# TiVo Remote Story



## digitaria (Aug 7, 2002)

A few months ago, my remote started to get a bit unresponsive so I ordered a new one from TiVoheaven (I think). When the new one arrived it was fine for a couple of months and then suddenly stopped working, while I was using it . Batteries fine, but no red LED, nothing.

So we reverted to the original remote which was becoming more and more difficult to use. And then I saw this thread and was emboldened to perform surgery on my remotes.

First the newer one - which was dead. This was really a practice run. Opening it up was simple enough. Couldn't find any contamination inside or anything which looked wrong.

Opened up the original remote and the innards were wet . I don't recall it suffering any spills but there was a lot of dampness between the key membrane and the circuit board. An obvious cause of the poor key response.

I had figured that the circuit board on the newer remote must be dead and I thought I'd take the older circuit board and transplant it into the newer remote. So I cleaned up the damp board and installed it in the newer remote shell. And it worked fine :up:. Then I thought I might as well install the newer, faulty circuit board in the older remote shell, to keep all the spare parts together. So I did that and - you can guess what's coming - the remote worked perfectly after reassembly.

I don't understand (a) why / how the older remote got its internals damp and (b) why the new remote died but its circuit board came back to life in the old remote shell. Anyway, I thought I'd share the strange saga with you lot .


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## Davyburns (Jan 7, 2004)

A tip you might or might not know, if you look at the emitter at the end of any remote through a camera phone, or any digital camera, you can see them light up when you press a button on the remote.
Its an easy way to check if your remote is sending


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

The tiVo remotes tend to fill up with damp gunge - I guess it's just sweat or maybe something teh batteries give off.

You can also find the the remotes "crash" and appear to die. I found putting the batteries in backwards for a second good aften shock them back into life.


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## BlackPrince (May 16, 2009)

Did you contact TivoHeaven about your failed remote from them?


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## digitaria (Aug 7, 2002)

No, I did not. I think it would have been out of warranty, but I didn't contact them, so I'm not complaining about them in any way.


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## BlackPrince (May 16, 2009)

digitaria said:


> I think it would have been out of warranty


After two months?


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## digitaria (Aug 7, 2002)

> Remotes / Power Supplies / RAM
> 
> These will be replaced without question if they arrive DOA or FOA and at our discretion, after inspection, if they fail within 30 days.


Yes, after 2 months.


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## BlackPrince (May 16, 2009)

Hmmm ... I wonder how they get round SOGA and the EU rules. I assumethere's a special case, for some reason.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

I'm guessing Digitaria just couldn't be bothered to argue. Warranty or otherwise, if you buy a bit of kit like a remote that breaks after two months from any retailer you're entitled in law to a repair or replacement. TiVoHeaven can say what it likes on its website, but it doesn't effect your legal rights one iota. Pretty sure they have to pay for carriage too.


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## BlackPrince (May 16, 2009)

I suppose there are special rules for stuff that's clearance, second-hand, and so on.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Not particularly, unless you say before the purchase that something might be dodgy, i.e. "sold as seen".

Everyone should read this at school, retailers would get away with a lot less stuff:

http://www.which.co.uk/advice/understanding-the-sale-of-goods-act/index.jsp

I have no particular beef with TiVoHeaven, but a bunch of his T&Cs are, well I'll be generous and say they are unenforceable as they contradict the law of the land! Smaller retailers often think they can just make up T&Cs and don't know what the law is. Larger ones deliberately put up T&Cs which are beyond the law in the hope that people just read them and don't press a claim.

tThe one which most annoys me (and TivoHeaven is I'm afraid guilty here) is the "take it up with the manufacturer if it breaks" clause. The contract when you buy something is between you and the retailer, not the manufacturer.


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