10 Hacks Every 'Google TV Streamer' User Should Know

The launch of the Google TV Streamer marked a significant shift for the company's streaming lineup, moving away from the behind-the-TV Chromecast dongles it popularized and introducing a pill-shaped set-top box that blends in nicely on a shelf of tchotchkes. It's hiding a worthy processor, double the memory you'd get from a streaming stick, and enough storage to download what you need to run all of your apps. It even acts as a smart hub, with Matter and Thread built in.

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

This sounds like an obvious tip, but I've had the Google TV Streamer since it debuted in 2024, and it wasn't until this week, while writing this piece, that I finally enabled the remote finder. I had skipped it during the initial setup. The option is available in Settings > Remotes & Accessories. You'll see the Find my remote option in there.

Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker

The Google TV Streamer has a physical button on the back of the device that lets you locate your remote if it's stuck somewhere on the couch. But what if you can't reach the streamer behind the TV? Try one of your Google-enabled voice devices instead. If you have a Nest speaker or a Pixel phone nearby, say "Hey Google, find my remote." The remote should start chirping if you've set it up.

Set 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/Lifehacker

In Settings > Remotes & 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/Lifehacker

Don't care for the default YouTube or Netflix buttons included on the Google TV Streamer remote? You can remap them with a third-party app, then affix a small sticker to indicate what it does. Install an app like Button Mapper or tvQuickActions. Then go to Google TV Settings > System > 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/Lifehacker

Can't stand all the recommendations and sponsored content Google TV suggests in the main carousel? You can effectively shut off some of the clutter so it doesn't visually overwhelm you. Go to Settings > Accounts & 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/Lifehacker

You'll need to enable developer options to enable features like faster animations and side-loading apps. It's easy to set up, and it's just like on an Android smartphone. Head into Settings > System > About, then tap Android TV OS Build 7 times.

You'll see a little dialog pop up to let you know you've got developer access. Once enabled, a new menu will appear under Settings > 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/Lifehacker

In Developer Options, scroll down to Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale. Change one of these, or all three, from 1x to Animation off to turn off animations completely. You can also go the other way and effectively "overclock" the animations to speed them up, making them appear smoother.

Side-load apps or an alternative launcher

With 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/Lifehacker

This is one of my favorite little hacks that comes especially in handy when living in a house occupied by other people. When I do my workouts in the living room, I use a set of Bluetooth earbuds connected to the Google TV Streamer so I can hear the instructor's directions even when I'm face down in a plank and my kid is screaming in the background.

The 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.  

Force your Google TV Streamer to choose the best resolution, regardless of bandwidth

If you don't care about your bandwidth and want full-resolution streaming at all times, you can set the best resolution to display as the default in your Google TV Streamer preferences. Go to Settings > 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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