HowTo: Reset a DIRECTV Genie Remote

By JP Habaradas on July 20, 2015 @jaypee

If you are a DirecTV subscriber and happen to encounter some problems with a Genie Remote, you can go online and access the DirecTV Help Center for instructions on how to fix common issues. However, if you’ve tried all those steps and the remote control is still not working, the only thing left to do is to reset the remote.

Unfortunately, the instructions on how to reset a remote control is not listed in the Help Center. But don’t worry because we got you covered. Today we’re gonna show you how to reset a DirecTV Genie Remote in just a few steps.

STEP 1
Get the DirecTV Genie Remote and point it away from the main receiver or any of its components.

STEP 2
Press the “Select” and the “Mute” buttons at the same time, holding them until the light on the remote flashes twice.

STEP 3
On the remote control keypad, press the numbers “9“, “8” and “1” all at the same time.

As pointed out by one of our visitors, another working option is to press the numbers “9“, “8” and “1” one after the other.

STEP 4
If the procedure was done properly, the light on the remote should flash four times and the remote control has been successfully reset.

If the light doesn’t flash four times, try to do it again and repeat the steps. Make sure that you accurately follow the steps provided above.

Most of the time, this will work and reset the remote control to its default factory settings enabling it to function properly. If it doesn’t, then the remote might probably be broken and needs to be fixed or replaced. If that is the case, then you’ll have to either contact DirecTV or go online and submit a request for a new/replacement unit.

Please take note that this tutorial was only tested to work on the Genie Remote (see above picture), not the DIRECTV Universal Remote Control. If you happen to have the Universal Remote model, you can still try and follow the steps listed above. If it doesn’t work, it means that it requires a different reset method.

Hope this quick tutorial was able to help you fix any issues you’re experiencing with the DirecTV Genie Remote. If you find this tutorial useful and helpful, please don’t forget to bookmark it or share to family & friends or on your social media accounts.

Owner and editor of JaypeeOnline. Self-proclaimed geek. New media writer and consultant. WordPress advocate. Loves blogging, gadgets, video games and sports. You can follow him on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

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19 Comments

Eduardo

July 17, 2019 at 11:48 AM

Hi my remote stopped working I replaced the battery all it does, it flashes as soon as you replace the battery then nothing works or flash anybody had this issue??

Reply
- JP Habaradas
  
  July 17, 2019 at 12:22 PM
  
  Hi Eduardo, does the remote control work after you replace the battery even for a few seconds before it stops working? Or do you mean that it works after you reset it but as soon as you replace the battery then it stops working?
  
  Reply
Tony

June 16, 2019 at 7:15 PM

After I type 9-8-1 (either way…all together or one at a time) the light blinks Red once.

Reply
- JP Habaradas
  
  July 17, 2019 at 12:20 PM
  
  Hi Tony, please make sure you follow the steps correctly. If you did and the Red light still doesn’t flash 4 times then your remote is probably broken.
  
  Reply
Pat

March 29, 2019 at 1:03 AM

Did not work either way ??

Reply
- JP Habaradas
  
  July 17, 2019 at 12:19 PM
  
  Hi Pat, I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work for you. If you have more than 1 DirecTV remote in your place, try a different one and see if it works.
  
  I think you can also give DirecTV a call and ask for assistance.
  
  Reply
C

January 27, 2019 at 8:41 PM

THANK YOU. Lost my remote and had to take my grandfather’s…he offered it, actually, he’s barely watching DirecTV anymore…and this is the only thing that’s worked in the past hour.

Reply
- JP Habaradas
  
  April 1, 2019 at 8:27 AM
  
  You’re most welcome! Glad that this blog post was able to help you.
  
  Reply
Mike Wilson

October 25, 2018 at 12:18 PM

I have tried both and still having issues with not being able to change channels

Reply
- JP Habaradas
  
  October 26, 2018 at 9:14 AM
  
  Hi Mike, sorry to hear that it didn’t work for you. Did you try what one of the commenters shared earlier? Instead of pressing the numbers 9, 8 and 1 all at the same time, try pressing it one at a time. They said it worked for them that way. Hope that helps!
  
  Reply
Mike Dunning

October 2, 2017 at 10:07 PM

You rock!!!!!!!

Reply
Jesus

May 27, 2017 at 11:19 PM

I did it the same way Belinda did it and it works for me

Reply
Belinda

February 2, 2016 at 1:16 AM

After step 2,I actually pressed 981 one at a time pressed the channel key up I believe it was up then pressed enter and got mine reset.

Reply
- JP Habaradas
  
  February 25, 2016 at 1:42 PM
  
  Belinda – Thanks for sharing about your experience. I didn’t try doing it by pressing the numbers one at a time but if it worked for you I guess that it could be done that way too. :)
  
  Reply
- Mike
  
  June 8, 2017 at 4:39 PM
  
  Thanks, your way worked for me also.
  
  Reply
- Meri
  
  July 9, 2017 at 10:18 PM
  
  Hey, it worked your way Ms. But. Thanx!
  
  Reply
- Toni Heidepriem
  
  August 14, 2017 at 10:26 PM
  
  this worked for me too. Thanks Belinda
  
  Reply
  - Cherie Butler
    
    October 29, 2017 at 11:38 AM
    
    This worked for me as well
    
    Reply
- Jackie
  
  November 7, 2017 at 12:44 PM
  
  Belinda your way worked for me! Thank you!
  
  Reply