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 🙂
