Aerial TV launcher replacement tutorial: aerial-tv installation, restore, and boot ads
A friend switched to a Xiaomi TV last week; after powering on, he first watches a thirty-second ad, and scrolling down the desktop is all recommendation slots. He says he only wants to watch a few Apps, but every time he has to look for his own stuff on someone else's shelf.
This need is very common. A couple of days ago, a project called Aerial appeared on GitHub and grew to over two thousand stars in two days—it is not a player, nor any kind of video resource site; it does only one thing:replace the TV desktop。
Look at the data first; this is not "said to be popular"
I checked the repository (as of the morning of October 22): it was created on October 20, 2026; in a little over a day 2.0k stars, 138 forksthe latest release is v1.22 released on October 21; the two installers are about 2.4 MB each; MIT license. The author is pengchujin; the GitHub repository name pengchujin/aerial-tvthe official website is aerial.qust.me. Some people online also write it as aerialtv or Aerial TV; they all refer to the same project. The features, commands, and models described below all match the repository README and the official website text; none of it is hearsay.
What does two thousand stars in two days mean—most personal open-source projects do not reach that in a year. It shows this is not a niche toy; many people are bothered by the same problem.
What exactly does it replace?
To be clear: Aerial isthe Android TV desktop (Launcher)modeled on Apple tvOS. It manages the screen you return to when you press the Home button, not the content.
What it offers is restrained: a large clock over the wallpaper, a grid of five Apps per row, input sources (HDMI/AV/antenna) as tiles, long-press to move or hide App, press the remote's up button to enter Control Center in the top-right corner (when focus is there, you can also press the Menu button directly). The screensaver is 114 Apple TV aerial videos, showing place names when the shot changes. Wallpaper uses Bing daily picks.
它不What it does must also be clear: it contains no TV channels, no video resources, no built-in player, and does not touch your account. The video Apps you installed are still there; only the entry area has changed owner.
One more thing must be said first, lest you install it in vain:startup ads cannot be removedThe exact wording in the official FAQ is "startup ads are played by the firmware and cannot be removed"—those few seconds are played by the TV system before Aerial starts; changing the desktop cannot manage that layer. What it can clean up is the screen in front of you after startup: recommendation slots, membership entries, and autoplaying trailers. This distinction determines whether you should spend those twenty minutes.
How does it "take over", and what is the cost?
This part determines whether you should install it, and it is worth reading to the end.
Domestic TV firmware usually does not allow freely changing the launcher, so it uses a four-layer approach:
- Normal request: Request the HOME role from the system and set it as the default launcher. Native Android TV is enough at this point.
- Launcher guard: When vendor firmware insists on bouncing back to its own launcher, use an accessibility service to watch "which window has come to the foreground," and pull Aerial back as soon as the official launcher appears. The author states that it only watches window switches and does not read screen content.
- Revive after being killed: Xiaomi standby will force-stop third-party apps; it relies on a notification listener (also declared not to read notification contents) to revive when the system rebinds.
- Auto-start at boot, and there is an optional ADB always-on。
To put the costs plainly, there are three: First,ADB debugging must be enabled, this is the most uncomfortable step for ordinary people; second, accessibility and notification listener permissions must be granted—the author says they are used only for windows and binding, but this is the author's claim, and you have to judge for yourself whether to believe it; third, ADB always-on means people who know their way around on the same LAN can connect to your TV,I recommend turning ADB off after installation; don't leave it always on。
The benefit is that it does not require root and does not touch any system apps, and it can be restored at any time.
Before installing, first confirm three things
First, the TV must be Android TV systemLG's webOS, Samsung's Tizen, Huawei HarmonyOS smart screens, and Android 4.4 and older systems are all unsupported; don't waste time.
Second, look at the brand. The author's daily-use devices actually tested are Xiaomi MiTV-MFTR0 (Android 14 / HyperOS TV) and TCL MT5879 China version; those also reported as working by the community include Redmi X65 2026, Sony XRJ-77A80J / BRAVIA VH1, Skyworth Coocaa K3 Pro, Konka 2861, PPTV K55U27, Tencent Aurora Box 7S, multiple Xiaomi TVs, XGIMI projectors, and OPPO K9.
Known not installable: FFALCON 55S595C Ultra (ADB authorization fails, and HOME cannot be taken over), Vidda / Hisense / FFALCON He 6 2025 Ultra (can install but cannot enter after boot). Don't force these.
Third, the TV and your computer (or phone) must be onthe same LAN。
Step 1: Turn on ADB on the TV (varies by brand)
Xiaomi / Redmi: Settings → About → tap “Product model” repeatedly → Account & security → turn on “ADB debugging” and “Install unknown apps”.
TCL / FFALCON: Settings → About → Device info → quickly press “Up/Down/Left/Right” on the remote → More → turn on ADB.
Haier / MOKA: press the signal source button on the TV body → “Left/Left/Up/Right” on the remote → enter the factory menu → turn on ADB.
OPPO: Settings → System → About device → Device model → “Up/Up/Right/Right” + Confirm.
Other Android TV: tap “Build number” seven times → Developer options → turn on USB debugging.
Menu names vary by brand and firmware; if you can't find it, search for “ADB” or “Developer” in Settings.
Step 2: Find the TV's IP
In Settings → Network (or “About → Status”), you can see the current Wi-Fi IP, in the form 192.168.1.20Write it down; you'll need it in the next three steps. It is recommended to set up a static assignment for it in the router, so you don't have to find it again when the IP changes next time.
Step 3: Install, choose one of three methods
Method A: Hand it to an AI Agent that can run commands(Author recommended). If you have a tool such as WorkBuddy, Doubao, Qwen, Trae, or Claude Code that can execute commands, give it the official prompt along with the TV IP, and it will complete the installation by itself.
Method B: One-line command (macOS / Linux)
curl -fsSL https://aerial.qust.me/install.sh | KEEP_ADB=1 TV=192.168.1.20 bash把 192.168.1.20 Replace it with your own TV IP.KEEP_ADB=1 This means not turning off ADB after installation—I said earlier that it is recommended to turn it off after installation, so you can remove this line.
Method C: manual ADB (Windows users take this one)
Install Android platform-tools on the computer (the package in the official SDK), after extracting, enter the directory from the command line, and execute in order:
adb connect 192.168.1.20:5555
adb install -r aerial-standard.apk
adb shell pm grant app.orchard.tv android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
adb shell cmd notification allow_listener app.orchard.tv/app.orchard.tv.guard.RevivalListener
adb shell appops set app.orchard.tv SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW allow
adb shell am start -n app.orchard.tv/.MainActivityDownload the APK from the project's Releases page, and make sure to get aerial-standard.apk(regular version) and aerial-guard.apk(guard version). The first time you connect to the TV, an "Allow debugging" prompt will pop up on the TV; be sure to press Allow.
Step 4: Don't skip these steps after installation
After opening Aerial, set it as the default launcher as prompted; if the TV firmware keeps taking the launcher back, then switch to aerial-guard.apk reinstalling it once (just change the filename in the command). TCL users will get a "Multi-screen interaction" authorization dialog during installation; press "Right" on the remote and confirm, or it will fail.
Finally, go back to Settings andturn off ADB.You don't need it on for daily use.
How to roll back if something goes wrong
This is what I value most: it can be reverted. On macOS / Linux, execute:
curl -fsSL https://aerial.qust.me/install.sh | TV=192.168.1.20 bash -s restoreIf installed manually on Windows, just uninstall Aerial on the TV, then change the default launcher back to the system's built-in one. No flashing, no factory reset.
My judgment: who should install it, and who should not bother
This is the kind of person who should install it: someone annoyed every day at boot by ads and recommendation slots, who can understand every step above, and is willing to spend twenty minutes tinkering once. After installation, that TV really does become "your TV".
These are the ones who should not install it: those whose TV is HarmonyOS / webOS / Tizen; elderly family members at home who only know how to "open and watch", for whom one extra layer of settings is a disaster; and people unwilling to enable ADB—this step cannot be bypassed, and forcing the installation will only get stuck halfway.
There are also three risks that need to be mentioned up front. The first isa firmware upgrade may make it stop working, when you reinstall it then, don't be surprised. Second,The copyright of aerial footage belongs to Apple, the project merely plays via public addresses, not moving the films back home; don't mistake this for "free film sources." Third, for tools that deeply take over the desktop, please ask the vendor yourself whether they affect warranty; I won't draw conclusions on behalf of the vendor.
If you just want to see fewer ads and don't want to touch the system, try a lighter approach first—for examplethe approach to turning off ads on Xiaomi phones, there are similar switches on the TV side. If you really want the desktop completely clean, then use Aerial.
By the way: after changing the desktop, many people's next step is to store the films back in their own home.Using NAS to set up a home media serviceis a more stable long-term solution; if you still have an old box on hand, first checkhow much longer its hard drive can lastbefore deciding whether to keep using it.
Project information and commands all come from the author's public repository (2026-10-21 version v1.22); versions iterate quickly, so before executing, refer to the repository's current instructions.
