How to Reset Harmony Remotes

Universal TV remotes have been around for decades, and they've gotten more capable – and more complex – as living rooms filled up with ever-growing numbers of high-tech devices. Logitech's Harmony series of remotes has always been one of the market's premium options, and the current models include touch-screen and voice-activated remotes. Unfortunately, these technological wonders still need resetting from time to time to resolve glitches.

If your Logitech remote is not working, there are any number of possible reasons why this might happen. Hub-based remotes can be affected by changes to other devices on your home network, for example, or perhaps your remote is frozen and not responding.

In most cases, you can simply reboot your Harmony remote to fix the problem. If that doesn't work, you can do a full reset on most models. The reset, unfortunately, deletes all your personal settings and preferences, but it takes just a moment to restore them by syncing with the Harmony app.

Some Harmony remotes have built-in rechargeable batteries while others rely on conventional AA cells. This determines how the reboot process works for a given remote.

• If your Harmony 650's buttons are not working, for example, remove one of its batteries. Wait 10 seconds and then replace it, and the remote restarts. This process works for any Harmony remote with removable batteries.
  
• For hub-based remotes, such as the Harmony Pro, Elite or Ultimate series with their built-in batteries, the reboot process is similar to rebooting your phone or laptop. Just hold down the Off button at the top of the remote for 15 seconds and then power it back up again.
  
• For hub-based remotes or the Harmony Express with its remote blaster, you might need to reboot the hub or blaster instead. To reboot either device, unplug it for 10 seconds and then plug it back in. It may take 30 seconds or longer to be fully up and running afterward.
  

If rebooting doesn't fix your problem, you need to perform a full factory reset.

• Infrared remotes without hubs fall into two camps: those that have the option of a full reset and those that do not. For the Harmony 200, 300 or 350 series, remove a battery and then hold down the Power button while you put the battery back. The remote's buttons blink to show it has been reset. The 600, 650, 665 and 700 series remotes don't have this kind of reset option.
  
• For the Harmony Express, you need to use the Express app. Delete the current room in Room Settings and then unplug the blaster and hold down its power button for about 15 seconds as you plug it back in. You'll know the reset is happening because the light at the front of the blaster flickers white as the settings are restored.
  
• For touch-screen remotes, hold down the Menu button and the Off button for 20 seconds. The screen turns off and then turns on again, showing an icon that indicates it is resetting.
  
• You should also reset the hub before pairing with it again. Unplug it and then hold down the Pair/Reset button on the back while you plug it back in. In this case, the light on the front flickers red to show that it's resetting.
  

When the reset is complete, connect the remote to a computer using its USB cable and log in to your account using the Harmony software. After you sync the remote to your account, all your settings and preferences are restored. This step isn't necessary with the Harmony Express.