PHONE TEST
Check the Remote First
Aim the remote into your phone's camera and press a button. A light pulsing on the screen means the remote transmits fine, shifting suspicion firmly onto the TV's receiver. Tell us the result when you book.
Home/TV Repairs/TV Remote Sensor and IR Receiver Repair
TV Repairs
TV Remote Sensor and IR Receiver Repair
When the television ignores every press of a working remote, the infrared receiver inside the set has usually failed. It is a small board, a modest repair and a daily job for us.
Same-day serviceWorkmanship guaranteeAccredited installers
The details
When the TV Stops Listening
Few faults sour family viewing faster than a television that must be operated by walking across the room. The remote clicks, everyone aims it theatrically from different angles, and the set sits there unmoved. Before blaming the television, the remote itself deserves a fair trial, and there is a neat trick for that: point it at your phone's camera and press any button. Most phone cameras display the infrared flash as a pulsing light on screen. A remote that flashes is transmitting; a set that still ignores it has a receiving problem.
The receiving side is a small IR sensor board mounted behind the front of the cabinet, usually sharing its little circuit board with the power light and sometimes the physical buttons. These boards fail more often than their simplicity suggests: the sensor component degrades, ribbon connectors to the mainboard oxidise, and the board sits in the path of every knock the front of the television takes. Strong sunlight and certain LED downlights can also blind an ageing sensor that still half-works, which explains the sets that obey at night but ignore everyone at midday.
Falcon TV Repairs replaces sensor components and complete IR boards quickly and affordably, tests response from realistic angles and distances, and checks the connectors and cabling between the sensor and the mainboard while the set is open. As with all our work, the price is fixed before we start and the workmanship guaranteed in writing.
What we cover
What this service includes
The specifics, in plain language.
SENSOR
The Little Board at Fault
The IR receiver lives on a small board behind the cabinet front, often alongside the standby light. Degraded sensors, cracked boards from knocks and oxidised connectors are the usual failures, and all are quick bench repairs.
SYMPTOMS
Patterns That Point Here
Commands landing only from close range, the set obeying at night but not in daylight, buttons on the TV working while every remote is ignored, or response returning briefly after wiggling the cabinet front.
REPAIR
What We Actually Do
We replace the sensor component or the complete IR board, clean and re-seat the ribbon link to the mainboard, and verify response across the room from wide angles before the cabinet is closed up.
MAINBOARD
Ruling Out the Deeper Fault
Occasionally the sensor is healthy and the mainboard's remote-decoding side has failed. We test the signal at both ends of the chain, so the fixed quote names the board actually responsible.
REMOTES
Replacement Remotes Too
When testing shows the handset itself has died, we supply proper replacement remotes for the major brands and program them where required, which is sometimes the whole repair in one small parcel.
Why Falcon
Why book this with us
Honest diagnosis firstWe tell you when a repair is worth it — and when it isn’t
Fixed price upfrontQuoted before any work starts; nothing added later
Quality partsProper components, not pulls from scrap sets
Workmanship guaranteeEvery repair backed in writing
All major brandsSamsung, LG, Hisense, Sony, TCL, Skyworth and more
Same-day where possibleMany faults are sorted the day you call
How it works
From first call to fixed
01
Tell us the fault
Phone or WhatsApp us the symptom, the TV brand and size, and your suburb. A photo or short video helps us arrive prepared.
02
Diagnosis & fixed quote
We identify the actual fault — on site or in the workshop — and give you a fixed price and an honest repair-or-replace answer.
03
The repair
Approved? We do the work with quality parts, test it thoroughly, and set everything back up the way you had it.
04
Guaranteed hand-over
You get the TV back working, with our workmanship guarantee behind the repair.
FAQs
TV Remote Sensor and IR Receiver Repair — your questions
What people ask us before they book.
Still not sure?
Send a photo of your dish, decoder or TV on WhatsApp. We can often tell you what's wrong before we get in the van.
WhatsApp a photoNew batteries have not helped and the TV still ignores the remote. Now what?
Run the phone camera check: point the remote into your phone's camera and watch the screen for a flashing light as you press buttons. If it flashes, the remote transmits and the television's IR receiver is the likely fault, which is a small, inexpensive board we replace routinely. If nothing flashes, the remote itself has died and a replacement handset solves it.
The TV only responds when I stand right in front of it. Is that the sensor?
Classically, yes. A degrading IR sensor loses sensitivity gradually, so range shrinks and angles narrow before reception fails altogether. Bright daylight making things worse is another signature of the same decline. Replacing the sensor board restores full-room response, and it is one of the quickest and most affordable repairs on our bench.
Is a remote sensor repair expensive?
It sits among the least expensive hardware repairs we offer, involving a small board and modest labour, a tiny fraction of the television's value. The fixed quote we give before starting covers the full job including testing from realistic viewing positions. If diagnosis reveals a deeper mainboard fault instead, we quote that honestly before proceeding anywhere.
Can this be fixed in my home?
Often, yes. Accessing the sensor board on many models is straightforward enough for an on-site swap when we have the correct part aboard, making this one of our more common single-visit repairs. Models with awkward front-panel access or ribbon damage come to the workshop, and same-day collection with prompt return applies as usual across Gauteng.
My universal remote works but the original does not. What does that tell you?
That combination clears the television completely; the receiver is demonstrably hearing commands. Your original handset has failed or lost its pairing, which some smart remotes require after battery changes. We supply and program proper replacement remotes for the major brands, and re-pair smart handsets where the model supports it, usually within a single visit.
Is such a small repair still covered by your guarantee?
Every repair is, regardless of size. The written workmanship guarantee accompanies sensor board replacements just as it does major board rebuilds, and the fixed quote convention applies equally. Small jobs done properly are how we earned a large share of our 150-plus five-star Google reviews, so we treat them with full seriousness.
Related services
What else we can help with
Keep exploring
Related guides & areas
Helpful reading from our knowledge base, and some of the areas we serve.
Next step
Make Your TV Obey the Remote Again
Quick sensor board replacements, honest diagnosis and replacement remotes where needed. Book same-day help from your couch, ironically by phone.
Same-day service across Gauteng · Fixed pricing · Workmanship guarantee
Contact
Speak to a real installer, not a call centre
Tell us your suburb and what you need. We'll tell you honestly when we can be there — often the same day.
- Phone
- 065 759 9375Answered by a human. 7am–6pm weekdays, 8am–4pm Saturdays.
- Send us a messageSend a photo of your setup and we'll often diagnose it before we arrive.
- Service area & hours
- Johannesburg, Pretoria, the East Rand & the wider GautengMon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat 08:00–16:00 · Sun 08:00–13:00