How to get out of Youview?

[LouisMKD]

Hi,

My family recently purchased one of the Sony Android TV's. I don't live in the country, so wasn't around for the initial setup, however have been home for Christmas and had a little play around with it. Seems to be really good.

One problem we have just had though, is that the TV was put into Youview mode (App?) and for the life of me I have no idea how to get it back into the normal TV mode. Although Youview seems good, its a lot slower than whatever guide was being used before. 

I've had a really long play around with the TV and unless i am missing something ridiculosuly basic, I have no idea how to get back to the inital TV Guide page that was being used. Its also not possible to switch between TV and Radio when in Youview mode.

Any idea guys?

Cheers

[royabrown]

Hi @suzie75

YouView is set to be the default EPG on these TVs as delivered.

Perhaps because if they came set to Freeview, where you now are, nobody would ever change them to YouView 

Despite its seamless 7-day backward EPG that lets you click through to programmes on the catchup players 

You do, though, lose not just the backwards EPG, but also the ITV and All4 catchup players when you switch to the Freeview EPG; nothing can replace YouView's backward EPG on these sets, but I always recommend a Now TV stick, £20 and no need to subscribe, to provide the missing catchup players when electing for the Freeview side.

[yetti1963]

Its POOH (polite) set up again turn it off & use #FREEVIEW although
"play" will not work

--
teddyclark@gmail.com

Mobile.07835 798211

[suzie75]

Pooh is very polite given the cr*p that Youview is. We need another solution. I could of course go back to Amazon fire solution but then why did I bother buying a new TV? Sony please reply what you are going to do about this.

regards

Suzanne

[suzie75]

Another comment for Sony. My iPhone 8 finds all the TV channels easily in google play. However, when I search on my TV on  google play I find nothing. Why are you blocking content and only backing Youview. Do they have some sort of commercial agreement with you? It is not satisfactory from a customer’s perspective and we need a solution that does not involve Youview or spending more money. Perhaps I should have bought Samsung? 

[royabrown]

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@suzie75 wrote:

Another comment for Sony. My iPhone 8 finds all the TV channels easily in google play. However, when I search on my TV on  google play I find nothing. Why are you blocking content and only backing Youview. Do they have some sort of commercial agreement with you? It is not satisfactory from a customer’s perspective and we need a solution that does not involve Youview or spending more money. Perhaps I should have bought Samsung? 

---

I can’t help thinking that as this Sony is a TV set, and is able to tune in TV channels, they may not have envisaged that people would want to bypass their tuner and watch the channels from Google Play?

And yes, Sony have a commercial agreement with YouView, which is how come the YouView interface is provided.

But you aren’t bound to it - the FAQ at the top of this forum tells you how to move to the Freeview interface instead.

Where - if what you meant by channels on Google Play was the catchup Players - you will only get the BBC iPlayer and My5, as Sony has omitted to licence All4 and the itv Hub for itself, and relies on YouView to provide these.

An omission that is of course Sony’s fault, though for some unfathomable reason some people seem to want to blame YouView, the only service that does provide these Players, for not providing them outside of itself.

Much as I don’t find my nice Mercedes steering wheel present any more when I use my wife’s Fiat 500 

But as to the Players, hoshsadiq is your friend (hint)

[stormyuk]

Disable Youview. Do a google search for "hoshsadiq" "github" and "bravia-youview-player-launchers" and install the APK there (you will need to put in on an external USB drive, and install one of the file managers from the Android TV store to access it). This will then add the players to the home screen.

You get all the players, you remove the Youview interface and have the standard Freeview guide. Job done.

[suzie75]

Thanks, sounds complex! Would like Sony to provide the apps. I’m going to contact them and complain and also to John Lewis that slide me this TV

[stormyuk]

You will unfortunately get nowhere with Sony, and John Lewis probably not much further. 😞

My option is your best I think but it is your call. Most people here can help you with the sideloading process if you need help or guidance.

[Bambibabes]

I have this problem too on one of the very newest model 4k, Smart, 50 inch TV's and actually had my TV company come out and take it away to check my TV out completey. It's was working as it should apparently and even the professionals from my TV superstore, think the software on a Sony TV is awful! This is rediculous! Sony need to sort the software out asap, or get any licences needed, or stop false advertising about the things it can do, because 'it cant'!

I bought a Sony, instead on my usual LG, or Samsung TV's, because I thought Sony were supposed to be such good tv's. I had bought it, as it advertises that it can record programs and I could even pause the TV and then carry on from that point in the program I was viewing. If YouView is on though, I can't record at all! I cannot even schedule a program, to watch. Sort this mess out Sony! Either let me use the standard TV guide, with all the catch up App's available, or let me record and schedule programs Whilst using YouView! Surely Sony saying the TV records programs and also has catch-up TV App's, is false advertising because  it just can't do both! It also does not recognise most of my USB sticks and HDD's or the files on them, yet my other TV's recognised them immediately and played any files contained on them! Picture is lovely on the Sony, but the operating system and YouView need a serious sorting by Sony!! I will never buy another Sony again, if this isn't rectified with an update somehow!!👎😡

Ronnie

[Kuschelmonschter]

Sony Android TV has been in bad shape since its very beginnings in 2015. So don't expect anything to change.