How I finally solved TV remote microphone privacy — steps that actually worked

I did somthing similar with my Sony RMF-TX500U last month. Opening that casing was the hardest part; I actually ended up using a thin guitar pick beacuse my metal shim was scratching the plastic. Instead of the A/C putty, I used a small piece of Mack’s silicone earplug material. It’s super dense and sticky, so it stays put without needing the extra tape layer. I noticed that even with the mic totally muffled, the TV still shows the 'listening' UI whenever the button gets bumped. It’s a bit annoying to see that pop up, but at least I know it's just recording muffled silence. One thing to watch for is the thickness—I initially used too much silicone and it put pressure on the circuit board, making the 'Volume Up' button feel mushy. I had to go back in and trim it down to about 2mm to get the tactile click back.

I went with a dab of hot glue instead of the putty. I was worried about the putty getting soft or oily if the remote sat in the sun on the coffee table too long. The glue creates a solid plug that completley kills the audio, and it doesn't shift around or make the buttons feel weird. Plus, if you ever change your mind, the glue usually just peels right off the board in one piece if you're careful with a plastic spudger. Total peace of mind and zero mess.

I’ve done this on every LG MR21GA in the house. Putty is okay, but if you really want to kill the signal on those Samsung BN59-01385A remotes, you gotta watch the solar panel alignment when you reassemble. I skip the putty and use a tiny square of 3M 1181 copper foil tape over the mic port on the PCB. It’s conductive, so you have to be precise with the placement to avoid shorts, but it creates a literal Faraday cage for that MEMS mic. Zero chance of any acoustic leakage getting through that. Plus, the 1181 adhesive is rated for much higher temps than hot glue, so it won't ever liquefy.

I'm with ya on the hardware fix. I've found that some remotes still drain the battery way faster when they're 'listening' for a command that'll never come thru the muffled mic. I ended up just takin' a needle and physically piercin' the mic diaphragm through the hole on the outside. It's way easier than crackin' the shell open if you don't care about it lookin' perfect. You just gotta be careful not to push too deep or you'll hit the board. Totally kills the sound without messin' with the button feel or needin' putty.

So I tried the hot glue idea instead of putty after reading about the oiliness, and it’s way cleaner. It defintely feels more permanent. But I’m still worried about the battery drain issue that was mentioned. My remote is still chewing trough AAAs every few weeks. Does anyone know if there’s a way to actualy disable the voice chip itself without killing the whole board?