# My t.v. Remote skips channels - how come? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318 "2003-11-26T03:53:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/1 "2003-11-26T03:53:21Z")
The other day as the Beloved and I were channel surfing, we noticed that when we push the “up” channel button on the remote, it skips from channel 13 to channel 20. Same thing going the other way - pushing the “down” button it goes from 20 to 13. But if we use the keypad on the remote to enter the numbers of the channels inbetween, like 14, it’s still there. If we then use the “up” button, it goes to 20. I’ve replaced the batteries on the remote and it’s still happening. Any of you smart electronic dopers able to tell me what’s going on? (It’s an RCA flat screen, if that’s relevant - 6 months old. We have cable from the local cable company, not satellite. Other than this oddity, it’s working fine.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/2 "2003-11-26T03:56:27Z")
You need to go into the Setup menu and redo the automatic channel setup, or manually reenter the missing channels. I don’t know how to do that for your specific TV, but if you post the model number, I’ll see if I can find out. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/3 "2003-11-26T04:37:49Z")
When you set up your TV, the tv either found those channels to be empty (full of static), or you later told it explicitly to skip those. No couch potato wants to get an earful of static while surfing - that’s the fix. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/4 "2003-11-26T04:58:56Z")
This may be a hijack - Our sky remote does that, but only because it is crap. It struggles to respond to keypresses so you sometimes have to hold the key down. This often results in the keypress actually registering twice. It’s really annoying - either it won’t change at all, or it changes twice. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/5 "2003-11-26T06:04:35Z")
If using the channel up/down buttons on the TV itself gives the same response, it’s the channel set-up. Specific instructions should be in the TV’s manual, though often you can figure it out from the onscreen menu. If using the channel up/down buttons on the TV does give the desired channel, the problem is in the remote unit. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/6 "2003-11-26T06:10:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > **If using the channel up/down buttons on the TV does give the desired channel, the problem is in the remote unit.** Not necessarily. My (Samsung) TV behaves the same using either set of buttons. So do all TVs I’ve played with. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say no TV behaves the way you suggest it could. Can you post a counterexample? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/7 "2003-11-26T06:29:04Z")
Well, yeah, **Q.E.D.** , the counterexample is in **Lobsang’s** post. Maybe I was unclear, so I’ll restate: If the TV up/down buttons and the remote control up/down buttons **act the same way** – i.e., they both skip channel 14 – then channel 14 is not set up in the TV’s channel memory. The cure is to enter channel 14 in the set-up funtion. If the TV up/down buttons and the remote control up/down buttons **act differently** – say the TV up/down buttons **get** channel 14 (demonstrating it is set up in the memory) but the remote up/down buttons **skip** 14, there has to be a problem with the remote. This is simple logic – it may not be the case in the OP’s situation, and you may never have experienced it, and it may have never happened in the history of the world, but **IF** the remote will do most things, but then won’t do something that it should do and that the TV itself will do, what else could it be but a faulty remote? ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/8 "2003-11-26T06:44:42Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Gary T \* > If the TV up/down buttons and the remote control up/down buttons **act differently** – say the TV up/down buttons **get** channel 14 (demonstrating it is set up in the memory) but the remote up/down buttons **skip** 14, there has to be a problem with the remote._\* This really isn’t possible, though (unless the TV is designed to respond differently to remote vs. manual channel up/down, that is). The remote simply sends the TV a “go up one channel” signal when you hit the channel up button. It doesn’t store any sort of state information that would tell it what channel it’s on, so there’s no way it would “know” to skip a particular range of channels. So, to answer the OP, it’s not the remote. It’s the TV. Consult the manual as appropriate, paying particular attention to channel setup. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/9 "2003-11-27T04:59:39Z")
Thanks, everyone, for the comments. Did as you suggested, **Q.E.D.** , and it’s working again. The Beloved is again impressed by the knowledge of the Straight Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/10 "2003-11-27T05:03:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Northern Piper \* > **Did as you suggested, Q.E.D., and it’s working again.** Glad to hear it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/11 "2003-11-27T12:36:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Northern Piper \* > \*\*The Beloved is again impressed by the knowledge of the Straight Dopers. \*\* And you admitted that it was the Straight Dopers who came up with the solution, instead of claiming the credit for yourself?! Foolish, foolish fellow! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/12 "2003-11-29T12:51:51Z")
She knows I’m a techno-peasant. If I suddenly claimed to have fixed it on my own, after a couple of weeks of me saying “I wonder what’s happened to our tv?”, I doubt that she’d believe me! ---
**Author:** ![prnses\_24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3be4f8/32.png) [@prnses\_24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prnses_24)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/13 "2012-02-04T20:25:43Z")
I was just surfing through my channels and I noticed that channel 50 I have skips it. I was on channel 49 and after that it skipped channel 50 and went to channel 51. This is the first time today that its done this. I have a comcast cable system. Does anyone know what the problem is and how I can get the channel back? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/14 "2012-02-04T22:44:12Z")
> [@prnses\_24](#): > > I was just surfing through my channels and I noticed that channel 50 I have skips it. I was on channel 49 and after that it skipped channel 50 and went to channel 51. This is the first time today that its done this. I have a comcast cable system. Does anyone know what the problem is and how I can get the channel back? You could try reading through the thread, the answer lies within. Although, in the _nine years_ since this question was first posed, televisions have changed dramatically, so there may be some other reason for your problem. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-t-v-remote-skips-channels-how-come/215318/15 "2012-02-04T22:50:34Z")
I saw the thread title, and thought "I used to have that problem - wonder who’s got it now?’’ Then I read the OP’s name. Ooops. :o