Can a remote control in another house operate your television?

A friend of mine says her television has recently been turning itself on (from standby) and changing channels without her touching anything. She lives in a detached house. Could a remote control or other device in someone else's house affect her television?

It's possible, but not likely. If someone else's remote was changing channels on her television, they would have to be very close to do so. Like peeping through the window or something.

i have known this to happen.

Yes, there could be any number of devices causing that - other TV remotes, garage door openers, and other remote devices. It might be hard to figure out what it is in a crowded neighborhood.

When I was a technical trainer for a cable TV company, I was out on an on-the-job training day with one of my students when we got a trouble ticket for exactly this problem. Of course, the problem did not occur while we were there. The customer said that she noticed it mostly happened at night when she was sitting on the couch watching TV. Turns out the remote had slipped in between the sofa cushions and, when she sat down on the sofa, the channel change buttons were being pushed.

One thing we used to do for fun at the cable company was to walk through the customer service area with a cable box remote and change the channels on the service reps' TVs. Some of them got smart and taped a piece of paper across the remote sensor eye. But, my point is that your friend might have some mischievous neighbor who is messing with her by changing her TV channels (some people are easily amused).

If her tv is capable of an RF signal...possibly...but unlikely. The neighbor would have to have the exact same tv in that case. Sounds like she's just got a problematic tv.

Yes its possible. But unlikely.

Most remotes work by infra red - line of sight communication.

If her tv had a radio based remote it could work from much further away.

If she has a radio - extender gadget fitted, it migh be picking up a neighbour's signals. These devices are used to control a receiver (not necessarily a tv - possibly a satellite receiver) in one room (eg lounge) from another (eg bedroom).

I've experienced some weird problems like this that were actual TV repair headaches. One set, an RCA projection TV, had a bad guide module. The set asks questions, including your zip code, and the searches for a PBS channel for a time reference. Many times, when there wasn't a part failure, we had to instruct customers to lie to the set; NO CABLE BOX, NO SATELLITE BOX, NO DVD, NO VCR. Also double check menu for ON timer. She could try unplugging the TV for a minute to reset it. The previous posts were correct about line of sight with infrared remotes. Close curtains. Does she have compact florescent lamps? She could put the remote in a drawer or another room to confirm it's not malfunctioning.