RF (radio frequency) Universal TV Remote

Tina M

Hi,  my mother has become unable to handle the TV remote that she has been using for many years.  Half the time she is using the phone as a remote and vice versa.  I see a lot of threads regarding that and all I can say is that it does help to know that others are experiencing the same thing with their loved ones.  

I want to specifically ask if anyone has found a universal simple remote that is compatible with RF (radio frequency).  Her cable box is RF and both the Flipper remote and the Simple remote work with IR only. This is so frustrating because I am sure that those remotes would make her life so much better.  

Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you and God bless you all.

Jo C.

Hello and a very warm welcome to you.  I am sorry that I am tech deficient.  However; when I looked up a universal RF remote control for Alzheimer's persons, I got the Amazon ad for the Flipper . . . . I specifically put in RF and it came up IR and RF, but do not know if that is an accurate ad, but thought I would send it on just in case:

https://www.amazon.com/Flipper-Big-Button-Remote-Seniors/dp/B002GR1YZ0/ref=asc_df_B002GR1YZ0/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198066815951&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1206034206890939870&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031056&hvtargid=pla-320338877473&psc=1  

If this is not what the ad said it was, I apologize. So hope someone with more tech aptitude will be able to give more information.

You are a very dear daughter to try and get this fixed for you dear mother.  Sometimes the most simple needs are the most difficult to get addressed. Let us know if you find something workable and easy to manage.

J.

harshedbuzz

Ah, The Flipper. 

We had a Flipper-- aka the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Remote".

IME, by the time a PWD is struggling to operate the remote with which they are already familiar or failing to differentiate between it and the remote for the ceiling fan or telephone, teaching them new technology-- however simple-- will be a big fat fail. 

My mom was discussing dad's issues with the Xfinity remote at her IRL support group meeting. Every single caregiver there nodded in solidarity. They'd been there, done that. And they had the remote. The next meeting Matt brought it for her to try. His wife could never get the hang of the thing; he'd gotten it from Gerry whose wife couldn't figure it out either. We took it home. Initially dad resisted it as being child-like in design, but he was still aiming random objects at the TV. Matt didn't want it back, so I gave it to a friend whose mom wasn't quite as impaired as dad. She didn't succeed with it either. 

My friend took an extra remote she had on hand and covered most of the buttons with black electrical tape leaving mom only the buttons for power, mute and channel up/down. This wasn't perfect, but it was better than a new piece of technology. She preset volume because her mom cranked it way up rather than wear/adjust her hearing aids. 

HB

Tina M

Thank you for sharing with me.  Everything I have tried in order to fix any problem has been a big fat fail!  I just can't seem to get that through my head.  Thankfully the staff at her MC facility is finally checking in on her more often in order to change her channels.  This was a change and I guess there was a lag in them realizing she has become a little less independent again. As I know will continue to happen. I did create a poster listing her favorite TV shows, days and times they are on as well as channels.  This seems to help the care givers to just quickly pop in and change to a channel she actually wants. She is just so much better cognitively when she has something on the TV that she likes.  It seems to calm her. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

May flowers

It sounds like you have a good workaround with the MC caregivers. They didn’t do this in my FIL’s MC, so the TV and his music box eventually became useless.

I don’t know if this is a possibility, but for a short while we had a smart device (I think it was Google Home) which allowed my LO to speak to turn on the TV or change channels. So, he would say something like “Hey Google, go to history channel” and it would go there.

Of course he eventually forgot the “Hey, Google” part so it stopped working, but it did allow him to work the TV for a while when he couldn’t navigate a traditional remote.