Cooker hood remote control or touch panel not responding (all brands)

A cooker hood with an unresponsive remote or touch-sensitive control panel is usually down to something simple and cheap to check before assuming the hood’s electronics have failed.

What to check first — remote control models

• Replace the remote’s battery — a weak battery is by far the most common cause and easy to rule out first.
• Check for grease film on the remote’s infrared sensor window, both on the remote itself and on the hood’s receiver, which can block the signal.
• Check you’re within a reasonable line-of-sight range, not blocked by cabinets or standing at an extreme angle.

What to check first — touch panel models

• Clean the panel thoroughly with a barely damp cloth while switched off — grease and moisture film are very common causes of unresponsive capacitive touch buttons on any kitchen appliance.
• Check for a child lock or cleaning-lock mode (common on hobs and hoods alike) that may have been accidentally activated, which deliberately disables the panel.
• Try isolating power to the hood for a minute to let the control board fully reset.

When to call an engineer

If a fresh battery, a clean panel, and a power reset don’t help, the receiver module or the panel’s control board has likely failed — worth a professional check, particularly if the hood’s fan and light also don’t respond to any manual buttons on the unit itself.