19 Very Useful NVIDIA Shield TV Hacks, Tips, & Tricks

Among all the streaming devices available right now in the market, NVIDIA Shield TV is probably one of the fastest and functional. You might have been using it for years now but you know, there is always more to learn.

The same is the case with your NVIDIA Shield TV. So here I am, with lots of practical and useful hacks and tips to make sure you boost your device performance and enjoy its features to the fullest.

You will be able to navigate your device easily, pair a new remote, expand storage, browse the internet, and much more with these hacks.

So let’s get started with these 19 useful NVIDIA Shield TV hacks to benefit the most from it without further ado.

1/19 Pair a New Remote with Your NVIDIA Shield TV

If you have lost your NVIDIA Shield TV remote or the old one is not working, you don’t have to buy a whole new device just because of that.

The good news is you can pair a new remote with your device easily. You can also upgrade your remote as the latest model remotes have more features and are more functional.

All you have to do is buy a new remote separately and pair it with your NVIDIA Shield TV.

Go to Settings from your Shield home screen
Click Remote & Accessories
Click Add Accessory
Long press the select button on your remote until the light blinks
New remote will be connected after a few seconds

2/19 Find Your NVIDIA Shield TV Remote with the Remote Finder Button

Unable to find your Shield remote? Well, no need to worry as you can find it quickly with the remote finder button right next to the USB port if you have a tube Shield. Your remote will start buzzing when you press that button.

However, if you are using NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, there is no such button. You have to install the Android TV Remote Control app or pair a mouse with your Shield.

Click Settings from the home screen
Select Remote and Accessories
Click SHIELD Remote 1
Select the option Find this remote

3/19 Use Your Phone as NVIDIA Shield TV Remote

You can install the NVIDIA Shield TV app to access a keyboard and virtual mouse to make navigation much easier. The app acts as your Shield remote when you are unable to find it.

You can install the app from Google Play Store and use it to operate your device. Pair your device with the Shield TV after installing the app.

Go to Google Play Store on your NVIDIA Shield TV
Write NVIDIA Shield TV Remote app in the search bar
Click Download
Select your device name from the phone
Enter the PIN on your phone
Click Pair to pair your phone with Shield TV

4/19 Record the Gaming Screen

An exciting feature of NVIDIA Shield TV is recording your game through NVIDIA Shadowplay app or NVIDIA GeForce Experience. This is a pro feature for gamers, especially those who use Shield TV as a gaming device and want to record the screen.

Go to Google Play Store on your NVIDIA Shield TV
Download GeForce App
Open the App and select Record

5/19 Sideload Third-Party Apps

If you want to install any app on your Shield TV not available on Google Play Store, you can sideload it using the Downloader app.

Downloader allows you to sideload third-party apps on your device with the help of a URL or a numeric code. You have to insert that code in the search bar of Downloader and continue to install the third-party apps.

Open Google Play Store on your Shield TV
Type Downloader in the search bar
Select the relevant search results
Click Download
Click Open once installed
Enter the URL or code in the URL bar and sideload the third party app

6/19 Mask Your IP Address to Stream Safely and Privately

It is always recommended to use a VPN while streaming anything on your Shield TV. It helps you to stay protected and have an encrypted connection by hiding your IP address.

Our top recommendation is Surfshark VPN due to its features and economical pricing plans. Always make sure you have installed Surfshark VPN on your NVIDIA Shield TV and connected to a server for a protected connection.

Go to the Google Play Store
Write Surfshark in the search bar
Click Download
Click Open after the app is installed
Enter your username and password to log in
Connect to the server of any country to enjoy the private and protected connection

7/19 Install Streaming Apps to Cut the Cord

For those who want to cut the cord and save those few bucks which they are spending on the cables, NVIDIA Shield TV is a great option.

You can install lots of free streaming apps on your Shield TV such as Cinema HD, BeeTV, and many others to turn it into a high-quality streaming hub.

Navigate to Google Play Store
Write Cinema HD in the search bar
Click Download
Once installed, click Open
Enjoy streaming tons of movies, TV shows, and whatnot with the app

8/19 Expand NVIDIA Shield TV Storage with SD Card or USB Drive

NVIDIA Shield TV supports SD cards, while NVIDIA Shield TV Pro supports USB flash drives. But only inserting external devices for storage is not enough. You have to make a few tweaks to the system to expand the storage.

Click the Settings icon from the home screen
Select Device Preferences
Click Storage from the menu
Select your SD card/ USB drive
Click Erase & format as device storage

9/19 Enable AI Resolution Upscaling

NVIDIA Shield TV enables the users to enjoy the highest video quality while streaming anything or playing their favorite game. You can enhance AI for a better streaming or gaming experience with Shield TV.

Navigate to the Settings menu from the home screen of Shield TV
Click AI Upscaling
Click AI-Enhanced
You can also customize detail enhancement
Select High to get a better video display

10/19 Remap the NVIDIA Shield TV Remote Buttons

There is a dedicated Netflix button on the NVIDIA Shield TV remote, which is not useful for you if you don’t use Netflix often. In that case, you can remap that button on the Shield TV remote.

Not only the Netflix button, but you can also remap any button on the remote with an app called Button Mapper. Install and use it by following the steps below:

Go to the Google Play Store and search for the Button Mapper app
Click Download to get the app
Click Open after it is installed
Now go to the Settings menu
Select Device Preferences
Click Accessibility
Find the Button Mapper app and click Enable
Now customize the Netflix button or any other button according to your choice

11/19 Change the Home Screen Wallpaper

Are you bored with the regular Shield TV wallpapers or screen savers? You can change them and customize them according to your choice to make the device look much better.

Click Settings
Select Device Preferences from the menu
Click Display & Sounds
Select Screen Saver and select what to display and the duration of the screen saver

12/19 Tweak the Cooling Fan Settings

NVIDIA Shield TV comes with a built-in cooling fan to keep the device cool and functional in case of long streaming hours. But sometimes, the sound of the fan is just annoying and disrupts you.

So you can adjust the fan speed of your Shield TV to reduce the noise and have a smooth streaming or gaming session.

Go to the Settings menu from the home screen
Select Device Preferences
Click System option
Select Fan Mode from the menu
Adjust the settings to Cool or Quiet as per your requirement

13/19 Mirror Your Android Phone, iOS, or Computer Screen to NVIDIA Shield TV

Casting or mirroring means to display the screen of your phone, computer, or laptop to the NVIDIA Shield TV screen. You can cast your phone or computer’s screen with some setting changes in both devices.

While you have to install an app called Air Screen for iOS, you can display anything to your Shield TV screen with this app.

Open NVIDIA Shield TV Home
Go to Play Store
Write Air Screen and click on the appeared search result
Click Get or Download
Open the app once downloaded
Cast anything to your Shield TV

14/19 Close the Apps Running in the Background

When you close an app once you are done using it, you just navigate back to your device’s home screen. But the app is still running in the background and affecting the device performance by slowing its speed.

If you want to close those apps running in the background and boost the speed of your Shield, you have to force stop them individually as there is no easy way just to close all those background apps.

Go to the Settings menu
Click Apps
Select the app you want to stop from the list of your apps
Click Force Stop
Click OK
Repeat will all the apps running in the background

15/19 Clear Cache to Boost the Speed

When an app keeps running on your device, it starts building cache, which affects your device’s performance and slows it down.

To overcome these issues, it is recommended to clear cache often and keep your device optimal.

Click the Settings icon from the Shield TV home screen
Select Apps option
Click See All Apps
Select any app from the list
Click Clear Cache
Now click OK
Click Clear Data
Click Ok again

16/19 IR Volume Controls on Your NVIDIA Shield TV

The volume control buttons on the NVIDIA Shield TV remote are for the sound accessories that you have connected to the device. They won’t work for the device itself.

Then how can you control and change the volume settings of the device? Well, you can do it with the latest IR volume control settings. Let’s see how it works:

Navigate to the Settings menu of your Shield TV
Select Device Preferences
Go to Display & Sound menu
Select Volume Control
You can also click Change IR Setup to customize further sound settings

17/19 Install a Web Browser to Browse the Internet on Your NVIDIA Shield TV

If you want to browse the internet on your NVIDIA Shield TV but are clueless about how to do it, this hack is for you.

You can install a web browser on your Shield TV from Play Store. Puffin TV is one of the most compatible and reliable browsers for Shield TV.

Navigate to Google Play Store from the Apps section
Write Puffin TV in the search bar
Click Download
Click Open after the browser is installed
Launch the browser on your Shield TV and browse anything you want on the internet

18/19 Use Virtual Mouse to Navigate Easily

Some apps, especially sideloaded ones, can’t work smoothly on Shield TV as they are designed for touch screens. Besides that, it’s generally hard to navigate with the standard Shield TV remote if you are a new user.

So a practical solution is to install the Cetus Play app from the Play Store and smoothly navigate all such apps on your NVIDIA Shield TV.

Go to the Play Store on your Shield TV and write Cetus Play in the search bar
Click Download to get the app
Click Open once it is installed
Now navigate to the Settings menu
Click Device Preferences
Select Accessibility option
Turn Mouse Toggle On

19/19 Set Processor Mode to Max Performance

Using your NVIDIA Shield TV, you can set your processor mode to the max to boost the performance and get a higher speed.

There are two processor modes in Shield TV, Max performance and optimized. The default mode is optimized, but you can change it anytime to max if you want your device to run faster.

Go to the Settings menu from the home screen
Click Device Preferences
Select the System option
Click Processor Mode
It is optimized by default. Change it to Max performance

Wrapping Up

So these were some of the useful and practical hacks about NVIDIA Shield TV that you can use to make the best out of your Shield TV. All of these tricks are simple and really easy to use, even if you are not a tech nerd.

So next time, use these hacks before using your Shield TV and let us know in the comments which hacks you find most beneficial. You can also share your hack with us for a better user experience with NVIDIA Shield TV.