Remember to replace the batteries in your remote

[lnbchris]

Just a note to self, and to others. Remember to replace the batteries in your remote...

...especially if you might be experiencing issues with Genie performance.

I had another thread, which was related to the initial performance after the rollout of the current Genie firmware. I don't doubt that people are having problems.

Tonight I had an interesting new set of problems. The remote would pull up a guide screen or a list screen, but would fail to populate it. All it showed was a black portal where the list should be. I rebooted the HR-44 machine a couple times and no help. The volume for the TV continued to work flawlessly.

So I was stumped. Until I prepared to "reset" the machine, as in wipe away my settings. I got as far as the first screen, where it changed my remote from using RF to using the default IR. There are several reasons I use RF, perhaps the best being that I have more than one Genie in the same rack. And RF mode keys the remote to a particular Genie unit (a bit like car keyfobs only work on one car), whereas IR does not.

So I inadvertently disabled RF mode for my remote control on the Genie, and then didn't follow through with reprogramming the remote to send IR. That is when I started using the front panel to change the settings. I didn't go any farther with the "reset", as I was amazed at how responsive the front panel was.

So I replaced the batteries just for good measure, since I was consistently able to fly around with the settings on the front panel.

To make an already long story short, fresh batteries sped up the remote and everything seems to be ok now.

My conclusions are that the RF mode on the remote probably takes more energy than the IR mode. Thereby a marginal battery could work flawlessly to control the TV volume, but fail to control the DVR at the same time, giving one a false sense that everything is ok with the remote. The funny thing is the way the DVR acted, by not populating the guide info or the list info. It is almost as if it got confused and didn't quite know what to do, in spite of it pulling up the correct screens.

Just my preliminary conclusions.

Sick....

 

[fayrich]

Thanks inbchris. Going for new batteries now as I have had some issues with slow or no response, but keep forgetting to make the change.

 

[b52pooh]

Also, the TV functions are IR and only the receiver is RF. When your remote is in RF mode, it is still sending IR signals to the TV, A/V, etc.

 

[lnbchris]

Also, the TV functions are IR and only the receiver is RF. When your remote is in RF mode, it is still sending IR signals to the TV, A/V, etc.

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. I meant to say that. It makes it a bit counter-intuitive to troubleshoot. But these were the OEM batteries, about a year and three months old, and this is the most-used remote. So it all makes sense. I put in a fresh pair of energizers and all was well again.