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How to set up a fake TV simulator

Updated: October 2026

You already have a unit, or it arrives today, and you need the glow to read as a television from the pavement before you go out. How to set up a fake TV simulator is mostly placement: the right window, the housing hidden, a dusk mode that matches the season, and one look from outside after dark. This page does not rank the twelve listings. That table is the [TV simulator comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/tv-simulator). Peter F. used maker notes and amazon.co.uk files saved on 15 October 2026. There was no laboratory install. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already have a unit, or it arrives today, and you need the glow to read as a television from the pavement before you go out.

Our top picks

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV

Best overall

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV
8.6/10about £16.95
View offer
XGHDPBM XGHDPBM USB fake TV light

Preis-Tipp

XGHDPBM XGHDPBM USB fake TV light
7.7/10about £10.49
View offer
YZRDCXM YZRDCXM wall-mount TV light

Alternative

YZRDCXM YZRDCXM wall-mount TV light
5.6/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Choose the window first
  2. 2.Aim the light and hide the unit
  3. 3.Set dusk plus 4 or 7 hours
  4. 4.Check from outside, then stop if something is wrong

Choose the window first

Pick a window a person on the street can actually see. Crime-prevention sellers often prefer an upstairs room, because a ground-floor glow is easier to inspect up close. ERA’s FakeTV notes say a ground-floor window needs a translucent covering, and that you should avoid glass washed out by a bright exterior light. If a street lamp sits on the sensor, the unit may never decide that it is dusk. You are lighting one curtain, not the whole house. Post and bins, if you are away for days, sit on fake TV simulator holiday.

Aim the light and hide the unit

The housing should stay out of sight. ERA’s note says do not show the unit, and do not treat it as a guarantee. Light curtains can be closed, with the LEDs aimed at the fabric. Heavy curtains can stay open, with the unit set back so the glow hits the glass. A plug-in unit can only sit where the socket is. United Kingdom reviews of the Defender say a distant socket is useless, and a floor socket throws the light at the carpet. A USB unit on a shelf may reach if the adapter is in the house. Do not leave the housing on the windowsill. Which power type you bought is on the fake TV simulator buying guide.
Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV

Testsieger

Defender Defender plug-in simulated TV
8.6/10about £16.95
View offer

Set dusk plus 4 or 7 hours

Use a dusk mode, not always-on, unless you are only checking that the LEDs work. On the Defender instructions, blue is dusk plus 4 hours and green is dusk plus 7 hours, and the sensor is about 0.5 lux. Four hours suits a shorter summer evening. Seven hours suits a longer winter one. That is the maker’s tip, not a statute. Miangerrn names a timer and does not print the hours. Do not test the sensor at noon and call it faulty. Another lamp on the sensor can hold a 0.5 lux unit off, which is why a timer lamp should not share the windowsill. That comparison is fake TV versus a timer light.

Check from outside, then stop if something is wrong

After dark, walk to the pavement and look back. You want a changing colour on the curtain and no view of the plastic housing. If you see a hard little lamp, or a pool of light on the floor, move the unit before you rely on it. One Defender review describes timer modes as two static LEDs. Stop if the plug or the socket is hot, scorched, or damaged. That is an electrician’s job. A unit that merely feels warm in one review is not, by itself, that emergency. This lamp does not lock anything. When the pavement check looks right, leave the mode alone.

Common questions

Where should the unit sit?
Put the glow on a street-facing window and keep the box hidden. A ground-floor window can still work if a translucent curtain covers the glass and exterior lights do not flood it. A plug-in unit has to use a socket close to that window. A floor socket that lights the carpet is the wrong height, even when it is the nearest socket.
Should the curtains be open or closed?
It depends on the fabric. Light curtains can be closed, with the LEDs aimed at them. Heavy curtains can stay open, with the unit set back so the light reaches the glass and the housing stays in a corner. ERA says not to leave the unit itself on show. Closed curtains all day, when you are away, read as an empty house. That daytime habit is separate from the night aim.
Which mode, 4 hours or 7 hours?
Choose dusk plus 4 hours for a shorter evening, and dusk plus 7 hours when dusk is early. Defender prints blue for the 4-hour run and green for the 7-hour run. Neither mode is a weekly timer. Always-on is for a quick check that the LEDs light, not for the week you are away. If the listing does not name the hour steps, you cannot assume these two lengths.
Why does a daytime test stay off?
Because the sensor is waiting for dark. About 0.5 lux is a dim room, not a bright afternoon. Daylight through curtains, or another lamp in the same room, can hold the unit off. Try again after dusk, with other lights in that room switched off. A failed dark test is a different problem. One Miangerrn review, in a file of only two, says the sensor was not working at all.
What if the timer never switches off?
Treat that as a fault, not as a longer evening. One United Kingdom review of YZRDCXM says the 4-hour and 7-hour settings came on at dusk and did not end. One Defender review says the timer modes showed two static LEDs. Contact the seller about a return. A light that never goes off is its own signal that nobody is choosing programmes.

Related pages

Best TV simulators

TV simulator

Fake TV simulator buying guide: plug, USB, and box

Fake TV simulator holiday: one window, not the fortnight

Fake TV vs timer light: the cue someone outside sees

Sources

Public UK sources on occupancy lighting, BS 1363 plugs, product marking, and the Ofgem price cap. Prices are the amazon.co.uk shelf prices for these ASINs on 15 October 2026. They move. Page updated 17 October 2026.

  1. West Yorkshire Police, Easy Street (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Ask the Police, lights or radios on a timer (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Avon and Somerset Police, lighting (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Thurrock Council, while away from home (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, UKCA or CE marking in Great Britain (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Ofgem, price cap 1 October to 31 December 2026 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Defender plug-in simulated TV instructions (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. ERA FakeTV installation notes (retrieved 16 October 2026)