If you own an Android or Google TV device, your remote control likely features several branded buttons dedicated to specific streaming services. Manufacturers monetize this hardware real estate by selling priority access to platforms like Netflix or YouTube. For users who do not utilize these specific services, these buttons remain dormant. While hardware manufacturers lock these inputs by default, third-party software offers a workaround. I recently purchased an application called TVQuickActions Pro to see if it could successfully reclaim these unused buttons.
Check it out in my latest video!
TvQuickActions Pro costs approximately five dollars, which positions it as a more affordable alternative to similar software like ButtonMapper.
Getting the software to intercept a button press before the Android operating system responds requires adjusting system permissions. Specifically, you must enable accessibility permissions for its core button-remapping functionality. Once configured, the software allows for granular control over individual buttons.
Instead of a standard single action, you can assign distinct commands to a single press, a double press, and a long press. During my testing, I successfully remapped Onn’s “Free TV” button to launch Plex with a single press and the RetroArch emulator with a double tap.
The application also supports visual overlays. By mapping a button to the action menu feature, you can generate an on-screen directional pad. This allows you to assign different applications to the up, down, left, and right inputs. Additionally, a dock feature can summon a customizable, horizontal menu of applications that can be navigated without returning to the primary Android home screen.
For users willing to modify deeper system settings, the tvQuickActions Pro integrates with Android’s developer (ADB) tools. By enabling Developer Options and USB Debugging in the device settings—and granting the corresponding ADB permissions within the app—you can execute system-level commands from the remote. In one example I configured a long press to force-stop the foreground application, providing a physical override to clear a suspended or problematic app from memory without digging through menus. Another developer-level feature transforms the remote into a virtual mouse, placing a cursor on the screen that can be navigated using the directional pad for applications that require point-and-click input.
The software also supports webhook transmissions, meaning a single button press could be configured to trigger external network commands, such as toggling networked room lights.
Reclaiming these locked remote control buttons provides a functional method for bypassing pre-programmed manufacturer constraints, giving you the flexibility to operate your home media setup exactly how you prefer!