# Android TV kiosk mode and how to boot straight to your signage app

> Canonical HTML: https://screenrig.ai/guides/android-tv-kiosk-mode

To boot an Android TV or Google TV straight to your signage, install the screenRIG Player. It is the app that runs on the TV. Then turn on three settings with the remote: Start on boot, Home screen and the screen saver. After a power cut, your AI agent can confirm the screen came back. screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more.

Updated October 27, 2026.

## Set it up with the remote

Once the TV is paired, the Player's own menu holds the first two settings. Press OK on the remote while the Player is on screen and choose **Settings**. They work the same whether you installed the Player from Google Play or sideloaded it.

### 1. Start on boot

It is on by default, so after a power cut or an update the Player opens by itself. On Android 10 or newer, Android needs one permission first. The Player asks for it the first time it shows its pairing code. If you missed it:

1. In Settings, choose **Start on boot**.
2. If the row reads **Permission required**, choose **Open settings**.
3. Switch on **Display over other apps** for screenRIG, then go back to the Player.

On a few TVs the settings screen has no such switch. The Player says so, and Start on boot stays off until the permission is granted another way. The [Players guide](https://screenrig.ai/docs/players.md#android-apk-boot) shows how.

### 2. Home screen

1. In Settings, choose **Home screen** and turn it on.
2. Allow **Display over other apps** if the Player asks. It is the same permission as above.
3. Press Home on the remote to try it.

On a TV where Android lets you choose a home app, Android asks once and the Home button opens the Player. On Google TV, the Home button still shows Google's home screen. The Player jumps back to the front about a second and a half later. To use the TV's own menus again, turn Home screen off. Nothing else changes.

### 3. The screen saver

1. Open the TV's own Settings, not the Player's, and choose **Screen saver**.
2. Choose **screenRIG**.

When the TV would start its screen saver, your content plays instead. This one needs no permission.

## Prove it with a power cut

You set these once, at the TV. Your agent can't flip them from a distance, but it can confirm the result. Pull the plug, plug it back in, then ask:

> **You:** I cut the power to the lobby TV a few minutes ago. Tell me whether it came back on its own, what it's playing now, and when it went offline.
>
> **Agent:** It dropped offline at about 3:13 and was back by 3:14, a little over a minute later. While it was dark I had sent it new content. That update waited, and it went live as soon as the TV reconnected. It's playing that now.

We recorded this with a test Player standing in for the TV, so the times come from a test screen. A screen counts as offline after a minute, so a quick reconnect leaves no mark.

If a TV never comes back, your agent tries the gentlest fix first. It refreshes the screen, then restarts it where the Player allows that. It tells you plainly when only someone on site can help. Your agent can also be told the moment a screen goes offline, so it starts this check without you asking.

## When it doesn't behave

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| The Player doesn't start after a power cut | On Android 10 or newer, check that Start on boot doesn't read Permission required. Choose it, then **Open settings** and allow Display over other apps. |
| The Player doesn't return after Home | Press OK in the Player, choose Settings and turn Home screen on. |
| The TV's own screen saver shows | Choose screenRIG under Screen saver in the TV's own Settings. |
| Nothing plays after a restart with no network | Connect the TV once, so the Player can download your content. After that it plays offline. |

## Skip the launcher hacks

Some guides remove Google's launcher from a computer, force a different home app or change power settings. You don't need any of it. Those tricks take the home screen away from everyone who uses the TV, and you have to repeat them on every replacement TV. The Player's own settings do the job from the remote. On a new TV you turn on the same three settings again.

**Next:** ask your agent for your first screen with [Control TV screens with an AI agent](https://screenrig.ai/control-tv-screens-with-ai-agent.md).

## Related

- [How to Sideload Apps on Google TV and Android TV](https://screenrig.ai/guides/sideload-android-tv-apps.md): Sideload an app on Google TV with Downloader and your remote, after your AI agent checks the file. screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more.
- [onn. Google TV Digital Signage Player, Free](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/onn-google-tv.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. A Walmart onn. Google TV stick runs your signage and keeps playing when the network drops. We tested it.
- [Android TV Digital Signage App (Free)](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/android-tv.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Turn any Android TV or Google TV into a signage screen your AI agent runs, from Google Play.
- [Sony BRAVIA Digital Signage on Android TV, Free](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/sony-bravia.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Your Sony BRAVIA runs the Player from Google Play with no extra box, and your AI agent runs the screen.
- [Supported Players and Setup](https://screenrig.ai/docs/players.md): Install the screenRIG Player on your screen, pair it with your agent, and compare content types, streams and device controls by platform.

[Start free](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md). screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more.