How to program a universal remote without codes

Auto-search sweeps the remote's entire table for the selected device category. Set aside three uninterrupted minutes: releasing the button early is what makes this method fail for most people.

1. 1

   Switch the device on manually, using its own buttons or its original remote, and sit within clear line of sight.

2. 2

   Hold SET or SETUP until the indicator light stays on rather than blinking once.

3. 3

   Press and release the device key that matches the equipment — TV, DVD, AUD or SAT.

4. 4

   Press and hold POWER, and keep holding it. The remote now transmits one code per second.

5. 5

   Watch the device, not the remote. The moment the screen goes dark, release POWER immediately.

6. 6

   Press SET once to store the code the remote stopped on. The indicator blinks twice to confirm.

7. 7

   Test volume, channel and input. If those keys do nothing, resume the sweep from this point — the remote continues from where it stopped rather than starting over.

Brand scan narrows the sweep to the codes belonging to one manufacturer, which turns a three-minute search into about twenty seconds. It requires a remote that supports a brand-scan entry code — 991 on most One For All and generic remotes.

1. 1

   Switch the device on and hold SET until the indicator stays lit.

2. 2

   Press the device key once.

3. 3

   Enter 991. The indicator blinks twice.

4. 4

   Press POWER once — this arms the scan.

5. 5

   Press the channel-up key repeatedly. Each press sends the next code for that brand only.

6. 6

   When the device switches off, press SET immediately to store that code.

Brand scan is the better method whenever you know the manufacturer, which is nearly always. Use full auto-search only when the brand is unlisted, or when the device is a rebadged model whose real manufacturer you cannot identify.

All three store the same result. A code found by auto-search is not inferior to one typed from a list — it is the same entry in the same table, reached by a different route.

The device key you press before searching decides which part of the table the remote sweeps. Press TV and the remote will never send a soundbar code, however long you hold POWER. Choosing wrongly is the second most common reason a search fails to find anything.

• TV — televisions, including smart TVs and monitors with a tuner.

• AUD, AUX or AMP — soundbars, AV receivers and amplifiers.

• DVD or BD — disc players and recorders.

• SAT, CBL or STB — satellite receivers, cable boxes and set-top boxes.

Streaming sticks are the awkward case. Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV devices are not in the categories above; most respond on the DVD or AUX key if they respond to infrared at all, and the newer Bluetooth-only models will not respond to any universal remote.

If the remote completes a full sweep — the indicator goes out on its own — without the device reacting, one of four things is true.

• The device does not use infrared. Bluetooth-only streaming devices and some 2021-onwards TV remotes fall into this category, and no universal remote will control them.

• The device key was wrong, so the remote swept a category the device is not in. Try the search again on a different device key.

• The infrared path is blocked. A soundbar in front of the receiver will absorb every one of the codes the remote sent.

• The batteries dropped below the threshold during the sweep. Auto-search is the most power-hungry thing a remote does; a marginal pair will hold for the first thirty seconds and then quietly stop transmitting.

Test more than power. Power is carried by nearly every code in a family, so a device that switches off proves very little on its own. Check volume, channel and input before you consider the job done.

Write the code down. Most remotes can read back a stored code — hold SET, press the device key, then press 9-9-0 on many models, and the indicator blinks out each digit in turn. Recording it now saves repeating the whole sweep after a reset.