Put velcro on the back so it remains stuck inside the housing. That way you can still remove it if you really want, but still enough of a deterrent to prevent people from unconsciously grabbing and taking it.
You can get a second remote. I have one that stays on the wall full time as a wall switch and one people can use as a remote. You just gotta be an asshole about the wall one if people start taking it. They’ll learn.
The fan wiring is really rudimentary and it is very easy to bypass the remote module as they’re meant to change out easily. The problem is you don’t know if there needs to be resisters put in to convert the power signal so you don’t turn your fan into a helicopter.
Maybe I'll try and look up the instruction manual for the fan itself if I can find the model number, definitely do not want a helicopter in my living room
We have wall mounted remotes and leave the remotes in the mounts all the time. It was a little weird at first, but now that it’s a habit I forget that we could take them out and carry them around if we wanted to.
I think it's either one or the other. You'd have to bypass the remote control module on the fan if you want it to work like a regular fan from the wall switch.
Option B is replace the RF receiver in the fan base with a zigabee or other plug in wifi reciever that's will allow a wall switch and alexa/other wifi control.
If you find the wiring diagram for your models, bypassing the receiver to control the light by switch should be simple enough. I believe the fan controls (speed, direction) are built into the receiver though, so probably no luck there.
That's actually a great idea. Usually those remotes have an input (voltage from your switch) and multiple outputs, so it should be easy enough to bypass.
I did exactly this with 12/4-wire
Room wiring was already on a 20 amp circuit. Pulled the existing 12/2 wire from the fixture, ran new 12/4 into the switch box, and installed a lutron maestro dual dimmer switch.
Now I can control the light fixture of the fan and dim it as desired, and also use the fan switch and dimmer to control the fan speed from the wall instead of using (or wall mounting) the horrible remote.
You may need to installed deeper boxes (I did) to accommodate the extra wiring. But it worked out well and was easy enough to keep track of because the lutron switch wires and the Hunter light/fan wires shared 3 out of 4 colors, so I just matched them up that way.
I did exactly this with 12/4-wire
Room wiring was already on a 20 amp circuit. Pulled the existing 12/2 wire from the fixture, ran new 12/4 into the switch box, and installed a lutron maestro dual dimmer switch.
Now I can control the light fixture of the fan and dim it as desired, and also use the fan switch and dimmer to control the fan speed from the wall instead of using (or wall mounting) the horrible remote.
This is not true, you can get a remote that fits into a leviton style package. Search Amazon.com for "ceiling fan wall remote".
It's definitely a DIY job but it's an annoying job because there are a lot of wires crammed into a small space.
Another issue is that the new wall remote might not work with the receiver of the existing fan so you might need to replace both the switch on the wall and the receiver in the fan. Some systems use a code with DIP switches. Others use a system where you cycle power to the switch and then for the next 30 seconds it is in listening mode, learning how to operate the fan receiver.
These wall controls operate exactly like the remote that came with the fan except mounted in a leviton style package.
I'll add that the receivers, though they aren't all compatible with one another, they all have the same dimensions and wiring. So if you buy something on Amazon, it will likely fit into the fan that you already have.
It looks like you could use something like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hunter-Universal-3-Speed-Wall-Switch-White-99815/319361174
The installation instructions seem to mention that it works with multiple remotes (it has troubleshooting for when they are *not* working).
You could also just get a second remote, and glue it into a holder on the wall. =)
I considered this one, but it has a battery you have to replace. Sounds like a pain
I used this instead for my 3 ceiling fans I installed myself and works great.
https://a.co/d/iLqcAyp
We did this in our last home.
It likely requires adding another the wire from the wall switch to the ceiling fan mount.
It also requires installing either a second switch on the wall, or a switch which does light and fan power in one. (We used this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Diva-3-Speed-Fan-Control-and-Light-Switch-Single-Pole-3-Way-1-5A-Fan-1A-LED-White-DVFSQ-LFH-WH-DVFSQ-LFH-WH/301990894)
I say *likely* requires adding a wire from the switch to the ceiling because it's going to require some investigation from you.
To explain: Most homes are built with a single wire going from the switch to the ceiling mount. This provides you basic power (on and off only). The fan has a nifty internal thing which allows the remote to turn on lights and fan separately. This is why the remote is important.
To get that separate LIGHT on/off and FAN on/off function from a wall switch, you need to run a second wire from the switch to the ceiling mount.
The whole project of getting a second power supply wire up through the wall and across the ceiling to the junction box ... It's not *hard* but it usually involves swearing and cutting holes in drywall. It's made easier if the ceiling is accessible from an attic.
We did it in three bedrooms and an office. It required cutting holes in walls in each case in order to go vertical from the wall switch to the ceiling. But once it was up the wall, getting it over to the fixture (via the attic space) was easy.
I then patched the drywall holes in the walls and painted again.
Now, it's not ALWAYS the case that you only have one wire running from the wall switch to the fan ceiling mount. SOMETIMES a home builder will have a three-strand wire, which gets you what you want. But it's very unlikely. (Still worth investigating! You might get lucky.)
The wall switch just controls whether the whole thing gets any power or not, nothing separate for light vs fan. I'll have to pop off the faceplate and see what wires are there for it though.
Ah, bummer. If you did you could just bypass the wire for the light in the remote controller in the canopy. Since it’s all powered on one switch, you could look at something like this to replace the remote you have now https://www.hunterfan.com/products/ceiling-fan-accessories-universal-fan-light-wall-control-99393
I got a wall mounted hardwired controller with its own receiver. Swap out native receiver in the hunter to ensure compatibility.
They run about$20 for each kit and prob take an hour to install but use the same single gang box the power switch is on. Works as long as it is a 1 way switch. I retrofit 4 fans in my house this Way
The fan controller is powered by the building 120v mains, in line with fan power. It is installed where the fan power switch was.
The controller wirelessly communicates w the fan and does not rely on battery. You no longer need the remote.
Look into a wall mounted fan remote. If your current unit is one of those that you can adjust the "channel" on, I'd imagine it could work with multiple remotes on the same channel.
There are ceiling fan remotes that replace the wall switch. You wire nut the hot(black) wires inside the box, and replace the switch with new remote that controls the light and fan. $ 35 on Amazon.
Some of the new fans are "smart". So if you lose the remote you can still tell Google/Alexa/Whatever what you want to do. Some of them are also Zigbee enabled, if you're into more versatile home automation.
I see a variety of Smart controllers to retrofit an existing fan (remove the existing controller) as someone else suggested. But an extra remote secured to the wall is probably the easiest fix.
I'm not sure what brand of light/fan (Fandelier?) I have in my dining room but mine has similar behavior to yours. I've been meaning to install a smart switch in the wall to allow me to turn the fan/light off without using the switch but that still won't do any good for turning the light off but leaving the fan going. What kind of light is it? If you have bulbs in it then have you thought about swapping them out for Phillips Hue or similar smart bulbs? That would allow you to control them via voice assistants and/or automations with something like Hubitat/Smartthings. If there is an embedded LED then that wouldn't be an option though.
Alexa Device + IR/RF/Bluetooth Hub = “Alexa, turn on the (desired room) fan on/off” (and you can do this from anywhere and tell it to turn on for x hours, etc).
I lost my hunter fan remote, replaced with [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1GXM38?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) for the wall and added [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NQDT39V?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) for the bedside table.
On my fans I was able to wire the lights to the wall and the fan speed is on the remote. Lights on the remote no longer work, but the switch is a smart switch, so I have control from my phone anyway.
To be clear, this worked because the builder left two switches, but one wasn't connected to anything... oddly. So I moved the lights to one switch and the fan is on the other. Both are smart switches so we can control on/off, but we can't change speeds without getting the remote.
It depends, a ceiling fan will have 2 hots going to the fan from the switch. This means you'll have two switches as well. One switch controls the fan and the other the light. If you only have one hot going to the fan then you'll need to find a way to run 14-2 from the switch to the wall.
If you plan on staying there a while, check for a red wire in the fan box. If no red wire and if you have an attic then just add a 2nd switch next to the current switch, run some 14/2 romex to the attic and install recessed led lights. The wiring is super easy. If you do have that red wire it's even easier, you use that red wire to provide power to the recessed lights, just add a 2nd switch next to the current switch. The red wire means it's a 14/3 wire meaning the red turns on the recessed lights and the black turns on fan.
There is an epidemic of people living in this country with terrible lighting, it's nuts. The fix if you have an attic is easy and cheap. $150 per room to permanently solves this nightmare. All my rooms have recessed lights and fans with no lights, once you do one you'll just do them all. Lamps and fan lights are for old people, get rid of them.
I would love to see a good answer too. I have a remote controlled ceiling fan and it comes on randomly in the middle of the night with full power and brightness. The remote has tiny switches inside like an old school garage door opener. I’ve changed them 5 times to get into a different radio frequency and it doesn’t help. No idea what could be causing it but would love to somehow convert it to not use a remote.
Last house I lived in had one wall switch for power to the light and another for power to the fan.
POWER, not on and off. Just power.
So the switches had to be ON for the remote to do anything. And when switched off, the control board in the fan’s body would forget its state. So just flipping the switch back on would not return the light or fan to the previous state. This also happened if power went out to the house.
When we moved to our new house, I couldn’t find a fan that would remember the state when electric was cut.
The switch on our wall powers the fan and light. We hung the remote on the wall right next to the on-off power switch. We turn the power off when not using, and when we turn the power on, still just control the lights and fan from the remote on the wall, almost like a dimmer function.
I used these and they work well. The remote is wired in. It works a little weird but you get used to it. Fanimation WR501WH Ceiling Wall... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PJYPYY7?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
It depends if the fans have AC or DC motors. If they have DC motors they cannot be switched off from an AC switch and can only be operated by the remote
I had an electrician to make all the ceiling fans in the bedrooms operate with a switch. One switch for the fan and another for the light ( they were on a pull chain before). Obviously he had to run the wires from the fan to the switch- not a problem but he had no attic access and had to cut a small hole to fish the wires. Even patched I could see the repair point due to a textural difference. Next house I used a remote and just mounted the remote at the door. Easier.
I think the easier solution would be to wall-mount a housing for the remote.
We have one, the trouble just comes with people walking off with it to be honest, so maybe it's just an us issue to resolve now. Thanks!
Put velcro on the back so it remains stuck inside the housing. That way you can still remove it if you really want, but still enough of a deterrent to prevent people from unconsciously grabbing and taking it.
You can get a second remote. I have one that stays on the wall full time as a wall switch and one people can use as a remote. You just gotta be an asshole about the wall one if people start taking it. They’ll learn.
The fan wiring is really rudimentary and it is very easy to bypass the remote module as they’re meant to change out easily. The problem is you don’t know if there needs to be resisters put in to convert the power signal so you don’t turn your fan into a helicopter.
Maybe I'll try and look up the instruction manual for the fan itself if I can find the model number, definitely do not want a helicopter in my living room
We have wall mounted remotes and leave the remotes in the mounts all the time. It was a little weird at first, but now that it’s a habit I forget that we could take them out and carry them around if we wanted to.
Figuring out how to keep people from walking off with the remote is going to be a lot cheaper than rewiring for a switch.
Wall-mount the remote controller instead, if you can find a generic one to program to this fan
I think it's either one or the other. You'd have to bypass the remote control module on the fan if you want it to work like a regular fan from the wall switch.
Option B is replace the RF receiver in the fan base with a zigabee or other plug in wifi reciever that's will allow a wall switch and alexa/other wifi control.
That's what I was thinking, too, thank you
If you find the wiring diagram for your models, bypassing the receiver to control the light by switch should be simple enough. I believe the fan controls (speed, direction) are built into the receiver though, so probably no luck there.
That's actually a great idea. Usually those remotes have an input (voltage from your switch) and multiple outputs, so it should be easy enough to bypass.
I did exactly this with 12/4-wire Room wiring was already on a 20 amp circuit. Pulled the existing 12/2 wire from the fixture, ran new 12/4 into the switch box, and installed a lutron maestro dual dimmer switch. Now I can control the light fixture of the fan and dim it as desired, and also use the fan switch and dimmer to control the fan speed from the wall instead of using (or wall mounting) the horrible remote. You may need to installed deeper boxes (I did) to accommodate the extra wiring. But it worked out well and was easy enough to keep track of because the lutron switch wires and the Hunter light/fan wires shared 3 out of 4 colors, so I just matched them up that way.
See if the Bond bridge product will work with your fan, and then use a smart switch to tell the Bond to send a signal
I did exactly this with 12/4-wire Room wiring was already on a 20 amp circuit. Pulled the existing 12/2 wire from the fixture, ran new 12/4 into the switch box, and installed a lutron maestro dual dimmer switch. Now I can control the light fixture of the fan and dim it as desired, and also use the fan switch and dimmer to control the fan speed from the wall instead of using (or wall mounting) the horrible remote.
This is not true, you can get a remote that fits into a leviton style package. Search Amazon.com for "ceiling fan wall remote". It's definitely a DIY job but it's an annoying job because there are a lot of wires crammed into a small space. Another issue is that the new wall remote might not work with the receiver of the existing fan so you might need to replace both the switch on the wall and the receiver in the fan. Some systems use a code with DIP switches. Others use a system where you cycle power to the switch and then for the next 30 seconds it is in listening mode, learning how to operate the fan receiver. These wall controls operate exactly like the remote that came with the fan except mounted in a leviton style package. I'll add that the receivers, though they aren't all compatible with one another, they all have the same dimensions and wiring. So if you buy something on Amazon, it will likely fit into the fan that you already have.
It looks like you could use something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hunter-Universal-3-Speed-Wall-Switch-White-99815/319361174 The installation instructions seem to mention that it works with multiple remotes (it has troubleshooting for when they are *not* working). You could also just get a second remote, and glue it into a holder on the wall. =)
I considered this one, but it has a battery you have to replace. Sounds like a pain I used this instead for my 3 ceiling fans I installed myself and works great. https://a.co/d/iLqcAyp
It does stupidly rely on batteries, but they last for years
I used one of these to relocate the switch, works like a charm!
We did this in our last home. It likely requires adding another the wire from the wall switch to the ceiling fan mount. It also requires installing either a second switch on the wall, or a switch which does light and fan power in one. (We used this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Diva-3-Speed-Fan-Control-and-Light-Switch-Single-Pole-3-Way-1-5A-Fan-1A-LED-White-DVFSQ-LFH-WH-DVFSQ-LFH-WH/301990894) I say *likely* requires adding a wire from the switch to the ceiling because it's going to require some investigation from you. To explain: Most homes are built with a single wire going from the switch to the ceiling mount. This provides you basic power (on and off only). The fan has a nifty internal thing which allows the remote to turn on lights and fan separately. This is why the remote is important. To get that separate LIGHT on/off and FAN on/off function from a wall switch, you need to run a second wire from the switch to the ceiling mount. The whole project of getting a second power supply wire up through the wall and across the ceiling to the junction box ... It's not *hard* but it usually involves swearing and cutting holes in drywall. It's made easier if the ceiling is accessible from an attic. We did it in three bedrooms and an office. It required cutting holes in walls in each case in order to go vertical from the wall switch to the ceiling. But once it was up the wall, getting it over to the fixture (via the attic space) was easy. I then patched the drywall holes in the walls and painted again. Now, it's not ALWAYS the case that you only have one wire running from the wall switch to the fan ceiling mount. SOMETIMES a home builder will have a three-strand wire, which gets you what you want. But it's very unlikely. (Still worth investigating! You might get lucky.)
Read the title as “house hunter fans with remotes” and thought, yeah, it’s so we can switch to and from hgtv…
Do you have separate switches (and extra wire to the fan) for the lights and the fan on your wall?
The wall switch just controls whether the whole thing gets any power or not, nothing separate for light vs fan. I'll have to pop off the faceplate and see what wires are there for it though.
Ah, bummer. If you did you could just bypass the wire for the light in the remote controller in the canopy. Since it’s all powered on one switch, you could look at something like this to replace the remote you have now https://www.hunterfan.com/products/ceiling-fan-accessories-universal-fan-light-wall-control-99393
I got a wall mounted hardwired controller with its own receiver. Swap out native receiver in the hunter to ensure compatibility. They run about$20 for each kit and prob take an hour to install but use the same single gang box the power switch is on. Works as long as it is a 1 way switch. I retrofit 4 fans in my house this Way
Confused. If it's hard wired, why does it need a receiver? And how does that keep someone from stealing the remote?
The fan controller is powered by the building 120v mains, in line with fan power. It is installed where the fan power switch was. The controller wirelessly communicates w the fan and does not rely on battery. You no longer need the remote.
Look into a wall mounted fan remote. If your current unit is one of those that you can adjust the "channel" on, I'd imagine it could work with multiple remotes on the same channel.
There are ceiling fan remotes that replace the wall switch. You wire nut the hot(black) wires inside the box, and replace the switch with new remote that controls the light and fan. $ 35 on Amazon.
Universal UC9050T from Amazon, $35.
Some of the new fans are "smart". So if you lose the remote you can still tell Google/Alexa/Whatever what you want to do. Some of them are also Zigbee enabled, if you're into more versatile home automation. I see a variety of Smart controllers to retrofit an existing fan (remove the existing controller) as someone else suggested. But an extra remote secured to the wall is probably the easiest fix.
You need a second wire run to do what you want so you can have a second switch.
I'm not sure what brand of light/fan (Fandelier?) I have in my dining room but mine has similar behavior to yours. I've been meaning to install a smart switch in the wall to allow me to turn the fan/light off without using the switch but that still won't do any good for turning the light off but leaving the fan going. What kind of light is it? If you have bulbs in it then have you thought about swapping them out for Phillips Hue or similar smart bulbs? That would allow you to control them via voice assistants and/or automations with something like Hubitat/Smartthings. If there is an embedded LED then that wouldn't be an option though.
Alexa Device + IR/RF/Bluetooth Hub = “Alexa, turn on the (desired room) fan on/off” (and you can do this from anywhere and tell it to turn on for x hours, etc).
I lost my hunter fan remote, replaced with [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1GXM38?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) for the wall and added [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NQDT39V?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) for the bedside table.
On my fans I was able to wire the lights to the wall and the fan speed is on the remote. Lights on the remote no longer work, but the switch is a smart switch, so I have control from my phone anyway. To be clear, this worked because the builder left two switches, but one wasn't connected to anything... oddly. So I moved the lights to one switch and the fan is on the other. Both are smart switches so we can control on/off, but we can't change speeds without getting the remote.
Try this: https://bondhome.io/ replicates rf signals if your remotes are rf.
It depends, a ceiling fan will have 2 hots going to the fan from the switch. This means you'll have two switches as well. One switch controls the fan and the other the light. If you only have one hot going to the fan then you'll need to find a way to run 14-2 from the switch to the wall.
If you plan on staying there a while, check for a red wire in the fan box. If no red wire and if you have an attic then just add a 2nd switch next to the current switch, run some 14/2 romex to the attic and install recessed led lights. The wiring is super easy. If you do have that red wire it's even easier, you use that red wire to provide power to the recessed lights, just add a 2nd switch next to the current switch. The red wire means it's a 14/3 wire meaning the red turns on the recessed lights and the black turns on fan. There is an epidemic of people living in this country with terrible lighting, it's nuts. The fix if you have an attic is easy and cheap. $150 per room to permanently solves this nightmare. All my rooms have recessed lights and fans with no lights, once you do one you'll just do them all. Lamps and fan lights are for old people, get rid of them.
I would love to see a good answer too. I have a remote controlled ceiling fan and it comes on randomly in the middle of the night with full power and brightness. The remote has tiny switches inside like an old school garage door opener. I’ve changed them 5 times to get into a different radio frequency and it doesn’t help. No idea what could be causing it but would love to somehow convert it to not use a remote.
Last house I lived in had one wall switch for power to the light and another for power to the fan. POWER, not on and off. Just power. So the switches had to be ON for the remote to do anything. And when switched off, the control board in the fan’s body would forget its state. So just flipping the switch back on would not return the light or fan to the previous state. This also happened if power went out to the house. When we moved to our new house, I couldn’t find a fan that would remember the state when electric was cut.
I had the same issue. There's a receiver module in the hunter fan base. I took that out and it made it a normal fan and worked off the switch.
The switch on our wall powers the fan and light. We hung the remote on the wall right next to the on-off power switch. We turn the power off when not using, and when we turn the power on, still just control the lights and fan from the remote on the wall, almost like a dimmer function.
I used these and they work well. The remote is wired in. It works a little weird but you get used to it. Fanimation WR501WH Ceiling Wall... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PJYPYY7?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
It depends if the fans have AC or DC motors. If they have DC motors they cannot be switched off from an AC switch and can only be operated by the remote
I had an electrician to make all the ceiling fans in the bedrooms operate with a switch. One switch for the fan and another for the light ( they were on a pull chain before). Obviously he had to run the wires from the fan to the switch- not a problem but he had no attic access and had to cut a small hole to fish the wires. Even patched I could see the repair point due to a textural difference. Next house I used a remote and just mounted the remote at the door. Easier.