Are you getting ready to sit down, enjoy a nice meal, and watch your favorite show? Be careful when you do this as you may spill your coffee or soda onto your Samsung TV, Firestick, or Roku TV remote, or maybe even accidentally drop it in some water.
Accidents and mistakes happen, but when this happens, it can cause a lot of damage to your remote and cause it to not work at all. If this does happen to you, there are plenty of remedies you can try from your own home.
What Happens When Remote Gets Wet
1. Remote Doesn’t Work At All
One thing that could occur if you happen to get your remote wet is that all of the buttons might stop working for you.
This can be a huge issue as your TV may rely completely on their remotes to change the channel, change the volume, open a new app, change the settings, and virtually everything else you would need to change on one of these tvs.
Your remote not working at all because of it getting wet can be incredibly problematic as a lot of more modern TVs today do not have any buttons on them except for Power On and Power off.
2. Certain Buttons Don’t Work
Another thing that could happen if your remote gets wet is that only the specific buttons that absorbed the most moisture will stop working for you.
This can either be a blessing or be just as bad as all of the buttons failing to work for you. On older remotes, there are a lot of buttons that are not really used or can be used through other buttons.
If buttons like clear, numbers, mute, picture, audio, time, and system are not working on your remote this can be fine as they all can be used by other buttons such as channel up and down, menu, volume up and down, and various others.
However, if buttons such as pause, play, power, volume, guide, or other buttons that rely on that singular button are the ones that get damaged, this is just as bad as your entire remote failing to work for you.
3. Random Buttons Start Selecting
If you get your remote wet, another issue that may arise is that buttons randomly start selecting even though you did not press them.
You might be watching your movie and right when the most climactic scene starts to play, your tv remote randomly pushes the power button even though you did not press it.
The biggest battle scene could have just started and the music is already so deafening, and your volume just starts to go all the way up. If you get your remote wet, this is a real possibility for you and can be incredibly annoying.
4. Circuit Board Damage Due to the Stain or Spots
You could be thinking that you got off scotch free after you spilled your morning coffee all over your remote because you thought you cleaned your mess up enough and avoided any long term problems.
However, a couple of weeks, you start to notice your remote actually is not working very well, takes a while to respond to, and other random issues.
This may be because whatever you spilled on your remote caused some internal problems to the circuit board as the liquid stained and formed spots on this board.
This issue will be just as annoying as your buttons may be working, but not as well as they were before you spilled a liquid onto your remote.
5. IR Emitter Damage etc
When you spilled whatever liquid you had near you onto your remote, there can be even further internal damage, like the circuit board, but to various other systems such as the IR emitter.
Damage to these internal systems can ruin your remote completely which can be a huge headache. Any damage to these types of systems will be hard to detect.
With the IR emitter, if it receives any damage it is just the signals that are sent from the remote to said tv that will not work.
So, if your remote lights up or does something similar anytime you press a button, this light or action will still occur, but the actual signal of the button you are pressing will not be delivered to the tv, so it will be as though your entire remote received damage from the liquid.
What to Do If TV Remote Got Wet
1. Immediately Dry Remote Control
The first thing you should do if you spill any sort of liquid onto your remote is trying to dry off your remote.
You can use paper towels, cloths, or any other sort of towel you have near you. Use whatever type of drying piece you have picked to wipe off any liquid you can see.
Try to get the liquid off of your remote before it seeps under the buttons as this is when real damage can be caused. You can also try to shake off any liquid you see leftover as well to further dry your remote.
2. Remove Batteries to Prevent Further Damage
Another thing that you should immediately do if your remote is spilled on by any type of liquid is to remove the batteries to avoid any further damage from happening to your remote.
Most remotes have the battery slot located on the back of the device. Open up this slot and remove all of the batteries located inside of it. You can also dry out any liquid you see in this area to help avoid further damage as well.
Keep these batteries out of your battery slot in your remote for quite some time, until you are sure all liquid has been removed from your remote and it is safe to place the batteries back inside of it.
3. Don’t Click Any Buttons as It Could Short Circuit
When you see that liquid has been spilled onto your remote, do not press any of the buttons. This can cause your remote to short circuit which is very dangerous to you and can further harm your remote.
4. Keep Them Under a Flament Bulb
Another thing you can do to try and save your remote after it got liquid spilled onto it is to place it under a filament bulb. The heat from the bulb will help absorb any liquid that is remaining on your remote that you could not get out yourself.
5. Use Hair Dry on Low
If you have a hair dryer, this is another thing you can use to help get any liquid out of your remote after something was spilled on it. Make sure it is set to low before using it or you may cause further damage.
Once you have one, simply just slowly move your hair dryer up and down the remote to get any leftover water out of the system.
6. Repair Remote
Another option that you can pick to get your remote back up and working is repairing your remote. To do this, you will need to figure out what sort of damage has been done to it.
If it is the circuit board that was damaged, you will need some cleaning supplies to fx those stains that are causing the issues. Look up a Youtube video for your specific remote, a Samsung TV, Firestick, or Roku TV remote, and then include Circuit Board Cleaning.
This will give you plenty of videos to pick from that will tell you exactly how to fx the circuit board on your remote. If it was the IR emitter or a similar internal system that sustained damage, you will need to purchase a replacement piece.
Once you have this replacement piece, head on over to Youtube. Look up the specific remote you have, whether it be for a Samsung TV, Firestick, or Roku TV, and then the piece that you bought along with the replacement. You will then find plenty of videos that can walk you through how to replace the piece you bought.
7. Replace Remote
Your remote may need to be replaced if it is completely damaged by the liquid that was spilled onto it. If your Samsung remote got wet, you can replace it with a universal Samsung remote (view on Amazon). Buying a new remote might be your only option for solving your remote issues.
One way you can get one is to reach out to the manufacturer directly and ask for a replacement remote. They will most likely offer to replace yours for free and send you your new remote, but this can take potentially up to a few weeks for them to hear your problem and send you a new one.
You can also go and buy one yourself to get your new remote in a much faster way. If you want to shop in person, head on over to any store similar to Walmart, Best Buy, or even Target.
Once you get there, go to the technology department and locate a new remote. If you are struggling to find a remote, ask the nearest worker to help you and they will give you a variety of different remotes that work with the TV.
You can also find one on Amazon, Ebay, or any other online store and get it shipped to your house. These types of remotes range in all sorts of prices, so you should be able to find one that fits your budget if you do not want to wait for the manufacturer to send you your new one.
8. Get a Rubber Keypad Repair Kit
Another thing you can do if your remote gets wet and sustains liquid damage is purchase a Rubber Keypad Repair Kit. These can be found on Amazon and are just replacement buttons that you can change out with the buttons on your remote that no longer work because of the liquid that was spilled onto it.
9. Clean Stains on Remote
You can also clean the liquid stains that remain on your remote to try and fx it. To do this, you will need a cleaning towel of some kind or even a cotton ball. Then, you will also need some rubbing alcohol.
Now, locate the stains that are on your remote and dab your cleaning towel into just a little bit of the rubbing alcohol. Gently wipe away the stains left on your remote from the liquid. Once these stains are removed, see if your remote is finally working and controlling your tv properly.
10. Get a Remote Case
You can also purchase a remote case to protect your remote. You can easily find these for very affordable prices from a variety of places including Amazon.
Simply search for the type of remote you have Waterproof Case and you will have a huge range of options to select from in various designs and various different prices.
Or, if you do not want to purchase a case, you can put your remote into a plastic bag, zip it up, and have a protective layer from any liquid damage. However, this may interfere with some of the signals that your remote is trying to send to your tv.
11. Use Universal TV Remote App on TV
If you have another remote handy, this can be the remedy to your issues with your remote. Since all of these tvs are smart TVs, you can download the Universal TV Remote app onto them. Do so by going to the app store on your TV.
Search for the Universal TV Remote app. Download it and now you will need another remote. Using the app, link your new remote to the Universal TV Remote app. Now, this new remote will be able to control your tv even if it is not a Samsung TV, Firestick, or Roku TV remote.
12. Use TV Controls
Another option that you have to be able to use your TV after your remote has completely stopped working due to damage from some sort of liquid is to use the controls located on your tv if there are any.
This option will depend on what type of tv you have as so many today completely rely on the remote and do not have controls located on the actual tv except for Power On/Off. However, if you do have a tv with controls, these are likely located on one of the sides of the tv, or on the backside of the tv.
If you do have more than just the Power On/Off controls, you most likely also have Channel Up/Down, Volume Up/Down, Input, Pause, Play, Rewind, and other basic ones. These controls will be annoying to use as you will have to go up to the tv to use one, but at least you will be able to control your TV.
13. Contact Samsung
If all else is still failing and you just want to be able to use your remote so that you can buy your favorite actor’s new movie and watch it with your Samsung TV while at home, reaching out to the Samsung customer support is another solution you can try.
To contact them:
1. Go to samsung.com/us/support/contact/.
2. Once you get to the website, select your language and you can get started in letting the company know about the problems you are having with their remote.
3. As you scroll down on the website, you will see a list of products that Samsung creates and you can select tevelsions as the product creating the problem you are experiencing.
4. You will then have to select which type of remote and television you have, or search the serial code on the back of your remote.
5. Samsung will now give you a variety of different ways to get your remote back up and working once again.
If their website for customer service is still of no help to you, you can call 1-800-726-7864 and get in touch with a live customer service representative from Samsung. They will be able to help you from there.
How to Prevent Remote Control From Getting Wet
1. Keep Remote Away From Coffee or Soda
To prevent any future instances of your remote getting wet, keep any water, soda, coffee, and any other liquid you may have away from your remote. This is the best possible way to ensure you never have to deal with any liquid damage on your remote because there will be no chances of liquid being spilled onto or near your remote.
2. Use A Case
Another way you can keep your remote safe, in the future, from any coffee, soda, water, or other liquid damage is by using a case. You can easily find these for very affordable prices from a variety of places including Amazon.
Simply search for the type of remote you have Waterproof Case and you will have a huge range of options to select from in various designs and various different prices.
Or, if you do not want to purchase a case, you can put your remote into a plastic bag, zip it up, and have a protective layer from any liquid damage. However, this may interfere with some of the signals that your remote is trying to send to your tv.
3. Have a Universal Remote
Having a universal remote will also come in handy if you sustain water damage to your remote. That way, if you do happen to damage your remote, you have another option that will for sure work on your TV.
4. Keep a Back-Up Remote
Having a back-up remote in case your normal remote goes through damage because of liquid is another way to help you in the future. If your normal remote has any damage done to it, having this back-up remote will make sure you can still use your tv.