Raspberry PI Projects: LineageOS – Android TV on the Raspberry Pi

Android TV on the Cheap

Ever since I started transforming our home into a smart home, I’ve wanted to include our TVs in the ecosystem. When I had Home Assistant up and running, it was easy for our main living room TV; it’s a Vestel-based Toshiba, so I could just send POST commands to control the volume or launch apps. Plus, we have an Apple TV plugged into it, and the Home Assistant Apple TV integration is bulletproof.

The problem? Our bedroom TV. It’s also a Toshiba, but it isn’t "smart" in the slightest, and there’s no firmware out there to make it one.

When I first started tinkering, I found a promising project: LineageOS. It’s a free, open-source operating system based on Android that can effectively turn a Raspberry Pi into a cheap Android TV box. The only hurdle? I only have one Raspberry Pi, and the "accountant" (Mrs. Jim) hasn't cleared the budget for another one just yet!

My Brief Experiment

A few weeks ago, I decided to go all-in on HomeKit native devices where possible. I reflashed my smart plugs and bulbs with Home Accessory Architect firmware and ran Homebridge on my Mac Mini for my legacy Tuya devices.

Once that was stable, I finally gave LineageOS a spin. I have to say, I was impressed. The setup wasn't difficult at all: flash the image to an SD card, boot into recovery, add a file, and you’re running Android TV.

The Good:

• Performance: It was surprisingly responsive for a DIY project.
• Media Playback: It handled Plex effortlessly, even making that "rubbish" bedroom TV look great playing Prehistoric Planet.

The Bad:

• The Remote: I spent three hours trying to get an Android TV remote app to play nice with my iPhone. I never did find a solution that didn't feel clunky or frustrating.
• The UI: While Google’s Android TV interface has improved, I still prefer the simplicity of Apple’s tvOS—it’s just cleaner, ad-free, and easier to manage.

The "Pete Tong" Conclusion

I intended to spend the weekend refining the setup and hunting for a better remote solution. Unfortunately, everything went a bit "Pete Tong" shortly after (as I mentioned in my last post). My Raspberry Pi is currently repurposed for Scrypted and Homebridge, so further Android TV testing is on hold.

Between the upcoming baby in August and fixing up the car for my driving test, the Pi stays where it is for now.

All in all, I’m pleasantly surprised that Android TV is as good as it is—it’s definitely better than Amazon’s Fire TV mess. Apple is still the king of the living room, but Google is a respectable second.

Have you tried LineageOS on a Pi? Do you prefer the Apple or Google approach to TV interfaces? Let me know in the comments below!