A 2021 TCL TV, debloated into a fast Android launcher

An open-source home screen and adb scripts that switch off factory bloat on a laggy Android TV, freeing storage and RAM without root.

Build sheet

Device page: TCL Android TV →
Device: 2021 TCL Android TV
Method: adb + no root
Language: Java, PowerShell
Result: ~55% storage used

Can I build this?Beginner · AI 5/5 · $0

Difficulty: Beginner
AI-buildability: 5/5
Time: A weekend
Cost: $0

Parts

Android TV (2021 TCL)

Tools

adbPowerShellJDK 17Android SDK

Starter prompt

Based on "A 2021 TCL TV, debloated into a fast Android launcher" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/a-2021-tcl-tv-debloated-into-a-fast-android-launcher

Write a PowerShell script that connects to an Android TV over adb on port 5555 and disables a list of factory packages with pm disable-user --user 0, saving the original state so a -Undo mode can restore it. Include a check that refuses to run on any device whose serial doesn't match the one saved on first use. Then propose a minimal Java home-screen launcher that lists installed apps in a grid.

Estimates based on the original write-up. How AI-buildability is scored. Building with an AI assistant? Connect it to Afterware (free MCP server).

Story

Cheap smart TVs ship with about 1 GB of RAM and a home screen that pulls ads and recommendations from the internet. On the 2021 TCL this project started on, the disk was 100% full, with 3.8 MB free of 2.5 GB, and Google Play Services alone held 1.2 GB. Opening an app often left a blank screen for seconds.

TvClean is a 249 KB plain-Java launcher for Android TV, plus PowerShell and adb scripts run from a PC. The scripts switch off a model-specific list of factory apps, tune memory, and sweep up leftover storage. A maintenance pass re-applies the tweaks after every boot and every 6 hours. The launcher's home screen shows trending titles from TMDB and the most popular YouTube video, with 18+ content filtered out. Storage went from 100% full to about 55% used, and free RAM in normal use rose from ~105 MB to ~200–380 MB.

If you have a sluggish TV you can't root, the approach is the reusable part: adb over the network, a list of bloat per model, and a launcher that keeps the changes from drifting back. Read the warning first, though. The project disables the screen reader, text-to-speech and voice assistant, so it's not for anyone who relies on accessibility features.

Resources · 3

Repository Latest APK release TMDB API key page

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