Google TV’s New Setup Experience Starts Rolling Out

Google is updating Google TV with a streamlined new setup experience that uses an Android phone or an iPhone and a QR code with no app download required.

With this update, Google TV users will have three ways to set up the device. They can do so manually on the device itself or use the Google Home app on their iPhone or Android phone, as before. Or they can use the new faster setup option: If you have an Android phone, a setup notification will appear automatically, and if you have an iPhone, you can scan an on-screen QR code. Either way, you won’t need to download an app to set it up on a phone.

There is one catch: This new setup experience is only available on 2025 Hisense U7 and U8 series Google TV devices for now. But it will roll out to other Google TV devices later this year, and it will be part of all new Google TV devices going forward.

The new experience also installs apps on the device during setup so you don’t have to do so after it’s complete. Google TV also offers integration with Google Home speakers, which can be used to pause the TV, search for content, and control your other smart home devices. There are new personalization features as well, parental controls, and user profiles.

You can learn more on the Google TV Help site.