Problems with installing apps on a TV or mobile device often stem from failures with the Internet connection. Less frequently, also in problems with the Google Play servers. However, my connection was perfect and I didn’t see any problems downloading apps from my android mobile either, so I had already ruled out the most common source of this problem.
What shocked me the most is that I could install some applications, but not others. It seemed like a strange mistake until I fell into something that, as obvious as it may be in hindsight, was not initially obvious to me: I did not have enough space. So I decided to turn to the most effective methods to free up space and that I summarize below.
This is how I freed up storage space on my TV
It must be said that what I am going to tell you at the end is not only valid for televisions with Android TV, but also also for those with Google TV or have a Chromecast connected with this operating system. In fact, all of them are already well known when we talk about freeing up space on an Android mobile.
The first thing I did was review the apps you already had installed. I think that, like many, I sometimes sin by installing many apps without hesitation, thinking that I will end up taking advantage of them. Media players, web browsers, file managers. They are very useful, yes, but having several apps for that is not so useful if they are not used, so I chose to leave only the ones that I use more or less frequently and uninstall the rest.
exist various ways to remove apps on Android TV. The first one is to search for the app on Google Play and press the uninstall button. Another option is to press and hold the app on its icon on the home screen to bring up the option. I chose to do it from the settings, going to the corresponding applications section, entering those that I wanted to delete and pressing the button that appears for it.
I also noticed apps that cannot be uninstalledOr at least not normally. They are default Android or TV manufacturer tools and are generally not used much. In my case, I opted to uninstall their updates to free up the extra weight they added to internal memory, which it is done from the settings following the path indicated to remove the apps, although in this case by clicking on Uninstall updates.
although in the end the most important thing of all was to empty the cache of the applications. He already knew the importance of deleting the cache on the mobile and I knew that on televisions the matter did not change much. So I went into the settings and, application by application, I was emptying this memory in its corresponding button. empty cache.
If you are not familiar with how the cache works, I will summarize it for you by telling you that it is made up of temporary files that can generally be useful to reduce loading times of apps and their content. However, in the long run it can accumulate many files that are not necessary or not enough to take up so much storage space. Also, clearing the cache does not imply that the apps are resetso, for example, on Netflix I didn’t have to re-enter my username and password.
An extra for the future that (maybe) also serves you
If you have ever been in the situation that I found myself in or it happens to you in the future, you should know that there are other typical solutions that work to expand the storage on an Android mobile and that are also extensible to the system on televisions. One of the most effective is connect an external memory through the USB port of the TV.
In my case, I think that carrying out a good cache cleaning frequently will help me. However, out of curiosity I tried this method with a flash drive I had at home and it was all very simple because automatically detected in file manager that I have on my TV (you will need an app for this).
Although it is true that it has the inconvenience of not being able to put the applications there, it can be used to store files manually, such as recording DTT content, saving videos and even photos that you want to see on the big screen. Playing this content on TV is just as simple as if it were in the internal storage, all you have to do is open it from a file manager.
