TCL Roku TV Keeps Turning Off? Do THIS… – Lapse of the Shutter

If your TCL Roku TV keeps turning off, that’s usually a sign that you either have an HDMI-CEC issue, a failed firmware update or problems with your power board, along with a few other possibilites.

Because it’s not easy to diagnose a precise reason for your Roku to keep switching off at a distance, I’ll go through all possible fixes for your TV from simplest to most complex, and I’m confident at least one of them will get your TV back up and running.

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TCL Roku TV Keeps Turning Off

If your TCL Roku TV keeps turning off, fix it by switching off HDMI-CEC, updating failed firmware updates manually via USB, or by replacing the capacitors on your power board within your TV.

I’ll cover all these fixes and more in greater detail below. Just work through them in order to fix your TV.

1. Power Cycle your TCL Roku TV

Although this might seem a basic step, power cycling your TV is often the best way to fix your TCL Roku TV.

Resetting your TV will clear out any issues with non-permanent memory and reset your main board without losing your personal settings.

This is quick and painless and won’t cause you to lose any of your saved settings.

To reset your TCL Roku TV:

1. Make sure your TV is switched off and unplug it.
2. Hold down the physical power button on the TV for at least 15 seconds.
3. Wait for at least 30 minutes for any residual power to drain from the TV’s capacitors (which are capable of storing charge for several minutes).
4. Plug your TV back in and try switching it on. You should see a light if you have been successful.

The TCL Roku TV power button is often underneath the TV, by the IR receiver

Make sure you do wait for the full 30 minutes before plugging your TV back in – you would be surpised how long the components within your TV can hold charge, and you want to make sure it has fully reset.

Although this seems a very basic step, don’t overlook it because in the vast majority of cases a simple soft reset fixes most issues.

Most people will now have their TV fixed and back up and running, but if your TCL TV is still not working properly, then we’ll move onto the next step.

2. Restart Your TCL Roku TV

Resetting your TV and remote can help resolve any issues, and with the Roku Voice remote this doesn’t require you to go through any on-screen menus.

On your remote, restart your TV using the button combination: Home – press 5 times; Up Arrow – press once; Rewind – press 2 times; Fast Forward – press 2 times.

Your TCL Roku TV should then restart, and hopefully will stop switching itself off.

You can also run a system restart from the menu.

To restart a TCL Roku TV:

1. Go to the Home screen.
2. Then Settings.
3. And System.
4. Then Power.
5. System restart.
6. And click Restart.

3. Switch Off 1-Touch Play

If your TCL Roku TV keeps turning off by itself, there could be an HDMI issue.

You can try removing all external devices, including those connected by Bluetooth and any coaxial or signal cables, so that the TV only has a power cable going into it.

This is because a flaw with the HDMI-CEC settings can make your TV switch off if you have other devices, particularly games consoles, plugged into your TV via HDMI.

HDMI-CEC allows two-way communication between your TV and console and set-top box, allowing your console or box to switch your TV on and off automatically.

The problem is that if you do not switch inputs on your TV away from your console’s input before switching off your TV, then your TV will not “listen” to your remote, and it can switch itself on and off without your input.

Unplugging all cables will temporarily solve this, so if your TV is working as normal with no HDMI cables attached, then try switching off HDMI-CEC before re-instating the cables.

To switch off HDMI-CEC on a TCL Roku TV:

1. Press Home on your remote.
2. Scroll to the Gear Icon for settings.
3. Then System.
4. And Control Other Devices (CEC).
5. And uncheck System Audio Control and/or switch off 1-touch play.

4. Turn Off the Sleep Timer

Modern TVs often have a sleep or power off timer.

You should get an on-screen message if your TCL Roku TV is being turned off by the sleep timer, but it always pays to double-check that this isn’t on.

You can switch off the TCL Roku TV sleep timer by:

1. Going to Settings.
2. Then System.
3. And Time.
4. Before choosing Sleep Timer and making sure this is set to Off.

It’s also possible that some models have an auto-power off setting that switches the TV off if no buttons on the TV or remote are pressed after a set number of hours.

On the TCL Roku TV, this is found under Settings -> System -> Power -> Auto Power Savings, as seen in the video below.

5. Check Your Surge Protectors and Cables

When your TCL Roku TV keeps turning off, you naturally jump to thinking that there must be a fault within your TV itself.

Actually, the fault can sometimes be within your household power supply, or more specifically within the surge protector or smart plug that your TV is plugged into.

So, you need to confirm that your wall socket is supplying enough power, and there is no interruption of supply during use.

There’s a few methods that you can use:

1. Unplug your TCL TV from your wall socket.
2. Remove any surge interruptors or smart plugs so that you have a direct line to your wall socket.
3. Plug another large device that you know works into the same socket and check that the new device works as normal. (It’s important that this device draws approximately as much power as your TV, to confirm the socket is fully working).
4. Remove the other device and plug your TV back into this socket.
5. Switch on the power and switch on your TV using the physical power button located somewhere on its case (usually beneath the TCL logo).
6. See if the light is solid. If so, this means your TV is getting sufficient voltage.
7. If your TCL TV’s light is blinking 5, 6, 10 times or more, then repeat these steps with another wall socket to confirm your household electricity supply isn’t a problem.

You should also look at your power cable, making sure there are no knots or kinks in it that could have damaged the copper wires within it. If in doubt, try replacing this power cord.

If you TV lasts for several minutes before switching itself off, this could be because your TV has become stuck in a firmware update cycle, where the final restart is not completing the update as it should.

The auto-update cycle will only run over WiFi or through an Ethernet cable, so first of all, switch off your TCL TV’s WiFi and / or disconnect it’s Ethernet connection.

To switch off your TCL Roku TV’s WiFi:

1. On your remote, press the Cog icon for Settings.
2. Then go to Network.
3. And Network Configuration.
4. Switch this Off.

If this stops your TV from turning itself off, then you will need to update it manually via USB.

1. Go to the Roku update site on your computer and enter your TV model number or serial number and click Next. Both numbers are found at Settings -> System -> About, with the mode number being four numbers followed by a letter and the serial number twelve numbers or letters.

2. Choose Download Software from the prompt to get your new firmware.

3. Put a USB flash drive into your computer and copy the software your downloaded onto it, making sure it doesn’t go into any directories on your flash drive.
4. Eject the flash drive from your computer and put it into the USB port on your TV.
5. Go to Settings -> System -> System Update -> I can’t connect on your TV’s menu.
6. If you see the error, “Contents of the update file are invalid“, then you are running the most recent firmware on your TV, and you can move onto the next fix.

7. If your firmware needs updating, you will get a 12-digit code on your TV.
8. Enter this code into the Roku update website, and you will get a 6-digit code that you need to enter into your TV.

9. The update process will then commence.

7. Take Out Your TCL Roku Remote’s Batteries

TCL Roku remote control problems, either stuck buttons or low batteries, can cause your TCL TV to turn on or off without you doing anything, as the remote is sending the on/off signal on its own.

To make sure this isn’t the cause, switch off your TV, remove the batteries from your remote and see if the TV then stays on.

8. Factory Reset Your TCL Roku TV

Returning your TV back to its factory settings is a more extreme step, as it will delete any personalization features, downloaded apps or connected devices, but it’s always worth a shot when other methods haven’t worked.

To factory reset a TCL Roku TV:

1. Press Home on your remote.
2. Go to System -> Advanced System Settings -> Factory Reset.
3. Choose Factory Reset Everything.
4. Enter the code shown and click OK to reset your TV.

You can also hard reset most TCL Roku TVs by putting a pen into the recessed Reset button, usually found on the side or back of the TV.

9. Check for Internal Component Burn Out

A more serious issue, but one that is still easily fixable at home, is a failure caused by overheating of the internal components.

Switch your TV on and wait for it to turn itself off. Then, move your hand around the back panel of your TV and see if you can find any hotspots.

If any area is nearly too hot to touch, then you have likely found your overheating chip. Mark this location and we can take a look at it in more detail.

If there are no hotspots, then there could be capacitor damage, which we will also need to take off the back panel to investigate.

To check this, you will need to remove the back panel of your TV, which will invalidate its warranty, so this is only practical for older TVs.

To remove your TV’s back panel:

1. Unplug your TV, hold down the power button and wait for at least 30 minutes. There are large capacitors in the power board for the backlight and these can hold charge for an extended period of time.
2. Place your TV face down on a large table or workbench. Make sure there is nothing that can scratch the screen on your work surface.
3. Ground yourself.
4. Open your TV by unscrewing the screws in the backpanel. It should come apart in two pieces: front and back.
5. Put the back panel somewhere out of the way and take a look at the circuit boards that have been revealed.
6. You will see a T-Con panel for translating the signal into a TV picture, a power board and a main board.

The Timing Control (T-Con) board is a small PCB board that drives your TV’s panel, sending the signal to each pixel row of your screen using internal clocks to keep each row in sync.

The Main Board is a larger PCB where you plug your HDMI and other connectors into. This does a lot of the work of translating the input into signal, which then goes to the T-Con board.

The Power Board is where you plug in your power cable, and which converts your home electricity supply into a voltage and current that your TV can use.

There may also be a number of additional boards, such as a backlight inverter, but these vary between models and shouldn’t be the cause of your TCL Roku TV turning off every 5 seconds.

If you found a hotspot earlier, find the chip that corresponds with the hotspot’s location. These can be replaced with a soldering iron, but given the difficulty of finding an identical logic chip, you might want to replace the entire board that it is connected to.

Both Power and Main Boards can be replaced for around $30 – 50 from eBay.

To get the correct board, note the Power / Main Board model number written on the label on the board, and put this into eBay. You can also search for the specific chip if you are confident you have identified it.

See how to replace the board in the video below.

If you don’t want to replace the board, you can instead try directing a small fan through the grill of your TV, or even cutting a small hole over the chip and pointing the fan in there.

You can also reduce the brightness of the backlight, as powering this requires a large drain on some of the TV’s chips and so causes a lot of the heat.

If you did not find a hotspot earlier, then look at the capacitors on the power and main boards for signs of bulging or damage. Capacitors are particularly prone to damage if subjected to power surges, and are a very common cause of your TCL TV getting stuck in re-boot loop, showing the logo for a few seconds before switching off again.

If you see any damaged capacitors, they can be easily replaced with a soldering iron and new components costing a few cents each, or by entirely replacing the board.

Check out this video for a good example of doing this at home.

TCL Roku TV Support & Warranty

It goes without saying that if your TV is under one year old, then you should contact TCL customer support to get it replaced under warranty.

You can call TCL directly on:

• 1-877-300-8837 (Mon – Fri, 9am – 12am ET, Sat – Sun, 9am – 6pm ET)

Or contact them via email.

Even if TCL won’t fix your TV, they might still offer you a discount off a future model if you pester them hard enough! This is always worth a try in my experience.

So, How Do You Fix a TCL TV That Keeps Turning Off?

If your TCL TV keeps turning off, then to fix it:

1. Power cycle your TV.
2. Restart your TV by remote.
3. Switch off HDMI-CEC.
4. Turn off your sleep timer.
5. Check your wall socket and power cord aren’t broken.
6. Look for a failed firmware update.
7. Take out your remote’s batteries.

8. Factory reset your TV.

9. Look for burned out components on the power board.

Hopefully you’ve fixed your TV, but if not, give me a shout in the comments and I’ll see what I can do to help.