Google TV Freeplay free channel app disabled due to crashes

In the US, Google TV products have access to over 150 free (ad-supported) channels, which is great. Recently, Google improved the experience of enjoying these channels with a new Google TV Freeplay, which includes a useful live guide. However, the Google TV Freeplay app has been disabled due to unexpected technical issues.

Google TV Freeplay app’s new features were causing crashes, so Google disabled it

Google began the rollout of the revamped Freeplay app in early September. The update made it much easier to use than before, where the experience of searching for channels and shows was quite cumbersome. The mere presence of a programming guide totally changed the reality of the app. Sadly, it seems that the guide was causing crashes on some devices.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the Google TV Freeplay app disappeared from all Google TV devices this week. The only product where it is still active and working without problems is the latest Google TV Streamer. The reason for the app’s disappearance was unknown, as not everyone was aware of the crash issues. However, an official statement from Google shed more light on what’s going on.

“While rolling out the new Google TV Freeplay guide, we discovered an issue that can increase crashes for some users. We have disabled access to the new guide on affected devices until the fix is ​​in place. The fix will begin rolling out soon, and the updated guide will be available for all Google TV devices in the coming months,” a company spokesperson said.

Freeplay could be back soon without the live guide

So, given the facts, by “affected devices” Google is referring to all Google TV products except the latest Streamer. While the company claims that the fix will be available “soon,” they also mention that the guide will be available “in the coming months.” So, possibly the Google TV Freeplay app will return in a few days, but without the latest improvements to the user experience. Let’s hope that a fixed version of the app with all the new features won’t take long to arrive.