I gave my Google TV Streamer a free speed boost with 5 simple tweaks ‣ Diverse Daily

I’ve spent a lot of time using the Roku Ultra and Fire TV Stick 4K Max, but when it comes to speed, it’s hard to beat the Google TV Streamer. Since I picked one up earlier this year, I’ve been impressed with how capable it is, thanks in large part to its 4GB of RAM, which is double what you’ll find in both the 4K Max and Roku Ultra, as well as its upgraded quad-core processor, which is much faster than the chip Google used in the now-retired Chromecast devices that came before it.

But despite its formidable hardware, the Google TV Streamer isn’t immune to slowing down over time, something that can happen with just about any streaming device you use every day. That’s started to happen to my Google TV Streamer lately, with apps taking a little longer to load and menus feeling more sluggish to navigate.

The good news is that it was easy to fix. All it took was diving into the settings menu and making a few simple tweaks to help speed it back up. If you’re in a similar situation, here are five tweaks that can give your Google TV Streamer the speed boost it needs and help make it feel brand new again.

Some of these tweaks also work on other Google TV devices, including smart TVs running Google TV and Onn’s Google TV devices, such as the Onn 4K Pro, 4K Plus, and HD Streaming Device. That said, I’ll be focusing specifically on the Google TV Streamer here, since that’s the device I regularly use.

Clear the cache

A fast and easy way to improve performance

The first thing I always recommend doing on any streaming device to speed it up, whether it’s a Roku, Fire Stick, or smart TV, is to clear its cache. If you’re unfamiliar with cache data, it’s essentially a collection of temporary files that apps create and store on your device to help content load faster, such as image thumbnails and preview videos, so they can appear more quickly the next time you open the app.

While cached data is generally a good thing, the problem is that it can build up over time. If too much cache data accumulates without being cleared, it can actually have the opposite effect and contribute to your device feeling slower, as it has more temporary data to manage.

Thankfully, Google has made it pretty straightforward to clear the cache data for all your apps on the Google TV Streamer. Here’s how step-by-step:

1. On the Google TV home screen, open Quick Settings then select Settings.

2. Navigate to System > Storage.

3. Select Free up storage.

4. Choose Clear cache.

Make animations faster

Unlock a snappier interface

Next up is a lesser-known trick that involves reducing the time animations take on your Google TV Streamer. If you’re wondering how this works, an animation usually plays when you switch between menus or open an app, and by default it can take a second or so to complete. But by digging into the Developer Options on your device, you can reduce the amount of time these animations take, making your Google TV Streamer feel a lot faster and more responsive.

To do this, you’ll first need to enable Developer Mode on your device. Once you’ve done that, you’ll then be able to change the animation speeds. Here’s how to do all this step-by-step:

1. Open Settings and navigate to System > About.

2. Scroll down to Android TV OS Build.

3. Press the select button on your remote seven times. A message will then appear on your screen saying “You’re now a developer.”

4. Next, go back to the System menu in settings.

5. Select Developer Options.

6. Then find and change the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration all from 1x to 0.5x.

There is an option to turn off all these animations, but I find navigation looks a little weird when they’re disabled entirely. That’s why I think setting them to 0.5x is the best of both worlds. You get faster animations while still keeping the interface feeling smooth as you navigate.

Try Apps Only mode or a customer launcher

Clean up your Google TV Streamer’s home screen

Another way to make your Google TV Streamer faster and easier to use is to enable Apps Only mode. This transforms the home screen, so your apps are front and center, making it much quicker to jump into your favorite streaming services.

Apps Only mode also removes most of the ads and recommendations that Google TV normally shows on the home screen, except for one carousel of recommendations that still appears after you enable it.

Here’s how to enable it on your Google TV Streamer:

1. Go to Settings > Accounts & Profiles.

2. Select your profile.

3. Scroll down and turn on Apps Only mode.

Alternatively, instead of using Apps Only mode to simplify your Google TV experience, you can download a custom launcher to completely change the home screen. For example, you can download Projectivy Launcher directly from your device’s app store, which removes ads from your home screen and gives you a much cleaner, distraction-free interface with a greater focus on your apps.

Arc Launcher is another option that can make your Google TV look more like an Apple TV. However, it’s not available in the Google TV app store, so you’ll have to sideload it.

Use the Gigabit Ethernet port

You can get a much faster and more reliable internet connection

Ethernet cable plugged into Google TV Streamer.

One of the main reasons I bought a Google TV Streamer in the first place is because it has a rare feature among streamers: a Gigabit Ethernet port. Many set-top streamers, like the Onn 4K Pro, Roku Ultra, and the Fire TV Cube, along with most smart TVs, have Ethernet ports, but they’re limited to 10/100 Ethernet, which caps out at just 100 Mbps. On the other hand, Gigabit is 10 times faster, with speeds up to 1 Gbps.

So if you’re experiencing Wi-Fi speed issues on your Google TV Streamer, such as dips in quality while streaming a show, constant buffering, or slow downloads, I highly recommend using its Gigabit Ethernet port if you’re able to, as it can significantly improve your device’s internet performance, more so than on a regular smart TV or streamer, and in turn make your device feel much better to use when streaming.

Check for software updates

Sometimes a simple update can resolve speed issues and odd glitches

If you’re running into odd slowdowns or glitches on your Google TV Streamer, one of the best things you can do is check for any available software updates and install them. Typically, when Google releases a new update for Google TV, it includes performance improvements and bug fixes that help iron out the experience. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple update to smooth out any issues you’ve been experiencing.

To check for updates on your Google TV Streamer, go to Settings > About > System Update. If an update is available, you’ll have the option to download and install it.

Alternatively, if there’s no update available, restarting your device may help resolve any performance issues or glitches. You can do this by going to Settings > System > Restart.

As a last resort, if you’ve tried everything and are still having issues, you can perform a Factory Reset. You can do this by going to Settings > About > Factory reset. This will erase all the data on your device and restore it to the state it was in when you first took it out of the box. You’ll then have to set up your device again, which could help resolve any persistent issues you’re experiencing.