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Install LineageOS on
NVIDIA Shield TV (2019) [Android TV]

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Warning: The provided instructions are for LineageOS 20. These will only work if you follow every section and step precisely.
Do not continue after something fails!

Basic requirements

Read through the instructions at least once before actually following them, so as to avoid any problems due to any missed steps!
Make sure your computer has adb and fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
Enable USB debugging on your device.
Boot your device with the stock OS at least once and check every functionality.
LineageOS is provided as-is with no warranty. While we attempt to verify everything works you are installing this at your own risk!

USB Port Installation

Out of the box, this device has no USB port, but has an unpopulated header on the PCB that exposes USB pins.

By purchasing a verical Micro-USB (Type-B) female header like this one, or any part matching or similar enough to a Würth Elektronik (VA) / 614105150621. and either soldering or using hot-air to seat the USB port on the pins, you can still unlock the bootloader and install LineageOS on this device.

Warning: If you lack soldering/hot-air station skills, this project is not a good project for learners, and you are very likely to damage the device irreparably. It is highly recommended to practice soldering/hot-air station skills extensively before attempting.

To install the header, first remove all cables attached to the device, and the Micro SD card. Then use a Torx T4 screwdriver to remove the two screws shown here:

You can pop the cover of this end off as shown here:

Then, from the opposite end of the device (the one with the HDMI port), push through the tube to slide the carrier all the way out of the case as shown here:

At this point, take note of the orientation it went in the tube, it must pre put back that way after header installation.

At this point, you will need to either solder, or use hot-air to affix a USB header like the one mentioned above, or some jumper wires to the pins highlighted here:

Please note that this image is of a completed installation of the port.

For further reference and port positioning/orientation, see here:

Optionally if you’d like persistent access to the USB port, you can route out the plastic casing of the device as shown here:

Once the USB port is installed, connect to the Micro-USB (Type-B) port, then connect power while holding the pairing button on the device directly above the HDMI port. You should see the device enumerate over USB while showing the fastboot menu on-screen.

Run fastboot devices on your host machine to verify connectivity.

If you don’t see your device at this point, try reseating the port or verifying that all pins are making contact.

If you see the device serial number followed by “device”, you have successfully installed the header and may proceed with the installation instructions.

Note: If you would like to look at the full album of installation photos, you can view them here.

Unlocking the bootloader

Note: The steps below only need to be run once per device.

Warning: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! Before proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or your Google account, or equivalent. Please note that OEM backup solutions like Samsung and Motorola backup may not be accessible from LineageOS once installed.

Connect the device to your PC via USB.
Boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device unplugged, plug in the device while holding the Pairing Button until a menu is displayed.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
If you don’t get any output or an error:
- on Windows: make sure the device appears in the device manager without a triangle. Try other drivers until the command above works!
- on Linux or macOS: If you see no permissions fastboot try running fastboot as root. When the output is empty, check your USB cable and port!
Now type the following command to unlock the bootloader:
```
fastboot oem unlock
```
Note: At this point the device may display on-screen prompts which will require interaction to continue the process of unlocking the bootloader. Please take whatever actions the device asks you to to proceed.
If the device doesn’t automatically reboot, reboot it. It should now be unlocked.
Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging to continue.

Installing Lineage Recovery using `fastboot`

Download Lineage Recovery. Simply download the latest recovery file, named recovery.img.
Important: Other recoveries may not work for installation or updates. We strongly recommend to use the one linked above!
Connect your device to your PC via USB if it isn’t already.
Boot into fastboot mode via a key combination:
- With the device unplugged, plug in the device while holding the Pairing Button until a menu is displayed.
Once the device is in fastboot mode, verify your PC finds it by typing:
```
fastboot devices
```
If you don’t get any output or an error:
- on Windows: make sure the device appears in the device manager without a triangle. Try other drivers until the command above works!
- on Linux or macOS: If you see no permissions fastboot try running fastboot as root. When the output is empty, check your USB cable (preferably use a USB Type-A 2.0 one or a USB hub) and port!
Tip: Some devices have buggy USB support while in bootloader mode, if you see fastboot hanging with no output when using commands such as fastboot getvar ..., fastboot boot ..., fastboot flash ... you may want to try a different USB port (preferably a USB Type-A 2.0 one) or a USB hub.
Flash recovery onto your device:
```
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
```
Now reboot into recovery to verify the installation. Do not reboot into the existing OS, since it will overwrite the recovery you just installed!
- With the device powered off, hold the Pairing Button (the button above the HDMI port) and plug the device into power. Next, click the Pairing Button until “Boot recovery kernel” is selected. Now, press the Pairing Button to select this option.
  
  Note: If you can’t power down the device, try long-pressing the key-combination (if any was used in the instructions above) until the device reboots and follow the instructions above
Note: If your recovery does not show the LineageOS logo , you accidentally booted into the wrong recovery. Please start at the top of this section!

Installing LineageOS from recovery

Download the LineageOS zip file that you would like to install or build the package yourself.
If you are not in recovery, reboot into recovery:
- With the device powered off, hold the Pairing Button (the button above the HDMI port) and plug the device into power. Next, click the Pairing Button until “Boot recovery kernel” is selected. Now, press the Pairing Button to select this option.
Now tap Factory Reset, then Format data / factory reset and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one).
Return to the main menu.
Copy the the LineageOS .zip package and any addons you wish to install to your device’s removable SD card, then insert it in your device and install it, but do not reboot before you read/followed the rest of the instructions!:
- On the device, select “Apply Update”, then “Apply from EXT_SDCARD”, and select the LineageOS zip file to begin installation.
Warning: EXT_SDCARD will reflect the name of your SD card’s filesystem name.

Installing Add-Ons

Note: If you don’t want to install any add-on (such as Google Apps), you can skip this whole section!

Warning: If you want to install Google Apps add-on package (use the arm64 architecture), you can download it from here. This add-on needs to be installed before booting into LineageOS for the first time!

Click Apply Update, then Apply Update from EXT_SDCARD, then select the add-on zip file to begin installation, and repeat for all desired packages in sequence.
Warning: EXT_SDCARD will reflect the name of your SD card’s filesystem name.

When presented with a screen that says Signature verification failed, click Continue. It is expected as add-ons aren’t signed with LineageOS’s official key!

All set!

Once you have installed everything successfully, you can now reboot your device into the OS for the first time!

Click the back arrow in the top left of the screen, then “Reboot system now”.

Note: The first boot usually takes no longer than 15 minutes, depending on the device. If it takes longer, you may have missed a step, otherwise feel free to get assistance.

Get assistance

After you’ve double checked that you followed the steps precisely, didn’t skip any and still have questions or got stuck, feel free to ask on our subreddit or in #LineageOS on Libera.Chat.

Install LineageOS on NVIDIA Shield TV (2019) [Android TV]