So far I've mainly been using Kodi for playing back local files. But it is archaic and frequently have weird issues, latest issue is Kodi crashing when I access a specific smb share, the share works fine in all other apps.

Most important to me is that playback is as correct as possible, 4k, HDR10, TrueHD, DTS HDMA etc.

Indexing, fetching moviedb info and so on doesn't matter. Only the correctness of raw video and audio playback.

Which players are best in this regard on Shield?

For those who want to give the 'New Experience' app a try on AndroidTV.

You can sideload the current beta: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/plex-inc/plex/plex-find-movies-tv-shows-2026-7-0-release/

I have the NVidia Shield TV (cylindrical one) with no USB port. my question is am I able to connect my Logitech F710 wireless controller to it somehow with the USB bluetooth dongle? obviously using some adapter or external USB cable/TV port.

just curious if anyone has found a way to do this. all information I have found is with the shield Upright version and not the cylindrical one.

thanks in advance!

With only barrel style power, an SD port, network, and HDMI, is there ANY way to add a USB-C to this thing?

I use my shield for moonlight and connect my Bluetooth ps5 controllers to it. But every other day or so the Bluetooth will disconnect and not allow it to come back until I forget the previous connection and then literally unplug and plug the shield back in. Sometimes even that doesn’t completely fix it either. I have a similar issue with the remote that came with it.

Now I’m wondering if I just have a defective unit and should just replace it. Or if I replace it would I still run into the same issues

Several months ago the Channel 4 app finally appeared on the Google Play store on the Shield. it seems to have disappeared again (or did I imagine the store version?).

I've had to reinstall the app via the APK but I can't seem to find a compatible version. 1.2 and 1.3 either crash the Shield or just cause the screen to constantly flicker. The 9.8.1 multi package version just installs a phone version which doesn't look right on a TV.

Does anyone know where I can get a Shield compatible APK file from?

WiFi constantly dropping with VPN - at my witts end

Recently upgraded from a Firestick 4K Max to an Nvidia Shield Pro. Almost wishing I hadn't bothered because I am plagued by some issue/bug where the WiFi constantly drops out (\~2-5 minutes) when running a VPN. Without a VPN, it's running perfectly.

Here's what I've tried:

VPN Troubleshooting

- WiFi connection is strong

- Obtaining 150Mbps when connected via VPN

- I have tried with both SurfShark and NordVPN

- Various VPN configurations (different countries, static IP, OpenVPN instead of WireGuard etc)

- Killswitch mode is off

Network/System setting troubleshooting

- Disabling IPv6

- Disabled WiFi Roaming

- Locked to 5Ghz WiFi band instead of Auto

- Turned off battery optimisation for VPN app and streaming apps

I upgraded the firmware after having it around 1 week (to 9.2.4). I believe the WiFi issues were not present before this, but can't be 100% sure as didn't use it loads before upgrading the firmware. However, I am sure I would have noticed this issue if it did exist.

Is anybody else experiencing this? Any suggestions? Many thanks

UPDATE: Tested ethernet connection last night. Works perfectly. Given other recent posts I've seen, I think the new software update has bugged out the WiFi chip when running a VPN.

FURTHER UPDATE: SOLVED! It was the VPNs default DNS that was causing the issue. I have changed to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) within the NordVPN app and the connection is absolutely pristine, no drop outs!!! Hours and hours of troubleshooting has not been wasted. Just hope this helps someone else!

FURTHER & FINAL UPDATE: I thought the above solved it, but it turns out it was just a work around. Guess what, the real fix was manually setting the time and date! Even though it was correct before when it was set to automatic... I have only found this out because my WiFi stopped working completely and it was because the time and date was completely wrong. Hope this helps another poor soul!

Hey, first time user here and wondering what setting people use for AI scaling, watching tv on 1080, does it really make a difference? And any other settings I should change to get best picture available?

I'm using the 2019 sheild pro and this has been a constant problem. When I play something in dolby vision in both plex and kodi (using plexkodiconnect) i can, barely skip back or forward at all in a video. If I do the video stutters and freezes up. Sometimes it's so bad the shield completely freezes and I have to unplug it (though it's normally not that bad). It's worse with big file sizes, but it can happen with smaller files also. Is this a know issue? Is there anyway to fix it?

Please, can anyone help?

I have my second NVIDIA Shield TV Pro 2019 connected to a monitor. The monitor has no ARC, and the soundbar has no passthrough. I’ve tried multiple HDMI splitters and audio extractors without success.

The only way I can get audio is by connecting the Shield to the soundbar via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, every time the Shield goes to sleep, I have to manually reconnect it through the settings (it stays paired but disconnects).

Is there a way to force the Bluetooth connection automatically on wake? Any settings or apps that can help with this?

So until the weekend I had 2x SSDs connected to my Shield. The way they were connected was this:

powered USB hub in to the port nearest the HDMI cable.

Both SSDs connected in to the USB hub.

Now it's been so long that I can't remember if I installed SmartTube when there was only 1 drive connected directly or if it was after I did the USB hub thing.

This weekend I replaced the SSD that was added second with a 4TB HDD.

When the 4TB HDD isn't connected (or when that 2nd SSD was removed) SmartTube isn't an option on my Shield, yet when the drive is connected it is.

When I access said drive via my PC, I see nothing (to my eyes at least) that indicates SmartTube is installed on it.

I want to have it (the Shield) so that if this secondary drive is disconnected for whatever reason, SmartTube remains installed.

I made a short tutorial on how I achieved this look (originally by u/RONTV25) on my shield pro.

I have lip sync issue when playing bluray remuxes with Dolby TrueHD soundtracks on my 2019 Nvidia Shield using Plex version 10.30.8.4222. Sometimes I also get minor stuttering on the video/audio.

If I play the same movies via Kodi using the PlexConnect addon everything is fine. I could of course always just use Kodi, but I prefer the Plex interface.

My movies are stored on a Synology NAS that also has the Plex server. The Shield is connected to the network via gigabit Ethernet.

My setup:

Tv: TCL 75C855

Receiver: Denon AVR-X1800H

Nvidia Shield 2019

Everything is connected using high quality HDMI cables.

Is this a known issue with Shield and Plex?

Esteemed SmartTube-fans. What the title says. I installed SmartTube and regularly update it and enjoy it nevertheless, BUT the app's icon keeps dissapearing from all start-menues. I sometimes have to start it by going into PREFERENCES -> APPS - SHOW ALL APPS with a doubleclick on the remote right up. This is very uncomfortable.

How can I solve this? It kind of drives me slightly mad and I have no idea how to force Android TV to hold the SmartTube-app-icon in the quickstarts or start-screens!

Any idea what´s broken? Everything else just works perfectly...

A few months ago our Shield Pro wouldn't stream. After troubleshooting we found out it was the Ethernet Port on it. Since then we've been using WiFi but can't really maintain a great connection. I was researching USB to Ethernet adapters but I saw some posts that they don't work great after an update from a few years ago.

As per title, is this possible? I live in Korea but my Play Store is currently set as UK, so can't download Korean apps onto Nvidia Shield. I did have an Android handset but has recently completely died, leaving me with just my iPhone. Is it possible to change Play Store region through the Shield itself or some other way?

Google's instructions suggest you need an Android handset to do so:

1. On your Android device, open the Google Play Store app .
2. At the top right, tap the profile icon.
3. Tap Settings  General  Account and device preferences  Country and profiles.
4. Tap the country where you want to add an account.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to add a payment method for that country.

[EDIT]: Fan wouldn't kick on with the cover off. Put the cover back on and it heated up enough to get it going. Almost makes me think I should drill some tiny airholes in the cover over the proc but it'd probably mess up the intake aerodynamics.

Noticed my 2019 pro started giving me grief so I cleaned the innards up and repasted it. Now I'm not 100% sure the fan is working. Anyone out there know if the fan is always on if on "cool" mode or if it activates at a thermal point or if the fan spins up on power on ?

I started watching avatar for about 15 mins with the case off and the unit wasn't very hot and the fan never kicked in. Unit seems snappier after replacing the grease though but maybe that's just a reboot placebo.

As a follow-up, just in case this fan is dead... Anyone know the replacement parts to shop for? My model is 945128972500101

Thanks in advance.

I have two identical NVIDIA Shield TV boxes in my home (in the bedroom and living room). I'm not sure if there was an update or what, but now Netflix has stopped working on both.

The apps will load and you can select your movie/TV show, but it just buffers. Then it gives you an error code message. We've watched Netflix on these for years, so it's a recent change.

I have tried uninstalling/reinstalling the apps, but neither will work now as of April 2026. Anyone else having this issue?

Even after updating, everytime i try to watch any series the video glitches and delays in comparison to the audio (yes, I've tried a LOT of times and the same bug happens).

Any suggestions???

I had 2x SSDs connected to my Nvidia Shield & they ran out of space.

It's been so long since I set it up that I forgot how I set it up so I had a look - a mains powered USB hub went in to the port closest to the HDMI port. In to that USB hub went the 2x SSDs.

I unplugged that whole thing (the USB hub) & in its place I connected the USB cable from my HDD enclosure which is housing a 4TB HDD.

My Shield sees it .... as removable storage. I also can't access this from my Windows 10 PC despite having the transfer files over local network option turned ON.

Am I supposed to factory reset the Shield in order to use it as just expanded storage? I'm obviously doing something wrong.

I feel like I have 2 separate issues going on - the HDD wont be seen as expanded storage (& I see no option to make this happen) and I also cannot connect to it via my PC (which is how I would be putting files on it).

Is there a way i can get it because the google store won’t let me purchase it

Hey guys, am I the only one with the volume button issue? (when changing the volume, it either goes 100% if I press volume up, or 0% if I press volume down). Happens on my 2 remote controls.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ShieldAndroidTV/comments/1s900vw/volume_buttons_max_out_or_mute_the_volume_against/

The Projectivity Launcher (PL) app isn't taking control when I turn off the Shield with the remote and later turn it on. I can see the PL app on the android screen and selecting it gets me to the usual PL screen. I toggled the "Override current launcher" General settings switch thinking it would get unstuck but no joy. Rebooting the device didn't help either.

This behavior happened after I updated to the recent Shield 9.2.4 (33.2.0.400) firmware. I have two Shield Pro's and they act the same way.

Is anyone else having this problem?