What you'll notice
An Explora remote that worked yesterday now does nothing, typically right after a battery change, a power outage or a decoder reset.
Why it happens
The RF pairing between remote and decoder has been lost. Explora remotes communicate over RF as well as infrared, and that link has to be re-established after certain events.
Losing pairing is common, harmless, and fixed in under a minute once you know the sequence.
Why Explora remotes pair at all
Infrared needs line of sight; RF does not. That is why an Explora remote works with the decoder tucked inside a closed cabinet — a genuine convenience, and the reason there is a pairing relationship to lose in the first place.
What breaks the pairing
- Battery changes, if the remote is left without power long enough.
- A factory reset or software update on the decoder.
- Extended power outages — a load-shedding side effect people rarely connect to the remote.
- A replacement remote, which has never been paired to this box.
Re-pairing
Broadly: hold a specific button combination on the remote while the decoder is in a particular state, and wait for on-screen confirmation. The exact sequence varies by remote model (A7 and B5 differ), which is why we would rather walk you through it live than publish one sequence that might be the wrong one for your remote.
Call us
Genuinely — no charge. Talking a customer through a two-minute fix costs us nothing and is the reason people call us back for the jobs that are paid work.
How we fix it
Re-pairing is a documented button sequence that takes under a minute. We talk customers through it free over the phone — it is not a callout and nobody should be charged for one.
Still not working?
If the checks above haven't restored your remote control, this usually needs a technician. Our Decoder Installation & Setup service covers exactly this fault — from R350, quoted upfront.