2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz Wi-fi signals can sometimes affect IR receivers, here’s Vishay’s app note about them. Link here (PDF)
In recent years, Wi-Fi connectivity has penetrated most consumer electronic devices used for media reproduction. New TVs, satellite receiver and cable boxes, and streaming devices are more often than not built with Wi-Fi capabilities at multiple frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Most of these appliances continue to support an infrared (IR)-based remote control link, often even when the device also supports a newer RF-based remote control.
IR remote control receivers are built with highly sensitive wideband input stages and are able to detect signals near the noise level of their circuitry. In noisy environments, such as with both low- and high-frequency electromagnetic interference (EMI), the receiver may be noise-triggered, typically manifesting itself in the form of spurious pulses at its output. Most Vishay IR receiver packages are designed with metal shields to effectively guard the receiver against low-frequency EMI. However, these metal shields have not proven entirely satisfactory against high-frequency EMI in the GHz range used for Wi-Fi.
