I've been meaning to post this for many months. For those of you whose loved ones have consistent problems with the remote control, this is a great way to "fix" it so it won't cause as many problems. Although this is reversible, you'll need to buy another for yourself as long as the first one is "fixed".

The goal is to diable all buttons which are unnecessary and problematic, leaving our loved one with a simplified remote that is less likely to mess things up. The only tools you'll need are a screwdriver and a pair of scisors.


Step one: Locate and loosen the screws. There will be a few little screws on the back, and there's a good chance there are one or two behind the batteries.



Step two: Open the remote. The buttons should come away freely, and you should see a little circuit board on the other half.



Step three: Note the little squiggles on the circuit board. These are the contact points where the buttons touch. Decide which buttons you want to keep, and cut a piece of paper to cover up the rest. My grandmother Laurette uses the TV only for Larry King in the evening, so I've diabled all but the power and volume buttons for her. Your piece of paper can be any shape required to cover or uncover the necessary buttons.



Step four: Put it back together. You're done! If you want, you can also physically remove buttons from the remote. This is not reversible, but may be necessary to facilitate independent use of the remote. Simply cut or pull them off while the remote is open. In this example I removed the channel buttons because when she wanted the volume up she would always use the up arrow, not the right. With the channel buttons gone she has no trouble.




If you didn't remove any buttons, you can remove the paper at any time and the remote will return to its normal function.

WOW! Very cool! You are like "Mc Giver" I am not sure I could 'do' this, but it is a nessesary project for all with a Loved Ones, with Dementia, for sure! I had to laugh, because one of the 'little' signs all-was-not-right with Mom, is she was trying to change the channels, by pointing the cordless telephone at the T.V., and puchng buttons, and getting very frustrated, I might add.

Also, I had to do some quick thinking, to tell her it was not going to work, without embarrassing her too much! LOL! The thing is as big as a shoe-box, so quite a sight! LOL! Some times, as Lori says, you just gotta laugh!

The hardest part is cutting an odd shaped piece of paper! It's the easiest home repair you'll ever do, I promise. Actually, it's more like a kindergarten craft than a home repair. It's not hard, so nobody should be afraid to try it!

Great idea Jezza. Of course my problem was trying to keep Helen from using the remote on her lift chair to change the channels.

What a clever idea Jezza! Leave it to you to think up something like this in the name of keeping your grandmother's independence at it's optimal.

Now I wonder what else you will think of next! You are a Godsend to your sweet grandmother.

Nice! I will discuss this with my grandfather. Maybe a separate remote for my grandmother with all functions except the channel function removed. A+ for creativity.

Wow Jezza, how cool is that? You are Our McGiver! Very clever, very creative.
Thanks for the step by step.
Peace
Eileen

Thanks for this! It'll be handy for MIL who thinks everything is a universal remote lol!

Kat

You are an absolute genius! I can't tell you how many times I have walked into the living room and the TV is not where mom wants it to be because she has hit a bunch of buttons on it! This really made my day!

I got a response on the other board recommending a great product. Take a look at the weemote. It's probably a little annoying to program, but it's exactly the right thing. The downside is that it's a new and different remote and not familiar, but it's brilliant.

Jezza this is great!!!!! How cleaver..

I wish I had know about this handy dandy little thing back when
BFM first came down here to live and I was getting about 50
phone calls a day to come over because she broke the
TV. When in reality she just had the remote out of sync.

I didn't live far (2 miles) and didn't mind running over and fixing
it.. but I worked 3rd shift at the time and it made for some
sleepless days.. This would have helped out a lot.

ttt for somebody on the big board.

What a cool idea!

Uh......I picked up my hand-held solitaire game this morning, and tried to turn the TV off. But......it was 6am.



Seriously, this is a great idea! I am going to save these instructions for future use, which I hope I never need!

Hey Jezza, where was this idea when I needed it with Old Navy? Actually, we had to keep the phone away from ON because he would use it to change channels on the TV. We couldn't figure out where the phone call charges were coming from until we watched him attempt to change channels.

Now is there a way to make the remote work as a telephone?