Category: How To

Have you ever wondered if you can use rechargeable batteries in your TV remote, especially when it drains too quickly? You might notice this happening more often if you’re using a modern smart remote. In this post, let’s dive into whether rechargeable batteries are a good choice for your TV remote.

Rechargeable batteries offer the convenience of being reused. Once they run out of charge, you can simply recharge them and continue using them—not just for your remote but for many other devices as well.

Let’s explore how they work and whether they’re the right fit for your needs.

Yes, you can use rechargeable batteries in your TV remote control. It’s a safe and economical option. To do this, simply purchase rechargeable batteries that are compatible with your TV remote, whether they are AAA or AA. You’ll also need a charger to recharge the batteries when needed. For the best results, choose a reliable, high-quality brand for both the batteries and the charger.

Whether you are using an original TV remote control, a replacement remote, or a universal TV remote control, all of them can work with rechargeable batteries.

Things to Consider When Buying Rechargeable Batteries for a TV Remote

Identify the Batteries Used in Your Remote

Most TV remotes today use “AAA” batteries, while some older models use “AA” batteries. It’s important to know which size your TV remote requires. “AAA” batteries are smaller, whereas “AA” batteries are larger. Both types of rechargeable batteries are readily available in the market, so be sure to check your remote’s battery size before making a purchase.

Choose Batteries with a Short Charging Time

There are many rechargeable batteries and chargers available with varying charging times. Some batteries and chargers can fully charge in 4 hours, while others may take up to 5 hours—both of which are reasonable time frames. However, charging time should ideally not exceed 5 hours.

For your TV remote, you can choose either lithium or alkaline rechargeable batteries, although most rechargeable batteries on the market are lithium-based.

Choose a Rechargeable Charger with Overheating Protection

Ensure that the charger you use for your remote batteries has an overcharging protection feature. This helps optimize the charging process for your rechargeable TV remote batteries. Nowadays, most chargers come with a charging indicator for added convenience.

Don’t Use Rechargeable Batteries After 1000 Charges

Most rechargeable batteries can be recharged up to 800 times, but today, some battery manufacturers claim their batteries can be recharged up to 1000 times. However, it’s important not to use rechargeable batteries that have been recharged more than 1000 times, as they may no longer be effective for your TV remote.

Benefits of using rechargeable batteries on a TV remote

There are many benefits to using rechargeable batteries in your TV remote. One of the biggest advantages is their cost-effectiveness. Since rechargeable batteries can be reused up to 1000 times, they save you money in the long run. You no longer need to keep buying new batteries for your remote, making it a smart, economical choice.

If you’re using advanced smart universal remotes that control multiple devices or have display features, rechargeable batteries are especially beneficial. While some of these remotes may require electrical power, rechargeable batteries still offer great value in maintaining their functionality.

Another advantage of rechargeable batteries is the ability to charge them frequently. Some remotes stop working when the battery charge gets too low. Instead of buying new batteries, you can simply recharge them to 80% or more and continue using your remote without interruption.

How to Tell if Your Rechargeable TV Remote Batteries Are Still Good

To check if your rechargeable batteries are still good for use in your TV remote, you will need a multimeter. If you have one at home, you can easily check them yourself.

After fully recharging the battery, use the multimeter to measure its voltage. Place the red probe on the positive terminal of the battery and the black probe on the negative terminal. The voltage reading will appear on the display. If the reading is very low (below 0.5 volts) even after a full recharge, it’s a sign that the battery is no longer in good condition.

Almost all electronic gadgets will get fixed after resetting them when you find small glitches. When your GE universal remote is not working or controlling the device you programmed it for, a simple reset can help restore its functionality. If you’re unsure how to reset it, this guide is for you.

The method I share here will work on all the ByJasco GE remotes having a ‘SETUP‘ labeled key. Fortunately, all the models such as CL3, CL4, CL5, and the latest CL6 remotes have a SETUP button on them.

If you couldn’t fix the issue, and still isn’t working after resetting and changing the batteries, I’ll share some other troubleshooting tips you can try as well.

What does restoring your remote do? It will unpair all paired devices, fix the red light blinking issue, and resolve any minor glitches.

Steps to reset a GE remote control

• Press and hold the ‘Setup’ button until the red light blinks for at least 2 seconds.
• Release the button so that the LED light stays on.
• Press and release the “OK” button
• Now press and release the ‘0‘ (Zero) key, and the red LED indicator will blink twice, indicating that the remote has been reset successfully.

Hope this works for you. If didn’t try the alternate option.

Alternate method: Using the MUTE button

• Press and hold down the Setup key until the red LED indicator blinks and stays on.
• Then press and release the ‘Mute’ button.
• Press and release the ‘0’ (zero) key to complete the reset.

Other troubleshooting tips

Many small and temporary glitches can be resolved by resetting the remote. If it still isn’t working, keep reading and try the following fixes.

1) Power recycle

Power recycling simply means removing the remote’s power source, which in this case refers to the batteries. First, remove the batteries from the compartment and wait at least 3 minutes. During this time, press and release all the keys on the remote rapidly.

After that, reinsert the batteries into the compartment. Your remote may lose the settings you previously programmed for a particular TV or any other device. So, it is mandatory to re-program your GE universal remote with valid codes again to work with your devices.

2) Use Fresh batteries

When the battery health is poor, the remote may not work properly. It’s better to replace the battery when it is too drained. You might think it works properly even if the battery has 50% charge left, but it won’t.

The response rate of the remote will drastically decrease when the battery charge lowers.

Use a direct line of sight when you control the TV. And make sure that there should not be more than 12 meters distance between the remote and the TV.

3) Check whether the device keys working properly

The remote may not shifted to another device since the device key is not working. Suppose, you are currently using the remote for your audio devices and you shifted to the TV mode by pressing the TV key, if the TV key is not working, the remote is still in the audio device mode.

So, check all the keys are working properly by pointing the remote to a mobile camera and press it. If the LED is blinking each time you press the key, it works properly.

Hope this guide helps you. If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact us. We have WhatsApp customer support too.

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The term “Universal” in universal remote refers to its ability to work with different branded devices. However, while many universal remotes are compatible with a wide range of well-known TV brands, some may not work with lesser-known brands.

Most universal remotes can be programmed to operate multiple TV sets, even from different manufacturers. If you have a TV from a popular brand like LG, Samsung, Vizio, or Philips, there’s a good chance that many universal remotes will work with it. This is because universal remote manufacturers focus on making their products compatible with widely used brands, ensuring they reach a larger market.

Why Do Universal Remotes Work on Popular TV Brands?

When purchasing a TV, people often choose based on brand reputation to ensure they get a reliable product. Since millions of TVs from brands like LG or Samsung are sold, universal remote manufacturers prioritize making their remotes compatible with these brands to increase sales.

How to Use a Universal Remote with Two TVs

To start, it’s important to know there are different types of universal remotes available, depending on the features you need. You can find a basic remote for under $15, which will let you control essential functions like volume, channel changing, and power. If that’s all you need, a simple remote will do the job.

However, if you want more advanced features, there are smart universal remotes that can integrate with smart home assistants like Alexa or Google Home.

Programming a Basic Universal Remote

For basic remotes, you’ll typically need to enter a 4- or 5-digit code to program it for your TV. Each brand and device category has its specific code. For example, programming a Samsung TV will require a different code than an LG TV. The same applies if you want to control other devices like DVD players or home theater systems.

How to Find the Code

The codes you need will either come in the booklet with the remote or can be found online. Brands like General Electric (GE) and RCA have online code libraries where you can search by your TV’s brand.

The process to program the remote usually involves 3 to 6 steps, depending on the brand. Once you complete the steps, your remote will be synced with the TV and ready to use.

Can You Program the Remote for a Second TV?

If your remote supports multiple devices, you can program it to control another TV as well. The number of devices a remote can control is usually listed in the model details. For example, a GE 4-device remote can be paired with four different TVs or other devices.

Advanced Smart Remotes

If you’re looking for more advanced functionality, such as controlling streaming devices like Roku or using voice commands through Alexa, you’ll want to consider smart remotes. These often come with more features and a higher price tag. For instance, the Sofabaton remote is one of the top-selling smart remotes, with or without a hub. Priced around $200, it’s a great investment if you’re looking for features like app integration or controlling multiple devices seamlessly.

Can a Universal Remote Work with Any TV?

In most cases, yes! Many universal remotes are designed to work with almost any TV that uses IR (infrared) signals, which is standard for most TVs. Universal remotes often come with programming codes for hundreds of TV brands, making them highly versatile.

Just find the right code, follow the instructions, and your remote will be ready to use with your TVs.

To wrap up this post, I would strongly say that a universal remote can be used to control multiple TVs when programming it with a specific code for that model or brand.

Read More:-

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Factory resetting is one of the effective methods when any of the electronics devices shows any anonymous behaviour. In this post, learn how to reset a RCA universal remote to factory settings. This way, you can easily fix when the remote is not working, or showing any issues.

There are many factors when your remote is not working properly such as the programming errors, issue in finding and applying the correct RCA universal remote codes based on the revision number, hardware issues, etc.

Restoring can help in fixing many commonly issues found with the controller such as continuous blinking on the LED light, slow to response issues, specific buttons not working errors, TV not responding issues, Infrared (IR) sensor not working, etc. So, whatever the problems are with your RCA remote, try the resetting as the primary troubleshooting tips.

How to factory reset a RCA remote?

• Remove the batteries from the remote control
• Press and hold down the POWER keys for 10 seconds
• Press and hold the number key 1 for 10 seconds
• On each and every keys, press and release immediately
• Insert a pair of fresh batteries
• The reset process is now completed.

Once you followed all these instructions, your remote becomes like a fresh piece. All of the programmed settings will be vanished.

You have to re-program it with your device by finding the correct universal device code based on the remote control revision number, category of the devices to be programmed for, and the brand of the device.

Other troubleshooting tips

You can follow the given solutions to fix when your RCA remote is not working even after resetting and changing the batteries.

Remove the obstructions between TV and remote

Since the remote is working Infrared as the communication channel, there should need a direct line of sight in between the TV/any device and the remote. If any obstructions are present in between them, that may interrupt the IR signals. So, remove if any objects are present in front of the TV especially at a position of the IR sensor.

Do not exceed the distance more than 10 meter

It’s notable that the distance between the TV and remote should not exceed 10 meters. The manufacturers say there is no issue even if the distance is 12 meters, but it’s good to keep the distance as short as possible.

This will smooth the IR signal communication very effectively and will enable fast response times between the TV and remote.

If the LED light or POWER button backlight blinks continuously in RED, it indicates that the batteries are failing. Replace them with new batteries and reprogram the remote.

Relax all the buttons on the remote

This step is to recover any of the stuck keys within the panel. When prolonged usage, some buttons may stuck on a fixed position.

How will do this?

Remove the batteries.

Quickly press and release all of the buttons on the remote for many times. repeat it two or three times. Then re-insert the batteries and program with the device you want to control.

Check the IR sensor, it’s working fine

There is a quick test for this, I thing most of you may know. It is an old-school method.

Take your camera mobile phone, Point the remote to the phone camera, and press any key. If the IR sensor is working, you can see the IR LED blinking through your mobile display.

If some or any specific button is not working, you can use the same method. Point the remote to camera and press the button. If you are not seeing the LED blinking when pressing, you can confirm that the specific button is not working.

The issue may be either related to the circuit board, or the removal of the electric paint under the button pad.

Apply electric paint on the rubber button pad

You can follow this step if you are confident in repairing your remote control. If the electric paint of the number keypad has gone, there may not have enough contact between the button and the circuit board. You can apply the electric paint on the keypad.

Open the remote control panel, separate both circuit board and the rubberised keypad. Gently apply the electric paint in the under portion of the each keys. Wait till it dry.

Reassemble and test whether your RCA or any other remote is working fine or not.

You can buy the electric paint online or from an electrical shop.

Final Words:

You can simply fix your RCA remote only by resetting it when there is no any complicated issues. If the issue is not resolved, just follow the instruction I given above. Hope that will solve all the problems. I just given the procedures that you can apply yourself.

If they are not fixed, you can buy a new RCA universal remote. If you bought new one, I recommend you to take all the precautions to prevent it again getting worsen. Use a remote cover, place it on a mobile holder that can’t access your pet or child, keep away from water type foods, etc.