I found this same issue on 6 different remotes from separate stores and cities. I was wondering if they had made a bad batch after searching the internet or had bad instructions. I returned 4 remotes to Sony and worked with them on resolving the problem, their advanced solutions department. They did send me new ones but the learning problem persisted.

I began working to resolve it myself and discovered the only common characteristic shared by all the remotes and in all learning situations- was the use of rechargable batteries. I did use new bateries per the instructions and fully charged batteries, but I had seen on the internet where folks had issues with weak batteries.

I discovered that if you program the remote with the codes- it works with either type of battery. If you use it to operate anything- it works with either type of battery. However, the individual buttons can only be programed via the learning function provided by Sony- this individual learning can only be done with non rechargable batteries. I guess this is due to the different voltage between the two types of batteries.

I was able to fully program it on "regular" non rechargeable batteries- and 6 other remotes since then. But each time I tested this and tried to let the individual button learning function work on rechargeable batteries- I could always duplicate the error- or get rid of it by going back to non rechargable ones.

With the learning finished, they operate fine on rechargable batteries. They are good remotes and I would recommend them! It would be nice if Sony could fix this or get the information out... The instructions only say to use new batteries, not new non rechargable ones. I do not think they were even aware of this till I worked with them.