Cheap checks first, in a fixed order, and most remotes never get past the second one.
Batteries. Erratic beats dead as the symptom of weak cells: the remote works from close range, then not, then again after a pause. Replace them even if "they still work"; they are working at the edge of what the IR emitter needs.
Line of sight. The IR window on the AVR's front panel must actually see the remote. Tinted glass cabinet doors block infrared surprisingly well, and so do soundbars parked in front of the receiver, decorative objects, or a shelf so deep the receiver sits in shadow. If you have learnt to point the remote at a strange angle to make it work, this is why. Your ceiling is currently doing the job of a mirror.
Interference. Some LED bulbs and direct sunlight on the sensor swamp IR with their own emissions. Test at night with nearby lamps off; if the remote suddenly behaves, you have found it, and moving the offending lamp or the receiver is the fix.
Mode. Check the remote has not been switched to a different zone or a different device. The zone button is the classic silent misdirection: the remote works perfectly, just at Zone 2, and the main room ignores you. Same with a "TV" or "BD" device mode on universal remotes.
Modern fallback: the brand's phone app duplicates most functions and doubles as the diagnostic. If the app controls the AVR fine, the receiver is healthy and the fault is somewhere in the remote or the IR path. If the app also fails, you are back to network troubleshooting rather than remote troubleshooting.
A fully dead remote after all that is replaceable through authorised channels; send us the AVR model number and we will tell you the part and lead time. But I would put in fresh batteries first, and I say that having watched several people not do it.
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