USB Rechargeable Roku Remote

We've all been there: you go to turn on the TV with the remote and nothing happens. TVs at least have a manual power button and some rudimentary controls, but if your Roku remote dies, you may be out of luck until you find batteries. With this mod, however, you can charge your clicker using a Micro USB cable!

This build started when I found my rather beaten up Roku remote was no longer working. Upon inspection, the battery contacts seemed corroded, so I got to work disassembling the device. My idea was that I could fix it by soldering on a Li-ion battery and charge circuitry to replace the stock AAAs. Ultimately, I purchased a knockoff remote to modify, but the original provided good practice for disassembly and cutting up the battery compartment.

The final setup used a TP4056-based USB battery charging board with over-discharge protection, along with a small 250mAh Li-ion battery for power. A diode was added inline to provide roughly a 0.7 volt drop, theoretically lowering the 3.7V nominal battery output voltage down to around the 3.0V expected from the 2 AAAs. Interestingly, this voltage drop was lower than expected when measured in-circuit at 4:10 in the video. It would seems that this is because not enough current is flowing when it's not sending a signal.

So far I'm quite happy with how the unit works after a couple weeks of use, though I expect it won't last as long as if using disposable batteries before requiring a charge. It's a fun little hack, which would be handy for a wide range of remotes!