A better replacement tv remote

It’s broken again.  A common occurrence in this household.  The kids frequently knock it from the sofa to the floor and with a hard floor and cheap replacement remotes they never survive the 18″ drop more than a few times.  I’ve lost count of how many £6.99 off Ebay replacement remotes I’ve bought and I’m after something better. By better I mean it needs to work sensibly and have a build quality to survive more of these small drops to a hard floor.

What are the One4all replacements for Sony tvs like? Will this be £20 wisely spent or another regret?

A replacement Sony remote and a silicone cover to fit?

Obviously depends on finding the right remote and cover.

We have one for the Firestick remote but more because it is neon blue and easier to find than the tiny black remote on its own.

Ooo, that is good thinking,  I’ll look into that.

I was going to recommend a Logitech Harmony, great bits of kit but not in your circumstances.

IME One4all are decent build quality, but sometimes you don’t get full functionality of the original remotes, although you could always use the phone app for the full functionality.

If you can’t get a silicone cover, perhaps wrapping a bit of innertube (remember them? ;o) ) around the sides?

I don’t mean to be That Guy but I can’t help think that a ruggedised remote is the wrong solution ahead of taking steps to stop it getting dropped.  Don’t leave it on the sofa, or put a mat down to cushion the blow perhaps.

This is the Amazon link from above that the forum ate, anyway.

I think bubble wrap would be more appropriate!   They normally seem to break inside, often the pair of AA batteries are left floating about as the contact or support has broken.   It’s incredible user such a small drop is enough but they are cheap so nothing should surprise me.

snooker cue?

Gaffer tape it to one of those foam yoga bricks?

I was going to recommend a Logitech Harmony, great bits of kit but not in your circumstances.

they have been discontinued for some time! There are a couple of alternatives on Kickstarter at the moment, I vaguely considered it for a minute as I had a Harmony BITD but then decided I didn’t want to spend £300 on a remote 🙂 Don’t even have multiple HDMI sources these days anyway as just use Apple TV for everything so kind of makes it pointless anyway!

Agreed cougar, I have repeatedly taken this line with the wife to no avail.

I will say,  the oem Sony remote lasted best part of half a decade of this treatment,  vs several of the replacements lasting less than a week but 2 or 3 months average maybe.   The oem was just a little better quality,  that’s all I want.

they have been discontinued for some time!

Didn’t know that.

Although they are pretty much redundant. I used mine for my hifi but now I use a Wiim it’s just not needed.

I used to have a 5.1 system for my TV but now have a soundbar and matching, 1 remote does it all.

Just stop leaving the remote on the edges of the sofa or on the actual sofa…prevent the fall from happening and save yourself some headaches to find a replacement.

Always far easier to suggest/say/type than to get it done, but if you moan enough to get the habit started, then it will continue and the remote will break less frequently…or take the approach my dad did – switch the tv on, pick a channel and then leave the room with the remote so we couldn’t mess about with it!

#carpetforthewin

If you have a smart TV you can often get a phone app to control it. Our Samsung does this. Not a replacement for a traditional remote but it does mean you always have a working option.

It’s incredible user such a small drop is enough but they are cheap so nothing should surprise me.

Acute deceleration trauma can generate insane forces.  Ask any rock climber.

At my old house, the kitchen floor was Victorian-era earthenware tiles.  A fall from the bottom shelf of the bottom cupboard – so, the height of the kick board, maybe 10cm? – was sufficient to smash glass bottles.

Agreed cougar, I have repeatedly taken this line with the wife to no avail.

Ah, problem solved, ask her to replace it.

Can you tether it somehow perhaps, so if it gets knocked off it never reaches the floor?  (The remote, not the wife)

the height of the kick board, maybe 10cm? – was sufficient to smash glass bottles.

We have stone tiles in the kitchen, hardwood in the living room.

Nothing seems to survive the smallest drop, the amount of glasses we get though is crazy. Probably aggravated by too much Malbec.

I took that line last night.  ‘Sorry kids,  no tv, broken remote’ and instructed the wife to replace.   She’s ordered 2 more cheap ones from ebay.

I’m sure there are at least 2 in a drawer somewhere from the 3 i bought in February.   She denies putting them in any drawer.  At least 2x £6.99 wasted.

With man maths I could justify a new smart tv on the basis of an app.   Does an s21 have ir?   I’ll have to try an app and see.

As for rapid deceleration and high loads,  we aren’t in the realms of a big whipper here even if the fall factor is high….a teenie bit better built and thru would survive.   If I can find a silicone cover to fit it could work.

The app works by being on the same wifi network as the phone.

If your TV is not connected to the internet it won’t have an app.

Some apps on play store claim to use WiFi or IR…. a fine claim if the phone can support it but I suspect few do.

  Does an s21 have ir?   I’ll have to try an app and see.

Next week – what phone to replace an S21 that got knocked off the arm of the sofa?

Some apps on play store claim to use WiFi or IR…. a fine claim if the phone can support it but I suspect few do.

My experience of Wi-Fi apps is suboptimal.

IR will require an IR blaster on the handset.  I haven’t seen that as a feature in years.

Do you have Amazon/Google smarts in the house?  Add a standalone IR device and sack the remote completely.

snooker cue?

I’ve used the bottom section of a fishing rod in the very distant past 🙂

IR will require an IR blaster on the handset. I haven’t seen that as a feature in years

Pretty common on “alternative” brand phones. Current Xiaomi Note 13 does for example. If you do have ir then there are loads of universal apps. If you don’t then you are likely limited to apps specific to the model of tv

S21 is my phone so the wife won’t be leaving it on the sofa.  I doubt it would have ir though.

It seems she ordered a couple of generic remotes last night without checking the tv model number so no idea if they will work.   They were £6.99 each so I doubt they will be any better made either…  oh dear, leaving her to sort replacement may be backfiring.

Pretty common on “alternative” brand phones. Current Xiaomi Note 13 does for example. If you do have ir then there are loads of universal apps. If you don’t then you are likely limited to apps specific to the model of tv

I might have to pick up a cheap one then.  I miss the TV-B-Gone app in a too-noisy sports bar just as England are about to score. (-:

I took that line last night. ‘Sorry kids, no tv, broken remote’ and instructed the wife to replace. She’s ordered 2 more cheap ones from ebay.

This is the correct course of action, otherwise your just an enabler and reinforcing bad behaviour. Refuse point blank to source or pay for replacements. Let the person who broke it deal with it…. they will soon become more carefull.

the logitech harmony (you can get them second hand on CEX) lets you use either the remote, or a mobile app, or a voice assistant (ie alexa) to control the tv. “alexa turn off the tv” when the kids are messing around is pretty effective.

@neilnevill

I’ve got a Harmony that’s no longer used if you want to buy it for not much £

(I was going to eBay it anyway)