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Q. What's the difference between this and wire glue? Don't they do the same thing?
A. No! The two products may appear similar but are very different. You will see some retailers claiming that wire glues can fix keypads but it's not a good idea.... The various wire glues on the market are formulated as adhesives and dry to a hard finish. If you use wire glue on a keypad it will seem to work OK at first, but in a short time it will crack and flake off, filling the inside of the remote with conductive flakes that short-circuit the other switches. The hardness of the glue will also scratch the copper tracks on the circuit board.
Remote Restore is made for us in the EU and is specifically formulated for repairing conductive rubber keypads. It stays slightly flexible when dry, so it doesn't flake off with the movement of the rubber mat. It's resistance is also lower than wire glues (and often lower than the original rubber pads in the remote!), which makes the switching action more reliable.
Remote Restore is made for us in the EU and is specifically formulated for repairing conductive rubber keypads. It stays slightly flexible when dry, so it doesn't flake off with the movement of the rubber mat. It's resistance is also lower than wire glues (and often lower than the original rubber pads in the remote!), which makes the switching action more reliable.
Q. How difficult is it to use - I'm not very technical!A. You don't need to be. Essentially all you are doing is re-coating the rubber keymat contacts with a new conductive layer. The hardest part is often working out how to dismantle the remote to fix it! Our instructions give you lots of help and tips on this.
Q. How long will the repair last?
A. If the instructions are followed carefully the repair will last a long time - we have a DVD remote which was virtually unusable, but since repairing it with Remote Restore it has been functioning like new in daily use for a year now and shows no signs of failing. Should it be necessary the repair can always be repeated - treating the keymat with Remote Restore does not damage it.
Q. What else will I need?
A. Just a small screwdriver and possibly a blunt blade to get the remote open. A camera is useful to take an internal picture of the remote before dismantling, to help with reassembly.
Q. How long will it take to do?
A. About 20-30 minutes to do the repair, but it is important that you allow the product to dry overnight before attempting to use the keypad.
Q. What if I need help?
A. Email me! I'll normally answer within 24 hours (often much sooner) and will help as much as I can.
Q. Will it fix my car alarm keyfob?
A. It is suitable for some car alarm fobs. Many of these use micro-switches, though, and Remote Restore won't help with these. If there is a definite mechanical "click" when you push the buttons, they are micro-switches. If the buttons have a spongy, slightly wobbly feel (like a TV remote) then they are conductive rubber and Remote Restore should do the job.
Q. Does it always work?
A. Remote Restore will fix 99.9% of remotes that have some buttons that either don't work, work sometimes, or have to be pushed hard to make them work. Remotes do suffer from other faults, of course - if NONE of the buttons work, then the problem is probably the electronics and Remote Restore won't help.
(TIP - you can check that your infra-red remote is actually sending signals by pointing it at your smartphone camera and pushing a button on the remote - if it's working you'll be able to "see" the LED at the front of the remote light up in the viewfinder screen).
(TIP - you can check that your infra-red remote is actually sending signals by pointing it at your smartphone camera and pushing a button on the remote - if it's working you'll be able to "see" the LED at the front of the remote light up in the viewfinder screen).
Q. I haven't spilled anything on it, but the buttons on my remote are sticky / covered in some kind of oil. Where did that come from?!
A. This is another problem that affects older remotes - oil contamination. This is caused by a manufacturing fault. The keymat is made of silicon rubber, and the final part of the manufacturing process involves baking the keymat to remove excess silicon oil from the keymat. In many remotes older than 10 years or so this baking wasn't done for long enough, so the excess oil stays in the keymat, but seeps out with time and the pressure of button pushes - eventually the contacts become covered with oil and stop working. In this case Remote Restore will often help, but only after thoroughly de-greasing the keymat and circuit board. In bad cases the repair may have to be repeated every few years as more oil is expelled from the keymat.
Q. Which MIDI / music keyboards will Remote Restore work on?
A. Very, very many! I'm still researching this, but this type of switch was and still is widely used by Korg, Yamaha, E-MU and others from the early 1990's onwards. If in doubt, send me some details / photos of your keyboard and I will help you.
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