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Recover an Android TV phone remote after ADB customization

If the phone remote died right after you disabled or uninstalled packages over ADB, the most likely cause is the package that handles phone-remote connections. On Android TV and Google TV that is the Android TV Remote Service, usually com.google.android.tv.remote.service. Re-enable one change at a time, starting with the most recent, using the undo commands you recorded.

By TV Remotely · Updated · Sources and testing policy

Check what you can still control

  1. See whether the physical remote still works.

    You know whether only the phone remote broke.

    If neither works, prioritise getting the TV controllable again, and stop making changes.

  2. Reconnect with adb and list disabled packages: adb shell pm list packages -d

    You see what is currently disabled.

    If adb can’t connect, use the physical remote to turn on debugging again.

  3. Search for remote-related packages: adb shell pm list packages | grep -i remote

    You see whether the Remote Service is present.

    If it is missing, it was uninstalled for the user and needs restoring (below).

Restore the right way

# if it was disabled
adb shell pm enable com.google.android.tv.remote.service

# if it was removed with pm uninstall -k --user 0
adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.tv.remote.service

Package names vary by manufacturer and firmware, so confirm the name on your TV with pm list packages before you run anything. Launchers, the Google Play services stack and Bluetooth packages can also affect remote behaviour.

Test in three stages

  • Does the TV appear in the phone app? That is discovery.
  • Does the TV show a pairing code and accept it? That is authorization.
  • Does a navigation key work after pairing? That is command delivery.

The stage that fails tells you what to restore, instead of undoing everything. Pair again after restoring the service, because the TV may have cleared its saved phones.

If nothing helps

Changes made with pm uninstall --user 0 are normally reverted by a factory reset, and a firmware update can bring back packages too. Reset is the last resort, because you will need the physical remote for setup. Keep the change log and, next time, change one package and test the phone remote before the next.

Related guidance

Sources for these instructions