After the Android TV UI update, users are now seeing large banner ads on Nvidia Shield TVs.
Disgruntled customers have bombarded Google Play Store with negative reviews for the Android TV home app.
Users have also found ways to remove annoying ads from Shield TV devices.
Smart TV interfaces can be a great way for OEMs to make some extra money by showing ads to their users. Amazon has served up ads on its Fire TV interface. Roku also displays ads on its home screen. Google’s Android TV home interface is ad-free. This has been the case until now. Nvidia Shield TV devices have been receiving the new Android TVUI with the Discover tab. Unfortunately, hundreds of users were disappointed by the introduction of ads to their home screens.
Because there are no ads, Nvidia Shield TV boxes have been able to outperform other streaming boxes. It seems that this is no longer true. An angry user took to the Google Play Store listing of the Android TV Home app to comment on how they hate having ads on their Shield TVs. The app’s Play Store rating has dropped to one star (h/t AndroidPolice).
See what others have to say.
Twitter users are just as disgruntled, posting screenshots from banner ads on Shield TV home screens.
My @nvidia Shield TV now has 50% advertising. This device was ad-free, and I paid $200. I was not being pushed down by ads. pic.twitter.com/fn3O5YMXnI
James Railton (@JaRail), June 27, 2021
Although most ads are for content that can only be viewed on Android TVs, many people are still upset that most of the ads come from unsubscribed services.
Reddit users are offering a solution and blocking ads from Shield TV. To prevent it from happening again, you’ll need to disable auto-update in the Google Play Store Settings. You can first uninstall the update by going to Settings > Apps> > Android TV Home.
To get rid of ads, you might also consider installing a third-party launcher. To disable the ads, another user suggested that you disable Google Play services on Shield TV. This could cause unwelcome sign-in problems and break other apps’ updates.
Use our poll to let us know what you think about ads on Shield TV’s home screens. Are you okay with them, or do you hate them? Do you have more thoughts? Comment below to add your thoughts.
