How to Check the Power Status of Remote Control Batteries with your Smartphone

Share This Post

Earlier today I published an infographics on things you can do with your smartphone but I didn’t mention the possibility of checking the status of your television/electronics remote control battery with your smartphone.

Of course, in the modern technology it is no longer a question of ‘what you can do’ with your smartphone, it is now a question of ‘what you can’t do ‘ with your smartphone.

The latest discovery has revealed that you can check the power status of your TV set or home theater remote control with your smartphone. This is possible because most standard remote controls send signals to your home theater gear using a beam of infrared light, which a sensor on your hardware picks up. The beam of course is invisible to the human eyes, however, never neglect the power of your smartphone’s Camera! If your remote control start behaving in a funny way, you can easily use your phone to check if your remote batteries need refreshments.

Checking your Battery Power Status

To check your battery status, simply wake your smartphone and launch the Camera application. Next, switch to the front-facing camera, point the remote at the camera, and press any button on the remote.

If the remote is working properly, you should see a flicker of light come from the IR blaster as viewed through your phone’s screen that looks something that this:

If you don’t see the flicker from the IR blaster, or perhaps just a very, very dim flicker, you probably need to change the remote’s batteries. (And if new batteries don’t help, you probably need to replace your remote. Sorry.)

Of course, this trick isn’t limited to your smartphone’s camera; many digital cameras can see infrared light, despite having filters to tune it out. So if all you have at your disposal is your laptop’s built-in webcam, you may have everything you need.

Image Credit: TechHive

Stay Ahead: Join the EwtNet Insider Email Club!

Stay informed and up-to-date with EwtNet's email subscription. Join our exclusive community and receive curated news, updates, and insights tailored to your interests.

Related Posts

How to Create an Eye-Catching Header Photo for the New Twitter Profile

Are you promoting your brand on Twitter? Freaking out about...

Nintendo Switch: Where it Should Go

(Opinion) The Nintendo Switch is just a bit shy...

Samsung unveils the Exynos 8 Octa CPU

Today, Samsung announced the Exynos 8 Octa 8890 CPU...

The Best Camera Apps for Android

Tons of camera apps has been made since the...

The Future of Social Networking: What is it Like?

Every one of us are connected through some On-line...

Apple Pay’s Could Emulate Bluetooth File Share and Enable Phone-to-Phone Payments

The launch of Apple Pay this week is giving many people...
- Advertisement -

Discover more from EwtNet

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading