I have a BRAVIA 4K AE1 android/google TV.

Since a few weeks I observe the following:

If it's disconnected from the internet for some time, 1 or 2 weeks maybe, it hides all my installed apps. Enabling internet immediately restores everything for a few days.

I tried installing a custom launcher and set it as default launcher - TV still boots into its system launcher.

Any ideas what else to try?

Self hosting relevant because jellyfin

Edit
Fixed by enabling accessibility for this app. Thanks everyone who helped and @ryannathans@aussie.zone for pointing this out.

Get an Apple TV or a Fire TV stick and bypass the TV's os completely

i have installed flauncher successfully on a google tv thing

the trick that has worked for me is after your custom launcher is installed you can disable the google one via adb

Or just a cheap laptop.

Is the custom launcher you use called "Projectivity"? That's the one I use and it's great.

Agreed; ProjectIvy is brilliant

Have you tried Launcher Manager with the custom launcher?

Scroll down for Android TV options

Is the TV still in warranty? (I don't know that model)... if so, send it back, it's "broken"

If we tolerate this stuff it'll only get worse.

sadly out of warranty :-(

yes. I run Projectivity on my other TV and it works like a charm!

I'll keep this in my head as plan B, thanks for the suggestion.

You want to enable the accessibility permissions

Any chance you can open up a Shizuku instance to disable the system launcher? That should cause the TV to automatically boot into your installed launcher instead.

I used aShell to accomplish this on my device.

Good to know. I will make sure not to update as mine isn't doing it yet.

This is awkward in most living rooms and the remote control sucks. Source: my house, and my job.

Less awkward, ironically, when using airplay to an appletv.

Or a mini PC! (little guy that can be a bit smaller + cheaper too, you will need to get a keyboard and/or mouse for it though)

Think i have. Will double check

Edit: double checked. Didn't have. Works now. Thanks :D

Just get one of these and set everything up in a few browser tabs. Either that or use an OS with workspace support and put the different apps you want on separate workspaces.

In our livingroom, our old laptop runs Arch Linux with GNOME. Jellyfin is on desktop 1, and Firefox is on desktop 2. Firefox runs Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube in separate tabs and switching between all of these is a keyboard shortcut on the above remote. Frankly, it's simpler than most "smart" TVs I've had to work with.

Oh yeah, that is a cool remote. My observation about the awkwardness of a laptop in the living room is more about furniture and the layout of most media rooms. A second screen or a place for the laptop usually isn’t quite right, or downright bothersome. Even a desktop can be a problem.

My media server is hiding in the tv stand because it is NUC sized, an old mac mini. It could directly play to the tv, but for various reasons I wind up with apple castoffs, so an apple tv running Infuse is the front end. If I didn’t have that gear I would be running a modified android player.

I wind up in a lot of living rooms mucking around in their media systems and the furniture aspect matters to a lot of people. Also convenience is paramount, they want a media appliance in front of the couch, computers are for desks.

I know my family is grateful that I no longer force them to mess with a computer to watch something. Inconvenient and frustrating.

Where are we getting these cheap thwse days. Nucs and pis need loans at this stage

Generally, there are a lot of used options out there (particularly from businesses upgrading their hardware), just like laptops. Even when shopping for new ones, I can find lots of cheap options (though they aren't very good value usually, but they are enough to serve as a basic media box)

Raspberry Pis have unfortunately gotten very expensive, yes, but those are SBCs, not mini PCs?

Fixed by enabling accessibility. Thanks anyway!

Yep, same thing I think, just Launcher Manager, and Launch Manager just make it easier, especially on those devices that hide accessibility access/services.