How To Repair Remote Control Buttons That Don't Work

[@hugoknight1]

Well done, RJ. Simple to do for the average person. Did mine in about 10 min. Didn't even break anything!

[@magdielvalencia9477]

after try several times , I realized had to buy a remote control that will cost me close to $40.00 , when I was ready to buy this item I encounter this video, i did everything you said and worked ,. I save my money. thank you.

[@gabbymaymon]

another option is to sand with a sandpaper a little bit the rubber button

[@DubEmerson]

Hey Mr. Bike Guy....thanks a million....saved me 50 dollars on a remote!!

[@marksheridanspencer]

Thanks for the tips. I cleaned out the remote as per your instructions and it now works perfectly, after years of malfunctioning. It's like getting a new A/V Receiver. Many thanks.

[@deonecro]

Just did this on my Harmony 300 remote since the volume buttons were not responding at times. Used a pink rectangular eraser and cotton swabs with 91% Isopropyl alcohol and It worked!! Cleaned the black dimples really well and rubbed down the board with the eraser a couple of times over. thanks for sharing this with us you just saved me from buying a new remote.

[@gerardbduff]

I had a Sony remote that was not working, I was just about to buy a new one when I came across your video. I followed all your steps and the remote is working perfectly now. Thanks very much for the fix, a big thumbs up.

[@jolynnsalaz1258]

It took me 4 times pushing buttons and smacking the remote..but..IT WORKED!!! I haven't had the guide for 2 weeks. Thank you

[@EnerGeezerSquirrel]

Added tip: even if you used warm, not hot, water, waited the time necessary for everything to be bone dry, and all the other cautions mentioned by others, I'd recommend re-assembling with either cotton or thin latex gloves. Touching the contact pads with bare fingers as he did can deposit skin oils on them. Besides being oily and preventing good contact, such human excretions contain acids, which over time eats the graphite conductor, and is why videos of watchmakers and electronic device assemblers usually show them wearing finger "condoms" when handling items for assembly.

[@alfig5368]

Just tried it and it works. I have an old JVC stereo from 1995. Only a few buttons on the remote would work. Cleaned it up using this method here and it works again. Awesome!!!! Thanks for the video.

[@EyeSaidIt2]

Worked perfect. The stereo remote functions better than ever. Thanks a bunch

[@Crusty1703]

Brilliant. It worked. Saved me approx £40. Thank you.

[@metralios]

You saved my day man. I was searching for a replacement for my malfunctioning remote control then sow your video and was very helpful. Thanks

[@watamatafoyu]

I can't believe I enjoyed my Friday night watching a video on how to repair a TV remote 😆

[@dianecagle3021]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! The volume control on my Sony TV remote would barely work. You'd have to try pressing the volume control 3-4 times before getting any results and then the volume would change so quickly that it wasn't where you wanted it to be. When talking on the phone it was easier to turn the TV off rather than trying to adjust the volume. I followed your wonderfully clear instructions and it worked like a charm. Now the volume control works beautifully, just like new. Thank you again!!!

[@damoncrowfeather4655]

Was getting ready to purchase a new factory remote, I hate the universals.. Saw this, and tried it.. Saved me $40 bucks. Thank u very much.

[@chigenerator]

Brilliant! The important INFO button hasn't worked for years and I was about to look for a new remote online, or perhaps even buy a new TV. Now it works!

[@mikesubocz]

This worked great on my Onkyo RC-AV70M remote (30+ years old). Buttons all work flawlessly now. Thank You!

[@selcukdesovali8004]

Thank you my friend, your video should be placed in the very first page of a remote control handling manual. you saved more than 20 USD of mine...

[@stackhousepiano]

Thank you so much, man. Just fixed an 18 year old remote that can’t be replaced. Appreciate it so much!

[@darkpriestess]

Thank you so much. I followed your instructions and now my remote works perfectly

[@omnomnomie]

i almost died when my remote stopped working! thank god that this method worked!! thank you sir :)

[@psi1971]

I was looking for videos to clean my remote and came across this. When I started watching, I thought to myself: hang on, I recognise that voice from somewhere. Blow me down - it's RJ again. Fixing remotes! Great job RJ - thanks to your videos, I've fixed my vintage bike and my not so vintage remote (Logitech Harmony Remote 700 which had a few buttons that didn't respond - using RJ's techniques made the remote work like new) :)

[@RJTheBikeGuy]

Before I really started to focus on bikes.

[@thatzraja]

Thankz a lot... From INDIA ..really works 👍👍👍

[@jimwarnock1250]

Appreciate the clear instruction. I followed along and now have a working remote. Thank you.

[@kellylowmis5625]

I can't believe this actually worked. First time!! Absolutely amazing. It was only the power button not working, but it's now perfect. Thanks so much!! 😍

[@hannashab3783]

Wow you saved me 50 dollars thanks so much god bless you work for me 💯👍

[@choose2bfit]

I was pessimistic and totally wrong. Bad ass my man thanks for the video and the help.

[@TheViewer01]

I found this video to be very helpful because sometimes buying the original remote controller again for electronics can be hard to find and they tend to be expensive. There are universal electronics controllers out there too but the menu and caption buttons are not always compatible a lot of times. Also the extra features are not compatible or available on the universal remotes. The original remotes are way better to use.

[@VictorRivarola007]

Excellent video! Thanks. I wish that you would had demonstrated that pressing the key did not work before but it did work afterwards. THIS can be easily done because most cell phone or digital cameras can actually see the infrared light used by those remotes... So just point the remote towards the camera and press the buttons!

[@oscarruf4260]

Worked like a charm on my Motorola Digital Box HD remote. It took me 10 minutes to do the cleaning. THANKS!!

[@SoFkwHat80]

Thank you for this , just repaired a remote that had this problem , didn't realise how mucky they get inside. Again thank you , saved me a lot of money.

[@ardhenduchoudhury7807]

worked fine. the power button was not working for quite some months and doing these steps made it functional again

[@bianca952000]

First video I clicked on! 200% SUCCESS!! And I have trouble just changing batteries! Worked for my Dish Tv remote! Thank you for sharing this information!! WOOT WOOT WOOT!!

[@2ris2]

Just tried it! Placing the center button back was kinda tricky but it worked! Thanks a lot!

[@kyliemiller137]

Omg I had given up trying to turn the tv up.. the eraser and cleaning the button pad worked absolute wonders. Thankyou.

[@bambam8206]

Thank you so much, i was going to buy a new remote control but i couldn't even find just a remote without device 🙄 But your video saved me 🥺😭

[@jamesperrin5691]

Wow this worked really well and stopped me buying a new set of buttons, thanks very much.

[@squantom2579]

Thanks x1,000,000!!! Worked like a charm! I thought my remote was ruined for good but this fixed it!

[@berryc52]

The volume button had been malfunctioning on my RCA TV remote for months. Took it apart and cleaned it with alcohol as shown. Added small round pieces of aluminum foil inside the volume holes. Put the remote back together. When I pressed the volume button, it went crazy! TV volume increased to its maximum on its own. I took the foil pieces out and put it back together and now, it works like new. Thank you so much

[@RJTheBikeGuy]

Did I say something about foil in my video? I don't think I did.

[@berryc52]

No. You did not say anything about foil in your video. I thought that I should give it a try as some of the viewers tried successfully. Bad idea. Thank you once again.@@RJTheBikeGuy

[@RJTheBikeGuy]

@@berryc52 Okay, I made this video 5 years ago, and didn't recall saying anything about foil. And commenters keep mentioning foil. I have never used foil. My guess in your case, the foil made a circuit and didn't open the circuit when you released the button.

[@berryc52]

@@RJTheBikeGuy Thank you. I am learning. Love doing my own repairs. I have a few other TV and sound system remote controls lying around as many people do. I will certainly know how to clean them, should one of them break down

[@alexolazabal4184]

I tried the method in the video, and the volume buttons seemed to work better, but only for a day. I think the conductive layer under the buttons was worn out, so cleaning them ultimately didn’t solve the problem. Luckily, my remote had two other buttons of the same shape that I never use (it’s a Denon RC1183), so I took the rubber pad (shown at 02:00) and a pair of scissors and I cut out the 2 good buttons and switched them with the old ones. It worked GREAT; my remote is as responsive as the 1st day. If the old switcharoo is not an option, I guess you can stick aluminum paper under the worn-out buttons, but I haven’t tried it.

[@rafaliciousbmx]

I just tried the aluminium foil tip you suggested - it worked! Thank you so much for your kind suggestion!

[@starblue287]

Wow it work Finally it was my bedroom tv control I was so tired of getting up to cut it off when I was about to sleep. Thank you so much 😊

[@BiohazardEXTREME]

You just saved me $30. Thank you so much!

[@nikosnikolaidis3762]

worked , thanks a lot :-D , you saved me 30min of searching for a new remote !

[@mrrostien]

Thanks!! It worked. EVERY button works again.saved me £40 plus £30!!! For delivery.

[@frankofva8803]

You solved this problem for me. My remote works like new. Thank you very much!

[@springokeefe2222]

OMG thank you!!! this worked and I am not a very experienced person at this kind of stuff at all.

[@rakeshdwivedi9303]

Thanks a lot for telling the trick, it really works. God bless you. Adv R K Dwivedi, INDIA 🇮🇳

[@ceejaydeesoozaa]

thanks this worked. i used zippo fluid on the qtips instead of alc

[@Pongo4321234]

Thank you for this information! Used alcohol on contacts and cleaned the plastic and rubber parts with soap and water. 12 year old remote works like new!

[@Brit_in_Mindanao]

Thanks for this, worked like a dream on my impossible to replace Denon avr remote. Also fixed a neighbour's remote l😃. So glad I found this.

[@robertmattison1282]

Your the best to post this video to KZbin

[@michp38]

I saw your video and decided to clean an old ac remote which luckily I did not throw away. Voila it works excellent. Stopped me from buying a new split ac. I might add that I now keep the control in a plastic bag to keep it clean and fungus free. thanks

[@brianadamson2700]

Tried it on my Blaupunkt 32/131J-GB-1B-3HCU-UK remote and it worked a treat. Many thanks for the brilliant instructions.

[@r.franklinghazi6818]

Thank you very very very much!!!!!! Greetings from Suriname (North-East of Brasil South America

[@allynnichols8460]

Yay! It worked! My only problem was mine has little toggles for channels and volume, and they were a problem. Small and had to be done just right. But got it all back and alls working. Thank you.

[@peterchristensen9585]

This worked great, though after opening the device I was reluctant to try it because all the contacts were covered with a very fine grease. I was afraid perhaps mine worked differently, and the grease was required to make contact. But I cleaned it as instructed -- removing all the grease -- and it works fine. Saved me $40!

[@TheTommyLight]

Just fixed my air conditioner control with this video. Thanks a lot!!!

[@xenomorffphotography]

Your are a legend!!!! Power button fixed. Thank You!!!!!!!!

[@katiemcshane7390]

This actually worked, thank you dude

[@bestube667]

Thank you so much. It works. Otherwise, it would cost me so much money for such a simple thing. Thank You !!!!!!!!!

[@audreyclaudia4637]

It's really worth the try ! My fan remote have been broken for 2 years only for me to realize the only thing I need to do is clean the remote

[@janebidinian3800]

Thank you so much for this vudeo; I followed your instructions and amazingly it fixed my remote. The most difficult and tine-consuming part of the process, was separating the remote. Persistence, if I can do this (I'm disabled and have Parkinson tremors)

[@bitflux2]

you sir deserve a medal! the eraser trick works like a charm, my onkyo receiver controller is back from dead after being declared dead, thanks!

[@Graceful585]

Worked like a charm. TV is five years old and the On/Off button would work sometimes and others is would be challenging to get it turn on/off. Thank you for the dyi instructions.

[@backyardwarrior8926]

Thanks so much ! I got my 1989 Kenwood home system remote control working now. I cleaned it with Isopropyl alcohol. Hope others will have good result.

[@hexlets4842]

Thanks Bro. Almost sliced my finger off opening the snaps- but after that I was golden.

[@ejames9319]

HaHA so did I nearly took my thumb of but most of my remote works a lot better

[@dwallen8024]

Grateful for this video, I did what you outlined and it worked

[@monop7777]

This did not fail me, thank you!

[@octoparrot5761]

Worked the first time. Now my 0 and replay buttons work again. Amazing.

[@Lucasbagh]

Worked for me. Thnx! Using the alcohol to clean the rubber did the trick.

[@stephenmalvini462]

Good video. Additional suggestion, not a highjack. If remote is still not responsive and carbon impregnated rubber contacts are worn, after cleaning you can rub/burnish some powdered carbon into the freshly cleaned rubber contacts with a Q-tip swab. Very little is needed, and you don't want to overdue it and leave any lingering powder. Those contacts' resistance is in the thousands of Ohms, and a very little bit of carbon powder will make a huge difference. Buttons will respond to light pressure again. You can get carbon powder anywhere that sells locksmith stuff, as it's used as a dry lubricant. Alternately, you might even be able to get away with creating some dust from a #2 pencil lead and applying some of that. As I said, it only takes a very little to reduce the resistance and get better contact. Cheers.

[@darkcat5823]

Pencil lead worked a charm! Thank you! My remote turned out to be pretty clean inside so cleaning didn't do much. And you're right; it takes a very little amount of lead to improve contact. I was being generous with it on my first attempt and the problematic button went from barely working to BLASTING the IR light even when I let it go. I verified this by pointing the remote at my web cam. On most cameras you can actually see the IR light so it's a helpful trick to see if you remote is actually working.

[@hueyhoon969]

Thanks for sharing, RJ. Unfortunately I have to cut out some of unused rubber key pad to replace the one which I needed, otherwise it won't works.

[@peromudrac]

Thanks for the tips, they worked for me

[@thor2425]

Thank you bro, it worked perfectly😌

[@xianbc]

This was wonderful, thank you. I was going to go out and replace my remote but it seems to be working just fine now!

[@Christopher28fair]

Thanks guy! Worked great! Saved $10 and kept some plastic out of the landfill. AND, I have a stack of AA batteries I blamed for the thing not working - they might all still be good!

[@gregkendrick1874]

My channel button stoped working. You saved me big time. Thank you

[@sharadchavali]

Thanks a lot. It worked excellently well for me for A/C remote.

[@yasmeenhamdy3337]

It worked. wow!😍 I would buy another one, but I just watched this video .... thank you so much 😻

[@jeffcorder2876]

Cheers to "mathesar 2" for his "Printer Paper" method & suggestion (down the thread here)!!! I had tried EVERYTHING except the suggestion of rubbing the bottom of the black rubber button pad on a piece of printer paper to get at VOL+ button working on my MITSU WD65838 remote (MITSUBISHI 290P187A20, 290P187020) NOTE... For others trying this method, DON'T rub off ALL the black stuff on the bottom of the rubber button...it's NOT dirt or crud...it's the Carbon contact ink/paint. If you rub it all off on the printer paper you'll have NO contact! Thanks again "RJ The Bike Guy" & "mathesar 2", ya' saved me from spending $40 -$60 buck for a new remote!!!

[@etech205]

Perfect fix. thanks

[@lookylooky100]

Hey it worked. I did what you show us and its like new.

[@wyattspop]

Works perfectly., I have a $500 Denon receiver and my remote would not power it on, off, volume went down but not up, sure enough the back of the pcb needed cleaning with rubbing alcohol and q-tips plus a cotton ball, side-note, I could not see any dirt until I cleaned it with alcohol, then it was very dirty..every button now works..thank you

[@robinlottykay8260]

Thank you ❤❤❤❤

[@xxr99]

Thank you so much i did what you said and it works like new. And its 20 years old! Great video.ps you also saved me about 75 bucks !

[@parveen6725]

Thank you so much it was worked and we save the money and also we are happy now....

[@JoJo-xz6fw]

It worked for me too 👍👍

[@YCYip-ci9er]

Thank you for the information. It really works and now my remote control is back to life :)

[@jim4295150]

Thanks dude- worked on my fan remote... had to really scrub twice but now like new.

[@MedSou]

*Very helpful,Thank you* 👍👍👍👍👍

[@RCFrizz]

When I worked doing PC repair, as a matter of course, we cleaned the contacts of video and other expansion cards before re-installing them into the motherboard. It often fixed weird errors and lockups. This was back when a 386 was hot stuff -- 1991 or so.

[@RJTheBikeGuy]

The first computer I built for myself was a 386 when they were relatively new. :D

[@RCFrizz]

I build my first PC from components in 1992/3. It was a 386/sx, though. Remember DOS aka Dee One Systems?

[@grantfrith9589]

I can't believe anyone down voted this. Another very greatful perspn with a totally rejuvenated remote thanks to this video. 👍👍

[@shaneabishek2159]

It works love you brooo😙😙

[@Libra1059]

Mine works great now. Thanks!

[@ppamelaj8435]

Great job! Wish all demos were this concise! Thanks

[@rabbbie99]

Worked a treat. Thanks.

[@FremontRealtor]

Thanks RJ! This was really helpful.

[@diegomagallon321]

My Samsung Tv won’t turn on and my tv button is damaged. Thanks this actually help the power button on my remote to work again.

[@dr.lijokurian8881]

You saved me from spending around 3k . seen this video just before buying 2 remote controls of my Mitsubishi AC.tried it on the old remote and they are working like a new one

[@delta999999]

I tried this and my dodgy remote control buttons now work great. Thanks! I'll update if anything changes.

[@Subgunman]

There are some electronics supply shops that sell an epoxy based repair kit that you can use on the rubber buttons. It is a conductive and flexible material when cured. If you have silver or copper based trace repair paint you could use it as well but this paint is not flexible and could peel off the back of the pads with time.