TCL S615 Series

Don’t bother, move on to a different model – My parents started with this TV for the kitchen but soon gave up on it due to the viewing angle - sit just to the side and you won’t see much at all. I inherited it for my bedroom, but find that the interface is so laggy it is almost unusable, the sound is tinny, and the remote only sporadically works. I’d be better off watching streaming services on my phone.

Don't buy TCL – DONT BUY TCL. Bought this TV for the family room and it worked ok. Time to warm up was incredibly slow and once you had selected a channel you still had to wait 10-15 sec before volume controls would respond. Guess thats part of buying a cheap TV. After 12 months (that magic period) things started to go wrong. Colour was poor particularly when… Read more

changing camera views on live TV. As an example, watching a news reporter then going back to the studio presenters the colours would flare in particular red for approx 10-15 seconds before it would settle again. Over all colour is poor. I use the TV to view my security cameras via the USB connection. Now for some unknown reason l cant select live TV after viewing the cameras. Several other aspect of the TV are poor, sound is another one that is low quality. Seriously this has been a very poor experience and at times frustrating for me. I've had enough so the TV is heading to the bin at Bunnings and I'll be buying a new one but it won't be TCL. Absolute piece of rubbish.

SLOW TCL – Slow.......at everything . Wifi useless apps drop out. Turning on is very frustrating. The only fast operation is OFF Show details

Trash – Complete trash. Slow. Lags. Wifi connectivity issues constantly. Packs it in at the drop of a hat. Sometimes you can watch a whole movie, sometimes it takes 4 hours across multiple days to watch a 2 hour movie. Remote is cheap and not very responsive. Often can only open apps if you go to the settings and force stop them first. Barely a functioning product. Barely a product at all. DO NOT BUY. Show details

Good TV… Until 1 year on – TV unit worked good for a cheap easy to use option for elderly parent. Unit the screen started to play up, so reset the TV unit. From this point I could not pair remote when prompt as the function didn’t work & couldn’t log into google (only feature available to use internet) as google prompt a captcha pic selected photo screen. Both functions I… Read more

could not proceed with. Contacted Customer Service, they advised me to download and install updated system, this didn’t work, then re-installed again several times. They requested me to make videos of issues as they had no tech to come out. Then they advised me to take TV unit into a JBHIFI store staff was helpful but like me just guessed what to select and basically suggested as customer service to use a mouse to get past google screen capture. So purchased a mouse to be able to go past screen to use TV. So basically Customer Service doesn’t have an answer to this other than my remote (which is what came with TV) doesn’t work with TV as it’s not smart enough for my smart TV. So the TV system changes but customers are expected to be computer programmers to figure out how to watch simple free to air tv. Customer Service started off friendly then became dismissive and not caring, simply answered it’s the way it is go buy a mouse. It comes with a 3 year warranty but that covers nothing not even a updated tv remote or mouse to use TV. Too much time wasting, fluffing around asked to do same process again and again for a few days. Not recommend.

You get what you pay – Noticeable lag when switching apps. Poor picture quality especially when viewing from an angle. Default setting has Brightness at maximum 100%. It can be changed but isn't default setting supposed to present TV in possible best option to avoid burn out? Everytime I switched off the mains power, apps have to be authenticated and log back in. A… Read more

message keeps coming up that storage capacity requires optimising. Once performed, all saved info are lost. I purchased first one from Costco and then returned for an LG. This is the second TCL Ive bought thinking 5 yrs inbetween would have improve but sadly not. Trying to return this to JB Wifi for a replacement with Korean or Japanese brand and pay a bit more.

Does not have TV channel selection for remote – Purchased a basic TV to be used as a TV to watch TV channels. This thing is a streaming device with a TV after thought. Does not even have selectable TV channels on the remote. Taking back to store hopefully get a real TV. Show details

Cumbersome to use – We bought a TCL TV on special ( floor stock) but had trouble setting it up. The booklet that came with it had instructions which IMO were lacking details and all the steps required.. we ended up getting a neighbour to help us and he was stumped for quite a while. The remote is very narrow and it’s very easy to hit the wrong button…possibly the… Read more

worst remote I’ve ever used.

When I was stumped about a few of the operations, I turned to the internet. I found the TCL site to be less than stellar and was shocked that I couldn’t have a “chat” with “someone” without uploading proof of purchase including the name of the shop, the series number of the TV as well as the serial number plus all my details!

The sound quality is not good .. it sounds quite muffled.

I have cleared out the free to air channels that I don’t want however the channels keep coming back .. I know there’s a “lock” I can put on it but without better instructions in the book and a pretty useless trouble shooting site, I’m not game to lock the settings in case I can’t reverse it.

The other thing that concerns me is the way the TCL guide changes .. sometimes I can see a small screen bottom right of the screen showing the current channel while scrolling through the channel list, and at other times it looks like a basic TV list that is not “populated” with programs… it “populates” the programs as I scroll through. It’s weird that this happens but it does and it’s annoying.

When watching some of the additional free programs though I-View for example, I cannot rewind the program to catch bits I might have missed. Also if watching a series, I cannot stop at the end of the episode and later look at the next episode. In order to see the next episode I have to go to the last episode I watched and wait for it to roll over to the next episode.

Finally, with a hearing impaired member of the house, having subtitles is pretty important. All the shows we used to watch on Foxtel and free to air channels had subtitles .. but not on this TV .. really only subtitles on the news. And yes, we have subtitles set up in the settings. I’ve checked that several times but still no subtitles on regular free to air programs that normally have subtitles. In fact, if watching a series on say i-View, I have to click on the CC at the top left of the screen.. I shouldn’t have to do that and certainly didn’t have to do that on my old non-smart 8-20 yo TV. Trying to watch 9 Now is a waste of time it takes forever to load .. funny thing .. it didn’t take long to load the first time I watched…and yes we have good speeds.

I intend to buy a larger TV later this year - it will not be TCL.

Sorry, I was unable to upload the receipt via the app.

Disappointing – Bought this at JBHIFI in Jan 2022. It was always fairly slow to switch on (Android holding pattern) and took about a minute to 'boot up', but was quicker to start once on standby. Never close to an instantaneous switch-on, but insufficiently annoying to want to spend money on something else. The TV had the occasional wobble, requiring… Read more

restarting/rebotting. Within a couple of months, the need to reboot became the norm. And then the TV got permanently 'hung' on the Android holding patten. Unwatchable. Within 4 months.

Unfortunately, I didn't return it to JBHI until 191 days after purchase (as the polite JBHIFI operative informed me). Well outside the JBHIFI 3 month replacement window. No replacement or credit arrangements available - only option was to repair the TV or dump it in the bin. The latter was tempting, as the TV had always been pretty slow to start. (Remember the days when you could just turn on the the tellie...?)

Perfect TV for the kitchen or bedroom – First impressions: - Good and colourful box that highlights the features of the TV. - Packaging is compact with minimal non-recyclable material. - TV built is sturdy and well-made (i.e. not plasticky and has a good weight). - Product warranty is simple with no need to register the product (just need to have the warranty card and purchase… Read more

receipt).

First Use: - User-friendly with the inclusion of a Quick Start Guide (which is extremely helpful for someone who is technology challenged). - Operation Manual is comprehensive with clear instructions which are easy to follow. - Simple to set up and connect to the home wifi.

Pros: - Set up and wifi connection is simple and quick. - Slim design with a small bezel edge. - Home screen is well-laid out showing all the available internet channels. - Slim handset which is not overlaid with too many buttons. - Picture clarity is good (i.e. higher screen resolution is not necessary for a TV of this size). - Decent sound quality from the TV speakers (although clarity is lost at high volumes if the room is large).

Cons: - Response time could be better. - Voice control feature (Google Assistant) is finicky. - Colours may be too bright (especially yellow) and may not be adjustable.

Conclusion: - Good value for money for a 32-inch TV which is perfect for small rooms or the kitchen given its slim design, good functionality and quality build. - Definitely happy to buy or recommend it.

Great addition to my television experience – Bought this tv as a second TV for three bedroom.It is a 40inch android tv with chrome cast bult into I can watch all the streaming channels Netflix,Stan,Amazon,Disney, Binge and as many apps I wish to download from Google play store. I already have a bigger TCL tv in my loungeroom I bought about 18 months ago. This influenced me to purchase this new one. Easy to install and a simple to operate. Highly recommended Show details

Seems fine so far – I have only had this a few weeks so won't comment on reliability. Set up was reasonably easy however it is a little quirky so best to read the instructions (my Hisense was much easier though) It connected to the Wi-Fi quickly and has sufficient apps for most such as youtube and Netflix. The picture is fine for a unit at this price but the… Read more

refresh rate may not suit some if your fanatical about watching sport? It is reasonably responsive to the remote and overall for $359.00 I can't complain. I have it undercover outside and did note the screen does suffer from reflections so it does appear to be more suited to darker positions. The sound is actually ok and for the intended purpose, does it's job well. There is plenty of connectivity options as with most TV's these days too, just remember there may be less ports of one type though which is fine given it's price.

Overall for the price I would say it's a good choice for a second TV, the kids or like me a way to keep track of the Cricket and AFL while playing pool outside. If it dies early, well it didn't cost much more than a decent night out for 4 people anyway.

Shut box – Waste of money...never works ...try to use an app and just black screen and so slow to react to remote...biggest waste of money !!! And normal tv doesn't work either...try apps but goodluck... Show details

Great TV but can't find the Sleep Mode – The TV was reasonably easy to set up. Access to the streaming services was good. Good just can't find the sleep mode on my S32S615 Model. Good sound and pictures. Show details

Great TV with all the features for a reasonable price – This is a Smart TV with very easy to use icons. It was easy to install and self programmed. The wireless connection went through seamlessly with our login details. This TV has an excellent 3 year guarantee. Show details

Worst TV I've ever owned – Purchased TCL model 32S615 in Aug 2020. In May 2021, noticed scratchy noise from time to time. Took back to Harvey Norman expecting either a swap or refund but was told it had to be sent away for repairs. Waited over 4 weeks to have the TV returned and was fine for a couple of weeks and started again. TV is slow when changing channels and glitchy.… Read more

Colour quality is bad as picture is terrible on low brightness and too bright when increasing brightness. Obviously uses cheap parts as takes a long time to switch channels and media as processor is too slow. Remote design is bad and not user friendly and very basic functions like no sleep mode. I do not intend to purchase any other TCL branded products. Cheap and nasty.

Shortcomings become clear after a few days – Plenty of good reviews of this TV on various retailers sites (though many are on the Good Guys, so they are not truly objective - you have to pay for VIP service to review)...so I will provide balance by telling you some of the shortcomings, from the POV of a reasonably experienced tech user. (Plus one surprising positive at end) … Read more

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1. HD IS *TINY* (4.6 GB!): You will start getting warning alerts constantly!

Once I put my Kodi Library on it (2 GB) and a handful of Apps (including SBS, Iview, TED), it started CONSTANTLY giving me alerts it was running out of space and I had to delete stuff.

I've ended up having to keep Kodi on my PC and plug that into the TV.

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2....And yet it only has *one* usb port. Unless you spend $20 on a USB hub you are severely limited with extra storage devices, keyboards/mouse etc and even subtitles....And android tv sucks without a mouse+keyboard!

This is pretty bad! They couldn't provide ONE extra USB?!!

(I don't know if the next size up has more, but MATE: I'm not going to buy a TV that's too big for my room just to get an extra USB port! I also just found out the previous version of this TV DID have two USB)

The consequences are that if you DO want to use a USB drive to store your media (and the inbuilt player called 'Media Player' (required to use HDR picture setting) will ONLY read subtitles from a USB), you can't ALSO plug in a (USB) mouse+keyboard!

This is a problem for anyone who wants to get full use out of the TV, because you are Going to want to use a mouse and keyboard!: Ironically, given how many apps any Android TV CAN use, you will soon find that using the remote to navigate and TYPE stuff in, is a real pain. (Yes, it has voice-control, but it's - slow - only covers some functions and - of course, some of us don't want Google keeping our voice data on record!) _______________________________________________________________

3. ...Made worse by the fact that you can only add a subtitle to the movie if its on the usb stick, not on a network-share _______________________________________________________________ 4. Shockingly bad access to any movies you have stored on the network: it can only ~see~ 200 of them in any folder, and other annoyances

I took a whole star off for this shocking oversight or incompetence. If, like many, you store you movies on a computer or network storage (you will HAVE to with this TV), you will be shocked to find that the app called 'Media Player' that seems to be provided to the TV (not by Android) will only show 200 of your movies in any folder. You will find the rest are invisible. I myself had to break up all my movies into a whole bunch of separate folders, which took quite a long time. SURELY they can fix this in the software?

EDIT: This MAY be a problem native to this type of network access (uPNP or DLNA). But the VLC app MIGHT not have the same problem?

OTHER ANNOYANCES: * Someone decided it was a good idea to sort the videos on the network share (via the native 'Media Player') by default according to TIME, not title/A-Z. This is extremely inconvenient for most users. And the piece of junk app doesn't even remember your preferences when you exit it. So EVERY TIME you use it you have to reset this to see your videos properly _______________________________________________________________

5. When ethernet (blue cable) is connected the wifi network drops out! (with real consequences)

This is pretty ridiculous and causes me real, practical problems. For example, before I realised I could access the videos on my PC using the native software of the TV (see point 4), I wanted to: - try to access videos on my PC via an Android File explorer (e.g File Commander) - try to store videos on the TV hard drive using same But I found that any file browser app couldnt even SEE my PC on the network if the ethernet cable was plugged in. I literally had to UNPLUG the ethernet so the TV switched over to reliance on the wifi connection before it would see my PC. THIS SEEMS IDIOTIC! Like any PHONE, why can't it use whichever network is appropriate to the task? The above was not the only use-case where I had to unplug and replug like this - I just can't remember the others.

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6. Screensaver doesnt start in some apps - risking screen burn

For example in Iview. No doubt others too. I'm not sure of the screen technology it uses, but this seems risky to me.

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7. TCL'S Reputation for caring about its customers damaged: very inconsiderate missing stuff from manual: spent days without a major feature + an hour of unnecessary searching

This made me lose alot of respect for TCL as a company, because their incompetence or decision to save 1 cent on paper costs really inconvenienced me. There is a native function on the TV that allows you to connect to your PC and play the videos on it, using what is called DNLA or UPnP (or some such). When I went to the module/page that should have that feature, it just had a list of short basic instructions that were completely useless to me. Pressing buttons did nothing. And there was NOTHING about this in the manual for my TV. Not a WORD! In fact, it seems ALOT of stuff is missing. Eventually a careful Google search found a manual for a SIMILAR TCL TV, which had DETAILED instructions of how to connect your PC so you could play videos from it. Why couldnt they have just included it?!!! To save a FEW CENTS!? Or are they just incompetent? I mean, this feature is CORE to the use of the TV ! What sort of company does that?

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8. [Android for TV problems:] No easy access to context menus ("Right-click") even with a mouse...Becomes very tiresome!

I found this annoying and ridiculous. The onl way to invoke the (far too occasional) context menus using your remote, is to press an on-screen button LONGER. But half the time you can't quite time it properly and end up with a normal press - which usually STARTS the video! Not only that, on this TCL remote, there ARE buttons that COULD surely be used to invoke a context-menu (e.g the 'hamburger' MENU button with three lines), but it rarely does that! WHY? That's an OBVIOUS USE for it! And: EVEN IF YOU HAVE A MOUSE, it usually still uses the same method, instead of utilising the available right-click button! You have to PRESS the on-screen item, leading to exactly the same problem. COME ON Android, surely you can build in proper right-click with a mouse! Sadly the Kodi for Android TV had the same problem (though it DID use the MENU button, but with difficulty). It looks like I will be just delete that Kodi from the TV (I need the space!) and use the Kodi-on-a-usb-stick on my old PC, plugged into the TV using an adaptor! (MORE expense!)

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9. [Android-for-TV problems:] NO WEB BROWSER

This might seem a minor point and TCL is probably not to blame (but rather Android). But if you're the sort of user who buys a TV partly BECAUSE of all the APPS, it seems reasonable to expect to at least be able to run a browser on it to search the web (e.g Chrome, which is after all, made by Google/Android). When you're watching TV, you might want to look up more info about a show - and not just through videos that are constantly trying to SELL you something (more on that below!). But through YOUR choice of site. Also, a show might provoke your curiosity about something. Etc Etc But neither Chrome nor (to my mind) any other well-known browser was on the Android-for-TV 'store'. I DID manage to get a version of Chrome from a third party, but it was only an Android Chrome and was VERY basic.

NOTE re WORKAROUND: There's a version of Kodi (free) that runs entirely on a USB stick that you can plug into your computer (called LibreElec). It's very good ! That DOES have an add-on for Chrome that works as a FULL DESKTOP-STYLE browser, with addons and the rest.

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10. [Android for TV problems:] FIVE TIMES AS MANY ADS ON YOUTUBE - SHOCKING!

This was really disheartening and is starting to drive me nuts. I've noticed that when you watch YouTube thru your Android-for-TV, you get LOADS more ads. What they do is stick these ANNOYING 5-second ads in the MIDDLE of your video, ALL THE TIME. Often TWO ads in a row. Often SEVERAL times in a video as short as half an hour. You also get ads if you watch a bit of the video, go do something else (or watch something else) and come back in the middle of the video. COME ON ! Stop molesting the viewer with these excessive ads, YouTube. You are taking advantage! They are just ASKING for users to get third-party apps that avoid this. Then you will get NO AD REVENUE, YOUTUBE!

(Update: such an app IS available and works well) _______________________________________________________________

ONE SURPRISING POSITIVE

I just found out that the output of something (eg. a computer or dvd player) plugged into the HDMI port DOES seem subject to the 'picture presets', allowing you to choose the HDR preset, which seems to give you better colour and detail.

So for me the result of this is that I can use the Kodi on my PC instead of the Android TV version and still get that great picture quality (plus ironically, the Kodi on Android TV is NOT subject to the picture presets!)

Which is just as well, because there is no room for my Kodi (library of media) on the TV hard drive and the Android TV version of Kodi has downsides like no right-click for context menus.

(Note: I use a Kodi via a USB stick that you just plug into your computer and use as a whole operating system, called LibreElec, which I find great (free). The whole thing runs from the USB stick without ever using Windows: "Just enough OS for Kodi" says it all). _______________________________________________________________

Overall, MANY annoyances and disappointments for a TV that is basically just a big screen with Android on it. The lack of a second USB is really stingy to me and a deal-breaker for ever buying another TC, along with the callous and unnecessary failure to include essential information in the manual. WHO DOES THAT to consumers? I no longer trust this company.