Why Does TCL Roku TV Keeps Freezing? – Easy Fix

Your TCL Roku TV keeps freezing and you’re looking for a solution?

Well, plenty of users also experienced this issue in the past, and in this post, we’ll describe how they managed to solve it.

Your TCL Roku TV could be freezing because of outdated firmware, overheating, power malfunction, or wiring/source problem. To fix the issue you need to target each cause accordingly and next we’ll find out how.

Why Does My TCL Roku TV Keep Freezing?

Users report that in most cases when their Roku TV freezes it is due to a power malfunction or a Wi-Fi outage.

In rare cases, it might also be related to some deeper hardware/software issues, but we will exclude these possibilities for now.

Here are most of the things that could make your Roku TV freeze:

1. Firmware Issue

If left outdated, the firmware might be one of the major reasons why your TV is freezing.

2. Power Malfunction

A potential power fault with or issues with the current might lead up to some TV freezing issues.

3. Cable Fault

An issue with your HDMI or power adapter might make your TV keep freezing constantly.

4. Source Problem

A source issue will be forwarded to your TV, and you might experience freeze frames.

5. Overheating

If your TV is exposed to direct sunlight during the summer, and its hardware is very hot, you might experience throttling, thus freezing.

There are other potential issues such as your remote interfering with the channels without your input or the famous TCL Roku TV headphone issue that we’ll discuss later in the post.

How To Fix TCL Roku TV Freezes Constantly?

If you still haven’t normally restarted your TCL Roku TV, now is the time to do so.

A normal reboot often resolves freezing problems, so make sure to do it before you continue.

In case the restart didn’t help, let’s start solving the problem:

Solution #1 Discharge Your Roku TV

Unlike the normal reboot, an action like the power cycle or hard reset will actively discharge your TV.

This will provide the device with a cold boot the next time you start it up which might resolve any potential power malfunctions it may have developed.

To discharge your TV and fix the contact freezing, follow the steps below:

1. Turn OFF your TV by pressing the power button on the remote once.
2. Unplug the TV’s power adapter from the outlet.
3. Wait for 5 minutes in order for the electricity to be discharged.
4. Plug your TV back into the source and test.

Alert: We highly recommend changing the power source of your TV as well as removing any power dividers in between.

Solution #2 Change the Source

It is possible that your TV is not freezing, but the source you’re viewing instead.

This can often occur if you’re viewing the broadcast of a console, online application, or PC device.

We recommend switching your Roku TV’ source to the default one, in other words, where you watch TV channels. This is the fastest way to tighten the circle of possibilities.

Here is exactly what to do:

1. On your Roku remote, press the source button.
2. In the source menu, navigate to “Live TV”
3. Click the OK button once the source is highlighted.

Keep testing your TV for several minutes and if the freezing is still occurring, proceed with the next step.

Solution #3 Update Your TV

If the source wasn’t the problem, then your TV is most likely to be outdated.

The outdated firmware version can potentially cause many harms, not only freezing issues and it is strongly suggested to keep your Roku TV up to date.

Here are some steps to check the firmware version of your TV and update it:

1. Press the Home button on your remote.
2. Highlight the Settings tab and press the OK button.
3. Highlight the System and press the OK button.
4. Select System update and press the OK button again.
5. Choose “Check Now” to perform an update check.
6. (Optional) If there is a new update, an “Update Now” button will appear.

Note: Your TV will restart several times during the update and you should preserve its power income to avoid further complications.

Solution #4 Inspect the Cable Connections (Source Issue)

If your problem does NOT appear on Live TV, only a specific source, then the problem is NOT related to the TV.

In that case, you will be mainly targeting the power adapter and all active HDMI connections throughout your setup.

Having that said, here are some tips to diagnose your TV’s cable connections:

1. Disconnect ALL HDMI connections.
2. Disconnect the power adapter.
3. Choose only one source that you want to test.
4. Switch HDMI cable ends.
5. Plug it tightly into the ports.
6. Restart your TV and the source.

Once the devices are back up, simply test the connection and if possible, replace HDMI to check if the issue is coming from the cable.

Note: If you’re experiencing freezing only on online platforms such as Netflix, make sure that your WiFi is not experiencing outages!

Solution #5 Disconnect Headphones/Speakers

If your TCL Roku TV keeps freezing, you should know that users share that when they are connecting speakers or headphones, in particular, freezing occurs.

This is why we recommend unplugging any headphones or sound devices you’ve plugged into your Roku temporarily.

Once disconnected, restart your TV, and this way you will be able to tell whether the issue is caused by these devices. If it does not help, jump to the next solution!

Solution #6 Clear TCL Roku TV Cache

Sometimes the cache data builds up to a point in which the TV’s hardware cannot support the normal operation any longer.

This often results in freezing so clearing the cache would be the last step before taking more serious measures.

Follow the steps below to clear your TCL Roku TV cache:

1. Go to the Main Menu and select Home.
2. Take your remote and aim at your TV from a close distance.
3. Press the Home button 5 times.
4. Press the Up button once.
5. Press the Rewind button 2 times.
6. Press the Fast Forward button 2 times.
7. Wait for 1 minute to clear the cache.
8. Restart your TV.

Once the TV is back up, test on multiple sources for the freezing issue. If it’s still there you’ve got no other option but to factory reset the TV.

Solution #7 Factory Reset Your Roku TV

If nothing worked so far, then we suggest factory resetting your Roku TV.

Sometimes a factory reset is the only approach that will actually help, so if you’ve tried everything else, don’t hesitate to execute the steps below:

Alert: Be informed that a factory reset will revert all features back to default and erase all temporarily stored information on your TV’s hard drive.

1. Press the Home button on your remote.
2. Select the Settings tab.
3. Go to System and locate the Advanced system settings tab.
4. Click on Factory Reset.
5. Select Factory Reset Everything and confirm.
6. Follow the remaining on-screen instructions to finalize the reset.

Once the TV is reset successfully the freezing should be gone!

Read Next: How To Fix TCL Roku TV Color Problems?

Bottom Line:

To fix a freezing TCL Roku TV, first hard reset the device, check the source, inspect the cable connections and disconnect any headphones or speakers. Next update the TV’s firmware, clear the cache data and perform a factory reset.

Now that you know why TCL Roku TV keeps freezing, you should be able to easily get rid of the issue by applying some of our proven solutions.

If unfortunately, the issue is still there by the time you’re reading this, you should reach out to Roku for further assistance!

For more guides such as this one, don’t forget to check out our technical blog, where we specialize in resolving similar issues!