Now if they would only get them for their faulty remotes all would be well in the world 😉

Viewing habits were meticulously logged, tied to demographics and sold to third parties for ad targeting and tracking.

Source: TV maker VIZIO fined $2M for no-consent tracking of consumer viewing habits

OK, rant time. What is with Vizio and their remote controls?

I’ve had a 32″ Vizio for about a year. Until recently I’ve been very happy with it but my recent experience with the remote has me wondering about the company and quality. My remote suddenly stopped working. None of the buttons would get a response from the TV. Put in new batteries, no change. Tried using my wife’s remote, no change.

So, naturally I turned to Google and started some heavy googling of the problem. Turns out there are plenty of posts out there about Vizio remote controls mysteriously not working. A common problem seems to be the control working intermittently, some days it works, some days it doesn’t.

Suggestions for fixing the problem include;

• Remove the batteries for 24 hours, then try again (supposedly this ‘resets’ the control)
• Remove the batteries from the control and unplug the TV for 30 minutes (again, supposedly resets both)
• Replace the batteries (duh!)
• Clear obstructions from in front of the screen (another duh!)
• Place a strip of blue painter’s tape over the IR sensor on the front of the receiver. The painter’s tape filters the stray IR from the TV and allows the remote signal to get through. (Way above my head, I don’t get it but some say this works).
• Remove sources of IR interference. There’s a good article here that goes into detail about possible sources of interference. (None of which applied to me).

I’ve tried the suggestions and still the remote seems to work only when it decides it wants to, which makes me think the real problem is a defective receiver in the TV.

Anyways, finding so many of these complaints around the internet with no solution offered by Vizio doesn’t leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling about the Vizio brand…. if you are considering buying one, buyer beware!