On a TCL QM7, which runs Google TV, antenna channels appear in the Live tab, and the first thing to understand is that Google TV treats them as one more source among many, so a guide that looks empty or wrong is often a software state and not a weak signal. Plug the antenna into the RF jack, open Settings, Channels and inputs, Channels, choose Antenna and run the scan. When the scan finishes, press the Live button or open the Live tab on the home screen to see the guide, where you can mark favorites and hide channels in the channel list in the same settings.
The checks in more detail
If a station you expect is missing, rescan after moving the antenna, and check the list for channels that were switched off, since they will not show in the guide. Google TV has a few quirks. After a software update the Live guide sometimes loads slowly or shows no program data for several minutes while it fetches listings, and clearing the cache of the Live Channels or the TV's Live TV app in Settings, Apps, See all apps, forces a clean start.
A guide that shows channels but no program names often needs the TV to be connected to the internet, because Google supplements antenna data with online listings. If the Live tab is missing altogether, check that the antenna input is set up and that a Live TV app is enabled. Favorites and the last channel are remembered per input, so changing inputs can seem to lose them. The QM7 has a single tuner, so it cannot record or watch one channel while recording another, and 3.0 NextGen broadcasts need a tuner it does not have, so stations that moved to NextGen only may disappear.
Signal quality still depends on the antenna: place it high near a window, rescan after each move and avoid amplifiers at the TV. If reception is strong but channels freeze, a stalled Live TV app is the likely cause, so restart the TV. Keep the TV updated in Settings, System, About, System update. If the tuner finds nothing with a good antenna that works on another TV, contact TCL with the model number.
Differential
Likely causes of “TCL QM7 QLED Mini-LED TV cannot find antenna channels”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
An empty Live guide
What separates it The Live tab shows no program data
How to confirm Clear the Live TV app's cache and check the internet link
- 2
Channels switched off in the list
What separates it A station you know is not shown
How to confirm Turn it on in Channels settings
- 3
A NextGen only station
What separates it A channel that moved to the newer standard disappears
How to confirm The QM7 has a standard tuner, so use streaming for that station
- 4
A single tuner
What separates it Recording or a second channel is not possible
How to confirm Plan on one channel at a time
- 5
A stalled Live TV app
What separates it Channels freeze while the signal is strong
How to confirm Restart the TV
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- Whether the Live tab appears
- Whether program names show
- Whether the TV is online
- Which stations are missing
Try in this order
0 of 6 completedRun the antenna scan
ReversibleIn Channels settings.
Open the Live tab
ReversibleAnd check favorites.
Clear the Live TV cache
ReversibleIf the guide is empty.
Check the internet link
ReversibleFor program data.
Turn on hidden channels
ReversibleIn the list.
Restart the TV
ReversibleIf channels freeze.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Live tab
- Antenna and live services appear together.
- One tuner
- One channel at a time.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If the tuner finds nothing with an antenna that works on another TV, contact TCL with the model number
- !If the Live tab is missing after an update, restart before resetting
- !Note the software version
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
Where do antenna channels appear on a Google TV?+
In the Live tab.
Why is the guide empty?+
The Live TV app may need its cache cleared or an internet link.
Can the QM7 record?+
It has one tuner and no recording.
Why did a station vanish?+
It may have moved to the newer broadcast standard.