Discussions

[GuitarMan]

---

@t3hbutt3rs wrote:

Yeah man, its is a huge pain. I don't believe TCL rolls out updates for their hardware, and all the software settings are controlled and updated by Roku. The software is telling the hardware what to do, so Roku should be able to fix, hopefully. 🤞 A reddit user said they called TCL, and they said they only deal with hardware, its up to Roku for a software fix. So their just pointing fingers at each other. Heck, I would be surprised if they even knew there was a issue. 

The soundbar works fine on an older TCL, its 10.5 but with different build number than the R635, so it has to point to the Roku firmware?

I'm getting my Google TV R646 Sunday, hopefully this solves all my issues I've had with Roku over the years. 

---

I didn't hear from TCL yesterday and if I don't hear from them by this afternoon I'll try calling them.  From my perspective, the TV is a TCL.  I did not buy it from Roku and it is not a Roku-branded product.  It's a TCL tv and they are responsible for making sure it works properly.  If there's a problem with the software THEY put on it, they need to work with Roku to fix it, not me or you or anyone else who bought a TCL-branded TV.   The warranty is from TCL and that makes them responsible for it.  

And just like you, I have another Roku TV that works just fine.  If the Roku software doesn't work with these particular TCL TVs, that's TCL's problem to fix.

If they can't or won't fix it I'll contact whatever consumer protection agencies I can find and get them involved.  

[GuitarMan]

Anyone hear any updates on this?  I called TCL and the person who answered the phone wasn't able to answer anything.  She basically punted and said the person who I was dealing with via email would call me back.  That person didn't call me but did send me an email, again punting the issue saying the info would be forwarded to their warranty or engineering department. 

The person I spoke with on the phone also said there was a delay because I needed to send them a pic of the white sticker on the back of the TV.  Well, I had sent that to them along with several other pics they asked me to send.  I told her this and she said the serial number they had for the TV was wrong and that I had sent them a pic of the wrong sticker and the serial # on it was invalid.  WTF?  It's their freakin sticker and was the only white sticker with a serial number on it!   I pulled the pic up on my phone and read her the serial number from it.  She confirmed that the serial number was valid.  What are they doing over there?  This was the exact pic I sent them. 

Very frustrating and annoying.    

[ma230598239]

Hello,

HiSense TV with Sony STR-DH710 AV receiver connected via eARC/ARC HDMI ports.   AVR worked fine with my previous TV.

I configured the sound to use the eARC through the Roku menu.   The sound switches to the AVR and plays audio as expected.   

After powering off and then using the TV another day, by switching on power on my power strip, then pressing the Roku remote power on button, the TV powers on, as well as the AVR, but no sound through the AVR.   I see the Roku main menu after startup, the AVR is able to detect and respond to volume up and down commands from the remote.   But no sound.    

Workaround - If I manually set the audio output in the Roku settings menu to TV then back to eARC the Roku will handshake and AVR audio will work as expected.

Workaround 2 - With no sound, if I go to the back of the TV and replug the HDMI cable there will be handshaking and sound will work as expected.

I notice that when configuring through the Roku audio menu or re-plugging the physical cable, the Sony AVR will see some data and turn on its HDMI and Dolby indicators.

The Sony AVR takes a few seconds to initialize when powering on.   If I had to guess, it might be the handshaking was sent from the Roku TV when the AVR was still initializing and so the setup didn't work.

I'd like to be able to hear audio after I turn on the TV without having to do these workarounds.

[GuitarMan]

---

@ma230598239 wrote:

Hello,

HiSense TV with Sony STR-DH710 AV receiver connected via eARC/ARC HDMI ports.   AVR worked fine with my previous TV.

I configured the sound to use the eARC through the Roku menu.   The sound switches to the AVR and plays audio as expected.   

After powering off and then using the TV another day, by switching on power on my power strip, then pressing the Roku remote power on button, the TV powers on, as well as the AVR, but no sound through the AVR.   I see the Roku main menu after startup, the AVR is able to detect and respond to volume up and down commands from the remote.   But no sound.    

Workaround - If I manually set the audio output in the Roku settings menu to TV then back to eARC the Roku will handshake and AVR audio will work as expected.

Workaround 2 - With no sound, if I go to the back of the TV and replug the HDMI cable there will be handshaking and sound will work as expected.

I notice that when configuring through the Roku audio menu or re-plugging the physical cable, the Sony AVR will see some data and turn on its HDMI and Dolby indicators.

The Sony AVR takes a few seconds to initialize when powering on.   If I had to guess, it might be the handshaking was sent from the Roku TV when the AVR was still initializing and so the setup didn't work.

I'd like to be able to hear audio after I turn on the TV without having to do these workarounds.

---

As you can see from my posts above, I have a very similar problem with a TCL Roku.  Been in contact with TCL and they are playing dumb and pretending they've never heard of this issue and are having me jump through all kinds of hoops to help them "troubleshoot" the problem.  

I just bought this TV in November but I'm past Best Buy's return period.   TCL has been useless, Roku has been useless.  

My solution is simple but unpleasant - I consider this TV to be a total loss.  I also consider TCL's "warranty" to be non-existent.  Best Buy's return policy is also garbage.  I will relegate this TV to a bedroom in which I don't use an AVR or soundbar and buy a "real" TV from Sony.   All current consumer electronics are garbage but what separates them is the support you get from the manufacturer and the seller.  

From now on I will only buy from Costco and use external Roku devices that if they break, I'll be out $50 instead of $500.   Given TCL's support, it'll be a while before I consider another TCL product.  Their soundbars are also junk, imo.  

[ma230598239]

100% it is a software fix.    I put in a ticket with Roku's support.    I had to be pretty persistent to get it sent to their engineers as they initially assumed I suppose I was clueless on either to hook it up or the hardware was bad.    

I've worked with device software in a previous job so I'm not clueless.

For my case ( hopefully the same solution will work for your hardware when they release a new Roku OS update)... when the startup HDMI handshake fails the Roku OS should detect and handle it, then send another handshake attempt after 2-3 seconds and it will initialize properly.

I confirmed this today by first powering on my Sony AVR then turning on the Roku TV with the remote.   The HDMI handshaking works ( I see the HDMI and Dolby indicators on the AVR and the sound works as expected.

The sound init fails every time when just turning on the TV with the remote ( the AVR powers on at the same time thru the HDMI ARC wakeup signal ).

Hopefully they will put out a fix fairly soon.

[GuitarMan]

TCL finally got back to me and they want to send out a tech.  Not sure what the point of doing that is if it's a software issue.  

[InigoMontoya]

I just purchased this TV and had no idea about this issue. If I had, I wouldn't of updated when I set it up. ROKU! TCL! YOU NEED TO FIX THIS! You make great products. You set a new standard for an affordable great looking TV and great streaming capabilities with ROKU . Don't undo all of it by letting this slide. Please put your heads together and figure out the solution. I have 1 month to return this TV, so if it is not fixed by then, I'll have no choice but to return it. Please don't make me to that. I love everything about this TV and I want to support both Roku and TCL. Any sort of update you could give us in the mean time would be greatly appreciated.

PLEASE HELP AND PUT OUT A NEW UPDATE THAT FIXES THE DOLBY ATMOS/EARC ISSUE. PLEASE!

[GuitarMan]

So the TCL repair tech came by today.  He saw the issue and agreed it is likely a software issue caused by something in the 10.5 update that is breaking the eARC port.  

What is TCL's role in this?  My TV is branded TCL, not Roku.  Roku is the OS.  I'm guessing Roku needs to fix the software but TCL needs to pressure them to do this.  

I really don't care who fixes this but it needs to be fixed.  As it is, at this point I will not be buying any more Roku TVs.  I don't like my entire TV controlled by software that when it breaks, messes up everything.  I'll keep using Roku streaming devices but will stay far away from TVs with Roku operating systems.

[t3hbutt3rs]

After a few days with the Google R646, I returned it. The Roku R635 is better in many ways, even with the broken 10.5 update. I've learned to live with "refreshing CEC devices" every time I turn on my TV. Even bought a new soundbar just to rule that out, and same issue. So again, Roku reps, if your reading this, send this to the software team. We've troubleshooted more than we've like to admit. Let us roll back the FW, or push our a fix.

[GuitarMan]

What didn't you like about the new TCL Google tv?  I'm curious because I've asked TCL to replace my currently unfixable 5-series Roku TV with one of the Google TVs.  So far they've refused and are playing the "send us a picture of...." game with me to delay the process.  They're asking me to send pics of things I've already sent them, more than once.  

Absolutely horrible support and warranty service.  I can confidently say that I will not buy another TCL TV again.  

I'm learning that there is a reason why Costco stopped carrying TCL.