[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f1mh2fnka2a04g":3},{"code":4,"message":5,"data":6,"timestamp":26},10000,"success",{"full_name":7,"position":8,"description":9,"language":10,"stars":11,"forks":12,"stars_gained":13,"age_days":14,"hn_threads":15,"one_liner":16,"summary_md":17,"topic":18,"github_topics":21,"license":22,"homepage":23,"updated_at":24,"history":25},"kulwantnagi\u002Fandroid-tv-makeover",12,"Debloat an Android TV, replace its home screen with a clean Apple TV style launcher, and add a fast Indian live TV app. Reversible, over Wi-Fi ADB.","Java",167,36,29,6,[],"A reversible Android TV makeover: disable preinstalled apps, replace the ad-heavy home screen, and drive the TV from a phone.","A practical weekend project for owners of a slow, ad-filled Android TV: it swaps the stock home screen for a custom launcher, disables preinstalled apps over Wi-Fi ADB, and adds a browser-based phone remote. Treat it as a personal hack, not a supported product.\n\n## The problem\n\nAndroid TV owners often want a calmer home screen and fewer bundled apps, but the stock setup offers no easy way to remove or hide either. The usual route involves manual ADB commands, package-name hunting and repeated trial and error. This repository turns that into scripted steps: packages from a profile are disabled without uninstalling, a Java launcher replaces the home screen, and the same Wi-Fi connection powers a phone control page. The result is a TV that boots into a photo-backed launcher with a five-app dock and a five-column grid, plus a phone page for trackpad, volume and app launching.\n\n## What's different\n\nThe distinguishing piece is the custom launcher, not the debloating. It uses `pm disable-user` for app removal, so packages are only disabled, not uninstalled, and the README keeps re-enable and scripted restore paths. The launcher is a native Java app aimed at low-memory TVs (about 40 MB RAM, minSdk 28) with rotating wallpapers, a colour-sampled focus glow, HDMI\u002FAV input switching and deterministic D-pad navigation. The same launcher also serves the phone remote on port 8080, so no separate app is needed. The attractive trade-off is that the phone remote reuses the ADB connection: its key presses depend on USB debugging, and the README lists a yellow warning when that permission is missing.\n\nThe optional live TV app is a fork of an existing Indian IPTV player that reads public playlists from iptv-org; it hosts no content, so what you can watch depends on those playlists staying available.\n\n## Who should try it\n\nGood fit: a Xiaomi, TCL, Hisense, Sony, OnePlus, Realme or Nvidia Shield owner who is comfortable with a Mac or Linux terminal, wants an Apple TV-style home screen and is willing to edit a config file for dock apps and wallpapers. The README's single tested configuration, a Xiaomi MiTV-AXSO0 on Android TV 9 with 1 GB RAM, fits this project's target. Poor fit: someone with a Samsung Tizen or LG webOS set, a Fire TV, or no Mac\u002FLinux computer on the same network. A Windows-only household has no documented setup path here, and a user who wants a managed, brand-agnostic experience should look elsewhere.\n\n## Requirements and limitations\n\nSetup requires enabling developer options and network ADB on the TV, then running the [provided scripts](https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fkulwantnagi\u002Fandroid-tv-makeover\u002Fblob\u002Fmain\u002FREADME.md) from a Mac or Linux machine. Building the launcher needs JDK 17 and Android SDK platform 34 with build-tools 34; the optional live TV app adds Flutter. The instructions cover only one TV model, and the README tells other owners to copy and edit a debloat profile because package names differ by brand. Disabling the wrong package has consequences: the README warns never to disable TV input, remote\u002FBluetooth, keyboard or Play Store\u002FServices.\n\nOngoing care matters. The phone page needs the TV's IP to stay stable, and the README recommends a router DHCP reservation or the remote and Siri links break. If the launcher crashes, the recovery path is re-enabling the stock launcher through ADB. If a TV exposes several Home apps, the build script sets the default Home via `cmd package set-home-activity`; the [troubleshooting section](https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fkulwantnagi\u002Fandroid-tv-makeover\u002Fblob\u002Fmain\u002FREADME.md) also covers a Home chooser. Restoring disabled apps and uninstalling the custom launcher is scripted, but the review cannot verify that every package on an untested set is covered by a profile.\n\n## HotRepo's take\n\nThe project reached #12 on HotRepo's NEW-REPOSITORY board for Java on 2026-10-25 with 167 total stars, five days after creation. That is a single dated snapshot, and HotRepo's daily-board history is insufficient to judge persistence. The repository's own caveat is concrete: only one TV model is listed as tested. The key thing to check before starting is whether your model's package names match an existing profile closely enough to edit safely. If the README's build prerequisites and the model list line up with your setup, this is a self-contained evening project with a documented undo path; if not, the custom launcher alone may still be worth compiling, but the debloat step is where the risk lives.",{"slug":19,"name":20},"productivity","Productivity & Utilities",[],"MIT",null,"2026-10-25T03:05:38Z",[],1792906388]