How to replace Shield Android TV remote batteries

NVIDIA redesigned its TV-style remote that comes with the new Shield Android TV so it's no longer rechargeable, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In turn, you get a remote that gets one year of battery life with average use, meaning you don't have to think "is my remote charged?" when you go to turn on your TV.

But after a year of use — or perhaps a bit less if you use it a ton — you'll want to replace the integrated batteries. Thankfully it's a job that only takes a few minutes and will cost you just a couple of dollars once you know the right batteries to buy.

The batteries you'll need

Before you can replace the batteries in your remote, you'll need to buy new ones. The new Shield Remote requires coin cell batteries that you aren't guaranteed to find in your local drug store, but you can always find them online or at a specialty electronics store (if one still exists near you). The specific version you need is a CR 2032 3V battery, and you'll need two for your remote.

You can get a two pack for less than $2 on Amazon, so this is an extremely small investment. A reminder when buying batteries online is to check the expiration date if possible — some specialty batteries can often be old and not work very well.

How to replace them

To replace the batteries in your new Shield Remote, pick it up and look at the bottom for the little circular button in the middle — you'll press that to open the battery tray. You'll need to use a pretty small implement in order to press the button — I'd recommend a ballpoint pen or perhaps the tine of a small fork — but once you do it'll pop right out.

Pull the tray out and gently remove the two batteries. Make note of the direction the batteries sit in the tray — the lettering denoting the battery type will be facing you. Once you have them settled in their slots, slide the tray back in snugly and it'll click closed.

And that's it! You now have another year of use in your Shield Remote. It's that easy.

Andrew Martonik

Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.