No root. Every step can be undone. The full command list, plus the two traps that turn a TV into a black screen.

You turn the TV on to watch one thing. First you get a row of ads and "recommended for you". The menu lags a second behind the remote. Apps open slowly. You search for a fix and find forum threads with a list of adb commands, no explanation, and no way back if one of them kills your Wi-Fi.

This guide shows how to remove ads from the Google TV home screen and free memory using ADB, step by step, with the undo command for each change. You need a computer and the TV on the same network.

Why your TV shows ads and slows down

Out of the box an Android TV or Google TV set runs a dozen vendor services in the background: telemetry, content stores, recommendation rows, a second cast receiver, a demo mode. The home screen itself is an ad surface. All of it shares 1–3 GB of RAM with the apps you open.

The picture and sound get the same treatment.…