# A Harmony One Oddity



## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I recently purchased a Harmony One remote and after a bit of trial and error managed to get everything the way I wanted it to operate..
Then the other night after the remote had been sitting idle for awhile, I picked it up to change a channel and the back light didn't come on, and the button I pressed didn't work! It wasn't until the backlight came on that the remote was operational again! :scratch: I tried this several times carefully picking up the remote so as not to activate the backlight and each time the remote was non functional!
Is this normal for this model or do I have a faulty remote?


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

It does sound a bit odd. Are you using rechargeable batteries?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

It has a single flat battery..Lithium-Ion I believe..


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

How the harmony remotes work is you "wake it up" by moving it. Im assuming you moved it a fair bit before it started to work?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Yes Tony..If I pick it up quickly or give it a shake, the backlight comes on immediately..
So are you saying that it is non functional when the backlight isn't on?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Yes, it is basically sleeping to conserve battery power.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Aha!..That would explain it!..Bit of a pain really because it's easy to forget to wake it up and then trying to quickly activate the mute (which I do a lot on TV ads!  ) and nothing happens and then having to press the button again before it activates!
I'll just have to remember to give it shake before I press any buttons! :whistling:
Thanks Tony..


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

No problem, Even tilting it up or sideways should wake it up, its a bit of a trial but once you find a motion that wakes it its rather quick.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

My IR extender sensor and all my lighting sensors are above the screen, so I have to tilt the remote up to activate them, but it doesn't wake up the remote..I'll have to try a different motion to see if I can it to respond more quickly..


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> Yes, it is basically sleeping to conserve battery power.


That's actually a very useful feature; is the time adjustable? Thanks for the info!!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

wgmontgomery said:


> That's actually a very useful feature; is the time adjustable? Thanks for the info!!


To be honest Im not sure LOL I have a Harmony 1000 and 880 and never checked if the time that it stays awake or sensitivity can be changed.


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Thanks anyway, Tony. It's been quite awhile since I've programmed one myself, but it's not uncommon for features like that to be adjustable. I guess that I could check online.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

I find a shake of the wrist left or right wakes it out of sleep mode the best. :bigsmile:


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

Yes it's adjustable. YOu can set the time-out for the backlight to conserve battery power (or make it stay on longer!).
I've pressed buttons while it's been 'dark' and they've worked but as soon as you press one it lights up so it awakens. Obviously the 'touchpad' buttons don't work until you wake it up.
I love my two Harmony ONE's!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I did some further tests last night and discovered that if the remote doesn't wake up when you pick it up, holding down a button (instead of just briefly pressing it) wakes it up..
Now all I have to do is to remember that!..I'm used to just briefly pressing a button on my earlier non lit Harmony remote..

One other problem I'm finding annoying is the touch screen panels on the activities screen..They are too close together..My fingers aren't that fat and quite often the wrong activity gets activated..I can't imagine how someone with fat fingers could accurately control those activities!
It seems that you have to touch the activity screen in exactly the same spot each time..there is no leeway!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

WRYKER said:


> Yes it's adjustable. YOu can set the time-out for the backlight to conserve battery power (or make it stay on longer!).
> I've pressed buttons while it's been 'dark' and they've worked but as soon as you press one it lights up so it awakens. Obviously the 'touchpad' buttons don't work until you wake it up.
> I love my two Harmony ONE's!


Where in the software can you make those adjustments?


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

Prof. said:


> Where in the software can you make those adjustments?


Plug your remote into your PC via USB. I'm at work but when you fire up the software there's a tab at the top (advanced or something like that). In there you can set the 'time-out' for the backlight.
You can also change the layout of the touchscreen! You can choose an option (which I did) that puts one activity per 'line'. There is no option (unfortunately for some) to have the action buttons be tied to one per 'line' - there's always two 'actions' per activity per 'line'.

:sn:


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Prof. I think in the end you will find that you cant live without your Harmony One. Its just a getting used too period....:bigsmile: At least I know I cant live without mine. If the battery gets low and I forget to charge it....argh..the frustration digging around for all those other remotes. :hissyfit:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

WRYKER said:


> Plug your remote into your PC via USB. I'm at work but when you fire up the software there's a tab at the top (advanced or something like that). In there you can set the 'time-out' for the backlight.
> You can also change the layout of the touchscreen! You can choose an option (which I did) that puts one activity per 'line'. There is no option (unfortunately for some) to have the action buttons be tied to one per 'line' - there's always two 'actions' per activity per 'line'.


I found the back light time out setting under "Remote Settings"..but nothing about changing the layout of the screen, other than the wall paper design..
One thing I did come across on the remote was that you can change the sensitivity of the touch screen. I found that the sensitivity it was originally set to was a bit inconsistent, so I increased it..





phillihp23 said:


> Prof. I think in the end you will find that you cant live without your Harmony One. Its just a getting used too period....:bigsmile: At least I know I cant live without mine. If the battery gets low and I forget to charge it....argh..the frustration digging around for all those other remotes. :hissyfit:


I'm sure you're right..and I'm starting to feel more comfortable with it each time I use it..


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

I forget what it's called but it's something like 'button layout' and they show you graphically what the options look like: one has two activities per 'line' and another is like a large icon so it's one activity per line.
I love love love my Harmony ONEs (and my better half absolutely loves them too! one remote to unite them all! - she presses one button that does 'everything' to turn on the 'system')


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## OZZIERP (Feb 19, 2012)

I have to agree the Harmony One has spoiled my family and if it breaks then we will have to get another.
Best remote for the money I have ever spent.


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## Sevenfeet (Feb 2, 2009)

OZZIERP said:


> I have to agree the Harmony One has spoiled my family and if it breaks then we will have to get another.
> Best remote for the money I have ever spent.


The only real problem with the One right now is that it's old. The product has been out there for almost five years now which is an eternity in consumer electronics. After Logitech's disastrous adventure in GoogleTV, they have promised to get back to their core technology. It would be nice to know what the One's replacement is finally going to look like and whether or not its going to bring any new technology to the table.


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

I'd ask you what does the ONE "not" do for you that you'd like to see in a new remote?!


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## OZZIERP (Feb 19, 2012)

WRYKER said:


> I'd ask you what does the ONE "not" do for you that you'd like to see in a new remote?!


I agree can't think of anything this model lacked at its price point and still be operated with one hand.


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## Sevenfeet (Feb 2, 2009)

Good point. OK, I would imagine that we could get a better display after all these years. And many HT devices can be controlled via WiFi now (receivers, TVs. Tivo, AppleTV, PS3, etc). Has the technology with WiFi in cell phones gotten good and cheap enough that you could control your network capable gear via Wifi versus antiquated IR? You probably could replace an RF device with control like that.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I just wish they'd update their software!! After 10 years..it still has the same problems..Slow to load, and still logs you off in the middle of a making changes!! ..It did it to me twice yesterday and unless you've saved the changes, you lose everything you've just changed!!! :hissyfit: :thumbsdown:


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

That happened to me over the weekend. Very frustrating! The other thing I am having happen is that I will pick up the remote and the screen will flash and the unit will reboot which puts it back into an 'everything is off' state. :dontknow:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

That's pretty weird!! If it's just started doing that I think you might have a faulty unit!

I've been having a read of the Logitech forum and it seems that this continual "logging off" problem is a common problem with a lot of owners..and it's been going on for a long time!!
Logitech are either not interested or don't know how to fix the problem..


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## OZZIERP (Feb 19, 2012)

I wonder if its a battery issue ?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Does it not have a sensitivity adjustment for the amount of motion it takes to wake it up? My MX-880 has this, although it will work without the backlight on... sometimes I need to see the button I am looking for when in the HT room where it is so dark.


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