Harmony Remotes

[FrustratedUser2]

Purchased the Harmony 880 remote in July 2007 and for approximately 18 months the device worked very well. Now, unfortunately, the most used buttons, such as volume controls, are more and more difficult to push. It appears to be a mechanical problem. I have had similar difficulty with previous products such as the previous SST-659 which was replaced under warranty as 11 months and the replacement failed after another year.

On the plus side the 880 lasted almost 2 years; however, the remote packaged with my 10 year old television still works fine. Am I the only one having difficulty with mechanical durability of the Harmony Universal devices?

I have alwasy kept it in a climate controlled low dust environment. It has never been abused or wet but does get used dialy. Is there a way to clean the device contacts?

[edbro]

I have the same problem with my 890. The volume up/down keys are becoming unreliable. I have to press them very hard to actuate them. I'd hate to take it apart unless I knew what I was doing.

[bergy67]

I am also having the same problems with my volume up button. I have to push super hard to get it to work, very frustrating.

[paradigm26]

This is actually happening to only one of my 880's buttons, but it's an important one.  The volume up button is getting more difficult to press and requires both increasing pressure and more precise pressing.

[FrustratedUser2]

I have been checking some of the non Logitech forums regarding this issue. Apparently our problem is neither new nor unknown to Logitech. There is much discussion regarding design flaw issues regarding durability and one rather scary description of prying the bubble film adhesive off the circuit board with a micro screwdriver. If the universal remote concept implementation wasn't so darn good, I would have abandon ship long ago.

My new, out of the box yesterday 890 has an activity button that will only work a short while. Requires firm press today, I predict failure within a few months.

[LuvDaRemoteBut]

Same issue here, the "right" side of the main up-down-left-right circle fails. Makes it impossible to navigate the PVR's menu for shows later in the day.

Is Logitech doing any form of recall / free service / warranty fix, or are we SOL and forking over another $200 for a new one? It is a lot of $$ for a remote, even though I have loved it since I bought it. $200 every 2 years is a lot to spend for a remote....

Separately, has anyone heard if this issue is the same on their other remotes?  

[LuvDaRemoteBut]

Following up my above post, this is a logitech article on how to "prove" that the button is definitely the issue, and not the device mapping etc.

It gets you to program the badd function, say volume up, to another button, and test if volume up works when assigned to a new button.

http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/logitech_en_amr.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=9796...

A simpler test is to look at the LCD screen when you press the button, and see if the "3 waves" transmit logo shows at the top beside the battery when the button is pressed. 

[listener]

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LuvDaRemoteBut wrote:

Same issue here, the "right" side of the main up-down-left-right circle fails. Makes it impossible to navigate the PVR's menu for shows later in the day.

Is Logitech doing any form of recall / free service / warranty fix, or are we SOL and forking over another $200 for a new one? It is a lot of $$ for a remote, even though I have loved it since I bought it. $200 every 2 years is a lot to spend for a remote....

Separately, has anyone heard if this issue is the same on their other remotes?  

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Hi,

unfortunately the only thing Logitech offers you, if your remote is out of warranty, is a 50% discount on the purchase of another remote from their online shop. The better news is amazon.com has it right now for around $125 with free shipping.

Greetings

listener

[ColonelDijon]

Yep. Add me to the pile of 880 users who have a bum volume + button after about a year and a half. Logi offered me the 50% discount on a new piece of hardware too, but I think I'm just gonna deal with programming volume up and down on the customized buttons. What a bummer. Shocking that they have so many users complaining about the same problem and offer no real solutions.

[ericsoup]

I am also experiencing a failing volume up button.  This is a drag.  I've purchased this remote for three other members of my family, as I thought it was such an excellent product.  I guess it's just excellent in concept and not in execution.