Free My TV: an ad-free home screen for Google TV
Free My TV is an open-source, ad-free home screen for Google TV and Android TV, with app versions for LG and Samsung TVs. This page explains what it does, which TVs it runs on, how to install it from the official GitHub, how it becomes your home screen and how to undo it.
Last checked: October 23, 2026, against the official repository (commit 4d73951).
Sources: simbasjungles/free-my-tv README, GitHub releases (latest v1.1.0, October 22, 2026), its issues, and Android Developers: Create and run a TV app. This site has not tested it and hosts no files; every download link goes to the project’s own GitHub.
What Free My TV is
Free My TV was created on October 19, 2026 and is MIT licensed. It replaces the stock home screen with a glass shelf of the streaming apps you choose, three “trending, not sponsored” picks every hour from apps already on your TV (using a free TMDB key), the hour-by-hour weather and sunset times, optional crypto prices, a light look by day and a dark one after sunset, and a matching screensaver. The README says it needs no root, uninstalls nothing, and measured the home screen at 96 MB of memory instead of 242 MB on a 98-inch TCL Google TV.
Which TVs Free My TV supports
| Platform | What the repo says |
|---|---|
| Google TV, Android TV | Android 8 or newer. Becomes the home screen and screensaver. Named brands: TCL, Sony, Hisense, Philips, Xiaomi, Vestel-made (F&U), KTC-made (NextStar), Skyworth (VEON), Philco, Multilaser, Formovie projectors; streamers such as Chromecast with Google TV, Google TV Streamer, onn 4K, NVIDIA Shield. |
| LG (webOS 3+) | An app installed through LG Developer Mode; LG’s home screen stays, and a number key opens Free My TV. |
| Samsung (Tizen 3+, 2017 and newer) | An app installed with TizenBrew Installer; Samsung’s home screen stays. |
Brand guides on this site: TCL, Sony, Philips, Hisense, Xiaomi, Chromecast with Google TV, onn., NVIDIA Shield.
How to install Free My TV on Google TV
There is no Android APK in the releases: the v1.1.0 release notes say to build it from main for your city and TMDB key. It takes about ten minutes and needs a computer on the same Wi-Fi.
- On the TV: Settings → System → About → press Android TV OS build seven times, then Settings → System → Developer options → USB debugging on. Note the TV’s IP address under Network & Internet. (On Android TV models the path is Settings → Device Preferences → About → Build; see Android’s TV developer guide.)
- Easy way: ask an AI coding assistant (the README names Claude Code, Codex and Antigravity) to install Free My TV from github.com/simbasjungles/free-my-tv on your TV’s IP, with your city. It builds the app and installs it.
- Manual way: install JDK 17+, the Android SDK command-line tools (build-tools 34, platform 34) and adb, run
./build.shonce to createconfig.properties, add your city and TMDB key, run it again, then install:
adb connect 192.168.1.50:5555
adb install -r FreeMyTV.apkOn TCL TVs the README adds one more command, because TCL blocks background start by default:
adb shell "appops set io.freemytv AUTO_START allow || appops set io.freemytv APP_AUTO_START allow"Keep freemytv.keystore: updates are signed with it.
How Free My TV becomes your home screen
On the TV, open Free My TV → Home Screen → Free My TV. The TV asks Allow USB debugging? once more, this time for Free My TV itself: tick Always allow. The app talks to the TV’s own ADB at 127.0.0.1:5555 and runs the same commands you would: it sets itself as home and screensaver and disables, without uninstalling, the stock home screen and screensaver, Google TV’s recovery home, Play Games and YouTube Music, plus a brand list (on TCL: TCL Channel, messages, store demo, hotel menu, manuals, mirroring and logging apps). Picture, sound, inputs, remote pairing, Google services and the Play Store are on a protected list.
A watchdog brings the stock home back after three crashes in five minutes, and a boot check keeps your choice after TV updates.
Install on LG and Samsung
- LG: install Developer Mode from the LG Content Store, sign in with a free LG developer account, turn on Dev Mode Status and Key Server, then
python3 webos/build.pyandpython3 webos/install.py <tv ip>from the repo, or useFreeMyTV-webos.ipkfrom the releases. Developer Mode lasts about 40 days; press EXTEND in its app. - Samsung: in Apps type 1 2 3 4 5, turn on Developer mode with your computer’s IP, restart, then in TizenBrew Installer choose Install from GitHub and type
simbasjungles/free-my-tv. On 2023 and newer TVs it signs the app with your Samsung account.
How to undo Free My TV
Open Free My TV → Home Screen → Original. The factory home screen, screensaver and every app it turned off come back. To remove it for good, switch to Original first, then uninstall it in Settings → Apps. If you uninstalled it while it was active, reinstall it and pick Original: the list of what it turned off is kept in the TV’s settings.
Known Free My TV issues
- “The TV’s first setup saved the Wi-Fi”: activation stops on purpose if Google TV’s setup app owns a saved network, because turning it off would erase it. Forget and re-join the network in Settings; the maintainer’s reply in #71 shows how to remove old saved networks over adb.
- Samsung does not boot into it on some sets: a 2020 Samsung opened it as a normal app only, even with Autorun Last App (#116).
- Empty app shelf on some LG webOS sets (#93, #150, open). Release 1.1 says webOS 6 and 11 TVs that block app listing show known apps and ask permission for the rest.
- Android 11 sets: an early build needed Android 12 (#10); Android 11 was later confirmed working, and the build now targets Android 8 and newer.
CleanYourTV vs Free My TV vs Aerial
| CleanYourTV | Free My TV | Aerial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A debloat toolkit plus a small launcher | A replacement home screen that also turns off the stock home and some promo apps | A replacement home screen; no system apps touched |
| Made for | Android TV and Google TV (243 tested models); Fire TV debloat only | Google TV and Android TV 8+; LG and Samsung as an app | China-market Android TVs (Xiaomi, TCL and others), Android 5.0+ |
| Removes ad services | Yes: per-model lists disable ad, ACR and telemetry packages | Some: the stock home, Google TV recovery home, and on TCL, Philco, Multilaser and KTC sets the promo and ACR apps it lists | No: it hides them behind its own home screen; the stock home stays in the app list |
| Ready-made APK | No, you build it | No for Google TV (build from source); LG and Samsung packages in releases | Yes, on GitHub releases |
| Takes over Home by | Default home after disabling the stock one | Its own ADB connection inside the TV sets it as home | Default home on stock Android TV; an accessibility “Home Guard” on firmware that ignores that |
| Undo | tools/restore.sh with your list | Free My TV → Home Screen → Original | The project’s restore command |
None of the three repositories documents running them together. Free My TV and CleanYourTV both disable the stock home and the Google TV setup app, so undo each change with the tool that made it. See also Aerial, the CleanYourTV guide and all alternatives.
Free My TV questions
What is Free My TV?
An open-source, MIT-licensed home screen for Google TV and Android TV, with versions for LG and Samsung TVs. It shows your apps on a glass shelf, three trending picks from apps you already have, the weather and optional crypto prices, with no ads.
Is there a Free My TV APK?
Not for Google TV or Android TV. The GitHub releases only carry the LG (.ipk) and Samsung (.wgt) packages; on Google TV you build it from the main branch with your city and a free TMDB key, by hand or with an AI coding assistant.
Which TVs does Free My TV support?
Google TV and Android TV sets and streamers on Android 8 or newer, including TCL, Sony, Hisense, Philips, Xiaomi, Chromecast with Google TV, the Google TV Streamer, onn 4K and NVIDIA Shield, plus LG (webOS 3+) and Samsung (Tizen 3+, 2017 and newer) as an app.
Does Free My TV replace the home screen on Samsung and LG?
No. On LG and Samsung it installs through Developer Mode as an app and the TV’s own home screen stays. On Samsung, Autorun Last App can start the TV in it; an issue reports it does not become the home screen on a 2020 Samsung.
How do I undo Free My TV?
On the TV open Free My TV, Home Screen, Original. The factory home screen, screensaver and the apps it turned off come back. If its home screen crashes three times in five minutes it switches back by itself.
Free My TV vs CleanYourTV: which should I use?
CleanYourTV disables ad, ACR and telemetry packages from per-model lists and installs a minimal launcher. Free My TV is a richer home screen that turns off the stock home and a shorter list of promo apps. Pick by whether you want the deepest cleanup or the home screen features.