I have the original Simon from the 1980’s; it works fine. I also have the latest Simon Air, but it stopped working after a year.

Unlike the original Simon, you only have to hover your hand near the sensor to record that color. However, on my Simon Air, one of the colors stopped sensing my hand, which means every game I would lose!

The internet didn’t have any solutions, so I decided to try fixing Simon on my own. The back panel came off easily after I removed the 10 or so screws. The color bands easily slide out and removing the color from the white holder was simple.

After removing the plastic color piece, I checked if the device still worked and I noticed the broken color was now picking up my hand movement. Thus the issue was not a circuit but some type of issue with the plastic cover.

I noticed this section over the sensor. I guessed: is this piece just dirty? It was just a light sensor. I cleaned the inside of the plastic cover with rubbing alcohol as tap water could leave a residue that would affect the sensor. I put it back together and now it works!

So here are the steps to fix your Simon Air if one of the colors doesn’t sense your hand movement:

1. Remove all the screws and pop off the back panel
2. Gently pop out the color that isn’t working
3. Remove the color cap using a flat head screwdriver to push out the clips on each end
4. Test the color. If it works with the cover removed, proceed to step 5.
5. Wash the inside of the plastic piece with rubbing alcohol; let dry.
6. Put the device back together and test.