made kit for repairing the TV remote control. There are rubber layers and a special adhesive composition. So, the work process will go much faster.
Disassembly
First you need to disassemble the device. Usually there are no problems with this: unscrew a couple of screws, and then separate the halves of the case.
To disassemble the parts of the case connected by
latches , you can use any thin and durable plastic plate : a credit card, plastic from a SIM card, guitar pick, etc.
Inside, you will most likely see many years of deposits of dirt , fat, syrup and other waste products. Sometimes the sight may not be for the faint of stomach... In my photo, all the insides have been cleaned out, as I already tried several times without success to fix the buttons until I came to the solution that I am going to share.
The photo shows my old Panasonic cordless phone, but other cordless phones and remote controls look and work similarly.
Is it possible to repair the console remote control?
Repairing a remote control for a set-top box is similar to restoring a regular remote control. The only thing is that before disassembling the equipment and trying to re-solder it, you should reset the remote control settings to the factory settings.
Instructions for resetting or updating your remote control settings vary depending on your digital TV operator. For example, to perform a reset on a device from Rostelecom, you must:
- Point the remote control at the TV and hold down the OK and TV buttons at the same time.
- Hold the command for two or more seconds.
- Wait for the LED to blink twice.
- Enter the numbers 977. The Power light should blink 4 times.
The code may vary depending on the model of the remote control, TV, or set-top box. But the sequence of actions is general.
No signal frequency matches
Typically, users of a universal remote control may encounter this situation. In this case, the LED on the TV blinks, creating the appearance that the signal has been received, but in fact the panel is not turned on by the remote control. What to do in this case? Try to find a similar model of someone you know and test the device on it. If this is not possible, then you can check the functionality of the device in the store. And if it turns out that its frequency settings have gone wrong, then you need to contact the service center so that the technician can eliminate the defect.
When should you buy a new remote control?
There are situations when repairing the remote control yourself is impossible. For example, you need to re-solder a board, but you don’t have the skills to work with a soldering iron. Or a suitable element was not found in the nearest radio equipment stores.
In these situations there are two options:
- Take the remote control to the nearest TV repair shop. They will order the necessary elements and quickly carry out repairs. But the cost can be quite high.
- Buy an analogue on the radio engineering market. Or order delivery of the original device.
Buying an analogue is much cheaper. There, on the electronics market, you can immediately buy a multifunctional remote control, which will help if the remote control from the set-top box fails or replace three devices at the same time.
The main thing is to choose “not empty-handed.” It is best to take an old remote control to the store that is broken and cannot be repaired. So, it’s faster and easier to find an analogue or original specifically for your TV model.
Found a mistake? Select it and press ctrl+enter
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Let's start restoration
Here you can go two ways, it all depends on the shape of the remote control body and the thickness of the rubber bands.
In a simple case, you can simply place the cut out button under the main rubber of the remote control being repaired and secure it a little with glue. I always use silicone glue in these cases; it is elastic and does not crumble like quick-drying super glue.
We place a new button under the main elastic band
Almost not noticeable, stood up like a native
And this is what it looks like from the front side
In this remote control, everything fits as it should, but this does not always happen; sometimes, due to the layering of two rubber bands and the peculiarities of the remote control body, this trick does not work. Then we act differently.
