this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023

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Google is now putting product ads on the home screen of my Sony Bravia TV (lemmy.ca)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Up until now I've only seen suggestions for content offered by the various streaming services. Today I started getting ads for a Hyundai car!

I tried to log a support call with Sony but they said they couldn't do anything without a photo of the offending ad. I now have a photo so will try again tomorrow. I know a single support call won't do anything (though I intend to be very persistent), but if enough people log formal complaints maybe Sony will "talk to" Google.

I know this is deep first world problems territory, but I feel really betrayed having a device I paid $2,300 for being used to shove ads in my face.

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[–] [email protected] 113 points 11 months ago (10 children)

Rule one of a smart TV is to never connect it to the internet.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Rule zero of a smart TV is to not buy a smart TV.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Except quite often they're cheaper because the manufacturer expects to recoup some of their costs by selling your data and showing you ads. So it's often more economical to just buy one and never use the "smart" features.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I wish there were more options.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You're not wrong. Samsung has some "digital signage" devices that are just non-smart TVs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks so much for this. I didn't know what to look for until now.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

FWIW, they may not have OTA tuners, but if you're dedicated enough to want to search out a not-smart TV, you probably don't need one of those anyway.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Non-smart TVs don't really exist anymore if you want a good panel. The Sony ones are pretty solid but Google TV and Android TV have just been undergoing enshittification.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Easier said than done these days. Last time I tried to find a "dumb" TV (3-ish years ago) anything above 30" was going for 4x the price of a similar-sized Smart TV.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Or setup a pihole or similar DNS blocker. My Samsung SmartTv would love to show me ads, if I let it.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just hope you’ve also blocked all the other manufacturer telemetry

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Fur sure. Gravity Lists from those smarter than I and also spending time looking at DNS requests per IP to further isolate.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Rule one of a smart tv for me is to never get one.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It's a real struggle. I couldn't find a TV over ~32" when I was looking to get one. Want to say they were asking WAY over the price of a smart TV. That was like 2 years ago, so I forget the details, but I expect things have gotten worse since.

So got a 52" smart TV and just haven't ever plugged it in to the interwebs ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I just got a 43" 4k monitor and hooked it up to my media pc.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I miss my 50'' dumb TV. I had to leave it behind when I moved cross-country.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

This is the way.

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 11 months ago

Factory reset -> pick an EU country during setup -> fixed

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You can also install a different launcher then disable the default “leanback” launcher. Be sure to install the alternate launcher FIRST!!!1! You’ll need to google how to do it, but there are lots of articles and videos that explain it.

I’m using an NVIDIA Shield Pro with flauncher and it’s completely ad-free.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Yep - I'm aware of the options. That doesn't stop me being angry about my device being abused like this.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I didn't know this! Thanks.

Are there any as glossy as the default? I had a look at F Launcher and Wolf screenshots but they didn't wow me that much

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Projectivy Launcher, FTW.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Thanks for the suggestion. I searched for Launchers on my Android TV and the search results are bad. It will always show Disney+ and what not in the results, instead of showing me actual launchers. Using Flauncher now, but that looks really nice.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

There are some much nicer ones, but they all require sideloading and some require extra apps to supply widgets. Flauncher is definitely fugly but I appreciate its minimalism.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago

Hyundai is vehicle of choice for orcs now?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This is literally the reason I set up a PiHole.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Not sure a pihole would stop this. I have one running, didn't do much for tv ads.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've block androidtvwatsonfe-pa.googleapis.com and I have no more sponsored content.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Hmm ok maybe it's time I take another look and research! Thanks

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I have one running and just blocked the entire roku domain. No ads, no calling home. Works really nicely.

Roku, however, has decided this means war and breaks my apps roughly once a month (all TVs started doing it on the same day, because I reset them all on the same day most recently, before that they staggered so it’s not a legit app update, they just want me to connect so they can harvest my stored data) so I’ve stopped using the apps and started using old computers. Fuck roku. The interface is nice (when it doesn’t have ads) but the remotes are shit and they are an ad company.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Hmm. I guess it depends on your Blocklist and the TV type. For my Samsung, it worked perfectly.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I don't know if the TV has the same functionality, but on Chromecast with Google Home, you can set the system to apps only mode, which cuts out all of the suggested content and ads that bog down the home screen. Only downside is it disables Google Assistant, but who needs it honestly?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Interesting… I too have a Sony Bravia and I updated recently, but I’ve yet to see the ad. If you don’t mind, would you pass along whatever contact info you got for Sony. I’ll make a stink with you.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

It may be geography based - I'm in Canada. It also does not happen often. When I was trying to log a call with support it just kept cycling through content suggestions. Then I gave up on that, watched a movie and then the Hyundai ad came back.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Same here. I even noticed the subtle change in menu design in the different quick and the main settings

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Crazy that Wario is shilling for Hyundai, tho.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

I un-installed all updates to the android homescreen. It's so garbage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

So, my LG smart tv doesn’t show me ads. I have the LG 65NANO90UNA and so far it’s been pretty good. It does however have Alexa built in which is not set up, but may be a whole other set of problems.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

LG uses its own OS instead of Android TV, that's why.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Ahhhhh that’s cool. Good to know thanks.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Mine did before I killed its internet access. They were mainly little toast notifications for things like Alexa or Apple TV but I have almost no tolerance for ads on devices I have purchased. I still haven't switched the launcher on my Shield but once I see ads for random stuff instead of just streaming services that will happen quickly.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

You know, now that you mention it. There is the occasional notification when Apple TV is on sale. But it’s always a tiny thing like off to the side, and that’s the only thing I’ve seen. It’s so unobtrusive that I forgot it existed.

But, I admit that I rarely use it as a tv. I use it as a computer monitor. The only time I’d see the advertisement for Apple TV is when I’m using it as a tv. Which I know sounds stupid. But yeah, I’ll keep a closer eye on it now and see what it do. I only occasionally use my tv to watch Hulu otherwise it’s just a monitor. So, maybe that’s why I don’t see ads.

I’ll keep a closer eye and get back to you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Is it because it's running on Android TV?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

according to his photo, top right says Google TV