How to Change the Input on a TCL Roku TV

I've wired up three TCL Roku TVs over the years — a 6-Series (65R655) that runs a soundbar and a PlayStation, a 4-Series (50S451) with a cable box, and a little 3-Series (32S335) in the kitchen that still has a composite AV input. My honest take: once you stop hunting for a Source button that TCL never put on the remote, the Home-screen tiles are genuinely quick. The one thing that drove me up the wall was the PlayStation yanking the input every time it woke — that's HDMI-CEC, and Fix 4 shows how to stop it.

First, be clear on what you actually want. "Changing the input" splits into four different jobs on a TCL Roku TV: switching to a device you already connected, switching when the remote is gone, adding a source that never showed up, or unsticking a set jammed on one input. The 30-second test points you at the right one.

The 30-second test

Answer one question before you touch a menu. The right method depends entirely on which of these matches your situation.

1. 1Do you just want to watch a device you already plugged in — a console, cable box, or Blu-ray? Press Home and pick its tile — Method 1.
2. 2Is your remote lost, dead, or unresponsive? Switch inputs from your phone or let HDMI-CEC do it — Method 2.
3. 3Does the input you want have no tile at all — an antenna, an AV device, a new HDMI source? Add it first — Method 3.
4. 4Is the TV stuck on one input, or does the tile you pick just show No Signal? Go to Fix 4.

Method 1: Switch inputs from the Home screen

This is the standard way, and on a TCL Roku TV it's the only built-in one. Roku doesn't use a classic Source list — every HDMI port and the Live TV tuner sits as a tile on the Home screen, right beside your streaming apps. So switching inputs just means selecting the right tile.

1. 1Press the Home button on your TCL Roku remote. Hit the house-icon button near the top of the remote. It always jumps back to the Roku Home screen, whatever app or input you're on. A TCL Roku TV has no separate Source or Input menu — every connection is a tile on this grid.
2. 2Scroll to the input tile you want. Use the arrow pad (D-pad) to move across the tiles. Each connected HDMI port shows as its own tile — HDMI 1, HDMI 2, HDMI 3 — next to the Live TV tuner and your streaming apps. A renamed port shows its label instead, like “Xbox” or “Cable.”
3. 3Highlight the tile and press OK. Move the highlight box onto the right input and press OK, the button in the center of the arrow pad. The TCL switches to that source right away. If the screen stays black, the device on that port is off or asleep — turn it on first.
4. 4Press Home again to switch back. To leave an input, press Home and pick a different tile — an app, the Live TV tuner, or another HDMI port. There's no dedicated “TV” or “Back to input” button on a TCL Roku remote; Home is how you move between every source.

When it won't work: if the tile you want isn't on the Home screen at all, the input isn't set up yet — jump to Method 3. If the tile opens to a black "No Signal" screen, that's the device, not the TV — see Fix 4. Roku's own steps for adding and switching inputs live on its support site.

Method 2: Change the input without the remote

Lost the remote or drained its batteries? You can still change the input three ways. Each one gets you to the tiles or switches the source for you, so a missing remote doesn't strand you on the wrong input.

1. 1Use a phone app. Install the free Roku app or a universal remote app, join the same Wi-Fi as the TV, and use the on-screen Home button and D-pad to select the input tile — exactly like the physical remote.
2. 2Let HDMI-CEC switch it. Under Settings > System > Control other devices (CEC), turn on 1-touch play. Now when a connected device powers on, the TCL jumps to its input on its own.
3. 3Use the button on the TV. TCL Roku sets have a single power key or a small joystick nub on the back or bottom. It mainly powers the set on and off; on most models it can't cycle inputs, so treat it as a last resort, not an input switch.

The phone route is the one I reach for. Once the TV is on Wi-Fi, install Smart TV Remote on your phone, join the same network, and you get the Home button and D-pad on screen. Tap Home, steer to the HDMI tile, and press OK — no physical remote needed. It can't wake a sleeping device, but it drives every menu the boxed remote does.

Catch: a phone app needs the TV already on the network, so it's no help if the set is fully off with no CEC. In that case, see our guide to turning on a TCL Roku TV without a remote first, then switch the input from the app.

Method 3: Add an input that isn't showing

Sometimes the input you want has no tile because the TV never set it up. A TCL Roku TV auto-adds an HDMI tile only when it detects a powered device on that port. The antenna tuner and, on budget models, the AV input have to be turned on by hand. Here's how to bring each one onto the Home screen.

1. 1Missing HDMI tile: make sure the device is plugged in and powered on, then go to Settings > TV inputs and confirm that port is set to show, not hidden. Newer TCL sets have a Set up inputs option that re-scans every port.
2. 2Antenna / Live TV: go to Settings > TV inputs > Antenna TV and run Set up input to scan for over-the-air channels. When the scan finishes, a Live TV tile appears on the Home screen — that's your antenna input.
3. 3AV / composite (3-Series and some 4-Series only): plug the red/white/yellow adapter into the TV's AV jack, then enable AV under Settings > TV inputs. Higher-end 5- and 6-Series sets drop the composite jack, so this tile won't exist there.

Catch: adding the tile is separate from switching to it. Once it shows on the Home screen, use Method 1 to select it. And if you'd rather send a phone or laptop screen than switch to a hardware input, see how to screen mirror on a Roku TV instead.

Fix 4: TCL Roku TV stuck on one input or No Signal

If the TV won't leave one input, or the tile you pick shows a black "No Signal" screen, the fix depends on the exact symptom. Work through these in order — most are a two-minute setting, not a hardware fault.

1. 1It keeps snapping back to one input: HDMI-CEC is grabbing it. Go to Settings > System > Control other devices (CEC) and turn off 1-touch play, or disable CEC on the device that's doing it (a console or soundbar).
2. 2Home button does nothing, so you can't reach the tiles: the remote has lost pairing. Re-pair the enhanced remote, or drive the Home screen from a phone app while you sort the remote out.
3. 3The tile opens to No Signal: the device on that port is off, asleep, or the cable is loose. Turn the device on, reseat the HDMI cable at both ends, and try a different port to rule out a dead one.
4. 4The set boots straight into an HDMI device and hides Home: that's CEC auto-start plus a slept device. Press Home to force the Roku menu; if it won't respond, power-cycle the TV by unplugging it for 60 seconds.

When none of it helps: if Home is unresponsive from both the remote and a phone app, the problem is the remote or the TV itself, not the input. Start with fixing a TCL Roku TV remote that isn't working, then come back and switch the input once Home responds again.

Which method fits your situation

The four approaches solve different problems. Match what you're actually trying to do to the one that gets you there fastest — and see whether it needs a working remote.

My advice: keep a phone app installed as a backup for the day the remote goes missing, and if your console or soundbar keeps hijacking the input, turn off CEC 1-touch play once and forget it. For the everyday switch, nothing beats the Home button. If you also want the HDMI tiles labeled with real names instead of "HDMI 2," the generic Roku TV input guide covers renaming and hiding them.

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