Comments on: My TiVo Remote Stopped Working Well . . .

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:32:59 +0000

Can my old Tivo standalone which controls a cable box via IR cable and is in the same room be causing this interference? i pulled batteries on all my remotes and shut down the wii and i definitely noticed an improvement but it is still much slower than normal… also, can a wifi router or switch cause this at all?

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:05:27 +0000

Rhonda – you aren’t taking a picture of anything. Turn your digital camera on then pick up a remote. In one hand point the camera at the remote and in the other hand point the remote at the camera lens and press a button on the remote. If it is emitting an IR signal, your camera’s view screen will pick it up. IR is invisible to the human eye but glows a purplish color through a camera lens. If you have a “rogue remote” in the room you can also use your digital camera to scan the room for the culprit.

By: Rhonda

Rhonda — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:24:11 +0000

Ok – Could someone PLEASE explain exactly what to do with the digital camera to see if there’s interference in the room??? My TIVO remote is also working sporadically. Not sure what to do w/ the camera… Am i actually taking pictures of the entire room???

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:25:12 +0000

I had been experiencing the same problem as “John Tomlinson”, above. When I pressed a button on the TiVo remote, the command repeated many times. It made browsing the “Now Playing” list an exercise in frustration because you had to press “Select” at just the right moment as the cursor scrolled through the list of shows.

After reading this, I thought, nah… there’s no way I have a rogue remote sending out a signal. Well, I was wrong. The digital camera suggestion from “cafe” is absolutely brilliant. I had no idea you could see IR signals like that!

We have a caddy that holds all of our remotes, it turns out one remote was leaning against another and was pressing a button. I could see it happening perfectly in the camera’s viewfinder. I freed that remote and viola- the “repeated command” problem went away. To prove it, I then held down a random button on the offending remote. While that button was being held down, I pressed channel up on the TiVo remote while in “Now Playing”. Sure enough, the list started scrolling up endlessly. As soon as I released the button on the offending remote, it stopped.

Thanks guys- this is an expensive, upgraded HD TiVo (from WeaKnees) with lifetime service- the thought of having to replace it made me sick to my stomach. To John Tomlinson: even if you think a rogue remote is not the problem (as I did), try removing all remotes from the room anyway. It takes just a minute and may pay off. And thanks for that great tip cafe!!

By: James

James — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:17:14 +0000

Thanks very much.

I was going mental trying to figure this one out. Of course, rogue remote with a magazine on top of it.

Good work

By: Ron Grandia

Ron Grandia — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:49:14 +0000

Thanks to Tyler F for solving my problem. I was going bananas. I had a Tivo Series one that worked perfectly, but replaced with a new HD TiVo when I got my new home theater system. It was working perfectly until the LG screen arrived – then it got very slow to respond. I NEVER would have thought to monkey with the power saving settings, but turning it off worked like a charm.

On my way to this point, I discovered that Wii sensor bars constantly emit IR. Use a camera, camcorder or even your phone’s camera to spot potential sources of IR interference.

By: cynthia

cynthia — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:40:14 +0000

Help- Our Tivo remote works except for the “tivo” button. It turns the light on the Tivo box from green to yellow, but the menu doesn’t come up. I have seen similar posts prior…. but no solutions. HELP!!!! Thanks

By: Rene C

Rene C — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:18:51 +0000

After a Tivo reset and the removal of all batteries from other remotes, I was scanning the room with my digital camera and I looked up and noticed my nice new dimmable candelabra florescent bulbs hanging under my ceiling fan and wondered… Turning off the light instantly solved the problem. I did not know that they produced IR. So check your remotes and your florescent bulbs

By: Tristan C.

Tristan C. — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:29:39 +0000

Just installed a new HD Series 3 over the holiday. Set it up in one room (wireless internet WiFi attached) and then moved it to another and then the insanity started. TiVo responded for a while, then shut off the TV (Sony Bravia 26″) only to have the TiVo go unresponsive. Other hard drive issues with this as well with spontaneous glitches in the video and with calls into support got a new exchange. Went through the same process again and had to update this one with new firmware because, unlike the first one, this one didn’t recognize the cable cards. Moved it from one room to the other and jammed again and then works again and then jammed again. The only IR emitting source is the TV and I need to see if one of the settings for light output is affecting the TiVo. No remotes are stuck on, and nothing else is emitting IR except for a lamp and the ambient sunlight. This is really stupid for a simple IR receiver to be so sensitive to jam the controller. Flashlight resetting worked shortly on the first one, but not on this one. Is there a way to attached an IR extended receiver to the TiVo? Like an IR blaster? Same kinda thing that the old Series 2’s use to have to control the VCR?

By: Tyler F

Tyler F — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:44:36 +0000

I just had this same problem. Unplugged everything in the room, took out all the batteries. It still wasn’t working. I reset my tivo, reset the remote and continued to do a global reset. None of these worked I then checked tivo’s website, it said it could be a tv backlight issue. I had just just the energy savings setting on my LG HDTV, I switched them back to what they had been prior to the remote malfunction and it worked! TiVo i working great again. Thought I would share so someone else won’t share my frustration quite as long.