why does sky remote control eat batteries?

On 11-Apr-2007, "Luis Ortega" wrote:

Does the remote have some memory information that will be lost if it doesn't
have battery power for more than ten minutes? If so, will it refuse to work
with the digibox even after the new batteries are put in?

Should still work the DigiBox, the memory is for the code set used by
the telly.
If you have the handbook the codes for various brands of telly should
be in it, if no HB ask here.

Luis Ortega wrote:

Is this typical of sky remote controls or is there a fault with the remote
control?

Neither. There is nothing wrong with your remote or your batteries.
You can ignore the message which will go away after a while.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

wrote:
On 11-Apr-2007, "Luis Ortega" wrote:

Does the remote have some memory information that will be lost if it doesn't
have battery power for more than ten minutes? If so, will it refuse to work
with the digibox even after the new batteries are put in?

Should still work the DigiBox, the memory is for the code set used by
the telly.
If you have the handbook the codes for various brands of telly should
be in it, if no HB ask here.

The Sky Customer Service pages accessed by the Interactive button have a very
extensive list of codes.

--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

Neither. There is nothing wrong with your remote or your batteries.
You can ignore the message which will go away after a while.

Agreed - mine tells me once or more a month that the batteries need
changing - they don't. Normally find it does it when there is either a lack
of background light, or too much sunlight on the front of the Sky box -
anything that affects the quality/purity of the infra-red signal seems to
trigger the message.

D.

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:57:53 +0100, Charles Ellson wrote:

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:39:23 +0100, "Simon Finnigan"
wrote:

"Luis Ortega" wrote in message
...
I have been with sky for 5 weeks and the remote control has advised me
twice already that it needs the batteries changed. They seem to last about
3 weeks. I don't use cheap batteries.
With every other remote control that I have ever had the batteries last
for a year or more.
Is this typical of sky remote controls or is there a fault with the remote
control?
Thanks for any advice.


My remote batteries last for ages. A couple of thoughts.

Do you have any pets that might lie down on a controller, making it transmit
constantly and use power?
Ever put things down on top of just this remote?
Are you using new, good quality batteries? Not sure of the shelf life of
batteries, but they do have best before dates on them. Worth a check?

Otherwise not sure what you could try :-)

Is the remote control being left on top of the DodgyBox (or anything
else warm) resulting in the battery being "cooked" ?

When not being used, our remote control is left on top of the Digibox and
the batteries typically last longer than a year. The box is always cool to
the touch.

"Luis Ortega" wrote in message
...
I have been with sky for 5 weeks and the remote control has advised me
twice already that it needs the batteries changed. They seem to last about
3 weeks. I don't use cheap batteries.
With every other remote control that I have ever had the batteries last
for a year or more.
Is this typical of sky remote controls or is there a fault with the remote
control?
Thanks for any advice.

It depends how often you use your remote.
I find batteries last for about 4/5 months.
You can buy a new Sky remote from Asda or Tesco for about 15 GBP.
Regards Mike.

"Mike GW8IJT" wrote in message
...
"Luis Ortega" wrote in message
...
I have been with sky for 5 weeks and the remote control has advised me
twice already that it needs the batteries changed. They seem to last about
3 weeks. I don't use cheap batteries.
With every other remote control that I have ever had the batteries last
for a year or more.
Is this typical of sky remote controls or is there a fault with the
remote control?
Thanks for any advice.

It depends how often you use your remote.
I find batteries last for about 4/5 months.
You can buy a new Sky remote from Asda or Tesco for about 15 GBP.
Regards Mike.


People who stuff all their remotes into one handy container or down the side
of their armchair often overlook the fact that this can cause buttons to be
permanently "pushed". In fact often it only needs the remote to be leaning
against a hard surface (like another remote) for this to happen. Nothing
flattens a remote's batteries quicker than a permanent transmitter "on"
state (I suspect...............).

Chas

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:30:27 GMT, "Luis Ortega"
wrote:

Is this typical of sky remote controls or is there a fault with the remote
control?
Thanks for any advice.

I had the same problem, and then discovered it wasn;t the Sky remote
causing the problem but an old freeview remote on the shelf.

YMMV

Noz
--
Email (ROT13)

mine lasts for ages, been in over a year i think
"Luis Ortega" wrote in message
...
I have been with sky for 5 weeks and the remote control has advised me
twice already that it needs the batteries changed. They seem to last about
3 weeks. I don't use cheap batteries.
With every other remote control that I have ever had the batteries last
for a year or more.
Is this typical of sky remote controls or is there a fault with the remote
control?
Thanks for any advice.

As far as I know, the piece of software in the sky box that generates
this message wasn't there at all in the early days and it was added
during a software update at some time. I received many calls from
customers at that time and I was told that the detection level for
weak remote signals had been set too low (or is it high?!). Anyway the
problem seemed to fade away. Interestingly I have recently begun to
see the message much more often again on many different boxes. I
wonder if they have been playing with the software again??