Related
I keep on reading that the Fire TV Stick is supposed to have this dedicated free app to control be able to control it from your android device (and ios coming soon...blah blah) and use voice search from your phone/tablet also....but I can't find where to download it!! Don't know if it will even work to Fire TV but it would be pretty dumb if they didn't allow it too!!
Anybody know how and where to get this app??
Had my fire tv at my girlfriends house and her little crazy dog has destroyed 2 remotes so I bought her a chromecast and brought the Fire TV back home. I leave 1tb backup drive connected to the usb to play movies through xbmc and everytime I leave the house and come back I have to disconnect it, plug in wireless keyboard, start droidmote server, reconnect drive and remount using stickmounte...it's a waste of a whole 60 seconds but still a pain!!
I don't believe it has been released yet. Still two more weeks or so until the fire tv sticks start shipping, I would expect to see it before then.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Mike3.14159 said:
I keep on reading that the Fire TV Stick is supposed to have this dedicated free app to control be able to control it from your android device (and ios coming soon...blah blah) and use voice search from your phone/tablet also....but I can't find where to download it!! Don't know if it will even work to Fire TV but it would be pretty dumb if they didn't allow it too!!
Anybody know how and where to get this app??
Had my fire tv at my girlfriends house and her little crazy dog has destroyed 2 remotes so I bought her a chromecast and brought the Fire TV back home. I leave 1tb backup drive connected to the usb to play movies through xbmc and everytime I leave the house and come back I have to disconnect it, plug in wireless keyboard, start droidmote server, reconnect drive and remount using stickmounte...it's a waste of a whole 60 seconds but still a pain!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep an eye out for it here: http://www.aftvnews.com/
AFTVNews is very good @ keeping up with new app releases. Sometimes even a day or two before it happens...
Mike3.14159 said:
I keep on reading that the Fire TV Stick is supposed to have this dedicated free app to control be able to control it from your android device (and ios coming soon...blah blah) and use voice search from your phone/tablet also....but I can't find where to download it!! Don't know if it will even work to Fire TV but it would be pretty dumb if they didn't allow it too!!
Anybody know how and where to get this app??
Had my fire tv at my girlfriends house and her little crazy dog has destroyed 2 remotes so I bought her a chromecast and brought the Fire TV back home. I leave 1tb backup drive connected to the usb to play movies through xbmc and everytime I leave the house and come back I have to disconnect it, plug in wireless keyboard, start droidmote server, reconnect drive and remount using stickmounte...it's a waste of a whole 60 seconds but still a pain!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why you must start droidmote server manually ? It should start automatically if in settings you have checked auto start on boot.
Y314K said:
Keep an eye out for it here: http://www.aftvnews.com/
AFTVNews is very good @ keeping up with new app releases. Sometimes even a day or two before it happens...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, have had that site bookmarked for a while now - one of the 6-7 android type sites I check when I get to my college every morning.
zulu99 said:
Why you must start droidmote server manually ? It should start automatically if in settings you have checked auto start on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up, didn't realize that I could start it on boot!!
zulu99 said:
Why you must start droidmote server manually ? It should start automatically if in settings you have checked auto start on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see that one can install the server on Windows. But can the client be installed on Windows. Planning on switching from an Android table to a full Windows 8.1 Tablet in the future. But could not find a reference of Windows 8.1 being the client to control the FTV. Not so much for games but mouse & keyboard inputs.
Y314K said:
I see that one can install the server on Windows. But can the client be installed on Windows. Planning on switching from an Android table to a full Windows 8.1 Tablet in the future. But could not find a reference of Windows 8.1 being the client to control the FTV. Not so much for games but mouse & keyboard inputs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want you can already do:
https://plus.google.com/103019026671039069038/posts/DzuU4AA5cQE
Or you can also use Bluestack
zulu99 said:
If you want you can already do:
https://plus.google.com/103019026671039069038/posts/DzuU4AA5cQE
Or you can also use Bluestack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool.. thanks for the info...
zulu99 said:
Why you must start droidmote server manually ? It should start automatically if in settings you have checked auto start on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zulu,
Any plans to get droidmote on the Amazon App Store? I would be happy to pay a premium on it there since I could use my amazon coins to buy it....
I would like a lot, but I can not for now for a question of the security of the app. It is not easy to be an Android app developer, despite the applications are very cheap, there is always someone ready to rip you off and because of this, there is often more work to do on the protection that on the app.
I think the Google Play should be installable for FREE on any Android devices. (like the Amazon app store) I do not understand why it should be sold by GMS license from Google if it contains apps that are owned by the developers. I hope that this serious problem of the Android world will be solved soon.
zulu99 said:
Why you must start droidmote server manually ? It should start automatically if in settings you have checked auto start on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any idea how to force the setting menu to open with a wireless keyboard?? I see the 3dot menu on the google play pics but don't have it on the app on my fire TV...even downloaded the 3dot xposed module but no luck! I know that the fire stick remote app is officially being released tmrw but really like this app and is probably still gonna be more useful than the official remote app!
Never mind!! Was able to open it with droidmote!
Mike3.14159 said:
Never mind!! Was able to open it with droidmote!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can use the menu button of DroidMote Client.
Aside from that, I wanted to make a clarification:
The circle icon that you see when you move the mouse, is not a DroidMote stuff. If you use the Server on a standard Android device, you can see the classic mouse icon.
Instead the TouchMouse (for apps without mouse support, selectable by client settings ) is a DroidMote stuff and is the red transparent circle. But it is another thing.
Why your FireTv show the circle instead of the classic mouse icon ?
Because those who built the firmware has changed this icon replacing it with a really ugly in the Android Framework.
Where is the mouse icon inside the Android Framework ?
You can read this link to know, but do not try to change if you're not an expert on the Android OS.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1478523
P.S.
Android is an operating system that is constantly changing and all the apps within it change so fast-paced.
To have a good remote control, you need a lot of work and testing on many applications during the evolution of the OS.
For example with Android Lollipop, Android has been completely changed from the ground up, and it took a lot of work to adapt to it.
A good application for remote control, can only exist if a developer follows her and love her everyday, adapting to all the innovations, to apps and games that constantly change.
This is what I do every day.
zulu99 said:
Aside from that, I wanted to make a clarification:
The circle icon that you see when you move the mouse, is not a DroidMote stuff. If you use the Server on a standard Android device, you can see the classic mouse icon.
Instead the TouchMouse (for apps without mouse support, selectable by client settings ) is a DroidMote stuff and is the red transparent circle. But it is another thing.
Why your FireTv show the circle instead of the classic mouse icon ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for not being clearer - when I opened the app ALL I would see on the screen was the "big red circular button" in the center of the screen - the one that says off, not the cursor. But after using my keyboard to "click" the "button" and turn the service on I was able to use the client app to open up the setting and set it to start on boot
Mike3.14159 said:
Sorry for not being clearer - when I opened the app ALL I would see on the screen was the "big red circular button" in the center of the screen - the one that says off, not the cursor. But after using my keyboard to "click" the "button" and turn the service on I was able to use the client app to open up the setting and set it to start on boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you saw the red circle was because, inadvertently, in the settings of the Client you have selected the TouchMouse without selecting a correct TouchProfile.
The TouchMouse is useful when an app not have the mouse support. In all other circumstances, you can always use the mouse as rightly made at a later date.
For a quick start guide you can read this page:
http://www.videomap.it/dmcguide.htm
Could someone please extract the following apps so the community can try to use them on Android TV? Other apps have been extracted and work.
All4, ITVHub, My5, RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4.
Depending on your location, UK or Ireland, you may or may not be able to extract all of these due to geo-blocking, but any with which you can help would be greatly appreciated.
Instructions on how to extract the APKs can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64124593&postcount=3
and/or at the following link, skipping the final step 8:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-transfer-amazon-fire-tv-apps-to-a-fire-tv-stick/
dusf said:
Could someone please extract the following apps so the community can try to use them on Android TV? Other apps have been extracted and work.
All4, ITVHub, My5, RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4.
Depending on your location, UK or Ireland, you may or may not be able to extract all of these due to geo-blocking, but any with which you can help would be greatly appreciated.
Instructions on how to extract the APKs can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64124593&postcount=3
and/or at the following link, skipping the final step 8:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-transfer-amazon-fire-tv-apps-to-a-fire-tv-stick/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i searched for these but couldn't find any, perhaps like you said it's location-based and I'm in the USA.
d3adpool said:
i searched for these but couldn't find any, perhaps like you said it's location-based and I'm in the USA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your efforts all the same
The first three definitely exist, they are the UK apps, the last three, the Irish apps, I am unsure of.
really need this!!!!
dusf said:
Thank you very much for your efforts all the same
The first three definitely exist, they are the UK apps, the last three, the Irish apps, I am unsure of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I did with a little effort manage to download and extract 3 of them from my firetv. 2 of them are attached and there's a link for the My 5 below.
https://mega.nz/#!8IxWEBjC!c88wn4dSoh9C8XaPXB_NTAd6ATNfHb56QXzuzvr1n_I
d3adpool said:
Ok I did with a little effort manage to download and extract 3 of them from my firetv. 2 of them are attached and there's a link for the My 5 below.
https://mega.nz/#!8IxWEBjC!c88wn4dSoh9C8XaPXB_NTAd6ATNfHb56QXzuzvr1n_I
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, good job, thanks!!
I will try them this morning on Android TV and update this thread!
dusf said:
Great, good job, thanks!!
I will try them this morning on Android TV and update this thread!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool I hope it works out for you
d3adpool said:
Cool I hope it works out for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so these install fine, but when they launch they give an error about no Amazon App Store found. I first mistakenly downloaded a version of Amazon Underground from Aptpoide, which also crashed after running, but on googling I found an official Amazon link which does work.
After logging into Amazon Underground, the apps no longer gave that error, but instead a new one about not having 'bought' these apps. I then tried to 'buy' them using the Amazon Underground app but they do not appear for me because I am in the Republic of Ireland.
I am sure I can get around this with some VPN trickery, just doing some when on our living room, mounting new TV etc, so have not gotten to it just yet.
In case you are wondering why I did not just set up a VPN in the first place and try to 'buy' the apps with an Android device, that is because I do not think this will give me a version compatible with a remote control, whereas we know the versions you have uploaded is.
I will update thread when I've set up VPN and tried all of this.
Has anyone else had any success?
dusf said:
Okay, so these install fine, but when they launch they give an error about no Amazon App Store found. I first mistakenly downloaded a version of Amazon Underground from Aptpoide, which also crashed after running, but on googling I found an official Amazon link which does work.
After logging into Amazon Underground, the apps no longer gave that error, but instead a new one about not having 'bought' these apps. I then tried to 'buy' them using the Amazon Underground app but they do not appear for me because I am in the Republic of Ireland.
I am sure I can get around this with some VPN trickery, just doing some when on our living room, mounting new TV etc, so have not gotten to it just yet.
In case you are wondering why I did not just set up a VPN in the first place and try to 'buy' the apps with an Android device, that is because I do not think this will give me a version compatible with a remote control, whereas we know the versions you have uploaded is.
I will update thread when I've set up VPN and tried all of this.
Has anyone else had any success?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured exactly what you mentioned, it's a shame that we have to sometimes jump thru all these hoops to get things working....keep us updated
..
JJ-KwiK said:
I can try to patch out the Amazon dependencies. It's worked for a few apps that I've dumped from my fire tv to use with my shield.
No promises, but I'll give it a shot.
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be great too, thanks.
I will still try it from my end.
By the way, which apps have you extracted for your shield already, and is there a centralised place anyone is collating fire extracted apks?
..
JJ-KwiK said:
I've extracted Spotify and WatchESPN. However, official Android TV versions of those apps have since been released. I've also extracted Flappy Birds Family. I don't know of any centralized area where all the exracted FireTV apps are being posted though.
I do have a post on the Wetek forums with Android TV and FireTV app mods, modified to work with regular android.
http://www.wetekforums.com/v/index.php?p=/discussion/27564
Anywho...
Here are the modded APKs. I've removed any Amazon checks. They install fine. I can't check if the video's play as I don't live in the proper geographical area.
All 4 - https://mega.nz/#!K4QlmBTK!PBWAbaGIPFh9Fx92_Oqxv_RKKlpQLtfCyWGX-H6hRpw
Demand 5 - https://mega.nz/#!7pJHmaIR!zfLnhoBG1CeyFpZVHpyjYamADqDq8AYHuLKJlrarZTI
ITV Hub - https://mega.nz/#!C0ZykJSb!IxOYC1w7CLCgkRGshT2VEdZ_j3fBU4BJQLbZsTXkjWg
Please let me know if they work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good work. I have a question: Do you do the reverse of this and remove checks from google play apks? Reason I ask is I've been trying to get Watch NFL network sideloaded on my firetvs, and they install but launching gives a can't launch from phone error and closes out. It works fine on my Minix neo x8 plus.
JJ-KwiK said:
I've extracted Spotify and WatchESPN. However, official Android TV versions of those apps have since been released. I've also extracted Flappy Birds Family. I don't know of any centralized area where all the exracted FireTV apps are being posted though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have just uninstalled Emma+ and installed Spotify, I was not aware they released a native app.
JJ-KwiK said:
Anywho...
Here are the modded APKs. I've removed any Amazon checks. They install fine. I can't check if the video's play as I don't live in the proper geographical area.
All 4 - https://mega.nz/#!K4QlmBTK!PBWAbaGIPFh9Fx92_Oqxv_RKKlpQLtfCyWGX-H6hRpw
Demand 5 - https://mega.nz/#!7pJHmaIR!zfLnhoBG1CeyFpZVHpyjYamADqDq8AYHuLKJlrarZTI
ITV Hub - https://mega.nz/#!C0ZykJSb!IxOYC1w7CLCgkRGshT2VEdZ_j3fBU4BJQLbZsTXkjWg
Please let me know if they work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice work, thanks! :good:
Okay so I just cleared data, storage, reset defaults and (not sure if necessary since I then...) uninstalled the older versions and reinstalled your uploaded versions.
ITV Hub works perfectly :highfive: only issue I can see with it is that when you press back it displays a dialogoue asking 'Do you want to exit the ITV Hub' with the options Okay and Cancel. Pressing cancel does nothing, not a huge deal just thought I would mention it in case it is a quick fix.
Demand 5 loads their splashscreen, then for an instant a progress disc, and then prints the following error:
Code:
Whoops!
An error has occured and the application will now shut down.
<Exit button>
(FTVD5-500)
All 4 loads their splashscreen, and then the screen goes black and stays black. Please note this is the same behaviour as before you modified it, that is to say, unmodified Demand 5 and ITV Hub did load but gave errors about Amazon Underground, whereas All 4 never got that far.
- d3adpool, do you think it possible the apk you uploaded could have become corrupt, or could we rule that out as if it were we would not even see the All 4 splashscreen?
Is there anything you could try?
JJ-KwiK said:
I do have a post on the Wetek forums with Android TV and FireTV app mods, modified to work with regular android.
http://www.wetekforums.com/v/index.php?p=/discussion/27564.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I had a look at the thread and I can see you have been busy - and are taking requests.
If you are able to modify an Android TV app to work on regular Android, does that mean you can also do the reverse? If so could you please modify regular Android versions of RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4 so that they will work on Android TV with a remote? 3Player is giving me some bogus error at the moment so I have posted in an Irish forum to see if anyone else is experiencing it, and TG4 only comes up for me on Google Search showing a compatibility issue, and not in Play Store on either of my Android devices, so I have asked about that also, I just want to check they are working okay before I upload them for you. RTÉ Player does work and I have attached it below:
I'm not sure if they got corrupted or not. They did load for me on my ftv. Previous experience with sideloading ftv apps on other android devices tells me that usually it won't work. I have a MXIII and a Minix neo x8plus and on both I've attempted to sideload ftv apps and none of them have actually loaded. Either I would get a parsing error, sitting on a loading screen when trying to play a video, HDCP error (HBOGO), or some other random error. Most times you're better off installing apks from the google play store.
..
JJ-KwiK said:
@d3adpool - Send me the watch NFL apk and I'll see what I can do.
@dusf - I believe there is an issue with the all 4 apk. Hopefully we can find a fresh apk. The demand 5 app works fine on my end, but won't play video due to geographical location. What device are you testing it on?
I can't add remote functionality to touch apps though. Sorry.
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an Nvidia Shield Android TV.
Real shame about All4 and Demand 5 not working, but great work with ITV Hub
..
JJ-KwiK said:
@dusf - Hey man, I just tested Demand 5 on my Wetek Core, nVidia Shield TV and Amazon Fire Stick. The app works on all 3 devices. I think the issue may be on your end? Can anyone else confirm if the app works for them? Can you try the updated version I posted below?
I also don't run into the, "press back displays a dialogue asking 'Do you want to exit the ITV Hub' with the options Okay and Cancel. Pressing cancel does nothing", issue. What controller/remote are you testing it with? I tried ITV Hub on my shield with the nVidia controller, nVidia remote and FireTV remote, and all worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have all three, Nvidia Controller, Nvidia remote, and Amazon Fire TV Voice remote, so I will try all three again with the updated versions you posted. I also have to Nvidia Shield TVs, so I will try both if they do not work on one.
JJ-KwiK said:
Anywho... Since I tested ITV Hub and Demand 5 on my Android TV, and they both seemed to work fine, I added a banner and the proper intent to the manifest so they now show up in the Leanback Launcher. However, I can't check if videos play because I don't live in the proper geographical area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, having access to them from the launcher is a nice feature, and it did cross my mind when testing the last time but I was very happy to have ITV Hub in the first place
JJ-KwiK said:
If anyone can get their hands on a clean copy of the All 4 apk, I could try to modify that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you define clean version? d3adpool has been a great help so far, perhaps if he is still willing, there is something he could do to make sure his version is not dirty?
About not being able to add remote functionality to the regular Android app, RTÉ Player app, is this something that would be possible if someone put enough time into it, or is it just set up in such a way that it would never work? I just know a bit of C and C++ at the moment, but perhaps when I learn a few more languages I could help with this. Would having access to the source code of Samsung Smart TV apps for the same channels help? This is something I could provide. I appreciate they are probably in a completely different language.
JJ-KwiK said:
@dusf - Hey man, I just tested Demand 5 on my Wetek Core, nVidia Shield TV and Amazon Fire Stick. The app works on all 3 devices. I think the issue may be on your end? Can anyone else confirm if the app works for them? Can you try the updated version I posted below?
I also don't run into the, "press back displays a dialogue asking 'Do you want to exit the ITV Hub' with the options Okay and Cancel. Pressing cancel does nothing", issue. What controller/remote are you testing it with? I tried ITV Hub on my shield with the nVidia controller, nVidia remote and FireTV remote, and all worked fine.
Anywho... Since I tested ITV Hub and Demand 5 on my Android TV, and they both seemed to work fine, I added a banner and the proper intent to the manifest so they now show up in the Leanback Launcher. However, I can't check if videos play because I don't live in the proper geographical area.
Amazon dependancies have been removed and the apps have been modified to work on Android TV devices.
ITV Hub -
Demand 5 -
If anyone can get their hands on a clean copy of the All 4 apk, I could try to modify that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks for sharing those, I tried Demand 5 on my nvidia shield tv, The app works fine apart from when you go to play a video. I just get the loading icon top right spinning continuously.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/5/16738748/google-amazon-feud-youtube-pulled-off-fire-tv-echo-show-nest-devices
Back it up while you can!
Link to the current APK: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlFvM-kUCwh-j5XfAMn9ySTPBp3
I think they will shut it down from their end. Unless someone can hack the apk, it will cease to work on January 1st.
I read about this yesterday and saw a notification on my fire today. I'm sure a modded apk will resolve this. I also wonder if playing you tube from within kodi will work. Not as nice but it does the job. I went into youtube in kodi and it did not have that notification so that may be a work around. Not the bet but better than nothing. Really sucks that it doesn't show history and has no "home" per say.
Dave
I decompiled the YouTube app. I'm not convinced Google knows it's coming from a FireTV from the user agent string. Here's what the app uses:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/27.0.1453.93 Safari/537.36 Mozilla/5.0 (PLAYSTATION 3; 3.55)
So that begs the question, how can they block it? Is it just a scare tactic? If they don't know the source is an amazon fire they cannot possibly block it unless they put a youtube update to look for certain hardware criteria to ID it as a fire. If that's the case we just don't update the apk.
Dave
they seem to know how, since they are displaying the warning message on fire tvs only
What about alternative apps like Newpipe?
Im sure the hardware is identified by the build.prop...
The YouTube "app" is really just a webview to https://www.youtube.com/TV plus a shim to translate remote control commands. It seems very likely that any block should be trivially evadeable as long as that website remains available-- and since androidTV and smart TV UIs also use the HTML5 website, that isn't going to happen.
My guess is it is indeed something to do with the HTTP user-agent or some sort of other easily cloned fingerprint.
don_ernesto said:
they seem to know how, since they are displaying the warning message on fire tvs only
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well when I play youtube from kodi it does not display that message so..
Dave
TT_Vert said:
Well when I play youtube from kodi it does not display that message so..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. So the question is how does Google know it's the app vs. Kodi? The user agent string seems pretty generic. Therefore, something else is going on that needs to be found.
The Kodi YouTube addon uses the API, which ultimately would be pretty easy to block. The FireTV literally connects to a public website, which is much more difficult. There are tons of ways to fingerprint a browser beyond the user agent.
https://amiunique.org/
This is exciting! It's a technology war. Doesn't effect me in any way. I rarely use YouTube on my fire tv and I'll just use chromecast if I need to watch it on my TV. Sure their will be an easy workaround. I'm team google. F amazon! Lol
look at this website.
https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/en/
there is a working apk to get YouTube back working on the stick. it is recognized as a lg tv
Yes, that app works perfectly. Good stuff.
I still think Amazon and Google will work it out, but if they don't, use that.
Is this better than the regular youtube app anyway?
That app is basically identical to the FireTV app, being a HTML5 webview of https://www.youtube.com/TV, but it supposedly also blocks their ads.
LOL NM I'm an idiot. I saw 1080 and instantly went for it without reading. FAIL.
Dave
mijorus said:
look at this website.
https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/en/
there is a working apk to get YouTube back working on the stick. it is recognized as a lg tv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sideloaded this today and also can confirm that it works.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
you tube is still working for me. i get the warning message but it load just fine.
tw39515 said:
you tube is still working for me. i get the warning message but it load just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eventually it'll quit. Mine was the same way for a little while.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
So i was tinkering with phone and YouTube app kept replacing vanced, so I uninstalled it with de-bloater app. Now when I tried to install vanced(root version) it gives error and I can't install YouTube from play store either. I am rooted with magisk and on derpfest os 12. Please help.
I'll try to help you as I don't use Youtube myself, preferring the FOSS alternatives also...
While I don't know the reason you can't install YouTube Vanced (which allows YouTube users to block video ads & play music in the background), I know that Google has sent them a "cease-and-desist" letter and the owners of Vanced have shut it down... so even if you did install it - it wouldn't likely work anymore anyway.
EDIT: It actually still works - they just have to remove the installation links according to information that came up later in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My suggestion?
Give up on YouTube Vanced and maybe try the FOSS "NewPipe" YouTube replacement... which, as far as I know, still works fine (and Google has known about NewPipe for many years so they haven't been sent that same cease-and-desist letter AFAIK that Vance was sent. (Probably because they use only public API's, as stated in their web site.)
For your reference, below are some NewPipe screenshots from my tutorials on how to use NewPipe to replace YouTube.
Please let us all know how it works out so we all benefit from this joint effort. Thanks!
GalaxyA325G said:
I'll try to help you as I don't use Youtube myself, preferring the FOSS alternatives also...
While I don't know the reason you can't install YouTube Vanced (which allows YouTube users to block video ads & play music in the background), I know that Google has sent them a "cease-and-desist" letter and the owners of Vanced have shut it down... so even if you did install it - it wouldn't likely work anymore anyway.
My suggestion?
Give up on YouTube Vanced and maybe try the FOSS "NewPipe" YouTube replacement... which, as far as I know, still works fine (and Google has known about NewPipe for many years so they haven't been sent that same cease-and-desist letter AFAIK that Vance was sent. (Probably because they use only public API's, as stated in their web site.)
For your reference, below are some NewPipe screenshots from my tutorials on how to use NewPipe to replace YouTube.
Please let us all know how it works out so we all benefit from this joint effort. Thanks!
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Hi, thanx for replying. I totally am going to try newpipe. But my question was that would there be any problem if YouTube (a system app) is uninstalled. Like a bootloop if i tried to reboot without fixing it?
I have the same issue too at the moment and I'm going to try this alternative, hoping it would work for me cause I've tried everything before this.
kimof said:
I have the same issue too at the moment and I'm going to try this alternative, hoping it would work for me cause I've tried everything before this.
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Hi kim, can you share screenshots of what error you getting.
iamslimshady said:
my question was that would there be any problem if YouTube (a system app) is uninstalled.
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I'm trying to be helpful so don't hold me to my own experiences if this information below is wrong, but I've personally, one by one, disabled (or deleted) EVERY Google app in the past that I could, and VERY FEW cause major problems such that I have to re-enable them (e.g., disabling Google Play Store causes no major problems but disabling Google Play Services does cause major problems).
As for YouTube, as far as I've ever seen, disabling it causes no harm. Same with the GMail app. And Google's phone and contacts and messaging apps.
Of course, you have to REPLACE them with something if you want that functionality, but that's what third-party apps like NewPipe are for.
GalaxyA325G said:
I'm trying to be helpful so don't hold me to my own experiences if this information below is wrong, but I've personally, one by one, disabled (or deleted) EVERY Google app in the past that I could, and VERY FEW cause major problems such that I have to re-enable them (e.g., disabling Google Play Store causes no major problems but disabling Google Play Services does cause major problems).
As for YouTube, as far as I've ever seen, wiping it out causes zero problems. Same with the GMail app. And Google's phone and contacts and messaging apps.
Of course, you have to REPLACE them with something if you want that functionality, but that's what third-party apps like NewPipe are for.
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Can you specify on which rom on which android version you tried this and the method too. I recently uninstalled YouTube with de-bloater and at first everything seemed fine but then root version of vanced wont install and started giving error and then i couldn't install original YouTube from play Store either. And the cherry on top my device was sent straight into a bootloop when I restarted it. Iam running derpfest os android 12 on hotdogb. Btw everything is fine now I managed to recover.
iamslimshady said:
Btw everything is fine now I manager to recover.
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That's what matters most!
Good for you!
iamslimshady said:
Can you specify on which rom on which android version you tried this and the method too.
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Click to collapse
I put all the version information in the screenshot below for you.
iamslimshady said:
I recently uninstalled YouTube with de-bloater and at first everything seemed fine
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Click to collapse
To be clear, I merely disabled mine (see screenshot below for details).
iamslimshady said:
but then root version of vanced wont install and started giving error
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Given that Vanced is currently defunct (due to legal issues with Google, apparently), I don't think Vanced would work even if you could install it.
iamslimshady said:
Then i couldn't install original YouTube from play Store either.
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Click to collapse
Luckily, the FOSS NewPipe app functionality completely replaces that of YouTube.
GalaxyA325G said:
That's what matters most!
Good for you!
I put all the version information in the screenshot below for you.
To be clear, I merely disabled mine (see screenshot below for details).
Given that Vanced is currently defunct (due to legal issues with Google, apparently), I don't think Vanced would work even if you could install it.
Luckily, the FOSS NewPipe app functionality completely replaces that of YouTube.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for being helpful dude but remember that disabling and uninstalling aren't the same thing. Anyway, now that the problem is solved it doesn't matter.
Edit- vanced is working perfectly fine and I like more over newpipe because it offers a more complete experience, newpipe also does the job pretty well but I guess its on personal preference.
iamslimshady said:
vanced is working perfectly fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What matters most is that it's working now for you!
iamslimshady said:
I like more over newpipe because it offers a more complete experience, newpipe also does the job pretty well but I guess its on personal preference.
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Click to collapse
I'm glad it worked out for you and that you compared YouTube Vanced & NewPipe to find that you enjoy one over the other, as a lot of people don't know that these are each alone far better than YouTube itself ever can be, especially in terms of privacy & download functionality.
Since every thread should help as many people as possible, I'll also note for the lurkers that there are others such as SkyTube and LibreTube which can also be used to replace YouTube.
For those reading this who are wishing to replace YouTube, there are also options such as the Kiwi Browser Chromium-based browser apparently developed by arnaud42 which has support for extensions that are specifically tailored for YouTube functionality.
There's also plain old AdBlock but it only blocks ads and doesn't give the users anything like the functionality of the others.
iamslimshady said:
Anyway, now that the problem is solved it doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dug deeper into what happened to YouTube Vanced recently and it was "only" taken offline because of Google's cease and desist letter ordering them to stop using YouTube's name and distributing packages that violated YouTube's terms of service so they had to pull down the links... but as you noted, the product still works (thank God!).
Apparently you can't download Vanced Manager from the Vanced website but if you have Vanced Manager already installed then you can download and install Vanced microG, Vanced Music, and, of course, YouTube Vanced. (Thank you for clarifying that data!).
GalaxyA325G said:
What matters most is that it's working now for you!
I'm glad it worked out for you and that you compared YouTube Vanced & NewPipe to find that you enjoy one over the other, as a lot of people don't know that these are each alone far better than YouTube itself ever can be, especially in terms of privacy & download functionality.
Since every thread should help as many people as possible, I'll also note for the lurkers that there are others such as SkyTube and LibreTube which can also be used to replace YouTube.
For those reading this who are wishing to replace YouTube, there are also options such as the Kiwi Browser Chromium-based browser apparently developed by arnaud42 which has support for extensions that are specifically tailored for YouTube functionality.
There's also plain old AdBlock but it only blocks ads and doesn't give the users anything like the functionality of the others.
I dug deeper into what happened to YouTube Vanced recently and it was "only" taken offline because of Google's cease and desist letter ordering them to stop using YouTube's name and distributing packages that violated YouTube's terms of service so they had to pull down the links... but as you noted, the product still works (thank God!).
Apparently you can't download Vanced Manager from the Vanced website but if you have Vanced Manager already installed then you can download and install Vanced microG, Vanced Music, and, of course, YouTube Vanced. (Thank you for clarifying that data!).
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It's always pleasure sharing information. And I would like to add one more thing, you can download vanced manager from its site. I did that countless times past week switching between roms.
Much agreed that it's a pleasure sharing solutions as I hadn't used YouTube Vanced and you hadn't used NewPipe and now we both know more about each.
To save people time who are new to Vanced stuff, as I am, here's a quick synopsys of what I found just now going to the Vanced canonical site.
What is YouTube Vanced?YouTube Vanced is a Youtube client that allows you to stream videos on the famous video website while also providing some extra features. It's important to note that these extra features do not include the ability to stream videos.
The most intriguing feature of YouTube Vanced is that it allows you to listen to your videos in the background, even when your phone's screen is turned off. That way, you can easily listen to music and even podcasts on Youtube whenever you want.
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1. On Windows, I went to the Vanced Manager canonical site
One of the most common moded YouTube versions is Vanced Manager. It has a lot of cool features like ad-free, background video replay, dark themes, and so on.
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Click to collapse
Vanced Manager is a YouTube Vanced Download Manager program that lets you install MicroG and YouTube Vanced Apps without using the SAI Installer.
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2. Interestingly, on the top bar of the site is a link to NewPipe!
a. Vanced Manager
Vanced manager allows you to quickly install and uninstall vanced and microg, as well as customize your experience.
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Click to collapse
b. Vanced Music
YouTube Vanced Music is a modded version of the YouTube Music app, developed by the same team that brought you YouTube Vanced. The mod enhances the official app with features such as built-in ad blocking and background playback without pauses.
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Click to collapse
c. Vanced MicroG
MicroG is an open source alternative to Google Play Services for Android devices. Install Vanced MicroG APK on your android device to login to YouTube Vanced app with your Google account. A must needed app for the Vanced users who use services such as YT Vanced and Vanced Music.
Click to expand...
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d. NewPipe
This Could Be the Best Alternative for Team Vanced's Recent Vanced Edition Creation. Unlike its competitor YouTube Vanced, this app does not require the installation of an additional app named MicroG in order to sign into a Google account.
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3. I pressed the Download Vanced Manager 2.6.0 button which downloaded "manager.zip" from my PC directly to the Android phone (which is mounted over Wi-Fi as a drive letter onto my PC)
Name: manager.zip
Size: 3355776 bytes (3277 KiB)
SHA256: 50748270ED3939C7992C7393F7EE02CFF0E8BE57CEAAB4C39A502F581999869D
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Click to collapse
4. I also pressed the MicroG button at that site which downloaded "microg.zip" directly from Windows onto the Android phone over Wi-Fi.
Name: microg.zip
Size: 5357944 bytes (5232 KiB)
SHA256: B49D65C895C631FEBAD779CF8D834F8EE9DA2FE2E801F5792D13B4DC50779F38
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6. After unzipping, the respective APKs showed up on Android:
Name: manager.apk
Size: 4509298 bytes (4403 KiB)
SHA256: 89A8E2F21774209B3D8250E3B9E89CCA9D96E1B9312A86E300A651AAB033FDC4
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Click to collapse
Name: microg.apk
Size: 6186551 bytes (6041 KiB)
SHA256: 8C6E74A0B183E9954C0F4DA150F002DF11AF0661CF21C5635E5672F6D745740E
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Click to collapse
In summary, I confirmed that I was wrong in my initial post in assuming Google's cease-and-desist letter had put YouTube Vanced out of operation, and I thank you for clarifying that it can still easily be obtained.
Bear in mind I don't have a Google Account on my phone, so I'll be interested to see if YouTube Vanced sets up its own anonymous account (as does, for example, NewPipe and the Aurora Store).
This is the conclusion at the end of the Vanced MicroG FAQ for example:
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ConclusionTo put it another way, using YouTube Vanced without a Google account is a chore. So, follow the steps above to download and install MicroG on your computer. Not to mention that you can use Vanced Manager to update YouTube and MicroG at any time. Finally, share it with your YouTube Vanced-using friends' networks.
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Click to collapse
GalaxyA325G said:
3. I pressed the Download Vanced Manager 2.6.0 button which downloaded "manager.zip" from my PC directly to the Android phone (which is mounted over Wi-Fi as a drive letter onto my PC)
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Click to collapse
That's sounds awesome how'd you set that up? (Phone mounted over wifi as a drive on pc)
iamslimshady said:
That's sounds awesome how'd you set that up? (Phone mounted over wifi as a drive on pc)
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Click to collapse
Like we were saying, it's great to learn from each other, as we each have knowledge in some areas that others don't, and vice versa.
There are quite a few ways to set up the entire phone (even the root partition for a non-rooted phone!) as a "share" and/or "drive" letter on Windows, where I've tested EVERY free solution known to man over the years (if I do say so myself).
Offhand, off the top of my head, that includes...
a. adb/vysor/scrcpy
b. SMB/Cifs/Samba
c. FTP/FTPuse
d. LibMTP
e. WebDav/HTTP
f. Kies/KdeConnect/Nitroshare
etc.
It would take forever to describe them all, as it's not intuitive that, for example, SMB has fatal flaws related to port 445 when you'd "think" that's the way to go (given Cifs is native to Windows and Samba is robust on Linux).
It's also not intuitive that FTP doesn't reliably mount the device as a drive letter (even with FTPUse, which some people find useful but I don't).
My point is that when you actually test them each like I did, you find out that each is slightly different of course, and all work, but I find overall the best two methods with the fewest gotchas are:
1. WebDav
2. Adb/Vysor
I wrote up a tutorial for how to do each of those (so look up my posts) but we had to delete the tutorial because of a technical problem, so I need to spend the hours (and hours) to write it up again for people to benefit here.
Suffice to say that the WebDav setup is simple.
a. You install any decent free webdav server on Android
b. You run the native "net use" commands on Windows
CSS:
C:\> net use Z: \\[email protected]\DavWWWRoot /user:foo bar
Where "foo" & "bar" are the username & password defined in the webdav server on Android.
Note: Neither foo nor bar needs to be what you use on Windows or Android as they are both internal to the webdav server.
Note nothing needs to be installed on Windows and it works fine.
As for Adb/Vysor, suffice to say the setup is simple too:
a. You install adb.exe on Windows (you only need the executable)
b. You install Vysor on Windows
Code:
C:\> adb pair 192.168.0.2:12345 654321
C:\> adb connect 192.168.0.2:12345
C:\> adb devices
Note you only need the adb.exe executable which I get from the scrcpy download on SourceForge.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/scrcpy.mirror/
Note nothing needs to be installed on Android and it works fine.
Below are some representative screenshots.
GalaxyA325G said:
Like we were saying, it's great to learn from each other, as we each have knowledge in some areas that others don't, and vice versa.
There are quite a few ways to set up the entire phone (even the root partition for a non-rooted phone!) as a "share" and/or "drive" letter on Windows, where I've tested EVERY free solution known to man over the years (if I do say so myself).
Offhand, off the top of my head, that includes...
a. adb/vysor/scrcpy
b. SMB/Cifs/Samba
c. FTP/FTPuse
d. LibMTP
e. WebDav/HTTP
f. Kies/KdeConnect/Nitroshare
etc.
It would take forever to describe them all, as it's not intuitive that, for example, SMB has fatal flaws related to port 445 when you'd "think" that's the way to go (given Cifs is native to Windows and Samba is robust on Linux).
It's also not intuitive that FTP doesn't reliably mount the device as a drive letter (even with FTPUse, which some people find useful but I don't).
My point is that when you actually test them each like I did, you find out that each is slightly different of course, and all work, but I find overall the best two methods with the fewest gotchas are:
1. WebDav
2. Adb/Vysor
I wrote up a tutorial for how to do each of those (so look up my posts) but we had to delete the tutorial because of a technical problem, so I need to spend the hours (and hours) to write it up again for people to benefit here.
Suffice to say that the WebDav setup is simple.
a. You install any decent free webdav server on Android
b. You run the native "net use" commands on Windows
CSS:
C:\> net use Z: \\[email protected]\DavWWWRoot /user:foo bar
Where "foo" & "bar" are the username & password defined in the webdav server on Android.
Note: Neither foo nor bar needs to be what you use on Windows or Android as they are both internal to the webdav server.
Note nothing needs to be installed on Windows and it works fine.
As for Adb/Vysor, suffice to say the setup is simple too:
a. You install adb.exe on Windows (you only need the executable)
b. You install Vysor on Windows
Code:
C:\> adb pair 192.168.0.2:12345 654321
C:\> adb connect 192.168.0.2:12345
C:\> adb devices
Note you only need the adb.exe executable which I get from the scrcpy download on SourceForge.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/scrcpy.mirror/
Note nothing needs to be installed on Android and it works fine.
Below are some representative screenshots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you soo much definitely gonna try this.
Hello XDA community!
Just bought this piece of technology and discovered, that the android options are very limited. I don't even have the app manager menu enabled in my settings. Is there any way to enable some of the usual default android settings options? The app manager is a must, cuz I wanna disable some of the preinstalled crap.
Tried sideloading some apps through ADB and they don't show up in my app drawer.
I also want to use the Private DNS feature just like on my android phone, but this option is also not availale in settings, since there is no network settings in android settings.
Dafuq is this s#it? Is there somekinda kid mode enabled? Is this an Apple knock-off based on Android OS?
Any options to block YT ads? So fckn annoying to listen to that crap every 5 mins.
How about rooting?
logandavid said:
This issue may be caused by a software glitch or a setting on your device. Try clearing the cache and data of the WhatsApp app, or try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Also, please check the notification settings of WhatsApp and ensure that the "Show notifications" option is enable. If you have any third-party apps installed, then you may also have to check the notification settings of those apps as well.
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Click to collapse
Bro, I didn't mention anything about Whatsapp not working on my TV.
Thank u for your answer!
So yea, the device most certainly didn't come with a kid mode configured. But It most certainly did come with a "sheep" mode configured, so that the massive ad feeding campaign couldn't be interrupted in any way. I read that Android TV OS now have some ad crap on their default home screens (aka launchers), so first thing's first - gotta disable all those pesky auto updates.
I tried vanced, but I guess that stuff is not supported anymore. I sideloaded vanced filtes via adb, but 2/3 of them didn't install. Also I've read, that latest vanced lacked somekinda specific TV UI functionality, so that's not gonna work for me. I guess smarttubenext does the job now, although I'd still prefer the root vanced.
My first question is about the adb shell commands. What are my options to execute somekinda command, for spawning unrestricted android settings apk or a restricted part of settings apk? At least I wanna get a full default app manager, and network settings. These settings stripped from the OS are very precious. This feels even worse than a crapple device. Can u or someone else please provide a list of adb shell codes and translations for them to spawn settings or parts of the settings?
Adblocking is somewhat available via dns configuration, which does work most of the time, but that is not a preferred option for me.
Is there any way I could force adb to manipulate the with the hosts file?
How about force copy an apk to system/app folder and preset target permissions?
Maybe some vulnerability I could use for that? It's not like the newest OS version, it's only Android 11.
There must be something.. C'mon.. this is my piece of equipment, I paid cash money for the device and OS. I want my OS functionality. I'm not renting it. It's mine. MINE!
ReeLT said:
Thank u for your answer!
So yea, the device most certainly didn't come with a kid mode configured. But It most certainly did come with a "sheep" mode configured, so that the massive ad feeding campaign couldn't be interrupted in any way. I read that Android TV OS now have some ad crap on their default home screens (aka launchers), so first thing's first - gotta disable all those pesky auto updates.
I tried vanced, but I guess that stuff is not supported anymore. I sideloaded vanced filtes via adb, but 2/3 of them didn't install. Also I've read, that latest vanced lacked somekinda specific TV UI functionality, so that's not gonna work for me. I guess smarttubenext does the job now, although I'd still prefer the root vanced.
My first question is about the adb shell commands. What are my options to execute somekinda command, for spawning unrestricted android settings apk or a restricted part of settings apk? At least I wanna get a full default app manager, and network settings. These settings stripped from the OS are very precious. This feels even worse than a crapple device. Can u or someone else please provide a list of adb shell codes and translations for them to spawn settings or parts of the settings?
Adblocking is somewhat available via dns configuration, which does work most of the time, but that is not a preferred option for me.
Is there any way I could force adb to manipulate the with the hosts file?
How about force copy an apk to system/app folder and preset target permissions?
Maybe some vulnerability I could use for that? It's not like the newest OS version, it's only Android 11.
There must be something.. C'mon.. this is my piece of equipment, I paid cash money for the device and OS. I want my OS functionality. I'm not renting it. It's mine. MINE!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried smart tube next? Great YouTube app for tv and it includes sponsorblock. I actually have YT premium membership because I use iOS, but I STILL can’t live without smart tube on my tv
Yea, SmartTubeNext is working fine, so I'm gonna stick with it. I did disable some safe apps via adb.
Unfortunately hosts file editing will not work without root.
But is there any chance to access the Android App manager? I think this is a must.. If an app crashes I can force close it and clear data, but if I don't have the file manager, my only option will be factory reset. That's stupid. How can I get the app manager to show up in Android settings?