Having trouble with your Sony TV remote? Let’s examine why it’s not working and how to remedy the situation without spending a dime – unless it is absolutely necessary to hire a technical expert to help.
Sony TV Remote Not Working: Likely Causes
There are many reasons why your remote may not work. It’s important to always know what exactly the problem is, so that you can fix the problem without trying out all the options. Here are the factors that could cause your Sony TV remote to stop working:
- Stuck buttons
- Batteries are not placed properly or need replacement
- The TV is not responding quick enough
- Physical damage to the device
- Interference from external devices
- Remote not responding to voice function
Sony TV Remote Not Working: How to Fix
Now that we know what could cause a Sony TV remote to stop working, let’s examine ways to fix the problems:
1. Check for jammed buttons
- Remove the batteries from the remote.
- Press all the buttons one by one to make sure none is jammed. Sometimes dirt can clog buttons.
- Clean and unjam the buttons.
- Insert the batteries back to get the remote working again.
If some buttons are not working and are not jammed, it might be due to the booth process. Wait for a few minutes for the remote to completely booth.
2. Check the batteries
- Remove the batteries from the remote for approximately 1 minute. The remote might not work due to poor or inaccurate battery contact.
- Insert the battery back in correctly (-/+).
If it’s still not working, the battery terminals might be dirty. To clean;
- Remove battery lid, roll batteries with fingers to see if it works at any point.
- If it does, proceed to remove the batteries.
- Clean battery terminals with alcohol swabs or cotton buds.
- Place batteries back correctly (-/+).
If the remote is still not working, the batteries might be dead and require a replacement. Make sure to use two new recommended batteries and place them correctly (-/+).
3. Reset the remote
- Remove the batteries from the remote for one minute.
- Press the power button for 3 seconds.
- Install the batteries back into the remote.
If your remote is still not working;
- Remove the batteries for one minute.
- Press every button twice.
4. Reboot TV
- Press any/all button(s) on your Sony TV.
- Check if you’re able to control the TV via those buttons.
- Make sure the power light on the TV is on.
If the TV buttons are not working;
- Long-press the power button for 5 seconds to power off.
- Wait for TV to restart.
- When it starts, wait for a few seconds, then use your remote and TV buttons again to operate it again.
5. Check for external interferences
- Remove external devices that can cause wireless interference with the signals of your remote. These include transistor radio and mobile phone devices.
- If you need to use any of the external devices, wait a few minutes and connect again.
6. Verify and fix remote control IR
If you are using an infrared remote control, you should check that the IR sensor is not the problem. To do this;
- Ensure that the remote sensor is pointed at the TV censor while using it.
- Make sure the remote sensor is not covered by dirt.
- Make sure the remote is being used not too close and not too far from the TV. It should be used no closer than 3 feet and no farther than 10 feet as this can prevent the IR beam from reaching the TV.
- If there is low energy light close to the remote or TV, try moving the light away from both.
- Remove the remote sensor from any bright light shining directly on it. Sometimes, Bright light can interfere with infrared signals. This could include sunlight, halogen lights, or fluorescent light.
Verify the remote control is sending IR signals. To do this, you need a camera-enabled device. It could be a digital camera, phone camera, or camcorder.
- Open the camera on the chosen device.
- Point end of remote control with IR sensor directly at the camera device screen.
- Look at the screen.
- Long-press one button on the Sony remote control.
While pressing a particular button, you should see a light on the screen of the device if the remote control is sending a signal.
If the light is showing without any button being pressed, a button might be jammed and stopping other buttons from working.
- Remove the batteries
- Try to free all buttons by pressing and releasing them a couple of times.
- Insert the batteries back and try again.
For wireless remote control:
- Register or re-register the remote.
- Ensure there is no interference from any radio signal device such as radio, microwave, wireless router, etc. Move device away from the TV.
- Update to latest TV software. Update using TV buttons or a different remote.
This guide should resolve the issue. It’s important to try all these fixing options before opting to replace your Sony TV remote.
