Forum Discussion

karmutt's avatar
karmutt
Channel Surfer
3 years ago
Solved

TCL Roku TV freezing 15 seconds after startup (not a startup loop situation)...

I have a six-year-old TCL 55UP120. It's had issues now and again and I've always been able to solve them. But today...

I turned on the TV and was able to get past the startup screen and onto my home screen like normal, but when I tried to select a channel the system froze. I tried to turn the TV off with the remote but couldn't, so I had to use the button on the TV to turn it off. I turned it on a second time and the same thing happened. The third time, it just hung up on the startup screen.

I was able to get back to the home screen after a restart and tried to get into my settings to see if a software update might fix the issue, but the system froze up again. And again and again and again and again.

I have roughly 15 seconds to go through menus and use the volume buttons on the remote before the system freezes. It's not an issue with the remote; the menu and volume buttons on the TV work during those 15 seconds as well, then stop working when the system freezes. I can turn the TV on with the remote, but can't turn it off; I have to use the button on the TV to turn it off, but I can't turn it on with that button.

I have tried all the recommended fixes multiple times - unplugging and holding the power button, unplugging all the cables going into the tv, button sequences on the remote, hard resets... I also tried to do a manual usb update but could get the system to recognize the drive. I'm hard-wired through ethernet, not using wi-fi (and have tried resetting with and without the cable plugged in). I've called TCL (no help) and chatted with Roku support (was told they need to research the issue).

The TV is not completely bricked, thankfully. I managed to get through the setup after a hard reset and can access my hdmi devices. Those work without issue. But again, I only have about 15 seconds to get the TV to connect to them and I cannot adjust the sound or do anything else with the remote after those 15 seconds pass. 

When I tried to do a system update through the settings menu, I noticed there was one from 10/28/2022 at around 1:00am (roughly 24 hours ago). It also showed that the last time the system looked for an update was from when I'd turned the TV on moments before. Every time I've turned the TV on while troubleshooting this, I've seen the blazing light that comes on when the system is updating. This is not normal; usually, a dim light just flashes a few times and then the tv turns on.

My gut feeling is that something went wrong with the update and the light is coming on because it's trying to finish or something (or the update simply wasn't compatible with my TV).

I don't know how to move forward from here. Has anyone run into this issue before?

  • RokuDanny-R's avatar
    RokuDanny-R
    3 years ago

    djparekh 

    Thanks for the follow up. We appreciate your patience while we looked into the manner.

    The issue you are experiencing may be related to a hardware issue. At this time, we would recommend contacting your TV's manufacturer directly to report this issue and request additional support. Each Roku TV manufacturer provides direct support and warranty services for their products running the Roku OS.

    For a list of Roku TV manufacturers contact information, visit our Community post here: Contacting Support for Your Roku TV

    Please keep us posted what you find out.


    Thanks,
    Danny

  • david55home's avatar
    david55home
    Newbie
    3 years ago

    I have a 55" TCL Roku TV (model 55US5800) and it just did the same exact thing I am 99% sure after an update.  I can see an update was done just before we had this problem

    I tried everything including a factory reset using the button on the back of the TV but it's still freezing.

    Hopefully someone posts a solution.

    Thanks!

    • Rmiles's avatar
      Rmiles
      Newbie
      3 years ago

      I am having the same problem with the TV freezing. Unable to change channels, sound or anything else. I have tried many of the things the others have done. No help

    • RokuDanny-R's avatar
      RokuDanny-R
      Retired Moderator
      3 years ago

      Hi Community users,

      Thanks for the posts.

      I have passed along your concerns to the appropriate Roku team to investigate further.


      Thanks,
      Danny

      • djparekh's avatar
        djparekh
        Channel Surfer
        3 years ago

        Still facing this issue and haven't been able to use my TV for over a month now due to a glitch a software update caused. Anyone here able to find a fix?

  • karmutt's avatar
    karmutt
    Channel Surfer
    3 years ago

    Bumping this.

    It's been well over a week since I chatted with support and posted here. No response from Roku on either front.

    The issue still has not been resolved and it seems I'm not the only one with this problem.

    • Guiltyascharged's avatar
      Guiltyascharged
      Newbie
      3 years ago

      My TCL 75s421 did the same thing. The problem with mine was in the wifi board. I unplugged it and then the tv didn't reboot no more and worked normally except no wifi untill I replaced the wifi board. Now works just like new.

  • djparekh's avatar
    djparekh
    Channel Surfer
    3 years ago

    I have a 50UP120 TCL Roku TV and am facing the exact same issue. I have tried every possible troubleshooting step I could find online multiple times and there is no resolution.

    First 15 seconds the TV is absolutely fine and immediately after irrespective of what page is open, the TV freezes and does not respond. No luck with customer care either so far. Please post a solution here if someone finds anything.

  • karmutt's avatar
    karmutt
    Channel Surfer
    3 years ago

    Checking back in on this. It's been seven weeks since I originally posted.

    I do have some more info...

    As mentioned in my first post, I am still able to access my HDMI devices so I have been able to watch things on the TV. Twice now, the TV has shut off randomly as I'm watching it. When I turned it back on, everything worked just as it should without any freezing. I ran software updates both times, but it did no good; when I turn the TV off and then back on, it's back to freezing up.

    The TV is obviously capable of working properly, there's just some sort of glitch preventing it from doing so.

  • karmutt's avatar
    karmutt
    Channel Surfer
    3 years ago

    My TV now seems to be functioning properly.

    It shut off randomly again two days ago and, just as before, when I turned it back on I full control over it. I went through the settings menu this time to see if I could find something that might be causing the problem (I really should have done this before now...).

    What seems to have worked is enabling the "Fast TV Start" option:

    Setting > System > Power > Fast TV Start > Enable

    I waited a few days before posting this, just to make sure things were still working. There haven't been any updates since I made this change, so I don't know if it things will revert once there is.

    Roku support - please don't mark this as solved yet. If others with this problem are quick about it, they may be able to get through the menu to update this setting before their system freezes BUT the system shouldn't be freezing in the first place. There is still an underlying problem here that needs to be addressed. 

    • karmutt's avatar
      karmutt
      Channel Surfer
      3 years ago

      Grrrr!!!!

      My TV started having this issue again this morning. I thought that there might have been an update that disabled the Fast TV Start option but when I looked at it, it still showed that the box was checked. I (stupidly?) unchecked it, thinking that doing the old "have you tried turning it off and on" trick might work, but that seems to have made everything worse.

      The system froze right after I disabled the fast start. Now, when I turn the TV back on, I'm not able to even get to my home screen because I'm being blocked by an update. An update that won't run because of this flipping 15 second freeze.

      I'm getting an error message: Error 023.1

      "Something went wrong. You can check your network settings (managed to do that; it's hard-wired not wifi and everything is fine), factory reset your device (I shouldn't need to do this!!!!) or try updating again (tried several times)."

      If I try to turn the TV on without the ethernet cable plugged in, I just get a Software Update / Waiting for network popup which freezes because, you know, the TV freezes up after about 15 seconds.

  • RokuDanny-R's avatar
    RokuDanny-R
    Retired Moderator
    3 years ago

    karmutt 

    Thanks for the post and providing us with your device information.

    I have passed along your concerns and details to the appropriate Roku team to investigate further.


    Thanks,
    Danny

    • RokuDanny-R's avatar
      RokuDanny-R
      Retired Moderator
      3 years ago

      karmutt 

      Thanks for your patience while we investigate the issue.

      For clarification, what devices are connected in your home setup? If you have other devices connected into your setup, we would recommend disconnecting all of the devices and then restarting your TV to see if you are still experiencing the issue. If the issue is resolved, we would then recommend adding each of your devices back again to see if which device may be causing the issue.

      Please keep us posted what you find out.


      Thanks,
      Danny

      • djparekh's avatar
        djparekh
        Channel Surfer
        3 years ago

        Tried it, no devices connected and did not solve the problem. What is your next useless solution?