A woman named Erika Simon said in her TikTok video that she and a man had just finished mounting a new television when the screen would not move past the brand logo. Simon, who posts as @erikalynnsimon, shared the clip along with a caption that read, “Someone actually HAS to be f’ing with us at this point.” The video had 1.7 million views, 39,200 likes, and more than 1,800 comments.
On-screen text in the video stated, “When you just spent $849 on a brand new TV, carried it up 3 flights of stairs, mounted it on the wall, and then this happens… Actual nightmare fuel.” The pair stood in a living room with a white sofa visible to the side. Simon held a remote, gestured at the large black screen, and said, “Ta-da!”
The display first showed the TCL logo and then went dark except for a small white rectangle in the upper right corner. A man wearing a camouflage hat stood with his arms crossed. He said, “I think you might have turned it on and turned it off again.” Simon pressed the remote once more. The screen went black briefly and returned to the same dark image. She then said, “Well, that was exciting.”
Reddit users describe mixed experiences with TCL televisions
The man took the remote from Simon. Both looked at the screen. Simon stood with her hands on her hips. The clip did not show the television moving past that logo-and-box display.
Viewers of Simon’s TikTok video also left comments. One asked why someone would “spend $800 for tcl.” Another wrote, “Is this rage bait? Walmart has a 70inch for under 400.” A third said, “For that price should have got a Samsung. Top tier in the TV world.”
One commenter asked, “Why Everyone hâte TCL.. its a good tv…” Another wrote, “I’ve had TCL 8+ years. Still going strong.” Debates over TV value and shopping choices are common, as seen when a Walmart shopper bought the cheapest big screen they could find only to be betrayed by her Ford Bronco in the parking lot.
A separate Reddit post on the r/tcltvs subreddit by a user named DismalMistake7675 asked whether people should listen to warnings against buying TCL sets. The original poster wrote that they had been “heavily discouraged by quite a number of people around me, and a few online from purchasing a TCL tv.” They noted that hundreds of positive reviews exist online and asked if a set would “perform well for 3-5 years then completely dies on me.”
One commenter said they own a 75-inch C8K and that the set has “a pink tint frame close to the border.” They wrote that the tint is “normally it’s not visible but when there is white scenery this is clearly visible.” They also described uniformity issues, saying “when the picture turns to black suddenly there are noticeable uniformity issues in the corners, large much brighter areas.” The commenter added, “I regret this purchase.”
Another commenter said they compared a Sony Bravia 7 with a TCL QM8K. They wrote that the “MINISCULE processimg performance improvement on the bravia was not worth a 50% cost increase” and that they are “very very happy with my qm8k.”
A third commenter said a seven-year-old Sony that sat on a terrace in temperatures of 35+C in summer and about -10C in winter “is still doing great.” They said a Samsung QLED needed a mainboard replaced after two years and that “the same issue is coming back again.” They added that they had just bought a C7K for a grandmother.
One person wrote that they “returned 2 models” and “Bought LG C5 instead.” Another said, “I have TCL TV for 7 years and had no problem whatsoever.”
Published: Sep 9, 2026 01:45 pm