Why do remote controls resume working after you smack them?

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I often thought it has something to do with the batteries of the remote but I’m not sure. And it’s applicable to most remotes too—TV, airconditioning, toys I had when I was a kid, etc.

In: Technology

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

There’s aren’t a lot of metals out there that are not affected by corrosion to some degree at least, and batteries as well as the battery contacts inside devices are typically made with cheap materials. Even a very thin layer of corrosion can prevent batteries from making proper contact.

If you smack the remote, the batteries will move around a bit and either make contact with a different, less corroded area of the contacts, or they may even remove the corroded layer if they move relative to the battery contacts.

Keep in mind that with devices like remotes, were talking about minute levels of corrosion. If a remote works on Sunday and stops working on Monday, then it’s obviously juuust at the tipping point between working and not working, so it only takes a tiny improvement in the contact resistance to restore its function.

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