Use a TCL TPW or TPC-HA portable AC remote: modes, timer, Sleep, swing and °F/°C

How the remote works

On these TCL portables you press Mode until the mode you want lights up, set the temperature with ▲ and ▼, and choose a fan speed with Fan speed. The timer is one button: press Timer until the number of hours you want shows, then wait about 5 seconds. Sleep is only on the remote and only works in Cool (or Heat on heat-pump units).

What you can choose depends on the model. The TPW06CR19 is the simplest: Cool, Fan and Dry, High and Low fan, and no motorized swing. The TPC-HA units (and the TPW08CR19, according to its manual) add Auto mode, more fan speeds and swing, and Heat on heat-pump versions. TCL’s two documents for the TPW08CR19 disagree: its 2021 quick-start guide shows a simpler panel with only Cool, Dry and Fan and High and Low fan lights. Look at your panel to see which applies (see the note under the table).

Before you start

Batteries: two AAA 1.5 V batteries go under the cover on the back of the remote. Don’t mix old and new batteries, or alkaline and rechargeable ones.
Range: point the remote at the sensor on the unit, no more than 23 ft (7 m) away, with nothing in between.
Power: press the On/Off button (remote or panel) to turn the unit on or off. TCL says never to turn it off by unplugging it. Press the button, then wait a few minutes before you unplug, so the unit can finish its shutdown checks.
The control panel on top of the unit has Mode, Timer, Fan speed, ▲, ▼ and On/Off, so you can do most things without the remote. It has no Sleep, Swing or °C/°F button.

What each feature does on your model

Feature	TPW06CR19	TPC-08/10/12C/HA and TPW08CR19
Modes	Cool, Dry, Fan	Cool, Dry, Fan, Auto; Heat on heat-pump versions only
Cool temperature	64–90 °F (18–32 °C)	64–90 °F (18–32 °C)
Fan speeds in Cool	High, Low	High, Medium, Low, Auto
Fan speeds in Fan mode	High, Low	High, Medium, Low
Swing button	Feature not available: set the louvers by hand	Swings the deflector up and down, or stops it
°C/°F	°C/°F button on the remote, or hold ▲ and ▼ on the panel for 3 seconds	°C/°F button on the remote, with the unit in standby

TPW08CR19 owners: the right-hand column follows the TPW08CR19 user manual, which shows a panel with Heat, Cool, Dry, Fan and Timer lights and High, Medium, Low and Auto fan lights. TCL’s 2021 quick-start guide shows the TPW08CR19 with only Cool, Dry and Fan lights and High and Low fan lights, lists High and Low as the Fan-mode speeds, and describes no Auto or Heat. Swing works in both. If your panel has only High and Low fan lights, expect the modes and fan speeds in the TPW06CR19 column.

Choose a mode

Press Mode repeatedly until the mode’s symbol lights up.

Cool: set 64–90 °F (18–32 °C) with ▲ and ▼, then pick a fan speed. The exhaust hose must be fitted. TCL suggests not setting the temperature far below the outdoor temperature, because it wastes power.
Dry: the display shows dh and the unit picks the fan speed itself (low on the TPW06CR19, and on the TPW08CR19 according to the quick-start guide); you can’t change it. Keep the exhaust hose fitted, as in Cool.
Fan: only the fan runs, so the exhaust hose doesn’t need to be attached. Press Fan speed to change the speed. In this mode the speed difference is easier to notice than in Cool.
Auto (TPC-HA manual and TPW08CR19 manual): the indicator lights circle around the display. On a cooling-only unit it runs Fan below 73 °F (23 °C) and Cool above it. On a heat-pump unit it heats when the room is at 68 °F (20 °C), as TCL puts it, runs Fan between 68 and 73 °F (20–23 °C), and cools above 73 °F. The 2021 quick-start guide doesn’t list Auto for the TPW08CR19. If pressing Mode never brings up the circling lights, your unit doesn’t have Auto.
Heat (heat-pump TPC-HA versions only): set 55–81 °F (13–27 °C). Hot air can take a few minutes to start. In a very cold room the unit defrosts by itself, shows Lt and may sound different while it does.

Set the timer

The same Timer button sets a delayed start or a delayed stop, from the remote or the panel. What it does depends on whether the unit is running.

Turn the unit on later

Turn the unit on and set the mode, temperature and fan speed you want it to start with. For example: Cool, 75 °F, high fan.
Turn the unit off with On/Off.
Press Timer. The display shows a number of hours.
Keep pressing Timer until the delay you want shows (1–24 hours).
Wait about 5 seconds. The Timer symbol lights up, and the unit will start after that many hours with your settings.

Turn the unit off later

With the unit running, press Timer.
Keep pressing until the number of hours you want shows.
Wait about 5 seconds for the Timer symbol to light.

Cancel the timer

Press Timer again. The Timer symbol goes out.

Use Sleep

Put the unit in Cool (or Heat on a heat-pump unit).
Press Sleep on the remote. The display dims and the fan drops to Low, where it stays.
To stop Sleep early, press Sleep, Mode or Fan speed.

Sleep can’t be set in Fan or Dry mode, and there’s no Sleep button on the panel.

According to TCL’s full user manuals for all three model families, in Cool the set temperature rises by 1 °F (1 °C) each hour for 2 hours, stays there for 6 more hours, and then the unit turns off. In Heat the setting falls by 1 °F (1 °C) an hour for 3 hours, holds for 5 hours, and then the unit turns off. So plan on Sleep ending with the unit off, roughly 8 hours after you start it.

TCL’s 2021 quick-start guide says the Cool temperature decreases by 1° an hour instead. We follow the full manuals: three separate manuals agree on it, and the quick-start guide’s Sleep paragraph also contradicts itself (it says to select Cool or Dry, then that Sleep can’t be set in Dry). If you want to know which way your unit goes, check the set temperature on the display an hour or two after you press Sleep.

Use swing

TPC-HA units and the TPW08CR19: in Cool, Dry or Fan, press Swing. The deflector swings up and down continuously; press again to stop it at the angle you want.
TPW06CR19: the remote has a Swing button, but TCL says the swing feature isn’t available on this model. Move the horizontal and vertical deflectors by hand. The quick-start guide adds that the vents are closed for shipping: open them by pushing on the bottom-left corner of the deflector.

Switch between °F and °C

TPW06CR19: press °C/°F on the remote, or hold ▲ and ▼ on the control panel together for 3 seconds.
TPC-HA units and the TPW08CR19: put the unit in standby (plugged in and switched off with On/Off), then press °C/°F on the remote.

If a button doesn’t do what you expect

Nothing responds to the remote: check the batteries are the right way round and replace them, stand within 23 ft (7 m) with a clear line to the unit, and try the same button on the panel. If the panel works, the remote or its batteries are the likely cause.
Sleep won’t turn on: the unit is in Fan or Dry mode. Switch to Cool first.
Swing does nothing: on the TPW06CR19 that’s expected, because the feature isn’t available. On other models, check you are in Cool, Dry or Fan.
°C/°F does nothing on a TPC-HA unit: switch the unit to standby first.
The unit doesn’t restart straight away: after it’s turned off, the compressor safety device waits about 3 minutes before it allows cooling again. That’s normal.
The display shows Lt, PF or Ft: these are the unit’s own messages. Lt is frost protection and clears by itself, Ft means the internal tank is full and needs draining, and PF is a sensor fault that TCL says needs customer service.

Common questions

Does the timer use a clock time or a countdown?

A countdown. The manuals describe no clock setting for these units: you choose a number of hours from 1 to 24, and the unit starts or stops when that time has passed.

Why did my unit switch itself off in the morning?

If you used Sleep, that’s how TCL describes it: after the 2-hour adjustment and 6-hour hold, the unit turns off. A delayed-stop timer does the same when its hours run out.