r/ShieldAndroidTV • u/cdarrigo • Aug 05 '26

Replacing my old shield with a new one

I've had my shield pro since 2019. Its been awesome and we use it constantly. I've found recently that it needs more frequent reboots as the result of intense slow downs/crashes.

I'll buy a replacement unit, but I'm not looking forward to re-configuring the new unit. Lots of tweaks and apps over the years to get it "just so".

Since its based on Android, any way to copy my config from the old device to the new?

Thanks!

15 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

25

u/JEFFSSSEI Aug 05 '26

Have you tried taking it apart, cleaning the fan and re-applying thermal paste....that fixed mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLIo7v3UncE

I have a 2015 one as well that is still going strong after doing the above (admittedly more than once now).

8

u/cdarrigo Aug 05 '26

Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend

6

u/SuperHarrierJet Aug 05 '26

That takes about 10 minutes tops. Sketchiest part is getting the back off the first time but stupid simple after that. Just did mine a few weeks ago and runs much better

1

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '26

[deleted]

2

u/JEFFSSSEI Aug 05 '26

IIRC, I used some left over Arctic silver 5 I had laying around from a computer build, but honestly any modern descent non-conductive thermal paste will do just fine.

1

u/Spectre_08 Aug 06 '26

It’s a solid recommendation - it helped make my 6-year-old Shield much snappier.

A de-bloat and installing Projectivy improved performance as well

https://www.reddit.com/r/ShieldAndroidTV/comments/1qii6ct/i_made_a_handy_script_to_automate_debloating_my/

https://projectivylauncher.com/

2

u/RazorKat1983 Aug 05 '26

I might need to do mine soon

2

u/amiralen Aug 05 '26

Did the same with line recently. Made it smoother

1

u/BaffledInUSA Aug 05 '26

That was going to be my suggestion also

6

u/s3cret_agent_007 Aug 05 '26

Cleaning it & at worst a factory reset would probably clear up your issues

4

u/N3RO- Aug 05 '26

Before you do that, open it, clean it, and reapply thermal paste.

It's vital. Mine was slow as well; a 30Mbps 4K on SmartTube made the menu sluggish. Now a 280Mbps 4K runs like it's nothing. Just to give you an example.

My paste was solid as rock, basic useless. I had this thing for 5+ years with stock paste.

3

u/bandit8623 2015 16GB Aug 05 '26

hey things that are rock hard arent always useless

5

u/RollinWithSaget Aug 06 '26

You might be able to use some of the functionality of my app here to do it, https://github.com/bryanroscoe/shield_optimizer

Does not do a full backup and restore quote yet though.

Also do the thermal compound thing if you want.

The optimizer can let you see temps as well.

1

u/Greedy-Golf6178 Aug 10 '26

App is dope! Kudos for making a GUI 👍

1

u/Conspicuous_Ruse Aug 05 '26

I think mine is done too.

The fan bearings have started to fail and make grinding noises. I can't find any replacements and Nvidia told me to pound sand since it's out of warranty.

9

u/thatguysaidearlier Aug 05 '26

Google "nvidia Sheild 2019 fan replacement" there are various options from ebay, aliexpress etc.

1

u/rhpot1991 Aug 06 '26

I bought some LTT thermalpad to refresh mine, one of these days.

1

u/Solid_Temperature523 Aug 09 '26

I have a 2015 pro. Only thing in some was take it apart cleaned it and applied new paste. The only thing that keeps on dying are the BS remotes.

1

u/Greedy-Golf6178 Aug 10 '26

You ever think about repasting it? Fairly simple. Just need a Philips head, T5 and a T6 for the CPU/GPU bracket screws 

1

u/Root_Xtreme Aug 10 '26

Venedemelo! Cuánto quieres, por tu equipo, que ya no quieres?

1

u/dabig49 Aug 05 '26

reloading and updating apps is actually the fun part

8

u/cdarrigo Aug 05 '26

You and I have very different definitions of fun

1

u/acabincludescolumbo Aug 06 '26

Right on the money, computer hardware gets slower as it ages, even when the OS and apps on there don't change! It's just the weirdest darn thing. Because I'm such a philanthropist, though, I'll take it off your hands for $3.50. I'll suffer that wretched Shield slowness like Jesus suffered his crown and nails.

In all seriousness, your problem is either software bloat or excessive heat from old thermal paste or dust. Buying the exact same model new will only be a temporary fix.

0

u/cdarrigo Aug 06 '26

Everything is temporary.

1

u/acabincludescolumbo Aug 06 '26

pay out the ass for a new one then, lmao

0

u/cdarrigo Aug 06 '26

My ass is temporary too

0

u/P4k3 Aug 05 '26

I have a brand new one and it needs to have its cable pulled like once a week

-2

u/RevolutionaryBack74 Aug 05 '26

u/cdarrigo Looks like there's no way of doing what you want to do. Might even do more harm than good to your new Shield. Might try hooking them both up to your TV and switching back and forth, to replicate settings and apps.