It is very frustrating when your TV remote suddenly falls into the water. We should take care of our remote controls, but sometimes accidents happen as a part of our routine.
When you’re enjoying your favorite movie on your TV, Roku, or Firestick, the remote control might get wet from water, coffee, tea, or some other liquid. In this post, I’m going to share some tips for fixing a wet remote control.
What happens when the remote control gets water?
Obviously, it’ll get damaged. Sometimes
- The buttons/Keys may not work
- Circuit board damage
- IR sensor may not work
- The button mat will get wet
Important:- If you are sure that the remote control is completely wet, then don’t press any key because it’ll cause a short circuit. Only use it after applying the given troubleshooting tips.
How To Fix A Wet Remote?
Regardless of the type of remote control – be it for a TV, Roku, or Firestick – the applicable troubleshooting tips are the same. It’s important to address the issue as soon as possible after it has been dropped into water.
When you pick up the remote from the water promptly, the likelihood of water seeping into the body is reduced, as the cover is tightly closed. However, there is still a chance that water may enter through the small gaps between the buttons.
If you notice that your remote has been exposed to a considerable amount of water, then follow the provided troubleshooting tips to restore it to working condition
Wipe first
Wipe the remote first fast and scatter all the water content that got on it. This is the first remedy you should take. It’ll completely depend on what amount of water you get. When your remote drops into a high amount of water, then you should do this first. Don’t press any button, because it may cause a short circuit and completely get damaged.
Then Dry It
If you are assured that water doesn’t enter the remote control inside, you just need to dry the outer surface only. Before that make sure that all the buttons are working fine by checking it with your TV or another device. Then keep it under the sunlight or under a fan till it gets wet out.
If you have a hair dryer, use it to quickly dry the water content.
Wet out the inner parts
If you are sure the water content passed inside the remote, then what you have to do is, open the panel and then separate the circuit board, batteries, button mat, etc under the sunlight or under the fan.
You can use the small triangle plastic pry to open the tightly closed body. Just pull the thin edge of the pry and then remove the body.
Using this triangle plastic pry is safe to open the body. If you don’t have it, just try using your nails.
Separate the circuit board, buttons, and batteries and place them under the fan.
Use a hair dryer to dry them fast
If you have a hair dryer, apply it on each and every part and then dry them fast. Because there is a force in the hair dryer, which can be able to wet out the water content.
Precaution:- Handle with care. The IR sensor LED is attached to the circuit board. Don’t get it removed from the board. If do so, you have to solder the IR sensor to it again, but you need a soldering tool.
Keep the circuit board and the keypad under a filament lamp
This is the quickest method to dry the board and the button mat. Just keep them under a filament lamp, and then turn on it. Do not keep them continuously for a long time. It will cause damage to it. If you are sure that all the water content is wet out, then take it from the filament lamp.
Use an eraser to rub on the board to remove any stain
When the remote is got wet by pouring tea, coffee, or juice, there is a great chance of stains accumulating on the circuit board.
There is a quick clean method to remove the stains.
Take a pencil eraser, and gently rub it on each and every portion of the circuit board. The stains will get removed as small particles. Then again apply the hair dryer or fan to the board to remove the stains completely.
Reassemble
Reassembling is the next step.
First of all, insert the button mat into the upper panel. Then place the circuit board in the correct position above the button membrane. Then place the down panel, and then press it pull all the locks, and get it tightly closed.
Insert the batteries then, and check it with your device.
How to protect your remote control from being wet?
Keep them away from water, coffee, Tea, or Juice
If you want your remote a very long life, then keep it away from water, coffee, etc. Don’t use it when you are drinking tea or water. Just place them in a place where it is safe to be.
Don’t get it to your children. Just keep away from children. When you have kids under 5 years, they’ll always play with the remote and they will put it on water.
Use a plastic case or cover
There are a lot of plastic cases available to protect from getting wet or falling down. When you use a cover, it’ll protect. The cover is attached to the remote tightly and it prevents the water from entering inside through the small gaps between the top and bottom panel.
Cover with a polythene plastic cover
It gives complete protection from the water. Since remote working is based on IR waves, it works when you cover completely using a polythene plastic cover. When you do so, then don’t need to worry whether the remote gets water and gets damaged. I personally use this method.
Use a third-party universal remote
If you couldn’t fix the issue by applying the given tips, probably your remote got dead. The main issue will be with the circuit board. It’s better to buy a third-party universal remote. Before getting the new one, you can use a remote control application to control your TV or other devices. There are a lot of apps available for both Android and iOS. Get to install it on your smartphone from the respective app stores.
Before buying the new one, if you are buying the original remote, then there is no problem. You should check the compatibility when you are thinking of buying a third-party remote even though the universal remote can work with multiple devices.