Get FLauncher from the Play Store then either use Button Mapper to make the home button go there or use adb to disable the existing launcher. Completely clean home screen and can be done in a few minutes.
Worked like a charm. About an hour of fiddling around and learning ADB and now I feel like I own my TV. Thanks for giving me a solution outside of 'build/buy a different device'.
While I do appreciate everyones advice, this is exactly what I was hoping was possible. Thanks for the help mate.
Glad you went with ADB. Yeah it is more complicated but I agree it does feel better to have it completely disabled. Luckily once you do it once it is easier to do again. I just recently did it for a TV and a Chromecast, and the first one took me 30-40 minutes to figure out while the second one took more like 5 since I knew exactly what to do.
Still check out Button Mapper if you want to map the YouTube button on your remote to SmartTube. And if you are looking for any other app recommendations there is one called S0undTV that is basically SmartTube but for Twitch if you watch any streams.
I did the use button mapper. Little finicky at first but now it's great. It's probably worth noting, in case someone bumps into this later, the exact commands in the link you posted didn't work for me, I needed to search for a different launcher removal command, since I'm not on a chrome cast, or maybe Google just changed they're launcher name/location. The appwraith remover worked, just not for the actual launcher. I'll rack down what I did later and update this with my command.
If you go to account configuration, you can select the "apps only" interface, which gets rid of almost all recommend crap. Also, install pihole/AdGuard Home on your lan and disable all the telemetry apps and related shit, which can be done directly from the GUI (at least on my Sony).
That setting wasn't an option on my TV unfortunately, and my network ad blocking wasn't working due to the ads being saved on the TV. I ended up using ADB to just kill Google entirely.
Use an external input, such as a home theater PC (HTPC) or NVIDIA Shield. Set the TV to automatically boot to that input and you'll never see that bs again
I was hoping to avoid having to complicate my setup any further with another device. I'm trying to drag my friends into the world of customized media, and if it seems more difficult than an iPhone they'll just roll their eyes and continue dealing with ads. I ended up using ADB to disable Google and set flauncher as my default system.
I'm dreading replacing my dumb tv, but can confirm that the nvidia shield was the best thing I ever bought for entertainment: just sideload your apps and off you go.
Take the cable out of the tv, plug it into your android box and hdmi to the tv.
Can recommend STN, cloudstream and plex.
Good luck.
I got myself a projector and it does nothing but display what I throw at it. I'm not watching cable anyway. The shield might be a great idea though.
Based on what I learned from another reply here, I was able to make my TV do exactly what I wanted. If you ever have to replace the dumb TV, I'm going to recommend getting an android TV just because it was so easy to remove the original OS.
I know each android TV is a little bit different, so if it helps I'm running a Sony Bravia with android TV 11.
Excellent! Glad you found what you wanted - I'll bookmark this for when I have to replace my trusty Bravia! 👍
Now, a Sony Bravia - what size and price may I ask ? And how difficult is it to remove all the shit ad functionality from it ?
I've had my 32" for like 8 years but definately looking for the same quality piece of kit.
65". Got it at Costco for around 600$ in 2021. I fought with the regular os after some updates about a year ago. Before that Google wasn't shoving shit down my throat all day. I've been considering rooting it for a while, but finally got the motivation today.
Could you tell us if your TV is now any slower?
I’m a little bit scared of some things not working properly afterwards.
I limited the background processes when I was customizing everything, so because of that apps take about 2 seconds longer to open, because they weren't on standby. Fewer background things mean it starts up a lot faster though. The apps all work as they should.
The ADB commands I used just disable the default launcher, it's still there if something goes wrong. If you switch over and something doesn't work, you just send the same command with 'enable' replacing 'disable' and it's back to normal.
Thanks for the answer. I might give it a try soon.
It’s a shame you can’t just format the TV and put some Linux distribution on it.
But I guess a lot of TV’s wouldn’t work afterwards and it would be more difficult to fix than a normal computer.
I believe that's exactly the case with most of them, which is why I wanted an android in the first place. It's a known architecture.
I’ve now installed Flauncher and ADB and it works really well.
The only problem I encountered was that the colors now seemed way too warm on my TV.
I guess I may have unintentionally uninstalled or disabled something I shouldn’t have..
Edit: Finally had to go back to factory settings as I now couldn’t select the sources..so it’s back to normal Google experience..
In the settings menu for flauncher there's a button for Android options. If you open that you should be able to adjust the picture settings, it at least find the Bravia settings that can control the picture.
Thanks, I had managed to correct the problem, but I just wanted people to be warned that weird things could happen 👍
Especially if you disable or uninstall something you’re not sure about 😅
consider jellyfin
I got an apple tv 4K and factory reset my tv. never updated the tv or allowed it online after that. i use the plex app and jellyfin for local network files. it also has VLC from the app store for free. apple isn't everyone's cup of tea, but they don't embed ads in the app interface. also, the ATV has a huge mute button, one of my favorite features.
as far as disabling the android crap, I went through every single menu setting and turned off all of the nagging "features" like auto update, bravia notifications, sign in, anythin android, etc. it acts almost entirely like a dumb tv in that way now. very relieved after spending $$$ on a TV and fearing the forced ads. good luck, hope this helps.
I've had issues with the Jellyfin app and AV sync. You found that at all?
yes, my roku has less issues. the atv version seems to be pretty bare bones, which is why I use plex as well. and for whatever reason plex works better on atv than roku ¯_(ツ)_/¯
get a mini pc or xiaomi tv box/firestick etc and use that with the tv. Android included with the TV fucking sucks.
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