TV Tools

TV tools: backup, debloat, restore

tv-tools/ holds three PowerShell scripts for cleaning up an Android TV without risk:

Script	Double-click shortcut	Purpose
backup.ps1	BACKUP-now.cmd	Take a snapshot of the TV's current state
debloat.ps1	— (run it from a terminal so you can read the list first)	Disable unwanted preinstalled apps
restore.ps1	RESTORE-everything.cmd, RESTORE-and-remove-Lumen.cmd	Put the TV back the way the first backup found it

They run on Windows (PowerShell 5.1 or newer). On macOS or Linux, see Doing it by hand.

Ground rules

• Nothing is uninstalled. The debloat script only uses pm disable-user. Disabled apps stay on the TV with their data and come back with one command.
• A backup always exists first. The debloat script creates one if there isn't one yet.
• The stock launcher is never disabled without Lumen installed, so the TV can't end up without a home screen.
• A factory reset undoes everything (and also wipes your accounts), so the worst case is always recoverable.

Setup

1. Install Platform-Tools and make sure adb works in a terminal.
2. Enable debugging on the TV and connect once by hand so you can accept the prompt on the TV (Install guide, steps 1–2).
3. Tell the scripts where the TV is, in any one of these ways:
   • pass -Device 192.168.1.50:5555 each time,
   • set an environment variable: setx TV_DEVICE 192.168.1.50:5555 (open a new terminal afterwards),
   • or create tv-tools/device.txt containing just 192.168.1.50:5555. This file is git-ignored.

If Windows refuses to run the scripts ("running scripts is disabled on this system"), use the .cmd shortcuts, or start them with powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\debloat.ps1.

backup.ps1

.\backup.ps1

Creates backups/<date_time>/ next to the tv-tools folder with:

File	Contents
packages-all.txt, -enabled, -disabled, -thirdparty, -paths	Every package and its state
home-role.txt, home-activity.txt	Which app is the home screen
settings-global.txt, -secure, -system	Android settings tables, for reference
display.txt, getprop.txt, meminfo.txt	Display size, build properties, memory use
manifest.json	When and from which device the backup was taken

Backups contain device identifiers, so backups/ is git-ignored. Don't share them publicly.

Run a backup before making manual changes too; it costs nothing.

debloat.ps1

.\debloat.ps1          # shows the list and asks you to type YES
.\debloat.ps1 -Yes     # no prompt

What it does, in order:

1. Checks that adb exists and the TV is reachable.
2. Refuses to continue if Lumen isn't installed.
3. Shows the packages it will disable and waits for YES. Anything else cancels without changes.
4. Takes a backup if none exists.
5. Makes Lumen the home app.
6. Disables each listed package that is installed. Missing ones are reported as skipped, and a package Android refuses to disable is logged and skipped rather than stopping the run.
7. Writes a log to backups/debloat-log_<date_time>.txt and returns to the home screen.

Running it twice is harmless; already-disabled packages stay disabled.

The included profile

The list in debloat.ps1 was written for a Realtek-based Acer Android TV 14 set. Each entry has a comment saying what it is. It covers:

• the stock launcher, its recommendations service and the vendor's launcher customisation,
• vendor promo, ad and retail-demo apps,
• log collection, feedback and telemetry services, and Android's ad-services modules,
• a few apps that weren't used on that TV (YouTube Music, HbbTV, Play Games, print and live-wallpaper services).

It deliberately keeps streaming apps, voice search, Chromecast, screen mirroring, the Play Store, system updates and all of the TV's own firmware apps (inputs, tuner, picture and sound menus).

Adapting it to your TV

Package names differ between brands, so read the list and edit it before running it on another TV.

To see what's on your TV and what's actually using memory:

adb shell pm list packages -s                 # system apps
adb shell pm list packages -3                 # apps you installed
adb shell dumpsys meminfo | more              # look for "Total RSS by process"
adb shell dumpsys package <name> | more       # what a package contains

Good candidates: ad and promo apps, demo/retail mode, log collectors, feedback services, apps you never open. Leave alone anything you don't recognise that belongs to the TV vendor (often com.<vendor>.* or com.apps.*), along with Settings, the input/tuner apps, Bluetooth, the keyboard, Play services, Play Store, setup wizards and system updates. If in doubt, leave it in, or disable it on its own and use the TV for a day.

Add or remove lines in the $targets table:

"com.example.bloat" = "What it is",

restore.ps1

.\restore.ps1 -DryRun          # show what would change, change nothing
.\restore.ps1                  # restore
.\restore.ps1 -RemoveLumen     # restore and uninstall Lumen
.\restore.ps1 -Backup ..\backups\2026-10-19_17-52-40   # restore to a specific backup

Without -Backup, the oldest backup is used, since that's normally the original state of the TV.

The restore:

1. re-enables every package that is disabled now but was enabled in that backup,
2. re-installs (for your user) any system package present in the backup but missing now,
3. makes the backup's home app the default again,
4. with -RemoveLumen, removes Lumen as home and uninstalls it, only after steps 1–3, so the stock launcher is already back,
5. presses Home.

Things to know:

• Apps you disabled by hand after that backup are re-enabled as well. Use -DryRun first if you want to see the list.
• Apps installed after the backup are left alone.
• Lumen's own settings are not part of the backup. They live inside Lumen and are kept unless you uninstall it.
• A reboot afterwards is recommended so every re-enabled service starts cleanly.

Doing it by hand

On macOS, Linux, or anywhere without PowerShell, the same steps are plain adb commands:

# backup (the useful part)
adb shell pm list packages -d > disabled-before.txt
adb shell cmd role get-role-holders --user 0 android.app.role.HOME > home-before.txt

# disable / re-enable one app
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.example.bloat
adb shell pm enable com.example.bloat

# list everything currently disabled
adb shell pm list packages -d

To undo by hand, enable every package that appears in pm list packages -d now but not in disabled-before.txt.

If something goes wrong

Problem	Fix
A feature you use stopped working after debloat	Find its package in the debloat log and run adb shell pm enable <package>, or run the full restore
The TV shows a bare settings-style screen instead of a home screen	No home app is enabled. Run adb shell pm enable com.google.android.tvlauncher, or reinstall Lumen
adb loses the TV in the middle of a script	Reconnect (adb connect <ip>:5555) and run the script again. Both scripts are safe to repeat
You lost the backups folder	Run restore.ps1 with a backup from another TV of the same model, or enable packages by hand: adb shell pm list packages -d lists everything that is disabled

More fixes are in Troubleshooting.