Introduction
To show you how to bring a television remote back to life, I found two with issues: one from a non-functioning 25-year-old DVD player, and a Philips TV model with buttons stuck in the down position.
While designs differ with different manufacturers, the basic concepts shown here will work for remotes from this year's Amazon Fire stick to a decades-old Zenith. Common differences include the presence or absence of screws, and buttons that press physical switches or conductive pads. (Popular modern models like Panasonic and Samsung TV remotes should fall right in line with the models shown.)
This project takes you through three levels of repair: battery replacement, cleaning and conductive paint touch-ups.
A quick note on two of the tools used in this project.
Prying tool: You'll need something to open the remote case. Electronics repair kits include plastic pry tools, but you can use any thin, semi-rigid piece of plastic. I typically go with guitar picks or, as in this case, expired shopper rewards cards. Don't use anything metal because it's easy to damage the case.
Isopropyl alcohol: For the cleaning solution, I suggest 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol. This becomes more important the closer you get to the circuit board. (You can likely safely clean the remote's exterior with household cleaning supplies, as long as you don't saturate it.)
Note that many people call isopropyl alcohol "rubbing alcohol." Some rubbing alcohols include additional ingredients. Stick to plain isopropyl alcohol so you don't inadvertently leave chemicals inside the remote when you're done cleaning it.
