Android TV is basically Android, but on TV. This brings many advantages that we have in Android mobiles, but also disadvantages, such as preinstalled applications that do not interest us, sometimes referred to as bloatware.
Some TV manufacturers add a few preinstalled partner app accounts that you might not be interested in at all. If you want to remove them from your sight, we will tell you how to remove apps from Android TV that you are not interested in, either by uninstalling them or by deactivating 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 of the advanced options we have on mobile are lost. Something that is possible is uninstall and disable applications easily, as long as they are not applications installed on the system partition.
Some apps preinstalled on the TV can be uninstalled without further delay, even if they have already come. This is the best-case scenario because, if you’re not interested, you can make them go away completely with just a few simple steps. The first is to go to Settings.
The menus themselves may vary depending on your TV, although it is most likely that you have a menu of Applications
Then wait for the apps list to load, where usually only apps you recently opened will be shown in the first place. Press on All applications to see the full list of installed applications.
For now, ignore the section Show system apps, because those that you will not be able to uninstall or deactivate. In its place, look for an app you are not interested in in the list and press the OK button to display its information.
If this is an app that was subsequently installed – sometimes the TV will install it where its initial setup process is – then the menu will appear. Uninstall. This uninstalls the app in the traditional way, i.e. there is no trace of it on the TV. This is the best of times.
However, it is quite possible that you will come across apps that do not display the menu. Uninstall. Instead, you will find Deactivate. Disabling means that the app will continue to stream on TV, although its data is deleted and for convenience, it does not appear anywhere. This is the second best case.
With that done, you’ve probably eliminated most of the bloatware on TV, but there will always be preinstalled system apps, which you cannot uninstall or disable from the menus. Although it takes a few more steps, you can eliminate them as well.
How to turn off system apps on Android TV
In the application list, tap Show system apps and find other apps you want to get rid of. As always, you should keep in mind that some of these apps may be needed 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 of problem. . . .
Look for an app that you don’t want, and when you see its information, you’ll see that it isn’t appearing, uninstalling, or deactivating. Maybe it will appear to you 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 application package. It appears just below the version: in the screenshot below it is com.tcl.waterfall.overseas.
The way to deactivate these apps is the same as in an Android mobile, although due to the characteristics of the TV, the steps may be a little different. You should activate developer options on television, with the classic trick of clicking the build number several times.
In other words, you must first access the section of Information then scroll to Compilation. Press the OK button (or some other method of accepting things on your TV) several times in a row until a message says Developer options have been enabled.
Go back to settings and you will see that there is a new menu in Device Preferences. The menu in question is called Developer options. Again, keep in mind that menus may vary slightly depending on the version of Android or the customization it has.
Go to developer options and scroll down until you find the option usb debugging, in category Depuration. A pop-up window will ask for confirmation.
Return to the device settings menu and return to Information. Enter the menu state and take note of the IP adress local to which the television is connected. If you already know this address by any other method (for example, by looking at it on the router).
Then you have to connect by ADB to television. You have several methods of doing this, from installing ADB on a PC to using applications like Remote ADB Shell. The app is free and a good option because it involves a lot less intermediate steps than using ADB on the PC.
In Remote ADB Shell, enter the TV’s IP address in the corresponding section and press Connect. You don’t need to change the port, which is 5555 by default. The first time you connect, the TV will ask you if you allow access to the device to connect via ADB. You have to give it to him.
Now comes the important part, write the command to deactivate the application. The command needs the name of the app package, which we noted a few steps back. The command is the same as that used to deactivate the pre-installed applications on Android mobiles: pm uninstall -k --user 0 nombre.del.paquete, Changing package name by the package name above. In other words, to disable com.tcl.waterfall.overseas, you will have to write:
pm uninstall -k –user 0 com.tcl.waterfall.overseas
If all went well, you will receive the response from Success. The application will be deactivated and therefore, it cannot be started and will not be displayed in the app launcher. If you change your mind later, you can reinstall it with the command package install-existing nombre.del.paquete.
