02/26/2026
wa.me/+447491404223
Fix Your Nvidia Shield Home Screen
If your Nvidia Shield still looks cluttered with giant banners, ads, and random recommendations⊠youâre honestly not getting the best out of it.
It doesnât have to look like that.
With the right setup, your Shield can feel clean, fast, and completely app-focused â no forced recommendations, no distractions. Just your apps.
In this guide, Iâll show you exactly how to transform it using Projectivy Launcher, lock it in properly so it survives reboots and updates, and Iâll point out the one setting most people miss (the one that stops everything from working).
Letâs fix it.
Why Projectivy Launcher?
Iâve tested almost every Android TV launcher out there â SideLoad Launcher, ATV Launcher, FLauncher, Wolf Launcher â and I always come back to Projectivy.
Why?
It works reliably on Android TV
No root required
Survives system updates
Free version gives you almost everything you need
So thatâs what weâre using today.
Step 1: Install Projectivy Launcher
Grab your Shield remote.
Open the Google Play Store.
Search for Projectivy Launcher.
Hit Install.
Once installed, open the app.
There is a premium upgrade available, but everything Iâm showing today works perfectly fine in the free version â so no pressure to upgrade.
Step 2: Grant Required Permissions
When you first open Projectivy, itâll walk you through a short setup process. It needs a few permissions to work properly â mainly:
Notification access
Accessibility access
When it asks you to grant notification access, tap âYes.â The Shield will take you directly to the correct settings menu.
From there:
Go to Special App Access
Select Notification Access
Turn ON Projectivy Launcher
Then press back a few times to return to Projectivy and finish the setup.
Within seconds, youâll notice the difference. Instead of giant banners and ads, youâll see a clean grid of your installed apps.
But weâre not done yet.
Right now, itâs running â but itâs not fully locked in as your default home screen.
This next part is critical.
Step 3: Make It Your Default (Most Important Step)
This is where most people mess up.
On the Nvidia Shield, Projectivy only replaces the Home button behavior when TWO specific settings are enabled together.
You need both. Not one. Both.
First:
Open Projectivy Settings
Go to General
Turn ON Override Current Launcher
This allows Projectivy to intercept the Home button.
Second:
Go back to the Shieldâs main settings.
Open Device Preferences
Go to Accessibility
Scroll down to Projectivy Launcher
Turn it ON
This gives Projectivy system-level permission to act as your home screen.
If either of these settings is off, pressing Home will take you back to the stock Android TV launcher.
Once both are enabled:
Press the Home button.
Projectivy should load instantly.
Now restart your Shield to make sure it sticks after a reboot.
Open an app. Press Home again.
If it goes straight back to Projectivy â youâre done.
Clean Up Your Layout
Now comes the fun part â customizing it.
Projectivy lets you:
Change grid size
Rearrange apps
Hide apps
Create favorites
Adjust icon sizes
Change wallpapers
My recommendation?
Keep it minimal.
Put your main streaming apps at the top. Hide anything you never use. The cleaner the layout, the faster the Shield feels in daily use.
Add Favorites & Hide Apps
To add an app to favorites:
Highlight the app
Hold the select button
Choose âAdd to Favoritesâ
Itâll now appear at the top for one-click access.
If there are system apps you canât uninstall â no problem. Just long-press and choose Hide. They disappear from your home screen without affecting the system.
Instant declutter.
Optional Tweaks
If you still like recommendations from specific apps (like YouTube or Plex), you can enable only those.
Inside Projectivy:
Open Edit Channels
Toggle ON only the apps you want suggestions from
This gives you useful content without the Google ad-heavy feed.
You can also customize:
Dynamic color themes
Icon sizes
Labels
Wallpapers
Go to:
Projectivy Settings â Appearance â Wallpaper
Dynamic colors are free. Custom image backgrounds require the small one-time premium upgrade.
Final Result
Once everythingâs set up, your Nvidia Shield feels completely different.
Cleaner. Faster. More focused.
No ads screaming at you. No random content you didnât ask for.
Just your apps.
And honestly, itâs one of the best quality-of-life upgrades you can make to this device â and it doesnât cost anything.
If this helped you take back control of your Shield, let me know. And if you prefer the stock launcher over custom ones, Iâd genuinely love to hear why.
Next, Iâll be covering hidden developer settings on the Shield that can actually improve performance â animation scaling, background process limits, USB tweaks, and more.
