# Steady Amber Light On Regular Remote SOLVED



## mainewatch (Sep 9, 2012)

I dropped my remote and then when I used it the amber light on top of the TiVo button remained on for about a minute and the TiVo box yellow circle flashed, but the box did not respond to any command, even to turn off the TV or change the volume. 

I checked the manual and there was nothing regarding the light staying on for a minute with no response. Instead it said if the TiVo did not respond to the remote I should power cycle the box. But the signal was fine and the yellow circle (beside the green circle) on the box did blink every time I pressed a button on the remote. I changed the batteries, thinking it was a low battery thing. Same behavior.

Again, NO MENTION of this behavior in the user manual.

In the online forums the responses to the a steady amber light on the remote suggested a broken remote (seems to happen a lot with the Slide?) that had to be replaced. One post suggested a broken solder, so I went to look at the remote to find out how I could open it and try to find the broken solder and possibly repair it.

In the course of examining the remote I noticed that that the Clear button was jammed down. I unjammed it and the remote control returned to working normally.

A simple fix, but given how so very important a remote is I would hope that the next version of the user manual might mention checking for a stuck button.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Isn't the best solution to not drop the remote?


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

I would label this "Remote 101". 

1- check batteries. 
2- check buttons. 
3- think about opening/reprogramming/new remote.


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## ShayL (Jul 18, 2007)

jrtroo said:


> I would label this "Remote 101".
> 
> 1- check batteries.
> 2- check buttons.
> 3- think about opening/reprogramming/new remote.


Didn't you forgot the the step between 2 and 3 to throw remote against wall?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Actually another trick that people might not know... If you install the batteries backwards it resets the remote completely and can clear up all sorts of weird remote errors. Although I don't know if that applies to the Slide, so no guarantees if you're going to try this with a Slide.

Dan


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## Jerry B (May 22, 2009)

Dan203 said:


> Actually another trick that people might not know... If you install the batteries backwards it resets the remote completely and can clear up all sorts of weird remote errors. Although I don't know if that applies to the Slide, so no guarantees if you're going to try this with a Slide.
> 
> Dan


I at first thought you were joking, but then saw you had 50,000+ replies. My TiVo remote (for a 2010 Premiere) started acting strange yesterday. I basically had to hold down a button for 5-6 seconds before it would accept the command. So just to do change a few channels would take 20-30 seconds. I tried changing batteries, unplugging unit, etc. Before I did anything else, I took your advice and inserted the batteries backwards, pressed the TiVo button, reinserted the batteries correctly and, boom, my remote is back in business! It still not as sensitive as before--you have to be very deliberate when pointing and pushing a button to execute a command. I wonder if I ultimately will still need a replacement remote.


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

It has been my experience that TiVo will pretty much provide 1 free remote per account, if you just ask.

If there's an 'upgrade' remote that will work, they'll often provide that instead, as well...

-KP


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Jerry B said:


> I at first thought you were joking, but then saw you had 50,000+ replies. My TiVo remote (for a 2010 Premiere) started acting strange yesterday. I basically had to hold down a button for 5-6 seconds before it would accept the command. So just to do change a few channels would take 20-30 seconds. I tried changing batteries, unplugging unit, etc. Before I did anything else, I took your advice and inserted the batteries backwards, pressed the TiVo button, reinserted the batteries correctly and, boom, my remote is back in business! It still not as sensitive as before--you have to be very deliberate when pointing and pushing a button to execute a command. I wonder if I ultimately will still need a replacement remote.


Yeah I don't know why that trick works, but it has worked for me many times over the years.


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