Debloating Nvidia Shield

Want to unlock the full potential of your Nvidia Shield TV? This guide will help you enhance your device by improving its speed and customizing the interface with a custom launcher to remove ads. Let’s optimize your entertainment hub for a better experience.

Prerequisites

• PC (I’ll be using MacOS)
• Nvidia Shield TV
• ADB

Install ADB on MacOS:

• Open Terminal and install Homebrew/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"
• Install ADBbrew install android-platform-tools

Install ADB on Windows

• Download Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for Windows
• Extract the contents of this ZIP file into an easily accessible folder (such as C:\platform-tools)

Steps

1. Enable ADB on the Shield

1a. Enable developer options

• Press Menu on the Android homescreen
• Go to “Device Preferences”
• Locate “About”
• Click 8 times on “Build”
• You’ll see the message “You are now a developer”

1b. Enable ADB over Wifi

• Press Menu on the Android homescreen
• Go to “Device Preferences”
• Go to “Developer options”
• Inside Developer options, turn on “Network debugging”
• Note the IP address of the Shield—you’ll need it to connect through ADB

1c. Connect to Shield through ADB

After installing ADB on your PC/Mac, open a Terminal or Command Prompt. On Windows, go to the extracted ADB folder and open Command Prompt/PowerShell by holding Shift, right-clicking within the folder, and selecting “Open command window here” or “Open PowerShell window here”.

• Use the terminal/cmd to type the following commandadb connect (IP-of-your-Shield)
• A pop-up will appear on the Shield asking to allow ADB/Network Debugging. Click “OK”

To verify your connection to the Shield, use this command

adb devices

2. Installing a custom launcher

• Go to the Google Play Store on the Shield
• Search “Projectivy Launcher”
• Click on Install and open the launcher
• Grant all requested permissions, including accessibility settings
• We’ll disable the default launcher in step 3

3. Debloating

Now for the fun part: removing unnecessary apps from Nvidia and Google. In Terminal/CMD, while connected to your Shield via ADB, copy and paste these code blocks

Remove Nvidia bloat

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.ota & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.ocs & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.diagtools & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shieldtech.hooks & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.feedback & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.registration & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.SHIELD.Platform.Analyser & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.remote.server & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shieldtech.proxy & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.factorybundling & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shieldbeta & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.registration & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.nvcustomize & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.NvCPLUpdater & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.benchmarkblocker & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 android.autoinstalls.config.nvidia & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.hotwordsetup & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.enhancedlogging & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.ask & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.stats & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.appselector & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.beyonder.server & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.developerwidget & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.NvAccSt & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.shield.remotediagnostic

Remove Google bloat

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.speech.pumpkin & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tts & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.videos & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tvrecommendations & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.syncadapters.calendar & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.backuptransport & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.partnersetup & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.inputmethod.korean & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.inputmethod.pinyin & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.inputmethod.zhuyin & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tv & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tv.frameworkpackagestubs & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tv.bugreportsender & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.backdrop & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.leanbacklauncher.recommendations & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.feedback

🚨 Notice: Only disable the following if another launcher is installed.

adb shell pm disable -k --user 0 com.google.android.tvlauncher
adb shell pm disable -k --user 0 com.google.android.leanbacklauncher

Remove Android bloat

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.gallery3d & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.dreams.basic & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.printspooler & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.feedback & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.keychain & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.cts.priv.ctsshim & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.cts.ctsshim & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.providers.calendar & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.providers.contacts & adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.se

3b. Removing more bloat

If you use Jellyfin or Plex and don’t use the device for gaming, you can remove these additional packages

Remove Plex Media Server

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.plexapp.mediaserver.smb

Remove Netflix

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.netflix.ninja

Remove Amazon

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.amazonvideo.livingroom
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.amazonvideo.livingroom.nvidia

Remove YouTube Music

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube.tvmusic

Remove Google Play Games

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.play.games

Remove Nvidia GeForce NOW for Shield TV

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.nvidia.tegrazone3

Re-install packages

If you accidentally removed something or want to restore an app, use this command

adb shell cmd package install-existing [package name]

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I hope this guide helps you revitalize your Nvidia Shield, making it faster and more efficient. Here’s to smoother, more enjoyable entertainment experiences!