# Tivo slide remote amber light stays on!



## hansende (Dec 21, 2003)

Today my Tivo slide remote amber light at the top stays on all the time! The remote does not send any commands to the Premier unit. So I put in brand new batteries making sure + and - was correct. Amber light stayed on. I then tried resetting the remote ...Hold Tivo + TV power... then thumbs down 3X and enter but the amber light stays on through entire process! The remote that came with the Tivo works fine! I had unplugged the blu tooth dongle a few days ago to make room for a Cox Adapter box. 

Any ideas anyone?


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## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

did you put the dongle back in? i think it needs to be connected to your tivo for the slider remote to work.


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## tunarollz (Jun 2, 2011)

make sure no buttons are stuck in a depressed position.

w/o the dongle connected, slide will revert to IR-only mode. The amber light typically means it's in IR mode.


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## hansende (Dec 21, 2003)

I cleaned the remote and all the buttons seem not to be stuck! So I will have to throw this one away. Never again will I order the Tivo slide remote (with the keyboard). It only lasted about a year.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

hansende said:


> I cleaned the remote and all the buttons seem not to be stuck! So I will have to throw this one away. Never again will I order the Tivo slide remote (with the keyboard). It only lasted about a year.


Try calling TiVo?


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## MarkV5 (Apr 12, 2011)

Mine is doing the same thing. I suspect child abuse (of the remote) in my case. Quite frustrating as my tivo is on a different floor so changing channels is problematic.

Please post if you figure out some magic beyond buying a new one.


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## asooley (Feb 23, 2005)

hansende said:


> I cleaned the remote and all the buttons seem not to be stuck! So I will have to throw this one away. Never again will I order the Tivo slide remote (with the keyboard). It only lasted about a year.


Do you still have your Tivo Slide Remote USB dongle ? Please let me know I'm looking for a replacement one and I'll buy it from you.


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## Distortedloop (Dec 6, 2007)

This just started happening with my remote control unit today. I contacted customer support, their suggestion was to buy a new unit. I asked about warranty repairs, they told me that the warranty is only 90 days. My remote is 187 days old. Such a short warranty, and a product that failed so sure into its lifecycle, doesn't instill a lot of customer loyalty to TiVo.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

It probably just got dropped one too many times. Try looking for a broken soldier connection.

Most consumer items I purchase only have a 90 day warranty. Did you purchase with a credit card that has additional coverage?

Things fail. It happens. My biggest suggestion is - learn how to fix them. It most cases, that sounds harder than it is.


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## Distortedloop (Dec 6, 2007)

jrtroo said:


> It probably just got dropped one too many times. Try looking for a broken soldier connection.
> 
> Most consumer items I purchase only have a 90 day warranty. Did you purchase with a credit card that has additional coverage?
> 
> Things fail. It happens. My biggest suggestion is - learn how to fix them. It most cases, that sounds harder than it is.


I can't say how long the standard consumer products warranty is, because most consumer products I have owned never needed it. Certainly not within 6 months of purchase.

The TiVo slide is the only remote control that I've ever had die. I've owned dozens of remotes over the last 20 years, some cheap, some expensive. I won't claim that I have never dropped the TiVo slide, but I haven't done so recently, and I have certainly dropped all of the other brands of remotes that I have owned, but they all continue to work just fine. This suggests better build quality than TiVo, or just better luck.

Since I really like the feel of the TiVo slide in my hand, and the fact that I don't have to actually point it at the television to make it work, I went ahead and bought a new one.

I can certainly appreciate the value of learning how to repair items, in fact I've repaired many electronics in the past, both professionally and personally. One older Sony television I owned needed fixing out of warranty, which required that I solder two resisters and a capacitor to the motherboard. I'm certainly no stranger to that kind of work, but it doesn't change my opinion that a 90 day warranty for anything is ridiculously short and reeks of a company that doesn't stand behind its products. Your mileage may vary, of course.

I'm at a bit of a disadvantage right now, because I recently had surgery on my right arm to repair a torn bicep tendon, so I only have one good hand to work with and it's not my dominant hand. Life's kind of a b***h doing most intricate tasks right now! LOL.

Thank you for the reply.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

Too bad about your arm. I would think even some broad tasks would be tough. 

I have two slides and they are dropped by the kids all the time and have kept on ticking. I have had lots of other remotes go bad without such abuse. You probably just had bad luck.

Seems rare these days that people actually fix their stuff (this board seems to be an exception). I'm not aware of a teardown on these remotes anyplace, hopefully you can make an attempt once you are healed.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Does everyone have butter fingers? People really drop the remotes that often? I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've dropped a remote over the last twenty five years.


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## 241705 (Mar 9, 2010)

I don't think I can count how many times my kids have knocked a remote off a table or something like that. I cringe when I hear it smack the wood floor - that's why I bought a cheap universal remote for my family room. I don't have a slide remote - so far my regular TiVo peanut remotes have held up well to this abuse.


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## Shogun82 (Apr 29, 2012)

I can confirm that the TiVo slide remote is very durable. Mine has been dropped many times. It has also repeatedly been sat on which opens the slide usually putting a lot of pressure between the keyboard and remote area, and still going strong (knock on wood).


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> Does everyone have butter fingers? People really drop the remotes that often? I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've dropped a remote over the last twenty five years.


Well, I've only actually *dropped* a remote on the hardwood floor maybe once or twice. The remote in the living room (where the hardwood floor is) has hit the floor many times, though, usually from being knocked off the couch.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

hansende said:


> I cleaned the remote and all the buttons seem not to be stuck! So I will have to throw this one away. Never again will I order the Tivo slide remote (with the keyboard). It only lasted about a year.


I will never for the life of me understand why people extrapolate a single bad (or sometimes not all that bad) experience to a condemnation of an entire product line.

You suffered *ONE* failure in a timeframe less than one might reasonably expect for a product purhcased off the shelf. No matter what the product, some number of people have to wind up with units that last an amount of time significantly less than the norm. The fact you drew the short straw for this round in no way suggests you will draw another short straw should you purchase another remote of the same type, nor does one early failure suggest the product line itself is of poor quality.

If the average longevity for these units were only a year, then it would be another matter, but your personal experience does not provide a sufficiently large sample to suggest this to be the case.

The Ethernet port on my first S3 failed within a month of purchasing my first S3 TiVo. (Fortunately, it was still under warranty.) What did that suggest about the TiVo? Nothing. The replacement and 2 successive TiVos purchsaed in the 8 months subsequent to the failure are all still going strong.


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## Distortedloop (Dec 6, 2007)

lrhorer said:


> I will never for the life of me understand why people extrapolate a single bad (or sometimes not all that bad) experience to a condemnation of an entire product line.
> 
> You suffered *ONE* failure in a timeframe less than one might reasonably expect for a product purhcased off the shelf. No matter what the product, some number of people have to wind up with units that last an amount of time significantly less than the norm. The fact you drew the short straw for this round in no way suggests you will draw another short straw should you purchase another remote of the same type, nor does one early failure suggest the product line itself is of poor quality.
> 
> ...


Your somewhat valid points would probably be better received if they weren't presented in a condescending tone.

For my part, I will never for the life of me understand why people who have not had a bad experience feel the need to a condemn the opinions of those who have.

I understand any product line will have failures; but I also understand that a company that makes quality products will stand behind the product with a decent warranty period. TiVo gives the Slide remote a whopping 90 day warranty. That's not standing behind your product very long, especially on a "premium" product with an MSRP of $89. For comparison, Logitech offers 1-year warranties on their remote products.

Real world, the remote costs $40, which in the scheme of things isn't a big deal, but the TiVo attitude of you're SOL after 90 days, and the fact that my experience with the remote is a 6-month life expectancy, doesn't help endear the company to me.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

I'm not defending anything here, but some facts to consider (and that I often think through when stuff craps out):

The warranty period is reflected in the price you pay. You want a longer warranty, you pay a higher price. A warranty is just another feature, and limited lifetime warranties are often not worth squat (think back to Tommy Boy). 

Did you check with your credit card company on the terms of their extended warranty? Most seem to offer something.

You had a six month experience, that is not the life expectancy. Though, it is clearly a crappy experience.

If it were designed for such a short lifespan, many (including me and my two units) would be *****ing up a storm. These boards are not short of people *****ing about their boxes. But, go visit any electronic retailer and you can easily find the same discussion (yes, even Apple).


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

Distortedloop said:


> Your somewhat valid points would probably be better received if they weren't presented in a condescending tone.


My tone, or rather what you perceive it to be, is irrelevant. It won't get you a new remote, and it won't cause your new remote to fail early or last longer.



Distortedloop said:


> For my part, I will never for the life of me understand why people who have not had a bad experience feel the need to a condemn the opinions of those who have.


In considerably more than 40 years of dealing with electronic equipment, I have encountered many, many failures, one of which I detailed in the previous message.



Distortedloop said:


> I understand any product line will have failures; but I also understand that a company that makes quality products will stand behind the product with a decent warranty period.


Not necessarily. A warranty costs the company money and that cost is invariably passed to the consumer. Any warranty beyond some minimal amount requires paying a premium, and I have no desire to pay such a premium. Essentially it is a rip-off.



Distortedloop said:


> TiVo gives the Slide remote a whopping 90 day warranty.


That is not uncommon in the industry. Given a choice between paying an additional $10 - $20 for a 1 year warranty, I'll take the discount.



Distortedloop said:


> That's not standing behind your product very long, especially on a "premium" product with an MSRP of $89. For comparison, Logitech offers 1-year warranties on their remote products.


They are also relatively expensive. I have had quite a few problems with Logitech products, as well. It doesn't prevent me from buying them, and indeed there is a 14 button Logitech mouse sitting next to the keyboard on which I now type.



Distortedloop said:


> Real world, the remote costs $40, which in the scheme of things isn't a big deal, but the TiVo attitude of you're SOL after 90 days, and the fact that my experience with the remote is a 6-month life expectancy, doesn't help endear the company to me.


Why would you expect (or desire) to be endeared to a company? They provide a product with the intent of making a profit. They don't want to be your girlfriend. If you want a longer warranty, then expect to pay more. Personally, I vote, "No", on the longer warranty. If it happens I wind up with a dud, I will far more than make up the cost of buying a new one by not paying for longer warranties on everything else I buy.


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## bhiga (Oct 20, 2006)

If anyone has non-physically-broken remotes or extra Bluetooth receivers (the USB dongle), I'd be willing to buy them.


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## larrs (May 2, 2005)

Some troubleshooting steps I have found:

1. Take the batteries out and leave them out overnight to fully discharge the unit (seems to hold a bit of charge), sounds weird but several people reported this fixing their issue.

2. Reset the remote: Hold Tivo and pause buttons until red light comes on. Press "0", light should blink. You'll need to reprogram your TV, stereo or other codes.

2. Disassemble the unit and reseat the daughter card inside:


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

I have had to take these things apart bunches of times. I finally used a hot glue gun to keep the card in place. Kids/dogs/hardwood floors used to cause this to come loose a few times a year...


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## camdecoster (Nov 26, 2007)

Did anyone ever find out a solution? I've read about daughter boards falling out, cables getting cut and buttons getting stuck. Has anyone fixed their slide remote after the amber light was on all the time?


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

camdecoster said:


> Did anyone ever find out a solution? I've read about daughter boards falling out, cables getting cut and buttons getting stuck. Has anyone fixed their slide remote after the amber light was on all the time?


I don't mean to sound snarky, but it sounds as though the solution really is to learn how to take it apart and fix it yourself.

Or pay for a new replacement and see if anyone wants to buy the old one "as-is" and have a go at fixing it themselves.


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## camdecoster (Nov 26, 2007)

unitron said:


> I don't mean to sound snarky, but it sounds as though the solution really is to learn how to take it apart and fix it yourself.
> 
> Or pay for a new replacement and see if anyone wants to buy the old one "as-is" and have a go at fixing it themselves.


I believe that you're correct. I'll try to find another one.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

camdecoster said:


> I believe that you're correct. I'll try to find another one.


Feel free to mail me the old one to play with.


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## camdecoster (Nov 26, 2007)

unitron said:


> Feel free to mail me the old one to play with.


Oh sure. It's already in the mail.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

mine had this problem. I took the batteries out and left alone for a couple of weeks, then put batteries back in and problem is gone.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

leiff said:


> mine had this problem. I took the batteries out and left alone for a couple of weeks, then put batteries back in and problem is gone.


I don't think you'd have to wait a couple weeks though. All that should be needed is for all the capacitors to drain, unless there's some kind of internal battery with non-volatile memory and you have to wait for the battery to die, but that could take years, not a couple weeks.


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

I tried leaving the batteries out just for a couple days but that didn't fix it. my guess was since it was my sister's remote she spilled something gummy in it and it took a bunch of days for it to work itself out


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## Furmaniac (Apr 3, 2018)

I Got a Brand New slider remote and I also had the problem with the amber light staying on
I opened up the slider and started pressing the keys and finally it went off. Apparently one of those keys can get stuck. I realize this is an old topic, but someone (like me) who still has this problem, may review this topic and be looking for an answer. It helped me!


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