It's taken me a long time to do anything with the Google TV Streamer. I reluctantly brought it into my home after realizing something more robust, but dated, like the Nvidia Shield, would be too much to manage alongside maintaining a home server. But since then, I've tweaked several things on the set-top box and enabled features I hadn't been using, turning it into a helpful hub in my living room.
Enable "Find my remote" to never lose your Google TV Streamer remote again
Remotes & Accessories. You'll see the Find my remote option in there.
Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerSet up the Google TV Streamer remote shortcut
The remotes that come with the Google TV Streamer feature a tiny, unregistered button with a star icon right next to the power button. By default, this shortcut does nothing! But you can change that in the device's system preferences.
Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerRemotes & Accessories > Set up remote buttons, select one of three options for customizing the shortcut button. I set it up as my Google Home shortcut so I can easily turn the lights on and off from the couch. You can also set it up as a launcher for another app installed on the set-top box. Or create a shortcut to cycle through device inputs—this button is on legacy Chromecast devices with an included remote. It was removed from this generation of streaming devices, so if you miss it, you can spoof it back.
For serious power users, map the shortcut to an app like Projectivity Launcher to make it a more powerful launcher button.
Remap other buttons on your Google TV Streamer remote to be more useful
What Button Mapper looks like running on Google TV. Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerSystem > Accessibility, and turn on the service. After that, you can head back into the app to adjust what those physical buttons do. You can set them as shortcuts to other apps, or even something cheekier for others to discover when they press the button.
Remove the clutter from the Google TV Streamer home screen
Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerAccounts & Sign-In > Your Account. and toggle on Apps only mode.
This clears the clutter and "sponsored" content, leaving you with just app icons. Keep in mind that this turns off the "Watchlist" feature that's tied to your account and some Gemini voice search capabilities for specific content.
Enable Google TV Streamer "Developer options" for more customization
Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerSystem > About, then tap Android TV OS Build 7 times.
System > Developer options.
Limit animations to make navigation faster
The Google TV interface is organized and functional, but its animations can slow down menu navigation. You can eliminate these animations and tweak other visual elements to speed things up deep within the developer settings.
Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerWith developer options turned on, you can enable USB and wireless debugging to use apps like Send Files to TV and atvTools to sideload APKs. But first, enable the "Allow installs from unknown sources" option in the Developer Options under Security settings. This allows APKs you've transferred over to the device to run on the streamer.
Why would you want to go through the fuss of connecting to the Google TV Streamer this way? Because then you could access alternative streaming apps not available in the Play Store, or even an alternative launcher, like LeanbackLauncher.
Pair headphones to your Google TV Streamer for private listening
Credit: Florence Ion/LifehackerThe ability is available in the same submenu where you set up your remote. In Settings > Remote & Accessories > Pair Remote/Accessory, put your audio device into Bluetooth pairing mode, then watch it come up on the screen as an option. If you're successful, you can now pop on the buds when you need to. Be aware that audio latency can occur, and you might need to restart the connection—it is Bluetooth, after all.
Display & Sound > Resolution. Switch the Resolution from "Automatic" to 4K 60Hz, or whatever your TV's peak is. Once this is enabled, the Google TV Streamer won't downscale to 1080p. If you're a sucker for HDR, this is the same menu where you can turn it on so that it's always in high definition.
Use the USB-C port to add accessories and turn your Google TV Streamer into an all-in-one media center
The USB-C port can do more than charge up the Google TV Streamer. You can plug in a power delivery hub with extra ports to add components like external storage and effectively run your own all-in-one home media center. Those power delivery hubs usually include extra USB ports for peripherals, so you can hook up things like keyboards and game controllers for extra fun.
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