I am looking for an Android TV box that does not force me to create a Google account

Hi

I am looking for an Android TV box that does not force me to create a Google account.

Is there some box/vendor?

With DDG I found that it is not possible with Shield and official Google Android TV.

I wish only F-Droid Apps, don’t need Google Play.

It is kind of tough, unless you root the TV and install a custom ROM like Xtended or something in similar lines.

Is Xtended a custom Rom build of Android TV?

Yes you can if you have a old pc or laptop just flash linux and run it as a google android tv
I have a old pc and i flash that with debian and it acts like a home server as well as my android tv i can do what ever i want and watch in my tv.

And one of my friend have apple tv which is a far far better option than android tv.
Android is just a opensource platform just to build there spyware and spy on.

Edit if you have pi device and if your tv resolution is not like 4k then you maybe able to use it as a alternative but i don’t know a research needed about if that have that much house power to do so.

If you don’t want to poke into technical stuff apple tv is good.

I have been watching with LibreELEC/Kodi on Raspberry TV for many years.

But unfortunately the add-ons often don’t work anymore because the content provider made changes. On the whole, it did not work reliably enough.

So now I’m looking towards Android TV, but without Google account and with ad blocker.

I found a few links, but not much hope on those. Still, you can try to look into those once.

  1. https://androidpcreview.com/android-tv-without-google-account/
  2. How to Use Android TV Without a Google Account [Shield TV]
  3. Reddit - Dive into anything

Few years back, I had tried and had done away with foogle account on my TV, but that stopped working upon updates on apps, and OS not being updated, and few more kinds of irrelevant stuffs. However, the gist is mostly, it is not fully probable, unless some understanding company starts making one without foogle.

DivestOS has been tested booting on fugu, and you can pick one up on sites like eBay for $20-$30, although I have absolutely no idea if it actually works or what the experience is like.
I do think I removed the proprietary blob for the remote, so you’ll probably want one of those wireless keyboard/mouse combos like the Logitech K400.

I use an X96 MAX Pro(from around 2018) model, not the greatest, chinese made. It is pre-rooted though and does not require an account.

There are some custom ROMs, but not many.
I have not however noticed any rogue connections being made except for Google until removing it.

Not exactly recommending that model, especially as idk how the new ones are and there are many brands. But I do not believe all include spyware beyong Google.

If you just need Kodi, there is also the OSMC Vero TV box you could look into. Though idk why exactly a Pi would have issues…

Nokia streambox 8000 does not require a Foogle account.

I don’t know how-to install F-Droid, because there is no browser app.

Why not install via explorer or adb maybe.

more details? Instructions?

Check XDA for your TV specific if present. Else ddg/startpage the search query once for steps.

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Some Vestel tvs, selled with many cheap tv brands doesn’t required a Google account.

In fact they offer some apps in their own mini appstore.

And through a USB or the included webbrowser you can install F-Droid (some extra steps are required to allow installation) and access to the best world of apps :slight_smile:

My TV has also pre-installed a Firefox for tv but surprisingly it has not a bookmark to fdroid, but at sametime AFAIK Mozilla foundation sponsors f-droid project.

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Thank you guys. I was able to install F-Droid and some other apps

But most Apps are hidden from the apps menu (even F-Droid). It seems they all not optimized for TV.

I found only a few apps for AndroidTV (Kodi, VLC). The same apps also run on Linux.

Which Apps from F-Droid are for TV? I used search term “AndroidTV” and “TV” and very less shows up.

I even didn’t found a browser optimized for TV.

Blokada also not works on TV

Please help a newbie

You can use an launcher to get most apps to show up. However, most of it will only show up via system apps or having to go through some kind of workaround. Sorry, I m also limited in my knowledge, and hopefully someone more experienced will respond

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You can do 2 more things.
Connect via ADB Network. See the guide here: https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-use-adb-on-android-tv/
This worked for me finally, and no other thing worked tbvh. I used ADB AppControl app (https://adbappcontrol.com/) (XDA: [TOOL] ADB AppControl 1.8.3 🚀 Ultimate App Manager & Debloat Tool + Tweaks | XDA Forums} to uninstall and install the required apps/things including a proper activity launcher.

Working with the free ADB Control app. Couple snaps attached.


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This software runs only on Windows (.Net). I am macOS user. But it seems that I can do the same on command line with adb.

I found a Reddit disussion about custom TV launchers
https://teddit.net/r/AndroidTV/comments/nkboqd/list_of_alternative_launchers_for_android_tv/

But none of them are in F-Droid. I wish to install only stuff from F-Droid and not random binaries from Internet.

This project seems mature:

and 2 others

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My apologies. I should have read that it is Mac for you. For the FLauncher, it is very buggy, especially on Android 8 (mine is Oreo 8.1). It freezes a lot. I had a hard time uninstalling it yesterday.
The other 2 launchers are good. You can go with anyone of them.

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I am on Android 10.

I installed Aurora Store | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository. It has an UI for TV.

But most Apps I can’t find in this store, but they are on Google Play.

for example I can’t find

GitHub - alescdb/LauncherTV: Android Simple TV Launcher https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cosinus.launchertv - "Simple TV Launcher "

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.srf.mobile.srfplayer&hl=en_US&gl=US Play SRF

why?

AuroraStore is an alternative for PlayStore.
What you need is AuroraDroid, if you are not satisfied with Official F-Droid, or its variois alternatives: F-Droid Classic, Droid-ify, etc.

Most of TV launchers are on playstore only. But there are none or hardly any on FOSS world within F-Drood repos.

I am using ATV. It more than suffices my need. You can PM me if you need any help.

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