Forum Discussion

scotchtape's avatar
scotchtape
Channel Surfer
6 years ago
Solved

Roku TV Light under TCL logo at bottom of screen won't stop blinking

Every 2 seconds it blinks twice. How do I make it stop?

  • You’ve lost your WiFi connection to the tv. Settings / Network / set up connection / Select your WiFi Network / Enter WiFi password / select Connect. Mine connected and the blinking light went off.

  • After a great deal of research and some trial and error, it seems like there are three workable solutions to this irritating problem:

    1) Replace/upgrade the cheap Roku remote that came with the TCL TV.  Others in this thread have talked about trying to put a piece of black electrical tape over the blinking light - only to discover that the remote will no longer work at all because the sensor/receiver for the remote is right next to the light.  One of many shortcomings of the included remote is that it uses infrared signals and must therefore be pointed directly at the sensor/receiver with nothing in the way.  Many of Roku's other, better, remotes use radio frequency (RF) signals instead - which can transmit through most walls, furniture, and electrical tape!  I can confirm that this works as I was able to pair and use a "Roku Voice Remote Pro" with a piece of electrical tape completely covering the annoying blinking light on the TV.

    2) You can dim (but not completely turn off) the LED light using the following process on the included remote to bring up a "special menu" on the TCL: home button (5 times), then FF, Play, Rewind, Play, FF.  From the new menu that appears, select "adjust LED brightness".  This will significantly decrease the brightness of the LED light, but I personally still found it too distracting when watching TV in a fairly darkened room.

    3)  A company named Anytime Sign sells a special tape they claim is intended for exactly this purpose (blocking visible light but allowing infrared light from a remote to pass through).  I have not tried this product myself since option #1 above worked for me, but if you want to give it a look the web site is https://www.anytimesign.com/LED_BLOCKER/  Presently, a small sheet of this Mylar product costs about $5.

    I nearly returned my newly purchased TV because of this blinking light.  The irritation only increases when you think about the sheer number of bad design decisions that contributed to the problem and how easy it would have been to avoid (first and foremost: does anybody even want or need a blinking white LED light on the front of their TV to show that the remote is being used or that wi-fi is being accessed to stream data?)  I hope at least one of the three work-arounds/solutions listed here will be helpful to others who are similarly afflicted :-)

  • I had the same problem myself, and didnt wanna do a factory reset and lose all my apps and settings, so I simply unplugged my tv and let it set for about 30 seconds. Low and behold, it worked! Light is no longer flashing! Woo hoo!!!

    • Anonymous's avatar
      Anonymous

      That's good. Now if only I could figure out how to turn the TV all the way off. There's settings in the menu to 'not' do a fast boot, but even still the TV goes to a super low dim instead of all the way off.

    • Tryagain1's avatar
      Tryagain1
      Newbie

      The flashing continues anyone else got any suggestions

      • Anonymous's avatar
        Anonymous

        The flashing occurs because your wifi isn't connecting. Either give the TV access to your wifi or factory reset it and skip the wifi setup. You could try to block the light but the ir sensor is hidden inside it so if you cover it up your remote will stop working.

  • scotchtape's avatar
    scotchtape
    Channel Surfer

    Finally figured out it was trying to find a network connection.  Only solution I could find was to do a factory reset.  There is no permanent internet connection available for the TV.  Is there some other way to disable searching for a connection?

    • andyross's avatar
      andyross
      Roku Guru

      Do you ever connect it to Internet? If not, is there an option to disable Internet usage or disable WiFi?

      • scotchtape's avatar
        scotchtape
        Channel Surfer

        I can only connect temporarily, just one ethernet cable, and no wifi.  I connected, made an account, and downloaded updates, hoping it would help solve an issue I'm having with brightness controls.    I  couldn't find any way to disable the internet connection.  It just seems to expect it forever once it finds it.

    • kevincox's avatar
      kevincox
      Newbie

      There is an option just reset network settings as well. It takes a silly long time for the TV to restart a bunch but at least it doesn't wipe your settings. I can confirm that this removes the blinking.

    • ExtremSkr4Evr's avatar
      ExtremSkr4Evr
      Reel Rookie

      Thanks for this!! Been looking all over for this answer and it fixed mine too lol. Glad it was that simple! 

      • Vanteer's avatar
        Vanteer
        Newbie

        I had the exact same issue today.  I found that if i clear the network password, then type in an incorrect password, it will not connect of course. And so far it no longer blinks.  I also use mine in my RV.  So it's dieconnect from power every move.  I normally have my ipad connected via HDMI so i can stream movies.  I have the TV set to power on to the last used input, so it powers up to HDMI1 and I am good to go.

        Perhaps this will work for others.  I also set the system setting to turn off the "night light" option when the TV is powered off.

  • After a great deal of research and some trial and error, it seems like there are three workable solutions to this irritating problem:

    1) Replace/upgrade the cheap Roku remote that came with the TCL TV.  Others in this thread have talked about trying to put a piece of black electrical tape over the blinking light - only to discover that the remote will no longer work at all because the sensor/receiver for the remote is right next to the light.  One of many shortcomings of the included remote is that it uses infrared signals and must therefore be pointed directly at the sensor/receiver with nothing in the way.  Many of Roku's other, better, remotes use radio frequency (RF) signals instead - which can transmit through most walls, furniture, and electrical tape!  I can confirm that this works as I was able to pair and use a "Roku Voice Remote Pro" with a piece of electrical tape completely covering the annoying blinking light on the TV.

    2) You can dim (but not completely turn off) the LED light using the following process on the included remote to bring up a "special menu" on the TCL: home button (5 times), then FF, Play, Rewind, Play, FF.  From the new menu that appears, select "adjust LED brightness".  This will significantly decrease the brightness of the LED light, but I personally still found it too distracting when watching TV in a fairly darkened room.

    3)  A company named Anytime Sign sells a special tape they claim is intended for exactly this purpose (blocking visible light but allowing infrared light from a remote to pass through).  I have not tried this product myself since option #1 above worked for me, but if you want to give it a look the web site is https://www.anytimesign.com/LED_BLOCKER/  Presently, a small sheet of this Mylar product costs about $5.

    I nearly returned my newly purchased TV because of this blinking light.  The irritation only increases when you think about the sheer number of bad design decisions that contributed to the problem and how easy it would have been to avoid (first and foremost: does anybody even want or need a blinking white LED light on the front of their TV to show that the remote is being used or that wi-fi is being accessed to stream data?)  I hope at least one of the three work-arounds/solutions listed here will be helpful to others who are similarly afflicted :-)

    • Deanking's avatar
      Deanking
      Newbie

      I can confirm onthefritz post. Nothing else mentioned in this thread works permanently. You can unplug the tv or reset the network connection but that lasts for about 30 seconds. I use mine in a camper so sometimes I have hotspot and sometimes I don’t. And I lose power when towing so dimming the led only works until you unplug. I can confirm the  nicer remote with some tape on the light solves the problem. 

  • Hey - just had this problem and found a better solution worked instead of factory reset:

    Bring up the "secret menu": press Home Button (5 times), then FF, Play, Rewind, Play, FF.  From the new menu that appears, got to "Systems Operations Menu", the "Display Menu" and select "LED Brightness Menu".

    I put the LED brightness to zero and the blinking no longer appears, though button presses from the remote do still appear faintly. Much better than losing all smart/internet functions just because I don't want to be constantly connected to the internet with it.

    • link626's avatar
      link626
      Channel Surfer

      black electrical tape stuck over the light

      solved the problem

      looks good too

    • MCWHAMMER's avatar
      MCWHAMMER
      Channel Surfer

      Just wanted to thank you for this.  It’s a better option, because you could still connect to Wifi temporarily to occasionally check for updates or use Netflix, but having the blink gone is such a relief.  Black tape over the light is for mentally deficient folks, as a remote can’t work through tape.

      • ExtremSkr4Evr's avatar
        ExtremSkr4Evr
        Reel Rookie

        Very welcome, glad to help! Took me forever to find the solution that actually worked so was hoping it'd help others along the way! 

  • Hit HOME on your Roku remote

    Then go to SETTINGS

    Scroll down to SYSTEM

    Go to POWER

    The select System Restart

    The action does not return your TV settings to factory default however it does turn off the TV standy light at the bottom frame of your TV

  • I found what seems to be a foolproof way to turn the light OFF. It was driving me nuts, and I found it obtrusive, even while watching a movie (w/o it blinking, but it was persistently on). The light only comes on when pushing a button on the remote, and it is very dim. But it is off, as long as you are not pushing a button. I'm not sure if it will faintly blink when losing its WiFi connection, as I haven't tried that.

     "On your Roku remote hit follow the sequence: home button (5x), FF, Play, Rewind, Play, FF - this gets you into a secret menu. Choose adjust LED brightness and you can reduce the white LED light to 0%. :-)"

    This is under System Operations Menu->Display Menu->LED Brightness Menu

    https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/265116/How+do+I+turn+off+the+front+panel+LED+light

  • ROKU!!!!! FIX IT!!! This red blinking light I just want to punch while watching movies from my phone using Smart View. I don't have internet at home and don't need it. It blinks twice every few seconds. So if you are in the dark enjoying TV, you are screwed!!! Please give us an update with an option to turn it off. Also an update with more supported video formats from USB flash drive will be much appreciated. Otherwise I'm waiting 25 days and returning your TV that was bought 5 days ago and getting LG.

    • jmcgee's avatar
      jmcgee
      Reel Rookie

      Same issue!  I am wired in and it seems since the last update this just KEEPS blinking.

      • jmcgee's avatar
        jmcgee
        Reel Rookie

        I found the source of my issues.  It seems if you block scribe.logs.roku.com with your pihole, you will get the blinking issue.

         

        Shame.