Virgin media remote gone weird!!

pop80_uk · 19-10-2008, 10:47

Ok, so Friday it was working fine no problems, switched everything off as usual, but come Saturday and Sunday the remote is useless.

You have to almost hit the buttons to get it to work, sitting close to the box makes no difference, new batteries make no differerence, nothing has changed in relation to the boxes position or anything blocking it.

Any ideas? Does this just happen sometimes? Do I need a new remote?

I have a samsung box and the controls on the front work fine

HELP! Its driving me nuts

scorpionatthepc · 19-10-2008, 14:34

Give CS a call and ask for a new remote.

LondonRoad · 19-10-2008, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpionatthepc

Give CS a call and ask for a new remote.

That's right. They'll tell you it'll take about 10 days but mine arrived in 3.

Nikesh · 19-10-2008, 14:39

Yeah, best thing to do is ask for a new one. They sent us a newer one, which lets you control the TV volume controls.

spiderplant · 19-10-2008, 15:33

This sounds just like this problem. Have you moved your TV or STB?

pop80_uk · 19-10-2008, 15:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiderplant

This sounds just like this problem. Have you moved your TV or STB?

Nope, not touched a thing.
Turned it on Saturday afternoon to have 1/2hr TV and remote refused to work. Friday night fine and no problems previously.

How can a remote break without any warning or intervention from exterior forces?

pop80_uk · 19-10-2008, 18:45

Ok, figure this out.....
The remote now works fine, nobody has been near it or touched it. But its working like new! Confused!

Wicked_and_Crazy · 19-10-2008, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by pop80_uk

Ok, figure this out.....
The remote now works fine, nobody has been near it or touched it. But its working like new! Confused!

your now wearing cotton pants as opposed to nylon so no static interference

Your_da · 20-10-2008, 08:10

New LCD tv? or changed the tv settings?
Backlight interference causes mine to stop working while the TV "warms up" once its up and running for a while it works as normal.
However if I alter the backlight the control works straight away

pop80_uk · 20-10-2008, 13:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Your_da

New LCD tv? or changed the tv settings?
Backlight interference causes mine to stop working while the TV "warms up" once its up and running for a while it works as normal.
However if I alter the backlight the control works straight away

Strange, just tried this, when I turn the backlight off the remote plays up ! go figure!

bigjonnyboy · 26-10-2008, 10:00

Hi all, I recently changed my ceiling lights to low energy bulbs, after a few frustrating days of my remote playing up I realised that when my lights are on the remote will hardly work, but when my lights are off the remote works fine. Strange but true, I hope this helps someone else.

cheers, bigjonnyboy

pop80_uk · 26-10-2008, 17:21

Good suggestion, Thank you!

Maribel · 28-10-2008, 07:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigjonnyboy

Hi all, I recently changed my ceiling lights to low energy bulbs, after a few frustrating days of my remote playing up I realised that when my lights are on the remote will hardly work, but when my lights are off the remote works fine. Strange but true, I hope this helps someone else.

cheers, bigjonnyboy

Can somebody confirm the above? I did replace the light bulbs with energy efficient ones recently.

My two remotes are erratic, sometimes they refuse to work for 1-2 minutes and then they are ok. But not both at the same time!

I have a Virgin one and NTL one. The Virgin one has a "slippery" feel too, like it has been coated with something.

The tech guy gave me the Virgin one to keep it as extra.... but he was willing to come back to replace the box.

spiderplant · 28-10-2008, 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maribel

Can somebody confirm the above? I did replace the light bulbs with energy efficient ones recently.

Yes, it's true. Low-energy bulbs send out infra-red noise that can drown out the signals from remotes. If you can re-arrange things so the STB can't "see" the bulbs that should fix it.

The bulb manufacturers claim it's less of a problem with newer bulbs, but I haven't seen any independent data on this.

Maribel · 28-10-2008, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiderplant

Yes, it's true. Low-energy bulbs send out infra-red noise that can drown out the signals from remotes. If you can re-arrange things so the STB can't "see" the bulbs that should fix it.

The bulb manufacturers claim it's less of a problem with newer bulbs, but I haven't seen any independent data on this.

Ahah, I was not aware of this. Thanks. This explains the spontaneous channel changes ....