Oh no! Need tv remote!

[Night Elf]

DH decided to turn in two of our cable receivers because the kids don't use them and that saves us $20 a month. We had to turn in the cables and remotes with the receivers as well. DD just came to me and said without the remote, she can't use her tv. There's no power button on the tv. Oldest dd bought the tv from a friend and is positive she had a remote with it but youngest dd has no idea where it might be and to tell the truth, one can find NOTHING in that room it's so full of stuff. So what do we do? I think they make universal remotes that I can buy but how do I turn the tv on if there isn't a power button?

[Lanny]

Yes, You can buy a Universal Remote Control.  Be sure it includes the Make of the TV you need it for.  Hopefully, it will include the Model you have. It will "Search" until it finds the TV set, but hopefully you can find the Model Number on the TV set and help the Remote Control in the Search process to speed it up.  I think it should be very inexpensive. Possibly as low as 5 or 10 dollars.  I remember buying one of those, years ago...

 

Also, I am not sure how this works, but you may be able to use your cell phone as a remote control for a TV st.  I think I read about Apps that can do that, a few years ago. Check that out...

 

ETA: About no Power Button on the TV set. There might possibly be one somewhere, if you search.  There may be extremely limited control possibly, without having a Remote Control, but a good Remote Control will give you full functionality.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Lanny

[gardenmom5]

universal remotes should do it - but they won't cover all features of any brand-specific tv. (or anything else.) there should be a power button.  could be on the side, or underneath.  they're getting very small.  I have to run my finger along one set just to find it - as i can't "see" it. (and yeah - that one is much easier with a remote.)

 

i would also do a search for the model of your set and remote to find one.  or make her clean her room and if it's clean! and she still hasnt' found it, you can look into finding another remote.

[Rachel]

There may be a hidden power button somewhere. I was convinced our old tv didn’t have one, but my kids knew where it was. They found it in a strange place on the back.

[happi duck]

The model number should be somewhere on the tv. Google might help.

[Night Elf]

This tv is old! I can't even find it by serial number online. I'm finding universal remotes but they usually say they are for Samsung, Roku, Direct TV and stuff like that. I can't find one for Toshiba. There is a control panel on the front of the set that says 'menu' and other stuff but none say 'power' and pushing them does nothing. I looked behind the tv and don't see anything like a button. It's a projection tv so it's really big. We've got it sitting on an entertainment table so the top is tall. I can't even see over the top of it. I checked the sides and top by feel and only find holes where screws are.

 

I have a feeling we now have a piece of junk and the only way I know to deal with it is to call a junk company to come take it away and they'll charge a lot of money to do so. :(

[Lanny]

This tv is old! I can't even find it by serial number online. I'm finding universal remotes but they usually say they are for Samsung, Roku, Direct TV and stuff like that. I can't find one for Toshiba. There is a control panel on the front of the set that says 'menu' and other stuff but none say 'power' and pushing them does nothing. I looked behind the tv and don't see anything like a button. It's a projection tv so it's really big. We've got it sitting on an entertainment table so the top is tall. I can't even see over the top of it. I checked the sides and top by feel and only find holes where screws are.

 

I have a feeling we now have a piece of junk and the only way I know to deal with it is to call a junk company to come take it away and they'll charge a lot of money to do so. :(

 

If it is old, there is a much better chance that an inexpensive Universal Remote Control will be able to work with it.  A very recent TV and you would probably be out of luck, or, out of a lot of money.   Make sure on the package for the Universal Remote Control that it shows Toshiba, among all of the different brands.

 

I bought at least one of those, years ago. I think it was an RCA brand Universal Remote Control.  I think they can also control DVDs, etc.

 

OH...   If you have a Remote Control for something else, especially if it is Toshiba brand, it might work with that TV.

 

I would not spend much on a Universal Remote Control. We live in South America and they are inexpensive here.

 

If your DD does locate the missing Toshiba Remote Control, buy new batteries for it and hopefully it will work OK.

 

Again, check for an App for her cell phone.

[Night Elf]

Ok, I found a manual online for this model number and learned where the power button is. It's just a large square with the word 'power' faded to almost nothing. However, it doesn't work. I unplugged everything trying to reset it but the tv is still not turning on.

[Night Elf]

I did look for apps but most of them have low reviews and I can't get a description of what it does. There's no information about the app. You just click on 'get' and then let it install. I'm afraid I won't know how to work it and then I'll be back at square one.

[Night Elf]

I guess my question should be, can I point a universal remote at the tv and have it turn on the tv without me doing anything to set it up yet. Some website post said something about codes but I don't know anything about that. 

[Lanny]

I googled for:   google play store+app to control Toshiba TV

 

This is the URL for the SERPs:

 

https://www.google.com.co/search?q=google+play+store%2Bapp+to+control+Toshiba+TV&oq=google+play+store%2Bapp+to+control+Toshiba+TV&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.10616j0j7&client=ubuntu&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

This is the first one in the SERPs:

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.toshremote.view&hl=en

 

If your DD has an iPhone, probably they have Apps like that too.

[Night Elf]

Thanks Lanny. I'll have DH take a look. I'm just getting more and more confused looking at all this stuff. DH insists that tv's remote is in dd's room because he had to use it when he set the tv up. There is also a dvd remote. She doesn't know where either of those remotes are because she doesn't use them. They're likely shoved underneath or behind something. When I say her room is a wreck, I'm not exaggerating. It's impossible because she doesn't like to clean. AT. ALL. NEVER. 

 

She has a guest over tonight who normally plays video games on dd's tv but they'll have to find some other way to entertain themselves because the tv can't be fixed tonight.

[cjzimmer1]

I guess if I was in your shoes,  I'd be telling DD that since both older DD and DH believe that a remote came with said TV that if she wants to use said TV than it's her responsibility to find the remote in the jungle of her room.  To me this is something that should squarely sit on the shoulder of DD to resolve (this is the 19 year old right), surely she should have enough ability to figure out whatever workaround is necessary.  I know my children are far more tech savvy than me so I wouldn't even spend my time looking for manuals.  Let her do that.  My point is simply you don't need to stress over this.

[Lanny]

Ok, I found a manual online for this model number and learned where the power button is. It's just a large square with the word 'power' faded to almost nothing. However, it doesn't work. I unplugged everything trying to reset it but the tv is still not turning on.

 

I would work on that problem first.  If you cannot turn the TV set on, you are dead-in-the water. 

 

Is there a Fuse or some kind of Circuit Breaker that has triggered that is preventing it from powering on? Is the AC cable firmly attached to the TV set and plugged into an AC outlet that is working properly?

 

However, it could be that IF you could turn it on, manually, and IF you had a Universal Remote Control that would work correctly with your Toshiba TV, that from then on, your DD could turn the TV on and off with the Universal Remote Control.  

 

As you indicated, it is very old and probably not worth fixing.  We had a very high end LG TV set with the old CRT picture tube.  It weighed, without exaggeration, approximately 100 Kilos (220 pounds). 

 

The TV repair place that we have had good luck with does not make house calls.  I would have paid them if they did.  If we could have taken it there, they would have checked it out and given us an estimate, free.

 

We ended up giving it to someone in my wife's family.

 

Prior to that, we had our  original Samsung TV set, which we'd bought in Miami on a trip there, before we had the superstores we have now, selling Consumer Electronics with manufacturers warranties.  That set, we also gave to someone in my wife's family.  She then reported to my wife that she had it fixed for the equivalent of 10 or 20 dollars...  It's probably still going.  I think Iwe bought it in BrandsMartUSA in Miami.  

 

So. sometimes you can fix them for a little, but my theory is that if it costs more than about 25% of what a new TV set (with much less power consumption and much better technical specifications and a manufacturers warranty would cost) that it is probably not a good idea to repair something. Especially something very old.

[Night Elf]

I guess if I was in your shoes,  I'd be telling DD that since both older DD and DH believe that a remote came with said TV that if she wants to use said TV than it's her responsibility to find the remote in the jungle of her room.  To me this is something that should squarely sit on the shoulder of DD to resolve (this is the 19 year old right), surely she should have enough ability to figure out whatever workaround is necessary.  I know my children are far more tech savvy than me so I wouldn't even spend my time looking for manuals.  Let her do that.  My point is simply you don't need to stress over this.

 

Oh I already had that conversation with her. She has a guest over and doesn't want to deal with it tonight but I told her she had to start looking tomorrow when her friend went home. I hate her room. And she's talking about staying at school over the summer because she doesn't consider this to be home anymore. If she does that, I'll give her an ultimatum. She can clean and organize that room into boxes so ds can move into the room when it's empty, or I can just start throwing stuff into random boxes and putting them in the storage room to hold onto until she gets her own apartment. I let her room be because I don't need to get in there for anything but if she's moving out, that room needs to be emptied! Period! And ds wants that tv so this situation has to be resolved.

[Sandwalker]

This universal remote should work; it says all older model Toshiba's. I think the TV has to be turned on first though so it can search for the specific remote code for your TV model.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1MPP6F/ref=asc_df_B01N1MPP6F5315354/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01N1MPP6F&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198066815951&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9078223663456863770&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012113&hvtargid=pla-343329507118

[Lanny]

This universal remote should work; it says all older model Toshiba's. I think the TV has to be turned on first though so it can search for the specific remote code for your TV model.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1MPP6F/ref=asc_df_B01N1MPP6F5315354/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01N1MPP6F&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198066815951&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9078223663456863770&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012113&hvtargid=pla-343329507118

 

I agree with that. Somehow, the TV must be powered on or there is no way the Universal Remote Control can try to configure itself to work with the TV.   If the DD of the OP can find the Remote Control for the TV, among the debris the OP has described, there is a possibility it will be able to turn the TV on and if so, the OP will not need to buy another Remote Control.  Since the DS wants that TV, there is an incentive for them to get the TV working for him.  The Remote Control will need batteries that are new or like new.