65" TCL 5-Series QLED 4K UHD Smart Google TV

Z_K

May 10, 2022 12:02 AM

77 Comments

Joined Nov 2018

Z_KMay 10, 2022 12:02 AM

77 Comments

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Quote from NoodleSamurai

:

Every TCL I have owned or dealt with [Series 4 (3 models), 5 (2 models), and 6 (1 model)] has died after 1.5-3.5 years.

The LEDs have failed on all of them, the power supply failed on two of them, both series 4's. TCons + Fuses have died and replacement lights have also died.

TCL is shilling because there is an astounding amount of people like me who have had all of their models from this brand die. They have horrible support and warranties as well. Never honored a warranty for me, not once.

EDIT: Before I get downvoted to oblivion like I always do when speaking out about TCL I'd like to also note why I've had so many of these TVs with so many issues:

My first one was a 55 inch series 4 I got for less than $99 on a black friday sale, a local store also did a BOGO everything must go sale so I snagged a 4 and 5 together, the other models noted above were family/friends and I repair TVs and other electronics in my spare time.

These aren't even worth the repair honestly, the replacement parts fail 9/10 times in the same amount of time or less. Search around and you'll see just how many owners have had these same issues. Hisense, JVC, Sharp (Hisense), Vizio (also high failure rate) are all better options IMO, everyone I know who owns models from those brands besides Vizio has sets that have outlasted TCL and are still working today.

I had a TCL 6 series die on me in 2 months of ownership. I called and they sent brand new a replacement with white glove delivery including unboxing, set up and removed the old TV for me. The 2nd TV has been going great for me for over 3 years now. But I paid nearly $1000 for the screen. Maybe the new less expensive TVs aren't as nice nowadays?

Last edited by Z_K May 9, 2022 at 05:05 PM.

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1

caveman017

May 10, 2022 12:05 AM

4.5K Comments

Joined Feb 2005

caveman017May 10, 2022 12:05 AM

4.5K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

Quote from Jack_Frost

:

Buy the roku version...

No, don't. The roku version has way worse brightness for HDR

3

1

caveman017

May 10, 2022 12:10 AM

4.5K Comments

Joined Feb 2005

caveman017May 10, 2022 12:10 AM

4.5K Comments

Quote from NoodleSamurai

:

Every TCL I have owned or dealt with [Series 4 (3 models), 5 (2 models), and 6 (1 model)] has died after 1.5-3.5 years.

The LEDs have failed on all of them, the power supply failed on two of them, both series 4's. TCons + Fuses have died and replacement lights have also died.

TCL is shilling because there is an astounding amount of people like me who have had all of their models from this brand die. They have horrible support and warranties as well. Never honored a warranty for me, not once.

EDIT: Before I get downvoted to oblivion like I always do when speaking out about TCL I'd like to also note why I've had so many of these TVs with so many issues:

My first one was a 55 inch series 4 I got for less than $99 on a black friday sale, a local store also did a BOGO everything must go sale so I snagged a 4 and 5 together, the other models noted above were family/friends and I repair TVs and other electronics in my spare time.

These aren't even worth the repair honestly, the replacement parts fail 9/10 times in the same amount of time or less. Search around and you'll see just how many owners have had these same issues. Hisense, JVC, Sharp (Hisense), Vizio (also high failure rate) are all better options IMO, everyone I know who owns models from those brands besides Vizio has sets that have outlasted TCL and are still working today.

If you've managed to kill 6 TVs, I'm going to guess you have a power conditioning issue.

19

2

reaperztoll

May 10, 2022 12:18 AM

396 Comments

Joined Jan 2017

reaperztollMay 10, 2022 12:18 AM

396 Comments

TCL sets from the P605/607 era were much better built but anyone having problems with set after set is the issue not the manufacturer.

1

2

NoodleSamurai

May 10, 2022 1:16 AM

68 Comments

Joined Nov 2009

NoodleSamuraiMay 10, 2022 1:16 AM

68 Comments

Quote from caveman017

:

If you've managed to kill 6 TVs, I'm going to guess you have a power conditioning issue.

Only 2 of those TVs were in the same home. The brand makes cheap products and has huge quality control issues with one of the worst warranty periods out of every manufacturer.

They're built cheap but sure power conditioning.

5

1

Mr_Sadness

May 10, 2022 1:35 AM

2.2K Comments

Joined May 2019

Mr_SadnessMay 10, 2022 1:35 AM

2.2K Comments

Quote from Cosmo23

:

I have the 55" S546 2021. It's a solid TV in a bedroom. I was concerned about motion being a big sports fan, but motion has been good so far. I'm curious whether a 120HZ panel will improve motion. I'd like to see the Hisense U7G, U8G, and TCL R646 drop in price soon, but not expecting anything drastic.

How is the out-of-the-box accuracy, did yours have the red tint issue or did Rting's just get a bad review unit?

"The out-of-the-box accuracy is bad. All colors are inaccurate, and the white balance is the worst we've seen on any TV so far, so shades of gray and white look awful. The color temperature is also warm, giving the image a red tint." -Rtings

Cosmo23

May 10, 2022 1:43 AM

933 Comments

Joined Aug 2018

Cosmo23May 10, 2022 1:43 AM

933 Comments

I don't recall having a red tint issue out of the box. The color accuracy out of the box was subpar. It was too warm. I was able to make changes to the picture settings from some YouTube videos that improved the picture a lot. I'd recommend this model, but I've only had it for 3 months. The Google interface is sluggish, so having a streamer like a 4K Fire Stick, etc. helps. I'm more concerned about picture settings. It's plenty bright, has good contrast, and motion so far.

Last edited by Cosmo23 May 10, 2022 at 11:13 AM.

1

wizzardeel

May 10, 2022 3:15 AM

514 Comments

Joined Jul 2010

wizzardeelMay 10, 2022 3:15 AM

514 Comments

Quote from Cosmo23

:

I have the 55" S546 2021. It's a solid TV in a bedroom. I was concerned about motion being a big sports fan, but motion has been good so far. I'm curious whether a 120HZ panel will improve motion. I'd like to see the Hisense U7G, U8G, and TCL R646 drop in price soon, but not expecting anything drastic.

This is a reply as additional feedback for visibility. I have the Model: 65S535 for the bedroom and it's a very decent bedroom TV. Dolby and HDR and it's got pretty vibrant picture. Got it for $629 in November 2020. Been pretty solid so far. I do not use the Roku features. I have an Nvidia Shield.

2

deskjob

May 10, 2022 3:18 AM

49 Comments

Joined Nov 2012

deskjobMay 10, 2022 3:18 AM

49 Comments

Obviously TCL isn't top of the line. The price is the main selling point. I know it's anecdotal but my GF got two TCL 4-series, a 55" for the living room and 43" for the bedroom.

The 55" died literally a week after the 1 year warranty. No picture at all, even though there's sound. Fortunately it had started to act up with random screen flickering and random reboots a couple weeks ago, and I had started the warranty claim. Even then, TCL initially refused to honor it. Took a couple long calls before they finally sent a technician out and replaced the motherboard. We haven't used it much since.

The 43" she got about 6 months after the 55", before the issues started with the big one. Otherwise probably wouldn't have bought it. The 43" now is exhibiting random screen shakes and distortions. It's about 50/50 intermittent now. Unfortunately it started to happen literally two weeks after the warranty ended. So we're SOL with this one.

They're cheap disposable TVs with okay quality. You get what you paid for. The hassle not to mention the e-waste are just not worth it in my opinion.

5

bobohead

May 10, 2022 7:06 AM

114 Comments

Joined Dec 2011

boboheadMay 10, 2022 7:06 AM

114 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

Quote from NoodleSamurai

:

Every TCL I have owned or dealt with [Series 4 (3 models), 5 (2 models), and 6 (1 model)] has died after 1.5-3.5 years.

The LEDs have failed on all of them, the power supply failed on two of them, both series 4's. TCons + Fuses have died and replacement lights have also died.

TCL is shilling because there is an astounding amount of people like me who have had all of their models from this brand die. They have horrible support and warranties as well. Never honored a warranty for me, not once.

EDIT: Before I get downvoted to oblivion like I always do when speaking out about TCL I'd like to also note why I've had so many of these TVs with so many issues:

My first one was a 55 inch series 4 I got for less than $99 on a black friday sale, a local store also did a BOGO everything must go sale so I snagged a 4 and 5 together, the other models noted above were family/friends and I repair TVs and other electronics in my spare time.

These aren't even worth the repair honestly, the replacement parts fail 9/10 times in the same amount of time or less. Search around and you'll see just how many owners have had these same issues. Hisense, JVC, Sharp (Hisense), Vizio (also high failure rate) are all better options IMO, everyone I know who owns models from those brands besides Vizio has sets that have outlasted TCL and are still working today.

Can't agree more with you. Bought a TCL from Costco and died just after 3 years. Got my money back through credit card's extended warranty. I picked up another dead TV for free online of the same model because it had power and mine didn't. I swapped the power supply board and turned out the backlight was also dead. FML. Thinking if it's worth the time to pay $75 for led backlights or just use the money to buy a Samsung.

3

1

vnv01

May 10, 2022 11:46 AM

70 Comments

Joined Apr 2011

vnv01May 10, 2022 11:46 AM

70 Comments

Quote from BlueSardine384

:

I might pull the trigger on this TCL 5-Series. I was debating between the Hisense H9G that's sometimes on sale for the same price with better reviews, but the Hisense QC has me worried. I also want the TCL 6-Series but it's $400 more. Coming from a long-time 4-Series owner, the 5-Series should at least be a decent upgrade.

Edit: Actually this seems like the 2020 model, which is darker. Might hold off then... wonder why Amazon lists it as 2021 model.

Google TV version is a '21 model. Slight improvement on image quality according to reviews. Different Os also provides features that Roku OS had locked out.

joelschlegel

May 10, 2022 1:23 PM

603 Comments

Joined Feb 2012

joelschlegelMay 10, 2022 1:23 PM

603 Comments

Quote from bobohead

:

Can't agree more with you. Bought a TCL from Costco and died just after 3 years. Got my money back through credit card's extended warranty. I picked up another dead TV for free online of the same model because it had power and mine didn't. I swapped the power supply board and turned out the backlight was also dead. FML. Thinking if it's worth the time to pay $75 for led backlights or just use the money to buy a Samsung.

FYI: I tried replacing the backlights on an LG 6000 series. I bought the LED light kit and all the PCB boards (just as backup parts). I also bought the suction cups for removing the panel. After looking at the videos many times and carefully disassembling the TV, REPLACING THE LEDs and reassembling the TV, i found that the backlights were working great but one side of the panel was updating slowly and smearing. When I asked the folks at AskJimmy they basically said my panel got scrogged during the repair. I WAS VERY CAREFUL but the connectors to the panel are very fragile. Long story short, ai spent about $120 on the parts and suction cups and it was a complete waste as I had to buy a new TV anyway. If you decide to give it a shot, suction cups are absolutely necessary to avoid cracking the panel.

1

BargainSeekerG

May 10, 2022 10:46 PM

224 Comments

Joined Nov 2014

BargainSeekerGMay 10, 2022 10:46 PM

224 Comments

Ugh! Anyone have anything good to say about TCL? (or this TV in general?)

I really wanted this TV given price and Rtings.com. But turned off by how many people responded their TCL TVs die. Have a Vizio I've used for 5+ years that's running strong.

Don't want to be replacing and generating waste every year with a bad TV.

2

IndigoRain261

Pro

May 10, 2022 10:54 PM

564 Comments

Joined Oct 2021

IndigoRain261

Pro

May 10, 2022 10:54 PM

564 Comments

Why would anyone buy this when Element 70 inch is on sale for $325?

1

NoodleSamurai

May 11, 2022 11:29 PM

68 Comments

Joined Nov 2009

NoodleSamuraiMay 11, 2022 11:29 PM

68 Comments

Quote from BargainSeekerG

:

Ugh! Anyone have anything good to say about TCL? (or this TV in general?)

I really wanted this TV given price and Rtings.com. But turned off by how many people responded their TCL TVs die. Have a Vizio I've used for 5+ years that's running strong.

Don't want to be replacing and generating waste every year with a bad TV.

Not really, there's just a ton of TCL shills on this site now that jump in and go out of their way to blame consumers over a subpar budget brand. TCL Warranties alone should be enough of a red flag when it comes to the longevity of their products. Look how many people continue to come on and say the brand is trash on this site with legit reasons. Even searching slickdeals you'll find a ton of TCL threads full of users with dead units.

Going by Rtings can be helpful, but I wouldn't use them as the end all be either, long term user reviews are important and thats where TCL consistently falls short when compared to the majority of competitors out there.

I've repaired a lot of TVs and other electronics in my life, TCL's not only always fail again, you can see how cheaply they're made the second you take one apart. Every brand has issues but you're better off with one that offers more than a year of service that's also notorious for not helping users.

There is a reason TCL dead tv videos on youtube get over 200k views and thousands of comments.

1

65" TCL 5-Series QLED 4K UHD Smart Google TV

$600

$900

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