I haven't heard about this, but it's certainly possible. It won't be a problem for Outlaw to ship you a new remote. Outlaw will ask you a few questions to verify that the remote is really and truly dead, though, and here are the ones I'd expect. First, did you press the TNR button to operate the 990? Second, did you use one of the source buttons (or the front panel power button) to turn the 990 on and try the remote then? (The power button is a discrete "off" command, and doesn't turn the unit off.)