Google pulls TV Freeplay app to fix what's broken

Key Takeaways

• Google's Freeplay experience has been pulled.
• The experience was causing crashes for some.
• Google shares that it will back in the "coming months."

If you're someone that loves to watch TV, and wants to have access to a vast number of channels, a live-streaming TV service is going to be for you. Luckily, Google's Freeplay service was just revamped, with a wealth of improvements like an updated UI, and also adding more content. In fact, the app has hundreds of channels, which is a massive chunk of content to go through.

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And while you may be excited to hop in to Google's Freeplay to give it a go, we've got some bad news, as the experience has been pulled, which means you won't have access to it for the time being. While we've seen this behavior before, it looks like the folks from 9to5Google have locked down a reason, with Google sharing details about the missing experience and when we can expect it to come back.

Crashes for some means Freeplay experience for none

Google confirmed to the news outlet that some users were experiencing issues with crashes with the newly revamped guide, which led to the brand disabling it on "affected devices." The company didn't outline which devices were specifically affected, but if you're not seeing it on your streaming device, chances are high that your product was one that was having issues.

The news outlet reports that out of all the devices they tested, the recently released Google TV Streamer is the only one that still has access to Freeplay. As far as when the app will return, Google shared that it will arrive for devices in "the coming months."

For the most part, this is a huge blow, especially with the upcoming holiday season which sees so many people enjoying shows during long breaks and busy weekends. Of course, if you're someone that needs to have access to streaming videos, you can always head to YouTube, or try out one of the many paid services like Netflix, HBO's Max, Disney+, and others.

It's going to really depend on the content, and it won't be a direct replacement for Freeplay, especially considering that it isn't free, but there are some great options, which means you should find something that can replace your binge-watching habit for the time being.