Connect a TCL air conditioner to Wi-Fi (CF mode and AP mode)

How TCL Wi-Fi setup works

A TCL air conditioner with Wi-Fi joins your home network through a phone app, in one of two ways. CF mode is the normal route: you give the app your Wi-Fi name and password and the AC connects to the router. AP mode is the fallback: the AC makes its own small Wi-Fi hotspot, your phone joins it, and the app passes your network details across. Start with CF mode and switch to AP mode only if CF fails.

Two conditions come first:

• Only Wi-Fi models can do this. TCL’s guides say the Wi-Fi steps are “for wifi models only”, and the control panels of Wi-Fi models have a Wi-Fi symbol that the manuals mark as present only on Wi-Fi models. The manuals don’t list which exact models have Wi-Fi. If your unit has no Wi-Fi symbol, check its own manual before you go further.
• Your phone must be on a 2.4 GHz network. Every TCL guide here says the app works on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only.

Which app your manual names

TCL has used different app names over time. Use the one your unit’s own guide names, and check the app store for its current version:

Your unit’s guide	App it names
TCL Wi-Fi User Guide (FCC ID 2AJCLTWAC-TYWFS), posted on TCL’s TAW window-AC support page	Smart Life
2021 quick-start guide for through-the-wall units (W8T9E1-A, W10T9E1-A, W12T9E1-A, W10T9EX1-A, W12T9EX1-A, W14T9X1-A)	TCL Home Comfort
Portable AC quick-start guide (TPW06CR19, TPW08CR19)	TCL Home Comfort
2021 quick-start guides for 5K–12K and 15K–24K window units	TCL Home+

As of October 2026, TCL’s US support site describes the TCL Home app for its Wi-Fi air conditioners and other home products. The TCL Home+ link printed in the 2021 window guides (tcl.link/homeplusapp) now opens a TCL page that links to the TCL Home app, and the TCL Home Comfort link printed in the through-the-wall and portable guides (tcl.link/homeconnectapp) no longer leads to an app page. TCL’s support page adds that some TCL products use a different app or don’t support app control, and it doesn’t list models. If the app named in your manual isn’t available, ask TCL support which app your model needs. The steps below follow the manuals; the app’s buttons and screens may now look different.

The 2021 window guides (TCL Home+) give only three steps: download the app, create an account (a verification code is sent to your email), then tap Add Device and follow the in-app instructions. They don’t describe CF or AP mode, so the rest of this page is documented for the Smart Life and TCL Home Comfort guides.

Before you start

• Have the AC plugged in and the remote nearby. On window and through-the-wall units, the mode switch uses the remote’s Display button.
• Connect your phone to the 2.4 GHz network you want the AC to use, and have its password ready.
• Keep the phone, the AC and the router within range of each other.
• Install the app and create an account. You can register with an email address or a mobile number; with a mobile number, a verification code arrives by text. The Smart Life guide also asks you to activate the app the first time with the activation code TCL (or by scanning TCL’s activation QR code).

TCL’s guide also says: don’t unplug the Wi-Fi module yourself. Nothing in this setup needs you to open the unit.

Connect in CF mode

1. In the app, tap Add Device and choose the type of product you’re adding.
2. The app opens on CF mode, and the AC starts in CF mode the first time it’s switched on. Follow the prompt and tap Next Step.
   • If the AC isn’t in CF mode, press Display on the remote 6 times within 6 seconds. The TCL Home Comfort guides and TCL’s current support article say that after 8 to 10 seconds you’ll hear two beeps and the display shows CF.
3. Choose your Wi-Fi network, enter the router password and tap Next.
4. The app tries to pair with the AC. While it searches for the network, the AC’s display may show PP or SA (what CF, AP, PP and SA mean). TCL says connecting may take 10–15 seconds.
5. When pairing succeeds, the app confirms it. You can rename the unit, share it with family, or tap Done and start using it.

If the app can’t find your network in step 3, the TCL Home Comfort guides say to give the app Location permission in your phone’s settings. The setting’s location varies by phone and system version.

If CF mode fails, connect in AP mode

1. On the app’s CF-mode page, tap AP Mode in the top-right corner. The page changes to AP; tap Next Step.
2. Press Display on the remote 6 times within 6 seconds to switch the AC from CF to AP. Allow 10–15 seconds; AP flashes on the AC’s display when it’s ready.
3. In the app, choose your home Wi-Fi network, enter its password and tap Next.
4. Open your phone’s Wi-Fi settings and join the AC’s hotspot:
   • Smart Life guide: SmartLife-xxxx
   • TCL Home Comfort guides: TCLHOMECOMFORT-XXXX (the same guides also write it as “Home Comfort-xxxx”)
5. Go back to the app. The TCL Home Comfort guides note that you may have to switch back to it yourself.
6. The app starts pairing. The AC’s display may show PP or SA while it searches, again for about 10–15 seconds.
7. A check mark means the AC is connected. If the app shows a warning instead, tap Retry, or View help.

TCL adds that the next time the AC is turned off and on, it connects to the network your phone was using.

Start again

To restart setup at any point, press Display on the remote 6 times: the AC goes back to CF mode. Press it 6 more times after CF appears to switch to AP mode. Give it 10–15 seconds to change modes.

If your portable AC’s remote has no Display button

The portable quick-start guide gives the same “press Display 6 times” step, but the remote drawn in that same guide has no Display button (its buttons are on/off, up, down, Timer, °C/°F, fan speed, Mode, Swing and Sleep). The guide doesn’t say which other button or panel key does this. CF mode is still the default when the unit is first switched on, so try CF setup first. If you need to switch modes and can’t, ask TCL support (1-800-825-6747 in the US guides) for the step for your model.

If it still won’t connect

If neither CF nor AP mode works, first check the four things TCL’s troubleshooting tables keep coming back to: the phone is on 2.4 GHz, the Wi-Fi password is right, the router is close enough to the AC, and the router’s firewall isn’t blocking the app. For the full list of TCL’s checks, and for an AC that connected once but now shows as offline or “Identification Failed” in the app, see TCL AC app can’t find the unit, goes offline or shows Identification Failed.