Universal remotes have become more preferred as our home theater rooms have been invaded by new electronic devices each year. Not so long ago, we just had a television in the room. Then a box from the cable companyx was added. Next came the VCR to record all those shows we cou;dn't keep up with. Then DVD players came on the scene, followed by Tivo and DVRs. You get the point. You most likely have half a dozen devices—and their remotes—sitting in your living room. That is the reason why universal remotes are so appealing. If you can use one remote to manage all your home electronics, you can ease back on the clutter. Not to mention avoiding the 5 minute lesson you have to give friends on how to switch on the TV if you are not around!
In case you are curious, universal remotes function by storing and sending the unique code that each of your devices use to communicate to their own remotes. It is like a universal translator that speaks Sony, Samsung, or Sylvania.
But setting up a universal remote is frequently more work than it should be. And often one of the media components in your living room is maybe from a company not included in the reference list that came with your universal remote. To make this less complicated (and to have a fast reference to send to your pals who come to you for tech support), here is a easy step by step guide for tracking down universal remote control codes and ultimately programming your universal remote! You can also look online for a video tutorial on how to program a universal remote.
- Pick the device you need to program. In this simple demonstration, we'll use a television.
- Confirm your device is powered off.
- Press the button on your universal remote corresponding to the device you need to program (such as your television set).
- Next press the POWER button on your universal remote.
- If the television set comes on, then the universal remote already has the right codes loaded. Repeat this process for your DVD player, your Tivo, and anything else you need to manage from your universal remote. If the TV does not come on, then continue with this process.
- Look for the maker of your device in the reference guide that came with the universal remote. When you find the maker (in this example Samsung), then you'll see a code, or possibly a list of possible codes. These will be 3 or 4 digit numbers. In the case of Samsung, you could see the following codes: 0060, 0702, 0030, 0178, 0019, 0056, 0766.
- If you can't find your manufacturer listed in the product manual for your universal remote, there are several online guides that list a lot of codes. As an example the guide at http://universal-remote-control-codes.com contains dozens of manufactures, many with one or two different remote code options that you can try if the first one does not work.
- Press and hold the PROGRAM button on your universal remote. There will sometimes be a light on the remote which may flash, indicating you are in "program" mode. Press the button corresponding to the device you are setting up (the television set button in this example) and then type in the code.
- Now press the POWER button on your remote and see if the TV turns on. If it doesn't turn on, try entering the next possible code listed for your manufacturer.
A comment on the subject of 3 and 4 digit universal remote codes: It can often be rather puzzling trying to deal with 3 and 4 digital universal remote codes. Almost all of the time the 4 digit codes are more often used. But if your code is like this one for a Sylvania television (0054) and you believe the television is looking for a 3 digit code, you can try dropping the number one 0 and just entering 054 for your TV universal remote code. Conversely, if you've got a code of 054 for your television but you think it's requiring for a 4 digit code, you can try adding a zero to the front making it 0054 for your code. Often you need to experiment a bit to get it to work.
Good luck setting up your universal remote codes. It can be a bit of an adventure getting it all working the first time, but once it is set up you'll truly enjoy just using one remote to control everything in your living room. Enjoy your new remote!
Eric Jones is a tech writer who takes difficult technology topics like how to program universal remote control codes and makes them easy. QUICK LOOK: a roundup of the best universal remote reviews.
