Debugging a Crestar fan

I have a Crestar ValueAir 48/55WD + LED fan. It is controlled by a PP-KG-23 remote control that looks like this:

The remote control never worked all that well, but recently it finally gave up and stopped working completely. Considering that it continued to remain non-functional after I changed the batteries, my first thought was that the remote control was not working and I needed a new remote.

I contacted Crestar who informed me I could purchase a new one for SGD 45 from their Tampines outlet. Unfortunately, I have spent too much time debugging software and I overthought the matter. I mentioned a possibility that the customer support person on the line did not appear to have considered — what if it was the fan's receiver and not the remote that was defective?

After pausing for a moment to consider this, Crestar customer support informed me that it would be necessary for a technician to conduct an on-site examination to determine if this was the case. Having dug myself into this hole, I had little choice but to agree.

Naturally, after inspecting the remote, the technician informed me that the receiver was perfectly functional and my first instinct was right — it was the remote control that had given way. And so I needlessly paid an extra SGD 50 service fee on top of the SGD 45 for the actual remote control.

At least now I know how to determine if the remote or the receiver is defective and can record it here for posterity: if no sound is emitted when pressing buttons on the remote, the remote is defective. If there is sound, but no movement on the part of the fan, that's when the receiver is defective. I hope someone is able to use this knowledge to save themselves $50.