HALauncher Guide: Sideload and Organize Any App Android TV devices offer a great big-screen experience, but the official Google Play Store for television is highly restrictive. Many powerful apps built for standard Android phones do not show up on the Android TV home screen after sideloading.
HALauncher (Handheld App Launcher) solves this exact problem. This guide will show you how to use HALauncher to display, run, and organize any sideloaded application on your Android TV device. Step 1: Install and Open HALauncher
Before organizing your apps, you need to get the launcher onto your Android TV device. Open the Google Play Store on your Android TV. Use the search bar to look for HALauncher. Select the app and click Install. Launch the app from your device’s application list. Step 2: Navigate the Interface
Upon opening HALauncher, you will see a clean, grid-based layout split into default categories.
Handheld Apps: This section automatically populates with sideloaded apps designed for smartphones or tablets.
TV Apps: This section displays your official Android TV-compatible applications.
Side Menu: Press the left directional button on your remote to open configuration settings. Step 3: Create Custom Categories
Sorting your apps into custom folders or rows makes navigation much faster. Open the Side Menu on the left. Select Manage Categories. Click on Create New Category.
Type a name for your category (e.g., “Streaming,” “Retro Gaming”). Choose a custom icon or display color if desired. Step 4: Populate Your Custom Categories
Once your categories are built, you can start moving your sideloaded apps into them. Navigate to the Handheld Apps section. Highlight the sideloaded app you want to move. Press and hold the Select/OK button on your remote. Choose Edit Item or Move to Category from the pop-up menu. Select your newly created category to assign the app. Step 5: Customize App Icons and Banners
Sideloaded smartphone apps usually look blurry or stretched on a TV because they lack widescreen banners. HALauncher allows you to fix this. Long-press the app you want to customize. Select Edit Item from the menu. Click on Icon or Banner.
Choose to upload a custom image from your local storage or change the aspect ratio.
Save changes to give your home screen a clean, premium look. Step 6: Set HALauncher as Your Default (Optional)
If you want to completely bypass the stock Android TV interface and boot directly into HALauncher, you can set it as your default home screen. Open the HALauncher Side Menu. Scroll down and select Settings. Click on Launcher Settings. Enable the Override Home Button option.
Follow the on-screen prompts to grant accessibility permissions. Advance Your Setup
To tailor this setup perfectly to your specific streaming or gaming environment, let know:
What specific Android TV device are you using (e.g., Nvidia Shield, Chromecast with Google TV, Fire Stick)?
Do you need instructions on how to safely sideload the APK files onto your TV before organizing them?
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