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SneakJesus
Binge Watcher

Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

I started a topic the other day when my 55s405 TCL TV experienced the Black Screen of Death. I have been all over the phone with TCL customer support, I even had a supervisor hang up on me. While I am currently waiting for a callback from the higherups, and ROKU will do nothing about this terrible company ruining their name, I came up with a solution. I found the emails for some of the management members and would love to include any complaints you all may have out there for a greater chance for us to receive justice. Reply with your tv model and the purchase month and date and let me know what is wrong with it. I think together, we could do this.

10 REPLIES 10
RokuDanny-R
Retired Moderator

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

@SneakJesus

Thanks for the post.

As mentioned previously, each Roku TV manufacturer provides direct support for their products running the Roku OS.


Thanks,
Danny

Danny R.
Roku Community Moderator
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Harvini
Roku Guru

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?


@RokuDanny-R wrote:

@SneakJesus

Thanks for the post.

As mentioned previously, each Roku TV manufacturer provides direct support for their products running the Roku OS.


Thanks,
Danny


Please clarify this statement, as I believe it will be of great value to users of ROKU based TV's.  Are you saying that the maker of the TV is responsible for supporting any and all issues encountered with the set, even those problems which are, or which appear to be related to or caused by ROKU software malfunctions or mis-codings?

 

Thank you in advance for providing a clarifying statement for this issue.

Visitor45763
Roku Guru

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

Following Harvini's question: I'd like to know who's responsible for testing Roku software updates, and including hardware support, etc? 

I don't know much about Android. But, I get the distinct impression Nokia, Motorola, et. al., are responsible for ensuring new version of Android work on extant models. They push updates out (not Google). They feed patches back to Android in a cooperative manner, thereby expanding hardware support, eliminating bugs (things like Roku's mac-addr all zeros which has existed for YEARS). 

That arrangement would seem to promote a healthy, productive relationship for customers. Clear responsibilities & accountability.

The relationship between Roku and TV makers seems opaque. It appears Roku pushes the updates out. (I can't fathom what that would look like if Google were pushing updates out to Nokia phone users. Who would bless the software? If their blessing wasn't everything it's expected to be, and phones broke, who would be accountable for that? Especially when Google -- in this scenario -- wouldn't let users go back to a previous version?).

What exactly is the expectation between Roku and its TV-maker partners for supporting Roku's software, testing it, ensuring updates don't break TVs? This seems to be something Roku never wants to talk about. Which makes me wonder why. If Google pushed out Android updates to customers of smartphones, it seems like there would be a lot of documenting/publicizing the approvals leading up to that update. Especially if Google didn't let those customers opt out or roll back. But, with Roku, it's a mystery (and, we can't opt out nor roll back).

The implication always seems to be: it's the tv makers who are responsible. Does that mean they test updates before Roku pushes them out? What happens when updates break tvs (which has been happening)? That's the tv maker's fault? Roku doesn't feel any responsibility for enabling what's obviously not working well *for the customer*?

I guess what bothers me about this most is, Roku's CEO was swaggering about how Roku's different/better than the big tech icons:

“In the tech business, superior technology often wins and tech companies basically compete on how smart their employees are and the quality of their products... We’re much more focused. All we do is we come to work every day and we think about how to make TV better. Those companies, yes they’re great companies, but they come to work thinking about 'how can I sell a bunch of shoes, how can I be better at search, how can I sell more phones?' TV is on their list but it’s at the bottom of their list.” (Roku CEO, Anthony Wood. Vox, Sep 13, 2018)

To me, that self-inflating rhetoric sounds misplaced when Android TV's software distribution isn't vague & nebulous the way Roku's is. In what way does Roku's untested (apparently) updates "make tv better?" In what way does not allowing customers to opt out of updates (nor roll back to a prior one) make "make tv better?"

That was 2-1/2 years ago, (an eon in tech) and nothing has changed -- except Android is being distributed on TVs now. We still don't know how Roku's development is coordinated with tv makers. It's clearly not working. That's met with silence.

I think these questions are justified, especially when the CEO talks smack about other companies who have structured their relationship with tv makers in a way that benefits the customer (doesn't lead to ambiguities about who's responsible for poor performance).

Thank you for your consideration.

"People are often amazed at how much we’ve done with the number of engineers we’ve got." (Roku CEO Anthony Wood, Austin Statesman, Oct 4, 2019). "Amazed" is one way of putting it.
russkz
Reel Rookie

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

PURCHASED A #TCL55s405 IN AUG OF 2018 than in Feb 2020 (so barely 18 m0nths) the screen went dark but sound continued.  I have tried everything and can not get it to work.  It will splash a screen on startup for less than a second but it is dark after that. MY usage of TV was minimal to moderate.

SneakJesus
Binge Watcher

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

@russkz luckily for you TCL technically has a 2 year warranty on their products. If you did purchase the the tv 18 months ago let the customer support people know that you know about the two year warranty. 

russkz
Reel Rookie

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

**bleep**!!!   Too late for me i bought it in august of 2018 so past the 2 year mark.   I am still bitter about it though!!~ LOL  I was unaware of a 2 year warranty.   I only saw the one year warranty and that is what they told me when i inquired.  Do you have info regarding the 2 yr  warranty?  I would love to check it out!!

Thankj you

SneakJesus
Binge Watcher

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

@russkz I spent a whole day on the phone with various customer service people and am convinced that they maybe just made it up to get me off the phone, you know because Roku and TCL are both shady companies. But my info on that comes from TCL customer support. If you paid for the tv with a credit card I would suggest contacting them or looking to see if they added a warranty to your purchase. 

Personally, I’ve just been using another tv until I have enough to get the replacement parts from shop Jimmy. I watched a few videos about repairs from YouTube and I am hoping that they cut corners when it comes to the LED backlight installation so I can easily replace them. This would also include them cheaply putting the screen in so I don’t have to apply heat to it to take it off.

 

I emailed the VP of TCL USA and have not gotten a response back yet.

wildchildofgod
Binge Watcher

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

65" TCL Roku TV from Walmart- model 65S421 (purchased 10/2020) 

Screen went black death for the SECOND TIME today in under 2 yrs! ! It was a few days away from being out of warranty the first time, so it was barely 11 months the first time the screen went out. They sent the tech out and fixed it because it was still under manufacturer's warranty. That was September of last year. Here it is just a few months later, not even a full year, and the same thing has happened again. Black screen, tried all of the normal options to fix it, finally factory reset it, power off power on, nothing! Sound works. Barely. TCL makes a **bleep** TV. Spoke to TCL again (funny enough it was the same lady I spoke to last year) & she ran me through all of the steps she has to put you through, just to tell me it's the backlight again and they can't replace it or fix it. Nor would they send another tech out, even if I paid for it. That really pissed me off! They won't replace/repair it even if you pay them? WTF? And of course I can't afford several hundred dollars every couple of years to keep buying TVs that go out in less than a year. This is why Walmart should be banned in the US. Knowingly selling cheap ass foreign made garbage that lasts a minimal timeframe, long enough to get your money & have American consumers believing they're buying sturdy, dependable, worthwhile products that last. And none of this is true. Sam Walton would roll in his Arkansas grave if he knew what they'd done to his life's work & to the American people who made Walmart what it was. But idk what to do now. I've got a big useless black-screened paper weight staring me in the face with a proud TCL logo on it that might as well be the 💩 emoji instead, because they both represent the same **bleep**. 

Bill E.
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Dgsmith800
Reel Rookie

Re: Do you have a TCL tv that no longer works?

I just hung up from them and was told that TCL tvs only have a one year warranty unless additional warranty was added at time of purchase 

Also was told “ unfortunately the backlight for the screen has gone out so it needs to be taken to a repair shop “!

that’s a crock of manure !

im am thoroughly dissatisfied with TCL TV !

supposs I’ll be shopping for a replacement ! 

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