Wake a TCL Google TV from your phone with Network standby

Turn on Network standby, then wake the TV from an app

On TCL Google TVs covered by TCL UK’s multi-product booklet, a phone can switch the TV on from standby once Network standby is on. Press the dashboard (gear) button on the TV remote, then go to All settings → System → Power and energy → Standby Mode → Network standby and press OK to turn it on. When the TV is in standby, an app that supports network wake-up, such as YouTube, can turn it on.

Three limits from TCL decide whether this works:

• It works only in Google TV mode.
• It may not be available on certain models. TCL also says the booklet’s features are common to most models, not all.
• It stops working if you shut the TV down by pressing and holding the remote’s power button and confirming. A normal press of the power button, which puts the TV in standby, is what you want.

Before you start

TCL lists these conditions:

• The TV is on your home Wi-Fi. TCL’s wording is a wireless home network. The booklet doesn’t mention waking a TV connected by network cable. If the TV isn’t connected yet, the network setup is under the dashboard button → All settings → Network and Internet.
• The phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the TV.
• The phone has an app that supports waking the TV over the network. YouTube is the only example TCL gives. It doesn’t list other apps.
• You have the TV remote, to switch the setting on. It’s in the settings menus, which the button on the TV can’t reach.

Turn on Network standby

1. Make sure the TV is on and in Google TV mode.
2. Press the dashboard button on the remote. It shows a gear (filled or outlined, depending on the remote).
3. Select All settings and press OK.
4. Go to System → Power and energy → Standby Mode → Network standby.
5. Press OK to turn it on.

If you don’t find Network standby there, your model may not have it, or the TV may not be in Google TV mode. TCL’s booklet doesn’t cover either case further. The TV’s on-screen User Guide (press the Home button, then Apps → User Guide) is TCL’s electronic manual for the TV and may describe your model’s options.

Wake the TV from your phone

1. Put the TV in standby with a short press of the power button on the remote. TCL says the TV stays powered at low energy use in standby.
2. On the phone, open the app that supports network wake-up and use it to wake the TV.

TCL says the app can then wake the TV remotely. The booklet doesn’t describe what the app shows or which option in it does the waking; that depends on the app, so check the app’s own help if you can’t find it.

If the TV doesn’t wake up

Check these in order:

1. Was the TV fully shut down? If someone held the remote’s power button and confirmed the shutdown, TCL says Network standby is disabled. Turn the TV on with the remote or the button on the TV, check that Network standby is still on (TCL doesn’t say whether the shutdown switches the setting off or only stops that one wake-up), then put the TV in standby with a short press.
2. Is the TV still plugged in? Network standby wakes the TV from standby. A TV that is unplugged or switched off at the wall can’t respond.
3. Are the phone and TV on the same Wi-Fi? Phones sometimes switch to mobile data or a different network.
4. Does the app support waking the TV? TCL names only YouTube. An app that can play to the TV once it’s on doesn’t necessarily wake it from standby.
5. Is the TV in Google TV mode, and does your model have the feature? If Network standby isn’t in the menu, the booklet offers nothing further. Check the on-screen User Guide or ask TCL support with your model number.

Common questions

Does this let me control the TV from my phone?

TCL’s booklet describes only waking the TV from standby. It doesn’t describe using a phone as a full remote.

Does it work when the TV is connected by cable?

TCL’s booklet doesn’t say. It describes the feature only for a TV on a wireless home network.