A couple weeks ago, I dropped my AppleTV remote onto the (apparently) very hard hardwood floor. The remote went thud and the power button, newly liberated from the rest of the remote, skittered away to embrace its newfound freedom. Hmmm…

After retrieving the power nubbin from behind some furniture and armed with unbridled optimism, I tried to pop it back into place. It sort of worked, but clearly had that loosey-goosey quality that you know deep down inside that it won’t last. Sure enough, the button would eagerly attempt escape given the slightest opportunity. It was clear that some essential plastic bit had snapped and fixing this button was hopeless. Eventually, the button made good on its escape and has disappeared into the night. (I think it’s living in the depths of the sock drawer, but who knows?)

After already replacing a previous AppleTV remote, I was hesitant to just drop $60 on another new one just because the button had gone AWOL. (Note, submerging an AppleTV remote in Cheerwine is good for neither the remote or your sparkling cheery beverage.)

After some Googling, some Redditing, and many similar stories of woe, I found that someone had posted an STL of a replacement button. It looked like just the thing to pop into the gaping void in my remote, so I was keen to give it a try. But I haven’t yet made the jump to the “Let me tell you about my 3D printer” lifestyle. Time to learn about on-demand 3D printing.

After a couple of misfires, I found RexRoi. I uploaded the STL file of the new power button and for about $1 a piece, they’d print replacements. I ordered three buttons and after a couple bucks for shipping, the grand total was ~$7. About a week later, a slim mailer arrived with the replacement buttons. I popped one into the empty void in my remote and voila! It was good as new! The new button has a bit of texture and is kind of better than the original.