TCL ROKU TV flashes to black screen every 9 seconds... first world problems have easy solutions

Monday afternoon, our television had an annoying glitch. Every 9 seconds, the screen flashed black. 

Troubleshooting started with the normal off/on, unplug everything, reset network, restart internet, and such, but the glitch still occurred. Oddly, my daughters watched Pokemon on DVD, and the glitch didn't occur. It also didn't occur when watching live TV through the antenna.

Figured it was a software issue so I contacted TCL via website/email. The auto-response was that it would take 3 days to get back to me due to the world pandemic. It was late, so I didn't have the option to call the 1-800 number.

Next day, I was going through other troubleshooting thoughts when I figured calling them wouldn't be too much of a waste of time.

I called and got the "all reps are busy" prompt, but was told it was a FIVE minute wait until one would be available. 5 minutes can be done, so I waited and actually got someone.

She was foreign sounding, but patient and polite. We did all the dumb things like turn off/on and such, but all failed until doing a factory reset. Yes, I spent 35+ minutes on the phone and the solution was doing a factory reset. Obviously, it sounds easy, but it's like resetting your phone. 

Anyways, I got an email today responding to my initial contact with TCL. If this response was easy to find online, I would have saved some time:

 

We're sorry to hear that the screen of your TV keeps flashing black but rest assured that we are here to assist you. 

 

To better understand the issue, we would like to verify the following: 

 

I. Is the issue happening on streaming apps such as Netflix, Youtube, Amazon, etc? 
II. Is it happening while on the regular inputs such as HDMI, AV and Antenna? 
III. Is it also happening on the home screen?
IV. When did the issue start?

 

Please follow the steps below and let us know if the issue will persist. 

 

1. Drain the power of the TV. 
    a. Turn the TV off and unplug it from the power outlet.
    b. Unplug all external devices from the TV.
    c. Press and hold the manual power button of the TV (located underneath the TCL logo) for 15 seconds.
    d. Plug the TV back to the outlet.
2.  Reset the TV's audio and picture settings.
    a. Select Settings on the Home screen
    b. Select System.
    c. Select Advanced System Settings.
    d. Select Factory Reset.
    e. Select Reset audio and picture settings.
    f. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the reset.
    g. Check if the problem still persists.
3.  Perform a factory reset. Please note that this puts your TV to its factory default settings.
    a. Select Settings on the Home screen
    b. Select System.
    c. Select Advanced System Settings.
    d. Select Factory Reset.
    e. Select Factory Reset Everything.
    f. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the reset.
    g. Complete the initial setup. 

 

We're looking forward to your response. Let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you for choosing TCL!
A month or so later, the TCL ROKU TV decided to dim whenever we first watched WandaVision. Seriously, the RIGHT HALF of the television was annoyingly different than rest of the TV. Naturally, I went through all of the steps that were tried when the TV was glitching every ten seconds... NOTHING worked. We were annoyed and not sure what to to do. It wasn't as noticeable if you sat in front of the TV, rather than at an angle... we put up with it being dim for WEEKS. It went back to normal after we hooked up our Nintendo Switch which was previously set-up in another room. Weird.