tv-hero · Get started

Install tv-hero

You need an Android TV or Google TV (Android 9 or later) and an Android phone (Android 9 or later), on the same Wi-Fi.

1. The phone app

Download tv-hero-phone from the latest release and open it. The first time, Android asks you to allow installing apps from your browser or file manager.

2. Set up the TV from the phone

The phone app installs tv-hero on the TV itself. No computer and no cables.

  1. On the TV, open Developer options: Settings → Device Preferences → About → select Build seven times. On Google TV it's Settings → System → About → Android TV OS build.
  2. In Developer options, turn on USB debugging (and Network debugging, if your TV lists it).
  3. On the phone, open tv-hero → Set Up a New TV → Find TVs With Debugging On, then pick the TV.
  4. The TV asks "Allow debugging?". Check that the code ends the same as the one on the phone, tick Always allow, and press Allow.
  5. The phone installs tv-hero, makes it the Home screen (where the TV allows it), switches on its guard and media titles, then switches debugging off again.
  6. Tap Pair This Phone With the TV: both screens show the same six-digit code. Press Allow on the TV, then create the parent password.

Newer TVs that offer only Wireless debugging with a pairing code aren't supported by the phone yet. For those, install once from a computer: adb install tv-hero-tv-<version>.apk, make tv-hero the Home app and enable tv-hero guard under Accessibility.

3. Add your family

In the phone app's Family tab, add a profile for each child. Choose their apps, daily limit, bedtime and Earn Time questions. Set a Parent PIN for the TV in Settings.

Start over

To try the first-time setup again on the same TV, use phone app → Settings → About → TV App → Start Over on This TV. This removes tv-hero (and its profiles and pairings) and puts the TV's own Home screen back. TV debugging stays on, so Set Up a New TV can go again right away.

Updates

The phone app checks for new releases once a day (Settings → About → Software Update). It updates itself after you confirm, and installs the TV app over your home Wi-Fi. Every download is checked: HTTPS from GitHub only, its size, its SHA-256, its package and version, and tv-hero's release signature.