I have an U49C7006 Android TV from TCL, and while image quality is very good, I'm constantly annoyed with crashes on Apps like Youtube and slowness. The TV takes more than 2 minutes just to boot.
So, is it possible to completely remove Android TV and make it dumb? Or at least to somehow replace it with a lightweight Android version without all the bloatware?
Just get a mibox, firestick, or whatever and plug it into the HDMI port.
You can't remove the OS, since it's also what drives the TVs picture. But I would do a factory reset, delete what you can, clean things up and don't connect it to your network. It should help a bit
And this is why I don't buy "smart TVs"
I have a pretty new sony android tv and its junk.. it cant even run kodi... The tech that goes into these android tvs are trash.. performance of a early days forestick or something.. not going to get another one.. standalone boxes are always better
There is an option that doesn't completely turn the TV off so you don't have to wait for android to boot every time. However that option is broken on mine.
You can hookup any Android TV box you want, the Nvidia Shield and the Xiaomi Mi Box S are the most popular but they are NOT the only devices out there:
Certified Android TV devices WITH Netflix AND Prime Video certifications:
- AirTV Mini
- Ematic Jetstream
- Tivo Stream 4K
- Verizon Stream TV
Certified Android TV devices with Netflix ONLY certification:
- AT&T TV
- JBL Link Bar
Certified Android TV devices with Prime Video ONLY certification:
- Mecool KM1 (Available at mecoolonline.com )
- Mecool KM3 (Available at mecoolonline.com , where you can also download the NEW Android 10 firmware for this model)
- Mecool KM9 PRO (Available at mecoolonline.com , where you can also download the NEW Android 10 firmware for this model)
Certified Android TV devices WITHOUT Netflix and Prime Video certifications:
- Channel Master Stream Plus (with ATSC dual tuner built-in but outdated Android TV version)
- Minix Neo T5 (With gigabit ethernet but remote control doesn't have a microphone)
For more info about all certified Android TV devices, head over to Android TV Guide website.
Are you able to have the tv boot up to a specific HDMI connection? I have a Roku TCL tv (which I also can't stand their roku interface) and have it setup to automatically boot to HDMI 1 where I have an nvidia shield connected to... It was an option in the settings of my tv to have it boot into a specific connection. Pressing the home button on my tv remote will bring me to the roku interface main menu, which I occasionally do to watch the local news using an HDMI anntena. Otherwise on every power up on the tv it boots up to hdmi 1
Best fix I can think of, generally can't remove what "smart" feature they ship the tv with.
If you have a dumb tv setup right it should just turn on/off. A receiver will handle all the input changes.
I would suggest factory reset and don't enter any network details so that it stays offline. Like someone else said leave it on HDMI1 with something like a shield or mibox plugged in.
It will hopefully help the boot time somewhat.