With the launch of the Chromecast with Google TV, Android TV acquired its greatest interface replace in years. Should you don’t need to wait to get the brand new interface in your older Android TV streaming machine, you may get it now.
Android TV gadgets will slowly be upgraded to the brand new “Google TV” interface over the next couple of years. Probably the most noticeable change is the revamped residence display. By putting in a couple of apps, we are able to get that new expertise proper now earlier than the massive replace rolls out.
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Earlier than we get began, there are a couple of necessities you want to meet. First, your Android TV set-top field, TV, or dongle have to be working Android 9 or above. You possibly can verify this by going to Settings > Machine Preferences > About > Model.
Observe: the directions on this information are confirmed to work on the Nvidia Defend TV within the U.S. Your outcomes on different Android gadgets in different nations might fluctuate.
There are a few recordsdata we have to sideload in your Android TV. The primary file is the Google TV Dwelling launcher itself. That may do most of what you want, however the Search tab received’t work. To get that working, we’ll additionally want to put in an up to date Google app.
Obtain these recordsdata in your Android telephone or pill, iPhone, iPad, or laptop. We have to transfer them to your Android TV machine. The simplest means to do that is with a cloud storage service resembling Google Drive. Add the 2 recordsdata both by way of its website or Google Drive’s mobile apps.
You possibly can then entry Google Drive in your Android TV with an app known as “File Commander.”
As soon as the recordsdata have been moved to Google Drive, open them in your Android TV with the File Commander app.
When you choose the APK, you can be requested to permit File Commander to put in unknown apps. Choose “Settings.”
Toggle the change on for the File Commander app. You received’t have to do that each time.
Now, choose the APK once more and click on “Set up” on the subsequent display. Do that for each the Google TV Dwelling and Google Base APKs.
Now that we’ve got the required apps put in, we are able to substitute the previous Android TV Launcher. So as to use Google TV Dwelling, we’ve got to truly uninstall the previous launcher first. Because the Android TV Launcher is a system app, uninstalling it requires just a little further work.
First, choose the Gear icon in your Android TV residence display to open the Settings menu.
Within the Settings, scroll down and choose “Machine Preferences.”
Select “About” on the high of the preferences.
Scroll right down to “Construct” and choose it repeatedly till a message says “You Are Now A Developer!”
Faucet the Again button on the distant and choose the newly-added “Developer Choices.”
Toggle the change on for “Community Debugging.” This may enable us to ship ADB instructions to the Android TV from our Android telephone or pill.
Subsequent, seize an Android telephone or pill and set up “Remote ADB Shell” from the Google Play Retailer.
Open the app and enter the IP tackle of your Android TV machine. You’ll find this in your Android TV by navigating to Settings > Machine Preferences > About > Standing > IP Handle. Hold the port quantity as 5555 .
Faucet “Join” after you’ve entered the numbers.
A message will pop up in your Android TV. Choose “OK” to allow the wi-fi connection.
Your smartphone or pill is now linked to the TV. We’ll use a command to uninstall the Android TV Launcher. Sort this command and hit Enter:
pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.tvlauncher
Alternatively, when you don’t need to lose your settings and residential display configuration, you’ll be able to disable the Android TV Launcher utilizing the next command:
pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.tvlauncher
To reverse the command and reinstall the Android TV Launcher sooner or later, sort within the following command:
cmd package deal install-existing com.google.android.tvlauncher
And to undo disabling the Android TV launcher, run this command:
pm allow com.google.android.tvlauncher
If the uninstall or disable command labored, you’ll see a message that claims “Success.”
Now, while you click on the house button in your Android TV distant, it can take you to the brand new residence display (it might take a couple of seconds to load). You now have the Google TV expertise in your Android TV! And since we put in the Google app, the Search tab needs to be purposeful as effectively.
It’s price noting that that is solely Google TV on the floor degree. There are different options, together with the redesigned Settings menu, that can require the firmware replace. Till then, you’ll be able to get pleasure from a model new look.
