How I Debloated My Android TV Via ADB

My Sony Android TV was running sluggish even after uninstalling apps and restarting. The fix was pulling up ADB and removing the hidden system bloat Sony (and Google) preinstall with a whole bunch of Android packages. These included things like ad/promo services, ACR tracking, unused DLNA stacks, and commercial “hotel mode” features that have no business running on a home TV.

Prerequisites

A Windows PC, but a Mac is fine too
A USB cable or a shared network connection with the TV
Android platform-tools downloaded and unzipped

Step 1: Enable ADB debugging on the TV

Go to Settings → About → Build and tap it repeatedly until it says “You are a developer.”
Go to Settings → Device Preferences → Developer options.
Turn on USB debugging (or Network debugging to connect over Wi-Fi instead of a cable).
Find the TV’s IP address at Settings → Network → Network status.

Step 2: Connect from your PC

Open a terminal in your platform-tools folder:

.\adb.exe connect <TV_IP_ADDRESS>:5555

Accept the debugging prompt on the TV screen, then confirm the connection:

.\adb.exe devices

Step 3: List installed packages

To see everything installed on the TV:

.\adb.exe shell pm list packages

Save this output somewhere because this is your “before” snapshot. It’ll be useful to compare the list of packages before and after.

Step 4: Uninstall the bloat

The safe, reversible method is pm uninstall -k --user 0. This removes the app for your user profile without touching the read-only system partition on the TV. It can’t brick the TV, and a factory reset restores everything if needed.

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 <package.name>

If a package returns Failure [not installed for 0], it simply doesn’t exist on your firmware/model and you can skip it and move to the next one.

Here’s everything I removed, batched by category:

Ads, promos, and content curation

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.promos
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.sonyselect
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.sonyselect.overlay

promos – Sony’s in-app promotional banner and push-notification engine.
sonyselect (+ .overlay) – Sony’s content storefront/curation app that surfaces suggested paid content on the home screen.

Viewer tracking (ACR)

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 tv.samba.ssm
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.qterics.da.product

tv.samba.ssm (Samba TV) – automatic content recognition; watches what’s on your screen to build an advertising/analytics profile.
qterics.da.product – a second ACR/data-analytics tracker bundled by Sony.

Demo mode / retail display features

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.demosupport
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.demomode
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.multiscreendemo

demosupport, demomode, multiscreendemo – the in-store demo loop and multi-screen showcase features used on showroom floor units. Never needed at home.

Commercial / hotel (B2B) features

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.noderuntime.normal
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.noderuntime.privilege
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.rs232csupport
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.hotelmode
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.frameworkextension
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.prosettings
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.importexport
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.b2b.webappruntimedrm

b2b.noderuntime.normal/.privilege – runtime environments for hotel/commercial signage software.
b2b.rs232csupport – serial-port (RS-232C) control, used by installers to integrate the TV with commercial AV systems.
b2b.hotelmode – hotel welcome-screen and channel-restriction features.
b2b.frameworkextension, b2b.prosettings, b2b.importexport, b2b.webappruntimedrm – supporting framework, settings menu, config import/export, and DRM runtime for the same commercial deployment stack.

Support, help, and diagnostics

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.smarthelp
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.imanual
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.privacypolicy
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.softwarelicense
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.customersupport
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.remoteaccess
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.sonybugreportsys
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tv.bugreportsender
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.feedback

smarthelp – built-in help/support assistant app.
imanual – on-device digital instruction manual viewer.
privacypolicy, softwarelicense – static legal text viewers.
customersupport – customer support contact app.
remoteaccess – remote diagnostic access used by Sony support technicians.
sonybugreportsys, tv.bugreportsender – background bug-report/diagnostic collectors.
feedback – Google’s feedback-collection tool.

Smart home & media hub

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.smartmediaapp
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.smarthomesettings
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.homenetwork

smartmediaapp – Sony’s smart media hub/gateway app.
smarthomesettings – smart-home device integration settings.
homenetwork – browsing feature for other networked devices.

DLNA / legacy media streaming

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.huey.dlna.renderersettings
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.huey.dlna.module
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sonyericsson.dlna
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.osat.music
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.bivlinfo
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.rcplayer
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.rcplayer.service
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.discovery

huey.dlna.renderersettings/.module, sonyericsson.dlna – DLNA (media-sharing protocol) core and settings, largely superseded by Chromecast/casting.
osat.music, bivlinfo – legacy Sony content-metadata and music services.
rcplayer (+ .service) – an older remote-control-driven media player component.
discovery – network service discovery for Sony’s proprietary features.

Broadcast interactive TV / RVU

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.interactivetvutil
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.interactivetvutil.output
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.rvu
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.rvuapkdisabler
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.browser.webappruntime
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.browser.webappruntimeextension
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.browser.webappservice
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.browser.ceb

interactivetvutil (+ .output) – HbbTV-style interactive overlay utility for broadcast TV (teletext-like menus).
rvu, rvuapkdisabler – RVU protocol support, a legacy remote-UI-over-IP standard for cable boxes.
browser.webappruntime (+ extension, service), browser.ceb – the embedded web-app runtime and CE-HTML browser engine that power broadcast interactive apps. Irrelevant if you don’t use antenna/cable interactive features.

Miscellaneous settings & onboarding

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.seconddispsetting
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.actionmenu.plugin.harmony
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.quicksetup
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.tuningconfirmation_nondvb
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.voicerecognitionconfirmation

seconddispsetting – second-screen/companion-display settings.
actionmenu.plugin.harmony – Logitech Harmony remote integration plugin.
quicksetup – the initial setup wizard, only needed on first boot.
tuningconfirmation_nondvb – a regional broadcast-tuner confirmation dialog.
voicerecognitionconfirmation – a one-time voice-search onboarding dialog.

Random pre-installed apps

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 air.com.vudu.air.DownloaderTablet
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 screnmirroring.com

vudu – a pre-installed streaming app I don’t use.
screnmirroring.com – third-party screen-mirroring bloatware.

Optional, feature-dependent removals

Only remove these if you genuinely don’t use the feature:

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.networkapp.wifidirect
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.backdrop
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.play.games
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.videos

networkapp.wifidirect – Wi-Fi Direct device-to-device connections (used by some screen-mirroring setups without a router).
backdrop – the “Ambient mode” photo screensaver.
play.games – Google Play Games service, for Android games.
google.android.videos – the Google Play Movies & TV app.

Minor extras (small returns, but harmless to remove)

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.htmlviewer
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.printspooler
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.dreams.basic
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.syncadapters.contacts
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.syncadapters.calendar
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.providers.userdictionary
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.providers.contacts
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.sonyloglevelsettingsys
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sony.dtv.sonyloglevelsettingvnd

htmlviewer – opens raw HTML files directly; essentially unused on a TV.
printspooler – printing support, irrelevant on a TV.
dreams.basic – the basic Daydream/screensaver framework.
syncadapters.contacts/.calendar – sync Google Contacts/Calendar to the device; pointless on a TV.
providers.userdictionary – stores custom words typed on the on-screen keyboard.
providers.contacts – local contacts storage.
sonyloglevelsettingsys/vnd – debug logging verbosity configuration.

Accessibility/voice extras (only if unused)

.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.marvin.talkback
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.speech.pumpkin
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tts
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube.tvmusic
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.tvrecommendations
.\adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.settings.intelligence

marvin.talkback – the TalkBack screen-reader accessibility service.
speech.pumpkin – offline hotword/keyword-spotting engine for voice search.
tts – Google’s text-to-speech engine.
youtube.tvmusic – the YouTube Music app.
tvrecommendations – the “recommended for you” home-screen content scanner; worth removing since it profiles your viewing in the background.
settings.intelligence – search-within-settings feature.

What to never remove

com.sony.dtv.tvinput.external — powers your HDMI inputs.
com.google.android.inputmethod.latin — your only keyboard.
com.android.packageinstaller, com.android.vending — needed to install/update any app.
com.google.android.gms, com.google.android.gsf — Google Play Services; breaks casting, sign-in, and most streaming apps without it.
com.android.systemui, com.sony.dtv.tvx — the UI itself.

Step 5: Reboot

.\adb.exe reboot

Step 6: Clean up when you’re done

.\adb.exe disconnect
.\adb.exe devices
.\adb.exe kill-server

Then on the TV: Settings → Device Preferences → Developer options → turn off USB/Network debugging (or disable Developer options entirely) to close off ADB access.

Result

In total this removed about 70 packages covering ad/promo services, two separate ACR viewer-tracking services, unused DLNA and broadcast-interactive stacks, commercial hotel-mode software, and diagnostic/support tools. They were all things with zero benefit for a home streaming setup. The TV feels noticeably snappier navigating menus and switching apps. The TV also turns on about twice as fast now. It won’t fix hardware-level slowness from the aging chipset, but it clears out everything unnecessary competing for RAM and CPU in the background.