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Intro
How-To
Performance Tweaks
Switch to Google TV
Software Updates

Intro

My notes on changes I have made to my TCL Android TV (C645K UK model).

How-To

Generic Android

Enable developer mode

Settings > Device Preferences > About
Scroll down to: Android TV OS buid
Hit "OK" button on remote x7.

ADB

Connect with ADB

Full guide - https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/

Quick guide..
You will need a separate computer for this.
Download the adb client for your platform:

  • Windows
  • Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install android-sdk-platform-tools

On the TV:

  1. Enable developer mode
  2. Settings > Device Preferences > Developer options > USB debugging = enabled
  3. Find the TV's IP under: Settings > Network & Internet

From the computer command line: adb connect <ip of TV>:5555
The TV should ask if you wish to allow the USB debugging connection. Choose "Allow".

You should now be connected to your TV. You can verify with: adb devices (should list your TV).

ADB Shell

Once connected with adb, from the computer command line: adb shell
You should be presented with a prompt like: BeyondTV4:/ $
From this, you will be able to run commands directly on your TV operating system.

TCL Android

TV Service menu

TV Settings > Picture > Advanced > Brightness > Contrast
Enter one of:

  • 1950 - General Service Menu (Design Menu)
  • 9735 or 6428 - Subsection Factory Menu
  • 9705 - Subsection Service Menu
  • 6405 - subsection Hotel Menu
  • 6425 - TV Running Time and quick access to reset (Reset All and Reset Shop)

Performance Tweaks

Generic Android

I've found these two quick settings to make a good improvement to the responsiveness.. Enable developer mode
Settings > Device Preferences > Developer options:

  • Disable HW Overlays = enabled
  • Background process limit = 1

Uninstall TCL bloat

There are many guides on removing pre-installed TCL apps that come with the TV.
A lot of these are quite agressive, in trying to remove everything.
But for me, I was happy to just remove a few of the most obvious apps. \ And you need to be careful that you don't remove any of the apps controlling the TV's basic functions, eg the remote.

From ADB Shell:

pm uninstall --user 0 com.tcl.guard                # security / optimizations. but it a lot of cpu in the background.
pm uninstall --user 0 com.tcl.browser              # tcl browser
pm uninstall --user 0 com.tcl.waterfall.overseas   # the "tcl channel"
pm uninstall --user 0 com.tcl.tv.tclhome_passive   # tcl smarthome
pm uninstall --user 0 com.tcl.dashboard            # tcl smarthome

If you later wish to re-install any of these appa, you can do so like: pm install-existing com.tcl.guard

Switch to Google TV

ie change from Android TV to Google TV launcher.

This can be done through a firmware update, as below. But the method here won't result in wiping the device, so you can keep all your current apps.
It is also easy to roll back and forth as desired.

  1. Download Google TV Home apk from your favourite apk site.
    eg https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-tv-home-android-tv/google-tv-home-android-tv-1-0-574730900-release/google-tv-home-android-tv-1-0-574730900-2-android-apk-download/ (I tried the latest version, but it would not load. So reading forums, went with this version).
  2. Unzip the apkm package to a temp directory, eg linux: unzip -d gtv <.apkm file>
    And change to this directory, eg: cd gtv
  3. Connect with ADB, install the package and enable it on the TV 
    adb install-multiple *.apk
adb shell
pm enable com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx && pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.tvlauncher  # enable Google TV & disable AndroidTV

Straight away, you should see the TV flip to Google TV interface.

To roll back:

adb shell
pm enable com.google.android.tvlauncher && pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx
pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.tv.launcherx     # optionally uninstall GoogleTV launcher to free space

There also exist launcher manager apps to flip between launcher via the UI. But I have not tried. \

Software Updates

TCL do not seem to be running any updates over the internet, at least in my region (UK).
Instead, they offer a support service, where you can download firmware updates, and apply these manually via USB stick.

Firmware files will always be .zip, but there are two distinct formats:

  • OTA - update in place, keeping existing apps.
  • IMG - will wipe the device!

First determine your current firmware:
Setting > Device preference > About > Product Information: Software: V8-R51MT02-LF1V392.021305

The 2nd part of the software id tells you the firmware type, specifically platform + variant (TXX), eg:

  • R51MT02 = Realtek RTD2851M + Android TV.
  • R51MT05 = Realtek RTD2851M + Google TV.

You must stick with a firmware that uses the same platform, as this must match the hardware chipset of the TV.
Different TXX variants can be for different regions, or tv models.

If you stick with the same firmware type, you can use an OTA update.
If you want to switch to a different variant, eg R51MT02 > R51MT05 (Android TV > Google TV), you must use an IMG update.
If you need to rollback to an earlier version, then use an IMG firmware for this.
Note, rollback may require 2 steps to get back to where you were, eg:

  1. Flash V344 IMG to get back to an earlier available IMG version.
  2. Flash V392 OTA to upgrade this to your original version.

The 3rd part of the software id contains the firmware version, eg: LF1V392 => V392.
Where the letter indicates:

  • V - Production release version (should be the most stable option).
  • M - Pre-production version.
  • R - Test version.

Download Firmware

Now you have an idea of what firmware type you will be after, you can hunt for newer versions on the TCL cloud drives.
You could also search for these on the XDA forums, or the TCL Telegram channel / Bot. But for your convenience, I've compiled a collection of some of these below.
(I've used the yandex drives, since these give the folder contents, instead of just individual files).

RT51M Platform (Realtek RTD2851M):

  • R51MT01 - IMG, OTA
  • R51MT02 (Android TV 11) - IMG, OTA
  • R51MT04 (Japan) - OTA
  • R51MT05 (Google TV 11) - IMG, OTA
  • R51MT06 - IMG, OTA
  • R51MT07 (Japan) - OTA

Update Firmware

Prep a USB stick (with at least 4GB size) by formatting FAT32 (or failing that, can try NTFS).
Make sure the USB is empty, the only file should be the firmware file/s.
Then depending on your firmware format..

  • OTA - copy the .zip file to the USB. Insert USB into TV (USB 2.0 port recommended). Settings > System Update > Local update.
  • IMG - extract the .zip file, and copy the contents to the USB (eg Update.img file). Insert USB into TV (USB 2.0 port recommended). Power off the TV. Hold power button on the TV (not the remote) until the LED begins to blink. Release the power button, and firmware update should begin.

If you want a clean setup after firmware update, you can enter service menu, and run "ResetAll" and "Reset Shop".

More info / help

If you have any questions on which firmware version may be best for you, you can try these..

Troubleshooting

  • If the TV is stuck on Recovery Mode after reboot, unplug and wait for 10 minutes before plugging it again.
  • If IMG firmware results in black screen, you can try upgrade from this with a newer OTA version, using the power off>on method.

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