How can I find my lost remote?

Losing your TV remote is a common annoyance that most people have experienced at some point. However, misplacing your remote doesn’t mean you have to miss your favorite shows or live without the convenience of channel surfing. With some clever detective work and persistence, you can usually track down a lost remote in no time.

Retrace Your Steps

The first thing to do when you realize your remote is missing is try to remember the last time you used it and where you were. Retrace your steps room by room and carefully look under cushions, in crevices of the couch or chair you were sitting in, and under any blankets or clutter the remote could have fallen under. Check under and around furniture in the room you last remember using the remote. It often ends up being knocked between or under couch cushions or slipped just under a chair or table where it’s hard to notice right away.

Look Where You Tend to Lose Things

Most of us have those spots where we tend to lose items – that drawer, shelf, or surface where things mysteriously vanish only to be found weeks later while looking for something else. Make a point to carefully search any of your common “black holes” where remotes or other small items disappear. Check under paperwork and junk drawers, in laundry rooms, under vehicles seats, on nightstands cluttered with devices, and in bags or purses you were carrying. Retrace everywhere you’ve been over the past few days in case you unknowingly dropped the remote somewhere along the way.

Enlist Help from Others

Ask family members and housemates if they’ve seen or used the remote recently. Have everyone check the rooms and spots where they usually hang out and work. If you have kids in the house, there’s a good chance the remote has made it into a toy box, laundry pile, or other unexpected place. Offer an incentive if needed to get everyone invested in the search.

Look for Remote-Shaped Lumps Under Covers

Once you’ve thoroughly searched all open surfaces, it’s time to look under things. Carefully lift and shake out blankets on the couch, bed, and other places you lounge around. Feel under pillows and cushions for any remote-shaped lumps. Peer under rugs and doormats in case it was accidentally swept underfoot. Check inside pet beds and cages where your furry friend may have carried off the remote.

Grab a Flashlight and Get Low

A flashlight comes in handy when searching under furniture and in dark corners for a missing remote. The focused beam of light can reveal your remote hiding in shadowy spaces that are hard to notice otherwise. Get down on your hands and knees and shine the flashlight under sofas, chairs, tables, and beds. Look along baseboards and under entertainment centers and shelves where remotes can blend into the shadows.

Try Calling It

If you have a newer remote with phone finder integration, you may be able to make the lost remote start ringing aloud so you can locate it by sound. Brands like Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV offer mobile apps with remote finder functions you can activate to make your lost remote emit a loud ringing tone until found. This feature works best for newer model remotes within Bluetooth range of your phone.

Use Remote Finder Devices

For recalcitrant remotes that elude all other search methods, a remote finder may be just the tool for locating them. These devices use radio frequency signals to detect your specific remote control from up to 100 feet away. Popular options like the ClickR Remote Finder or Esky Remote Control Finder attach to your keys so you can easily press a button to make your remote start beeping to reveal its location. Just follow the sound until you zone in on your lost remote.

Check With the Couch Cushions

Couch cushions seem to have a magnetic attraction for TV remotes and can stealthily swallow them up in the folds and crevices between cushions. To find a remote lodged in couch purgatory, systematically feel between all cushion crevices, shake and squeeze each cushion, and remove and search under each one. sofa cushions can also slip down between the couch back and seat, so fish around in any gaps with your hand to feel for the smooth plastic of your escaped remote control.

Replace the Batteries

If you’re still coming up empty-handed in your remote recovery efforts, try putting fresh batteries into the remote control. This powers up the remote again so it can respond to the “find remote” signal from your TV or a remote finder gadget. Even remotes with dead batteries generate a weak signal that remote finder devices can usually detect if you’re within range. Popping in new batteries reestablishes the remote’s transmitting power so it’s easier to reconnect with from a distance.

Use Your Smartphone as a Remote

As a workaround while you continue the search, most TV brands let you use your smartphone as a substitute remote controller. TV manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio offer mobile apps that function as a virtual replacement remote that connects to your TV via WiFi. You can browse channels, adjust volume, access settings, and control playback with your phone screen instead of a traditional clicker.

Buy a Replacement Remote

If your remote has entered the void never to return, replacing it with a new one is an easy fix. You can find replacement remote controls for most TV brands either online or at electronics stores. Universal remotes can also cover multiple devices. Buying a few backup remotes to have on hand for future disappearances can save you the trouble of another frantic missing remote search down the road.

Set Up Remote Locator Stickers

To prevent another lost remote fiasco, set up a preventive system by putting locator stickers on your replacement remote and batteries. Special stickers like Tile allow you to make your remote ring when it goes missing. Locator stickers on the back of your remote and the battery compartment that sync to your smartphone via Bluetooth can help you find it next time it slips away.

Conclusion

Losing the remote is a common nuisance, but luckily a solvable one. With some diligent searching in all room nooks and crannies, shaking out couch cushions, and using phone locator apps and remote finder gadgets, you can usually recover your lost clicker. If not, replacement remotes and smartphone apps offer easy workarounds. Sticker locators on your new remote can help prevent a repeat disappearance.