January 05, 2025

Hands-On Tech 197: Stop Your TV from Turning On by Itself

19 minutes

Mikah addresses a listener question about why their TCL TV and cable box sometimes turn on automatically after a power outage. He explains the likely causes and offers troubleshooting tips. Mikah also shares an important follow-up from a previous episode about internet speeds and the limitations of the Apple TV 4K's Ethernet port.

Main Topic:

• Richard asks why his TCL TV and cable box sometimes turn on by themselves after brief power outages

• Mikah explains that TCL TVs have a "Fast TV Start" feature that keeps the TV in a powered-on state to maintain network connections, causing it to turn back on when power is restored

• HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) allows devices to communicate and control each other, which may cause the cable box to turn on when the TV powers on

• Mikah advises checking the TV and cable box settings for features like Fast TV Start, sleep/hibernation modes, and HDMI-CEC to adjust the behavior

• Many smart home devices, such as lights and robot vacuums, also have auto-on features that should be configured to prevent unexpected behavior after power outages

Follow-up:

• Thomas points out that in a previous episode (195), the Apple TV 4K used to test internet speeds has a maximum throughput of about 990 Mbps due to its Gigabit Ethernet port

• For the listener (Ross) to accurately test their 2.5 Gbps internet speed, they should ensure their Mac supports the full 2.5 Gbps that the adapter provides

• The Apple TV 4K's Wi-Fi 6 support may allow for faster speeds than its Ethernet port, depending on the router and environment

Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! [email protected]

Host: Mikah Sargent

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