Android TV is basically Android, but on TV. This brings many advantages that we have in Android phones, but also disadvantages, such as pre-installed applications that we are not interested in , sometimes called bloatware .
Some TV manufacturers add a few pre-installed partner app accounts that you might not be interested in the least. If you want to remove them from your sight, we will tell you how to remove the Android TV applications that do not interest you , either by uninstalling or disabling them, even those that resist.
How to uninstall or disable apps on Android TV
In many ways Android TV behaves the same as Android on mobile, despite the fact that many advanced options that we have on mobile are lost. Something that is possible is to uninstall and disable applications easily, as long as they are not applications that have been installed in the system partition.
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Some applications that come pre-installed on the TV can be uninstalled without further ado , even though they already came. This is the best case because, if you are not interested, you can make them disappear completely with a few simple steps. The first of this is to go to Settings .
The menus themselves may vary depending on your TV, although it is quite likely that you have an Applications menu or a similar name. If you don’t see it at first glance, it may be inside another submenu.
Then wait for the list of applications to load, where generally only the applications that you have recently opened will be shown in the first instance. Tap on All apps to see the full list of installed apps.
For the moment, ignore the Show system applications section , as these cannot be uninstalled or disabled. Instead, find an application that you are not interested in in the list and press the OK button to see its information.
If it is an application that has been installed afterwards – sometimes the TV will install it where its initial configuration process – then the Uninstall menu will appear . This uninstalls the application in a traditional way, that is, there is no trace of it on the TV. It is the best case.
However, it is quite possible that you will come across applications that do not show the Uninstall menu . Instead, you will find Disable . Disable means that the application will continue to be on TV, although its data will be deleted and for practical purposes it will not appear anywhere. This is the second best case.
Once this is done, you have probably finished with most of the bloatware on TV, but there will still be pre-installed system applications , which you cannot uninstall or disable from the menus. Although it takes a few more steps, you can also get them out of the way.
How to disable system apps on Android TV
In the list of applications, tap Show system applications and look for other applications that you want to get rid of. As always, you should keep in mind that some of these applications may be necessary for the TV to work properly, so it is important that you act with caution and do not mess around unless you know how to undo your changes in case something goes wrong .
Look for an application that you do not want and, when you see its information, you will see that it does not appear or uninstall or disable. You may see Uninstall updates that, if you want, you can use for now. When you are on this screen, take the opportunity to copy the name of the app package. It appears just below the version: in the screenshot below, it is com.tcl.waterfall.overseas.
The way to disable these applications is the same as in an Android mobile , although due to the characteristics of the TV, the steps may be a little different. You will have to activate the development options on the TV, with the classic trick of clicking several times on the build number.
That is, first you need to go to the Information section and then scroll to Compilation . Press the OK button (or whatever method you have to accept things on your TV) several times in a row until a message indicates that the development options have been activated.
Go back in the settings and you will see that there is a new menu within Device Preferences . The menu in question is called Developer Options . Again, keep in mind that the menus may vary slightly depending on the version of Android or the customization that it carries.
Enter the developer options and scroll through the list until you find the USB debugging option , within the Debugging section . A pop-up window will ask you for confirmation.
Return to the device settings menu and enter Information again . Enter the Status menu and take note of the local IP address to which the TV is connected. If you already know this address by any other method (for example, looking at it on the router).
Next you will have to connect by ADB to the TV . You have several methods to do it, from installing ADB on a PC to using applications like Remote ADB Shell . The application is free and is a good option as it involves far fewer intermediate steps than using ADB on the PC.
In Remote ADB Shell, enter the IP address of the TV in the corresponding section and press Connect . You do not need to change the port, which is 5555 by default. The first time you connect, the TV will ask you if you grant access to the device to connect through ADB. You must give it to him.
Now comes the important part, write the command to disable the application . The command needs the name of the application package, which we noted a few steps back. The command is the same as the one used to disable pre-installed applications on Android mobiles :, changing the name of the package to the above package name. That is, to disable com.tcl.waterfall.overseas, you will have to write:pm uninstall -k –user 0 nombre.del.paquete
pm uninstall -k –user 0 com.tcl.waterfall.overseas
If everything went well, you will receive a reply from Success . The application will be disabled and therefore cannot be started or displayed in the application launcher. If you change your mind later, you can reinstall it with the command .package install-existing nombre.del.paquete