How to Check if a Remote Control is Transmitting an Infrared Signal

Last Updated: October 21, 2021

Many households have 5 or 6 remote controls laying around the house. Sometimes, it stops working and you don't know what happened. Most remote controls use infrared light to transmit the signal. The human eye cannot see this light, however a camera can. This article will explain how to detect whether or not your remote is still giving a signal.

Steps

1
Gather up all the remote controls that you think are not working and a digital camera or cell phone with a camera.
2
Turn the digital camera on, all you need to do is look at is the digital screen while performing the process.

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3
No need for turning off all the lights (but may be helpful in seeing the IR signal).
4
Point the remote towards the lens of the camera as you would when pointing the remote towards the TV.
5
Press and hold any button on the remote while viewing the screen on the camera. Note: some buttons may not transmit signals via default. Best button to try first is the power button.
6
While holding the button on the remote and viewing the digital camera screen if you see a blueish light, that means the infrared signal is working properly, there is a problem with the direct connection (if it's a universal remote, try setting it up, if its not, you're probably not pointing it correctly).

Community Q&A

Question

Will the remote work if the infrared light goes off after the TV switches on?

Community Answer

The only time the infrared light in a remote is lit is during a key press. The TV has no infrared light; it has an infrared receiver instead. Many digital cameras and cellphones can detect infrared lights, however, so you can check to see if the bulb in the remote is working by viewing it thru the camera on your camcorder or phone.
Question

The remote will turn on my Sony Hard Disk recorder, but no other functions work. What could be the issue?

Community Answer

Place your remote's LED in front of your mobile phone camera. It will show a glow in the camera when you press any button of the remote.
Question

How can I determine if the sensor on the TV is working?

Community Answer

Most sensors also have a light next to them. If the light does not flash or pulsate, it may not be sensing a signal, which only happens when a button on the remote is pressed.

Warnings

This will not help to repair it if the remote is broken, this is only how to do a diagnosis.

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Things You'll Need

The remote control you think is not working.
Good tested batteries installed properly into remote control.
Any digital camera (camera phone and computer cams work too)
A helper to press the remote button (optional)
Try pointing remote control towards the back of a radio (switched on) on an empty channel on the am band and listen for "clicking" sounds