TCL TV Not Connecting to WiFi: Fix in Minutes

Is your TCL TV not connecting to WiFi, or your TCL Android TV won’t connect to WiFi?

Either way, it’s usually very easy to fix WiFi problems and takes only a few minutes of your time to get your TV back up and running again.

Whether your TCL TV WiFi is not turning on, your TCL TV WiFi keeps turning off, or some other TCL TV WiFi issue, you’ll find the solutions in this complete guide.

TCL TV Not Connecting to WiFi

To fix a TCL TV not connecting to WiFi, you need to reset your TV by power cycling it. Unplug it, hold the power button down for 15 seconds, then plug your TV back in after waiting a further 30 minutes. You can also try updating your TV’s IP and DNS, and resetting your WiFi network.

If your TCL TV won’t connect to WiFi after trying the above, then you should go through every step below in order, and I’m confident we will get it working again for you.

1. Reset TCL TV WiFi

Although this might seem a basic step, power cycling your TV is often the best way to fix your TCL TV not connecting to Internet.

Resetting your TV will clear out any issues with non-permanent memory and reset your main board without losing your personal settings.

This is quick and painless and won’t cause you to lose any of your saved settings.

Make sure your TV is switched off and unplug it.
Hold down the physical power button on the TV for at least 15 seconds.
Wait for at least 30 minutes for any residual power to drain from the TV’s capacitors (which are capable of storing charge for several minutes).
Plug your TV back in and try switching it on. You should see a light if you have been successful.

tcl roku tv power button — The TCL Roku TV power button is often underneath the TV, by the IR receiver

Make sure you do wait for the full 30 minutes before plugging your TV back in – you would be surpised how long the components within your TV can hold charge, and you want to make sure it has fully reset.

Although this seems a very basic step, don’t overlook it because in the vast majority of cases a simple soft reset fixes most issues.

Most people will now have their TV fixed and back up and running, but if your TCL TV is not connecting to WiFi after resetting, then we’ve got a few more basic fixes to try before getting into the hardware fixes.

2. TCL TV Not Connecting to WiFi Automatically

If your TV WiFi is not connecting automatically, and it is working on other devices, then check for an issue with your TV’s IP and DNS addresses.

In most cases, your TV should be setup to automatically select an IP address from your router, and usually also automatically pulls a DNS address, which is used to resolve IP addresses that your TV connects to, creating the URL that you see in the address bar of your browser.

But it’s possible that IP address lookup might have been set to Manual, and your DNS settings might be conflicting between your TV and WiFi router.

To fix this, press Home on your remote, then go to Settings -> Network & Internet -> [Click on the Connected Network].

If the IP Setting Mode is set to Manual, then change it to DHCP and restart your TV. This will make your TV select an IP address automatically from your router.

If the IP Setting Mode is set to DHCP, then change it to Manual, and change the DNS Server to 8.8.8.8, which is one of Google’s DNS servers that we know definitely works.

Restart your TV and try your apps again.

3. TCL TV WiFi Authentication Problem

If your TCL Android TV is not connecting to WiFi at all, this could be a sign that the password you are entering is incorrect, or the WPS setup failed.

If you used WPS, where you press a WPS button on your router and your TV automatically discovers the network and login details without any further input than you, then try entering your password manually.

If you entered it manually before, try re-entering your password, but this time make sure the Show password option is selected so that you can confirm this is correct.

4. Check Your Router is Not Set for MAC Address Filtering

MAC address filtering allows you to specify which devices are allowed to connect to the Internet using their unique MAC addresses, which every Internet capable device has.

If you, or someone in your family, has switched this on at the router level, your TCL TV won’t connect to the Internet even if it can connect to your WiFi.

Login to your router by typing the Admin IP address into your phone’s or computer’s browser. This is listed on a label on your router (usually 192.1.1.1 or similar), along with the admin login info.

Go to Advanced or Expert Settings and find MAC Filtering. Make sure this is turned off.

5. TCL TV WiFi Keeps Turning Off

If your TCL TV keeps disconnecting from WiFi, then you need to make sure that your router is switched on and working properly, and that there is no interference or blocking of the WiFi signal between your router and TV.

The easiest way to check that your router is working is to use another device, like a phone or iPad. Make sure this is using the same WiFi network as your TV, and check you are fully able to access the Internet.

WiFi interference can be a bit harder to discover, but if you can, try moving your TV as close to your router as possible, ideally within the same room.

If your TV and router are in separate rooms, then try taking another device with WiFi capabilties like your phone up to your TV, and see if you are able to successfully browse the Internet from the same location as your TV, on the same home network.

If your TV won’t connect to the Internet but other devices will from the same location, then you can assume your router’s WiFi signal is good, and the problem most likely lies within your TV.

6. Run a Network Connection Test

You can check if the TV thinks your WiFi network is connected successfully or not, which will help you narrow down the cause of the problem, by running a Network Connection Test.

Go to Settings on your TV, then Network and scroll down to Network Connection Test.

You will get a popup telling you if this has been successful or not, and if not, you can use the error message to help diagnose the problem.

7. Update TCL TV Firmware

If your TCL TV WiFi is not turning on, then updating your firmware is the best option.

Software and firmware issues have been known to cause problems with the WiFi on TCL TVs.

As with any product, you should ensure that you have updated your TV’s firmware to the latest version, even if it is new.

To update firmware on most TCL TVs:

Press Settings on your remote control.
Go to Support.
Then Software Update.

If you are asked whether you want to update by Network or USB, then choose Network.
The software updater should then run and will check if you are using the latest version of the TV’s software. If not, then download and install the most recent firmware.

For TCL Android TVs:

Press Home on your remote.
Go to Settings in the top-right.
Choose More Settings.
Then Device Preferences.
And About.
Then System Update.
Select Network Update and download and install any new firmware.

TCL Roku TVs will automatically update firmware if connected to the Internet. If your WiFi has been broken for some time, then your TCL Roku TV may not have the latest firmware, which you will have to install manually.

Go to the Roku update site on your computer and enter your TV model number or serial number and click Next. Both numbers are found at Settings -> System -> About, with the mode number being four numbers followed by a letter and the serial number twelve numbers or letters.

Choose Download Software from the prompt to get your new firmware.

Put a USB flash drive into your computer and copy the software your downloaded onto it, making sure it doesn’t go into any directories on your flash drive.
Eject the flash drive from your computer and put it into the USB port on your TV.
Go to Settings -> System -> System Update -> I can’t connect on your TV’s menu.
If you see the error, “Contents of the update file are invalid“, then you are running the most recent firmware on your TV, and you can move onto the next fix.
If your firmware needs updating, you will get a 12-digit code on your TV.
Enter this code into the Roku update website, and you will get a 6-digit code that you need to enter into your TV.

The update process will then commence.

8. TCL TV Not Detecting 5GHz WiFi

It’s possible that your TCL TV won’t connect to WiFi because of an issue with your 2.4GHz WiFi channel or 5GHz WiFi channel.

Login to your routers landing page, usually found by typing 192.1.1.1 or 192.1.1.0 into a browser on your phone or computer (the exact IP will be on a label on your router).

Find the login info on your router’s label, and take a look at the overview page to see whether your TV is connecting on 2.4GHz or 5GHz.

If it is connecting on the 5GHz channel, try changing the settings in your TV’s Network page to connect only on 2.4GHz.

You can also update the channel frequencies in the router itself, usually found under Expert Settings or Advanced Settings, changing these values and retesting your TV’s Wifi connection to see if they make any difference.

9. Check Your TV’s Time and Date

Because your router will automatically assign an IP address for a fixed period of time, if your TV’s time and date is wrong, it can cause the IP address to “expire” and prevent connection to the router.

IP addresses set by your router will have a Lease Expiration of several years (and this can be checked within the settings page for your router), so if your TV has a time and date several years away from the current date/time, this can cause the IP lease to expire.

Go into the Settings for your TV and manually update the date and time to today if it is not already showing this.

10. Factory Reset Your TCL TV

Returning your TV back to its factory settings is a more extreme step, as it will delete any personalization features, downloaded apps or connected devices, but it’s always worth a shot when other methods haven’t worked.

To factory reset a TCL Android TV:

Press the Settings button on your remote.
Go to More Settings -> Device Preference -> Reset.
Choose Factory Data Reset and then Erase Everything.
You’ll see a popup asking you to enter a PIN. This PIN is listed above the popup, so enter it and click OK to start the reset process.

To factory reset a TCL Roku TV:

Press Home on your remote.
Go to System -> Advanced System Settings -> Factory Reset.
Choose Factory Reset Everything.
Enter the code shown and click OK to reset your TV.

11. Reset Your Router

If you’re still seeing TCL TV poor Internet connection, then you can first try a soft reset of your router – unplugging it for 30 seconds – to see if that fixes your issue.

If not, try a hard reset of your router, pressing a paperclip or similar into the small reset hole usually found on the back of your router.

You will need to hold the paperclip on the reset button for at least ten seconds to be sure your router is fully reset.

This will remove any personalisation settings you have made on your router, such as a changed WiFi password or network name, so be sure you still have the default WiFi logins for the router. These are usually on a sticker on the router body.

12. Use an Ethernet Cable

Finally, if you are still unable to get the WiFi working on your TV, you might have to resort to using an Ethernet cable.

Either your TV or router should have come with one, and this will give you a wired Internet connection which will bypass your WiFi.

If your TV is in a different room from your router and it isn’t practical to use an Ethernet cable, or if your TCL TV keeps dropping the wired Internet connection, then there is still one final hardware fix that will get your WiFi working again.

13. Replace the WiFi Module

If none of the previous steps have worked, then you are most likely suffering from a failed WiFi module which is pretty easy to replace yourself.

Take a look at the video below for a step-by-step guide to do this. You will need to open up your TV which will invalidate it’s warranty, so this is really only a solution for TVs that are over one year old.

How to Connect TCL TV to WiFi Without Remote

If you’ve lost your remote or it doesn’t work, then you can connect to TCL Roku TVs without a remote by using the Roku app for Roku TVs or you can use third-party apps like the TV Remote Control for TCL TV.

As long as you are using a relatively modern TV, and your TV can connect to your home WiFi network, then you can use the apps like the Roku one on your phone even if your TV can’t connect to the Internet.

If your TV can’t connect to WiFi at all, then apps which use the infrared capabilities of your phone can work, like the one linked above.

Alternatively, try plugging a USB keyboard into your TV’s USB port and use the direction keys in combination with any Menu buttons or similar on the TV case to navigate the internal menus and connect to your home network.

TCL TV Support & Warranty

It goes without saying that if your TV is under one year old, then you should contact TCL customer support to get it replaced under warranty.

You can call TCL directly on:

1-877-300-8837 (Mon – Fri, 9am – 12am ET, Sat – Sun, 9am – 6pm ET)

Or contact them via email.

Even if TCL won’t fix your TV, they might still offer you a discount off a future model if you pester them hard enough! This is always worth a try in my experience.

So, How Do You Fix a TCL TV Not Connecting to WiFi?

To fix a TCL TV not connecting to WiFi:

Power cycle your TV to reset it.
Update your IP to obtain automatically and your DNS to 8.8.8.8.
Make sure your WiFi password is correct.
Confirm your router isn’t MAC address filtering.
Check for signal interference.
Run a network connection test.
Update your TV’s firmware.
Switch your TV to the 2.4GHz WiFi channel.
Check your TV’s time and date.
Factory reset your TV.
Reset your router.
Use an Ethernet cable.
Replace the WiFi module.

Hopefully you’ve now got your TV’s WiFi back up and running. If not, leave me a comment and I’ll see what more I can do to help.

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