We have a new house that has a remote on the wall that turns on the ceiling light and fan. Next to the cradle the remote sits in are two wall switches that don't do anything. The operation is a big problem, first getting it out of the cradle, then putting it back in, all in the dark. We would love to just pass on the remote all together and use the switch on the wall. Can anyone tell us how to get the wall switches to work? Thanks for any suggestions.

I had a similar situation a few years ago, except that I was replacing a fan that was already wired to the switches. We debated on getting a remote, but (like you) decided it was more trouble than it was worth. They make fan switches that look like a conventional toggle switch, but still allow for a high-medium-low adjustment at the wall. This isn't exactly it, as mine did not control the light--I used a second switch for that. I'm sure I got it at Lowe's or Home Depot.

With all that background, you need to know what you've got. What we're hoping for is that the two switches that appear to do nothing were actually intended to operate the fan/light and that the builder used the remote control instead. You'll need to ascertain whether the wires from the switches run up to the fan, and if they are connected to power. This takes someone with a meter and a little switch-flipping.

Assuming the best-case scenario, the switches do go to the fan, and what you'll need to do is to disconnect the receiver unit that is inside the fan and hook the fan up directly to the ceiling wires (that are controlled by the switches). You'll most likely have to take the fan down completely to remove the receiver unit.

With the receiver out of the picture, you should have three wires in the fan (white, black, blue). The blue is for the light, black for the fan, and white is common to both (so you may have more than one white). Hook the white wires from the fan to the ceiling white, fan black to ceiling black (only one ceiling wire), and fan blue to either the remaining ceiling black or ceiling red, if that is what is left. This is difficult to say in words, but here and here are good resources.

Now, just remove the transmitter remote from the wall and enjoy your new fan control!

Remember to do all this work with the power OFF.

Best of luck,
WallyH

P.S. In the worst-case scenario in which the wall switches do not go to anything (unlikely in my opinion), you'll need to run wiring from the fan to them. This is a much larger job.