One light-weight launcher made my outdated Fire TV really feel newer than Amazon’s replace did

Fire TV devices are nice worth for cash, however they’re not precisely well-liked for his or her velocity or ease of use. These points are extra noticeable on older fashions as a result of they only aren’t able to dealing with a heavy inventory launcher. So, when my four-year-old Fire TV began feeling sluggish, I changed the default launcher for Projectivy, and it was sufficient to make the system usable once more.

Projectivy Launcher made my outdated Fire TV new once more

Same {hardware} however extra enjoyable

My Fire TV stick is sufficiently old that it is no shock that it isn’t as snappy because it was once. But Amazon’s default launcher does not assist both. It isn’t light-weight by any means, and the affect is straightforward to note on older Fire TV gadgets. It’s additionally stuffed with advertisements and sponsored banners, which ruins the general expertise.

Replacing the launcher is a simple repair for that, and since I’d already been utilizing Projectivy Launcher on my Android TV, I went with that. It was a transparent improve over the default launcher, and the very first thing I seen was how a lot quicker it felt.

The largest distinction, although, was advertisements, or moderately the dearth of them. Projectivy Launcher does not present any advertisements or autoplaying trailers, so I did not need to ignore something or waste time digging by settings to show autoplay off.

Even attending to my apps feels faster. With Amazon’s default launcher, I typically needed to faucet “All Apps” simply to succeed in those I used much less incessantly. That’s not a problem with Projectivy, since I can organize the whole lot in a grid structure and see virtually all my apps directly. It even has a helpful standing bar that reveals the clock and a shortcut to open settings.

I can lastly customise my Fire TV the best way I need

Amazon’s guidelines now not apply

The largest power of Projectivy Launcher is how customizable it’s. If you wish to change one thing, there’s a great likelihood the choice is someplace inside its settings.

If the standing bar isn’t your factor, as an illustration, you possibly can cover it. The similar goes for wallpaper — you possibly can arrange a dwell wallpaper if the static picture feels too plain. It even offers you finer controls, like the flexibility to regulate the icon spacing and alter the font model and dimension. Beyond that, you possibly can cover app labels, categorize apps in sections, change backgrounds, change fonts, tweak accent coloration, and do much more.

I truthfully don’t use all of those choices. Still, it’s good to know these choices are there if wanted. This flexibility is clearly missing in Fire TV’s default launcher. So sure, velocity isn’t the one cause to change.

Almost all of those options can be found within the free model. There’s a paid model too, in order for you it, and it is moderately priced at a one-time charge of round $7–$8.

Installing it’s tough, nevertheless it’s price it

You solely have to do it as soon as

Projectivy Launcher is enjoyable, however getting it in your Fire TV is something however. You cannot simply head to the app retailer and set up it. Amazon clearly does not need you changing its launcher, in order that’s not shocking. Still, since Fire OS is predicated on Android, you possibly can sideload Projectivy Launcher with a bit of labor.

For this, you first have to allow Developer Options on your Fire TV. Head to Settings > My Fire TV > About and click on the Fire TV title repeatedly till you see a message that claims Developer Options enabled. Then, return, choose Developer Options and activate ADB debugging and Install unknown apps.

Once that is executed, it is time to obtain the Projectivy Launcher APK and set up it. There are a few methods to go about it. You can obtain the APK instantly in your TV utilizing an app like Downloader, or use atvTools on your phone to push it to your Fire TV as an alternative. I choose the latter because you simply have to obtain the Projectivy Launcher APK in your cellphone and set up it on Fire TV instantly.

These steps work for many Fire TV gadgets, however I say “most” as a result of the newer gadgets working Vega OS sadly do not enable sideloading in any respect. There’s one other catch, too. Fire TV will not allow you to set Projectivy Launcher because the default, so you will have to open it manually after each reboot. There are workarounds to this, however they’re time-consuming sufficient that most individuals gained’t hassle.

You don’t need to cease right here

Ditching the default Fire TV launcher is only a begin, actually. There’s nonetheless a lot you are able to do to make your Fire TV really feel new once more. Things like disabling Amazon’s information monitoring companies, clearing the cache, and eradicating undesirable apps can all assist make your Fire TV run better than before.