TCL smart TV problems

[Sheryl]

Really hope someone can help on these issues  as I am not getting any response from TCL

 

I have a TCL model LED43S6000. 

 

1. Netflix: Came without netflix and won't download anything from playstore, only from its own (useless) app store which does nto have Netflix

 

When I first got it I was able to get someone from TCL to send me a file I could download to USB and use to install Netflix. The result was far from perfect, cursor function doesn't work well so limited in what I can do on it - can't search, can't change settings, can't add new selections, for example - but with some effort I could at least click on films already in my list or that I had already started to watch. Then recently I had to change my Netflix password, but as I can't access Netflix settings on the TV I can't change it on the TV and (presumably due to what is now wrong password) I can no longer watch anything on it. I thought of just uninstalling it and then re-installing it but I no longer have the file I used, I was able to track down an apk file online but plugging it into the USB of the TV gets an error message that there is no application to open it.

 

2. Youtube:  used to work but for many months now I always get a "load failed" message. I have checked wth the TCL app store and it says no updates available. Already tried clearing cache.

 

3. Browser: Has anyone had success in using Chrome? the TCL browser is lousy. I managed to install Chrome but the cursor function doesn't work on it so useless.  Related to this,  above does anyone use a wireless mouse with this type of TV/can recommend a brand? The cursor even where it is working, is a pain.

 

Any ideas?

 

P.S. I would advise anyone considering it not to get this brand.

 

 

[recom273]

Is there an app in their “play store” called downloader?  - this will give you access  to alternative play store, where you might solve your issues.

 

I use a fireTV stick - and you are also restricted to Amazon’s App Store and this is the way around it. You can search on on YouTube, there seem to be plenty of videos on ways to install alternative app stores.

 

A solution for you maybe buy a fireTV stick that will give you the apps you are looking for. But then you end up with another remote. 
 

I was thinking about a TCL which will eventually be used in the guest room, they are some of Amazon’s top selling TVs. I clearly need to look into the App Store options, thanks.

[Sheryl]

No, their app store does not have a Downloader or anything like it. It has virtually nothing and the few things it does have, do not download properly.

 

How does Fire Stick work and will it give me Netflix? Has anyone here used it on a TCL?

[Jingthing]

Hi there.

I have a TCL Android but I've never used their Android and don't intend to.

Instead I connect an Android box to it.

Magicsee n5max.

Everything works great.

Playstore Chrome youtube etc.

I would highly recommend that. There are many brands and they aren't expensive. 

Yes I have a remote keyboard mouse that I bought on Lazada.

Ultra mini keyboard 

Model TR-MWK

 

I realize you thought the tv would do it all and of course it should but no need to trash it. 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Jingthing

[Sheryl]

JT what model is your TCL? I don't think mine is android just regular "smart" (not!) TV

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

JT what model is your TCL? I don't think mine is android just regular "smart" (not!) TV

Sorry I don’t know offhand. Android tvs are a subset of smart tvs. Good chance yours is Android but it doesn't really matter. The system on your smart TV whatever it is isn't working for you. I really suggest that you try adding an Android box. 

 

I never had any intention of even trying the on tv system because I was used to my Android box from my old tv. 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Jingthing

[Sheryl]

Thanks

 

Mine is not Android. It is rather maddening as I paid more specifically to have a "smart" TV but I will try the Fire Stick which, if I understand correctly, I could have done on an ordinary TV just as well.

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Thanks

 

Mine is not Android. It is rather maddening as I paid more specifically to have a "smart" TV but I will try the Fire Stick which, if I understand correctly, I could have done on an ordinary TV just as well.

I don't know about firesticks.

Just to be clear, your smart TV doesn't need to be Android to use an Android box. Makes no difference whether the tv has Android or not. 

 

Most people are used to Android from their phones unless they use IPhones.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Jingthing

[recom273]

32 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

No, their app store does not have a Downloader or anything like it. It has virtually nothing and the few things it does have, do not download properly.

 

How does Fire Stick work and will it give me Netflix? Has anyone here used it on a TCL?

 
Yes - like the other poster says - it will enable any tv to be smart.

 

You could try a firestick or any android box which might be a little cheaper - or if you might want to wait for a new Apple TV box, if you are an Apple user.

[Jai Dee]

19 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It is rather maddening as I paid more specifically to have a "smart" TV but I will try the Fire Stick which, if I understand correctly, I could have done on an ordinary TV just as well.

 

I would suggest having a good read of this topic Sheryl... lots of good information in there.

[Sheryl]

Thanks. I think I will go with Firestick, really don't want to set up a box and all I am after is netflix and youtube.

[expatjustice]

Why would you purchase an additional Android TV Box, when you already have one inside the TV! 

 

I would start by resetting all the settings to factory defaults, and then in Settings check whether there is a whole system update. That should solve a lot of things on itself.

 

 

[Susco]

13 minutes ago, expatjustice said:

Why would you purchase an additional Android TV Box, when you already have one inside the TV! 

 

I would start by resetting all the settings to factory defaults, and then in Settings check whether there is a whole system update. That should solve a lot of things on itself.

 

 

 

Because her TCL TV is not Google or Netflix certified, which mean neither Netflix or Youtube will work on the TV.

 

You think by doing a factory reset, at once it gonna become Google certified?

[expatjustice]

1 hour ago, Susco said:

 

Because her TCL TV is not Google or Netflix certified, which mean neither Netflix or Youtube will work on the TV.

 

You think by doing a factory reset, at once it gonna become Google certified?

 

I haven't seen her confirming that it is not Google certified. Besides I myself use a TCL TV (Model 43T6) and Google Play, YouTube, Netflix work perfectly. 

 

She could have very well done something like adding some nonexistent proxy in Wi-Fi Settings or something like that which might make it not work and for sure factory reset can fix that. 

 

[Susco]

30 minutes ago, expatjustice said:

I haven't seen her confirming that it is not Google certified. Besides I myself use a TCL TV (Model 43T6) and Google Play, YouTube, Netflix work perfectly. 

 

TCL has different operating systems. In Thailand they have Smart TV 2  and Android TV. In the US they also have Roku OS.

 

She said that Playstore - Chrome or Youtube didn't work, that should have been the giveaway that it isn't Google certified.

 

The newer models have Android TV (ATV) which yours probably will be, and in the future they may have Google TV

 

 

 

[expatjustice]

1 hour ago, Susco said:

 

TCL has different operating systems. In Thailand they have Smart TV 2  and Android TV. In the US they also have Roku OS.

 

She said that Playstore - Chrome or Youtube didn't work, that should have been the giveaway that it isn't Google certified.

 

The newer models have Android TV (ATV) which yours probably will be, and in the future they may have Google TV

 

 

 

 

But she said that it was working fine before, just it hasn't since several months. 

 

Myself being an Apple guy (saying it bcs of your profile pic...) , I am not 100% sure on Android stuff. But AFAIK Google started requiring certification way longer than few months (wasn't it 2017/2018??). So I don't think the problem is not being certified if it worked a few months ago...

 

[Susco]

9 minutes ago, expatjustice said:

 

But she said that it was working fine before, just it hasn't since several months. 

 

Myself being an Apple guy (saying it bcs of your profile pic...) , I am not 100% sure on Android stuff. But AFAIK Google started requiring certification way longer than few months (wasn't it 2017/2018??). So I don't think the problem is not being certified if it worked a few months ago...

 

 

You could have googled the model number, and find out that it actually is a pretty old TV, with Android 4.4 OS, not Android TV.

http://mobicitypk.com/product/tcl-43s6000-smart-led-tv-43″/

 

So what they sent here was a very old version of Netflix, which supports only 480p resolution, and works only with an air mouse, as it is developed for smartphones.

 

And not it will not have been Google certified ever, even today there are only very few Android TV boxes that are Google certified. I can think of only 2 Chinese brands.

 

Same goes for TV's. Now TCL is Google certified, but I think it is maximum 3-4 years.

[expatjustice]

1 hour ago, Susco said:

 

You could have googled the model number, and find out that it actually is a pretty old TV, with Android 4.4 OS, not Android TV.

http://mobicitypk.com/product/tcl-43s6000-smart-led-tv-43″/

 

So what they sent here was a very old version of Netflix, which supports only 480p resolution, and works only with an air mouse, as it is developed for smartphones.

 

And not it will not have been Google certified ever, even today there are only very few Android TV boxes that are Google certified. I can think of only 2 Chinese brands.

 

Same goes for TV's. Now TCL is Google certified, but I think it is maximum 3-4 years.

 

Dang I completely missed the model from her post.... 

 

My bad.... I read JingThing saying he didn't know the model offhand and I confused it with OP... my bad again

[Sheryl]

Update: Got a Fire Stick and works great. Was also a breeze to install and set up.  Only inconvenience (besides having had to buy it) is that now all my HDMI posts are in use so will have to unplug something to add anything. Not a huge problem.

 

Still annoyed that I wasted the money buying a "smart" TV ...but it was 3 years ago that I bought it and I think Fire Sticks weren't as good then, at least I did not hear of them then.

 

Anyway sorted. Both Netflix and YouTube working fine.

 

And thanks for clarifying what the issue was re Google certified. I might add to that, the pre-loaded browser (which is the only one you can use on this set) is beyond awful as is the play store (ditto).

[madmen]

My TCL was the first and last. Cheap is for good reasons 

[Sheryl]

20 hours ago, madmen said:

My TCL was the first and last. Cheap is for good reasons 

So I have eklarned, the hard way.

 

Actually with FireStick little reason to shell out rextra for a "smart" TV these days.

[Susco]

On 4/26/2021 at 7:26 PM, Sheryl said:

Only inconvenience (besides having had to buy it) is that now all my HDMI posts are in use so will have to unplug something to add anything. Not a huge problem.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vention-hdmi-tv-pc-hdmi-switch-bi-direction-20-hdmi-splitter-1x22x1-adapter-2-in-1-out-converter-for-ps4-pro43-hdmi-4k-switcher-i633696930-s1215750093.html?

[Sheryl]

6 hours ago, Susco said:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/vention-hdmi-tv-pc-hdmi-switch-bi-direction-20-hdmi-splitter-1x22x1-adapter-2-in-1-out-converter-for-ps4-pro43-hdmi-4k-switcher-i633696930-s1215750093.html?

 

Thanks. Ordered it.

 

On a separate note has anyone manged to use a VPN with the Firestick and then get services not availalel in LOS (which is a lot of them!)?

[Susco]

1 minute ago, Sheryl said:

 

Thanks. Ordered it.

 

On a separate note has anyone manged to use a VPN with the Firestick and then get services not availalel in LOS (which is a lot of them!)?

 

The choice of VPN's that can be installed on a Firestick is limited, and I think they all have to be side loaded.

 

Ipvanish is a decent VPN, and well priced as well.

 

https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/install-vpn-amazon-fire-tv-stick/

[Sheryl]

4 minutes ago, Susco said:

 

The choice of VPN's that can be installed on a Firestick is limited, and I think they all have to be side loaded.

 

Ipvanish is a decent VPN, and well priced as well.

 

https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/install-vpn-amazon-fire-tv-stick/

 

i already have a VPN through protonmail. How would I go about loading t to the firestick or TV iotself? Or does that need a special program?

[Susco]

25 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

i already have a VPN through protonmail. How would I go about loading t to the firestick or TV iotself? Or does that need a special program?

 

I don't know the proton VPN. If it is a browser addon then you will have to find a browser which supports it and can be installed on Firestick.

 

If it is a standalone VPN and has an Android app, in the link I posted is a workaround tutorial how to install VPN's that don't have a Firestick app

[recom273]

Interesting .. I didn’t know protonmail offered a VPN service.

 

The issues I have with proton, they require proprietary apps - for instance, their mail app uses a bridge and you can only use it when paying the subscription. The basic service is great, but you need to pay to get a “better” service.

 

If you were going to use protonVPN, first you need to get “downloader” from the Amazon App Store and install aptoid - you may find the protonVPN app for android.

 

There are plenty of tutorials about aptoid - search YouTube for “app stores for firestick” 

 

Someone mentioned “windscribe” it’s a free vpn, that’s very easy to setup on a firestick. 
 

You can also run OpenVPN on your firestick, so if your VPN service offers a Ovpn certificate and config download, you just use that - I doubt proton offer this service.

[recom273]

@Sherylyes, the protonVPN app is available on aptoid