Develop Bugs

Android Apps vs Amazon Apps

Just a general question:
Do all android apps work on FireTV as long as I sideload them?
Can I assume that apps from the play store are the same as from the amazon store?
I bought the Plex App for android and I don't want to pay full price now for something that I already bought

A lot of apps work fine,but the 3.0.x Twitch does not work so you'd have to get the older 2.5.0 version.
The Amazon versions of Twitch and YouTube suck when compared to the real apps for anyone that has a K400r Keyboard to control the apps with.
Alternatively since the original YouTube app requires Play Services,you can get the YouTube HD MOD and install it on Fire TV without root.
It is on XDA itself.
All widgets do not work at all.
Only the Memory Booster rectangle and a few other things "widgety" will work.

Cirno5 said:
Just a general question:
Do all android apps work on FireTV as long as I sideload them?
Can I assume that apps from the play store are the same as from the amazon store?
I bought the Plex App for android and I don't want to pay full price now for something that I already bought
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not all android apps work on the FireTV.
Some show up wrong because they are portrait mode. So show up fine, but doesn't seem to accept any types of input at all. Some just fail to load.

Guess I will have to try then

You can always get an app that forces the orientation to be landscape so you can run those portrait apps in landscape mode.
Screen Rotation Control from "jubo co" works well,but will need to be set again if you ctrl+alt+delete to reset your Fire TV or when anything else causes your Fire TV to go off like power outages.
Too bad this app don't have a "set on boot" option.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bong.android.androidlock

The latest Plex App works fine after sideloading

..

A few ways to boot sideloaded PLEX/XBMC from the Amazon Fire TV interface

Hi all
Unrootable UK fire TV here so these are a few things I found out that made me a lot happier
1) You can use llama to boot a NEWER sideloaded PLEX app (google play store) from the original OUT OF DATE amazon store versions icon - keeping it all nice looking :¬)
As they install to 2 different locations :¬) - (google llama tutorials)
Another good reason to do this is you wont get all kinds of weird program loops when using the back button.
2) if you need an icon to boot up a sideloaded XMBC app - Just use the amazon store Air Buddy app as its own start-up screen has a boot XBMC button if its been detected
3) I found out Netflix and amazon prime would not pass-through DD5.1 to anything I own using HDMI (even though XBMC does fine) - BUT if you replace your HDMI with OPTICAL Netflix and amazon prime will pass through DD5.1
** Bug or did they just do it for a laugh - I think the latter :¬)
P.S. My mini keyboard works just fine too :¬)
Rii 2.4GHz Wireless Mini PC Keyboard Touchpad V2 Black
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004FSFYG8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for those helpful tips. I was looking for a way to have xbmc on the home screen. Just to clarify...I can install llama without being rooted? If so, do you have a direct link to llama? I know I can probably find it if I look around, but with such helpful tips, some provided links to the apps that you're mentioned will make it even more helpful.

wouldn't SPMC be better? i heard you can set it as the default launcher

DEREKTROTTER said:
wouldn't SPMC be better? i heard you can set it as the default launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have NON rootable Firetv's so as far as I know there is NO way to do anything clever
"Love to find I am wrong :¬):¬) "
So I think you need llama or you can actualy use "Air Buddy" as I said above :¬)
I am finally happy with side loading these 2 things
1) xbmc-13.2-Gotham-armeabi-v7a.apk
2) com.kebab.Llama.apk
****UPDATE - I had a look at SPMC and...
Amazon store says! - Non-compatible device
If you continue with this purchase, you may be purchasing an app that doesn't work with your device.
so its on the store but you cant install it on fire tv and it has to be sideloaded like Xbmc version I listed :¬(
also I have read it has 5.1 pass through issues.
:¬(

How to sideload Fire TV apps to the stick when you don't have a regular Fire TV?

I have the Fire TV Stick all set up and awesome-ized. I have one issue though. There are a few Fire TV apps that I would love to have for the stick, but without access to a Fire TV, I can't migrate them over. One app inparticular, Minecraft PE, is a must have. I have the app from Google Play, but it doesn't have remote functionality like the Fire TV version does. I can easily purchase the app through amazon on my computer, but have no way to access it without a "compatible" device. How can I get access to Fire TV apps I've purchased, without having one? Stupid Amazon should just make it compatible with the stick, as it obviously works on it. Ugg

xm41907 said:
I have the Fire TV Stick all set up and awesome-ized. I have one issue though. There are a few Fire TV apps that I would love to have for the stick, but without access to a Fire TV, I can't migrate them over. One app inparticular, Minecraft PE, is a must have. I have the app from Google Play, but it doesn't have remote functionality like the Fire TV version does. I can easily purchase the app through amazon on my computer, but have no way to access it without a "compatible" device. How can I get access to Fire TV apps I've purchased, without having one? Stupid Amazon should just make it compatible with the stick, as it obviously works on it. Ugg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, there's no way to download an APK from Amazon even if you purchased the app.

AFTVnews.com said:
Unfortunately, there's no way to download an APK from Amazon even if you purchased the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ugg. My son's world is Minecraft right now, and it would be great to have the remote enabled version on the Fire TV Stick. Know of a way to request getting it added as compatible for the Stick?

Interesting. I just pulled an update to 0.10.0 from Google Play and it works with the controller now. All is well with the world now. Haha

AFTVnews.com said:
Unfortunately, there's no way to download an APK from Amazon even if you purchased the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you can if you create an Android VM in VirtualBox, sideload the Amazon app store, purchase the app from the store and backup the APK with ES File Manager.

I use BlueStacks (rooted version) on my Windows 8.1 laptop. Installed the Amazon apk and that device shows up under Amazon as a generic Android device. Exactly as the previous poster (install, backup using ES, sideload the apk on FTV), except I use BlueStacks.

UK/US/JP Fire TV apps repository?

Hi - I know I can change my country on the respectively Amazon website to download the apps onto my FTV, but I was wondering if there's somewhere I can just download and sideload them?
Apps that have such geo-specific restrictions: ITV (UK), UKTV (UK), NHK World TV (JP)
Or perhaps there's a thread in here somewhere I just missed?

My experience is that's it's not that simple to rip an official Fire TV app from Amazon without having a rooted Fire TV. Sideloaded APK app versions that rely on a usb wireless keyboard / mouse or bluetooth keyboard work without issues. Tried my Android phone and Nexus 7 to get the official apk version that works with the Fire TV off those devices and sideloaded to my FIre TV, but it would always take me to Amazon underground and install it directly without leaving an APK version of it to transfer to the Amazon Fire TV.
If you want to download the apk versions of those channels from one location, you could sideload the aptoide app store, but it can be keyboard dependent as sometimes it'll use a web browser ( I've tried boat browser, firefox, maxthon...take your pick and download them through aptoide ) looking for the apk file of the app you are interested in.
If you go in another direction, you'll find the most efficient way is to install these channels through Kodi using the add-ons for the respective channel. Call Kodi a one stop shop app for all your channel viewing. It saves the hassle of downloading say the ITV apk app and avoids having to use a keyboard to make it work. Highly recommend you familiarize yourself with Kodi if you haven't already. Another official channel on the Fire TV is the MediaHHH app. It's available on the Amazon Fire TV app menu ( At least for U.S viewers ). That's basically all the U.K freeview live channels on an official app and it works perfectly well without a proxy or vpn required which you'll need if you use either the sideloaded apk version of an app or run the add-on channels using Kodi.
My observation is that if you switch say Amazon locations on your Fire TV and download a regional official APP like the BBC iplayer, you'll lose it when you log back in to your local Amazon Fire TV account, but if all you want are the apps in that location then you shouldn't have a problem as long as you add a geo-proxy to your network or VPN access added to your router.
If someone knows how to pull off a rip of an official Fire TV app without root or knows how to get a ripped version from their Android phone / tablet of an official Amazon Fire TV app, not the universal apk ver, I'm all ears on how to do it.

callanish said:
My observation is that if you switch say Amazon locations on your Fire TV and download a regional official APP like the BBC iplayer, you'll lose it when you log back in to your local Amazon Fire TV account, .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know for a fact that this not true. You can go it amazon content settings and change your locale to UK. Doing so, will allow you to search and download UK apps to your Fire TV. Once done switch it back to US and you can now search for US apps. The US and UK apps reside side by side and can be launched without issues (assuming you have SmartDNS).
None of the above can be accomplished on a Roku - which is why I really love this device.

Strange. Every time I've tried this in the past, the U.K apps disappeared ( 2 Fire TV's ver 1 and 1 Fire tv stick ), but that was a while ago. Maybe they've changed something in their firmware that allows you to do this now, because I remember hitting a brick wall a while back. and gave up Thanks for the heads up. I'll try it again and see if I can make it work now.
vulcan195 said:
I know for a fact that this not true. You can go it amazon content settings and change your locale to UK. Doing so, will allow you to search and download UK apps to your Fire TV. Once done switch it back to US and you can now search for US apps. The US and UK apps reside side by side and can be launched without issues (assuming you have SmartDNS).
None of the above can be accomplished on a Roku - which is why I really love this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

callanish said:
Call Kodi a one stop shop app for all your channel viewing..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps you can help me - I use a LG smarphone to download apps from the Playstore and sideload to AFTV2. My issue is that since its a smartphone, the APKs it downloads is suited for a phone screen and not for the TV. Is there a way within Kodi to download different variants of the same APK. Google Playstore URL is the same on any device - except the APK that is made available on the page is dependent on the device requesting the download.
---------- Post added at 04:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------
callanish said:
Strange. Every time I've tried this in the past, the U.K apps disappeared ( 2 Fire TV's ver 1 and 1 Fire tv stick ), but that was a while ago. Maybe they've changed something in their firmware that allows you to do this now, because I remember hitting a brick wall a while back. and gave up Thanks for the heads up. I'll try it again and see if I can make it work now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bear in mind that the approach I used did not involved signing out of my Amazon account. All the downloads happens with my single account (only the locales are switched).

I'm not quite sure what kind of experience you've had with Kodi, but Kodi basically is the hub. The channels aren't apps, they're addons from repositories that run content. When kodi is installed, you either rely on the repository that comes with kodi or you continue to add repositories to increase your content options. Those repositories usually come in Zip form and you can sideload them over to Kodi then install them under system / addons. Another way is to type in the URL for the repository directly. Kodi will then add the repository and after that you can install the plugins from that repository. I'm not quite sure if that even remotely answered your question, but just know that Kodi manages and automatically updates content through the repository and that content is universal, so whatever you add to kodi doesn't require an app to function, so you'll never come across a problem with installing phone vs tablet apps
Okay, if I understand you correctly you're looking for the non-phone apk version of an app. The easiest way is probably just to sideload the aptoide app on to the fire TV and download and install the apk apps from there. Aptoide can be browser dependent if it can't find a version of the app you are looking for and will open up a browser to find the apk file somewhere else for download ( In other words download a browser to the Fire TV - Boat browser for tablets is a good one ). You could try just installing the aptoide app on your LG phone and transfer the apk file to your Amazon Fire TV. I've done that before and all versions were non-phone apps. Downside with the standard APK apps on the Fire TV has always been that most of them are keyboard / mouse dependent requiring a usb / bluetooth - keyboard / mouse or app with a keyboard / touchpad that works with the fire tv.
http://www.aptoide.com/page/apps or look up the aptoide.apk file in google to download it and then sideload it. I've had no issues with aptoide and I've been using it for years.
P.S I'll look into what you mentioned. I've been signing into another Amazon account from the U.K, thus losing all my U.S apps. If I manage the settings on the same Amazon U.S account and do a country change to the U.K, maybe from there I can install the U.K official Amazon Fire TV apps directly to the Fire Tv box without losing my U.S content. That's probably where I was going wrong before.
Edit............That was the problem. The solution was not to sign out and re-sign in. As you mentioned, you just have to change the country under the same Amazon account. Downloaded U.K official Fire TV apps and running great without the need for a keyboard / mouse. Thanks for the tip.
Info for the original poster of this thread. Try this link
http://www.eyeondemand.com/2014/10/24/how-to-combine-us-uk-and-de-apps-on-the-amazon-fire-tv/
vulcan195 said:
Perhaps you can help me - I use a LG smarphone to download apps from the Playstore and sideload to AFTV2. My issue is that since its a smartphone, the APKs it downloads is suited for a phone screen and not for the TV. Is there a way within Kodi to download different variants of the same APK. Google Playstore URL is the same on any device - except the APK that is made available on the page is dependent on the device requesting the download.
---------- Post added at 04:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------
Bear in mind that the approach I used did not involved signing out of my Amazon account. All the downloads happens with my single account (only the locales are switched).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

vulcan195 said:
I know for a fact that this not true. You can go it amazon content settings and change your locale to UK. Doing so, will allow you to search and download UK apps to your Fire TV. Once done switch it back to US and you can now search for US apps. The US and UK apps reside side by side and can be launched without issues (assuming you have SmartDNS).
None of the above can be accomplished on a Roku - which is why I really love this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the technique is change the settings on the amazon website or on the ftv?

jarayn said:
So the technique is change the settings on the amazon website or on the ftv?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You change the country settings on the Amazon Website, purchase / add the apps, then re-sync content on the Amazon Fire TV if required. One of the apps, I think it was the ITV player didn't show up immediately, but since I purchased it ( right term if it's free?? ), I could do a search on the main fire tv menu for the ITV player app and then I downloaded it. With all the U.K apps downloaded, I switched the country settings back to the U.S.

Thanks, got BBC and itv now. BBC is perfect but itv seems to require mouse still.

jarayn said:
Thanks, got BBC and itv now. BBC is perfect but itv seems to require mouse still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know if you've tried this, but did you try deleting the app and then re-installing it. i've noticed just installing it over the one you already have won't replace it. The official itv player app doesn't require a mouse, so it must be either reinstalling the apk mouse version, or it hasn't synced the official app to your fire tv.
P.S You could try the STV ( Scottish television version of the Itv Player ) app. Pretty much the same content. One thing I noticed is you give up live content with the official ITV player, whereas you could get that with the mouse version. You can always get the live content of ITV through Kodi anyway.

Thanks, good idea. No live though is crazy, thats the only thing i would want itv for.

I don't want to install Kodi because I have no idea about the security rating of the repositories and packages. So far I only install from Amazon or Google Play (sideloaded).
I now have a single platform access to UK and US apps. Very happy. Cannot do this with any of the other devices.

vulcan195 said:
I don't want to install Kodi because I have no idea about the security rating of the repositories and packages. So far I only install from Amazon or Google Play (sideloaded).
I now have a single platform access to UK and US apps. Very happy. Cannot do this with any of the other devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, it's a great device and what's so great about it is just how open the platform is to allow us to do the things we can do with it. From an Ex-pat point of view, I just wanted to offer some various options that I've been using for receiving U.K content and thankfully you helped me solve one of those problems with getting the official U.K apps. If Kodi isn't your thing, then fortunately there are other ways to watch U.K content without having to go down that road. Alway good to have options, that's what I always say

The official ITV Player app on Fire TV is just a temp solution. It will soon be replaced by a new app called ITV Hub, which will have on demand and live tv for all the ITV channels

neil0129 said:
The official ITV Player app on Fire TV is just a temp solution. It will soon be replaced by a new app called ITV Hub, which will have on demand and live tv for all the ITV channels
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know. Thanks for the info.

(FTV3 UK App Request) itv hub, my5, all4

Could someone from uk with FTV3 use es file explorer to pull some apk for me please?
they have all been updated for for FTV3
ITV HUB
MY5
ALL4
Thanks,

Can you download them from APKMIRROR or use https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/ to get them from the google play store and sideload them?

Michajin said:
Can you download them from APKMIRROR or use https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/ to get them from the google play store and sideload them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are versions built for tv that are exclusive to amazon, the latest updates for these support newer builds of android but are exclusive to FTV3 (2017)
not on APKMIRROR just checked

Misunderstood request - mod delete please

I need apk file Silk Browser and Firefox for Fire TV newest. anyone can extract apk for me?. thank

Hi,
I've Pulled these off my new 4k fire TV stick today, will upload shortly... Unfortunately itv and 4od don't work on non Amazon devices, like my philips android TV.
my5 works provided the Amazon app store I is installed and logged in
, 4od and itv hub install but don't load icons to lean back launcher and won't run

jimsey said:
Hi,
I've Pulled these off my new 4k fire TV stick today, will upload shortly... Unfortunately itv and 4od don't work on non Amazon devices, like my philips android TV.
my5 works provided the Amazon app store I is installed and logged in
, 4od and itv hub install but don't load icons to lean back launcher and won't run
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, looking forward to your upload so I can test it out.

Here are the APk's i extracted from my 4k fire tv stick last night.
the only one working on a non amazon device is my5.
all4 and itv hub appear to be wrappers not proper apps - still if someone could get them working for non amazon devices there are loads of people requesting them in various threads( shield, sony tv, philips tv etc .,pretty much all android tv devices would benefit)

OK so I tested out my5 on my shield with amazon appstore installed and logged in, I also then tried to use lucky patcher to remove amazon appstore dependencies and am still greeted with the same screen either way.
http://imgur.com/5VUOevB
http://imgur.com/kp28eJj
Is there a way we could maybe spoof the shield so its seen as an amazon fire TV device in the amazon appstore - then it may actually let us download directly without having to sideload.

Slayerkodi said:
OK so I tested out my5 on my shield with amazon appstore installed and logged in, I also then tried to use lucky patcher to remove amazon appstore dependencies and am still greeted with the same screen either way.
http://imgur.com/5VUOevB
http://imgur.com/kp28eJj
Is there a way we could maybe spoof the shield so its seen as an amazon fire TV device in the amazon appstore - then it may actually let us download directly without having to sideload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed the my5 app on my philips android tv, it complained about no amazon app store when i first opened it, so installed amazon underground, then it worked no problem

jimsey said:
I installed the my5 app on my philips android tv, it complained about no amazon app store when i first opened it, so installed amazon underground, then it worked no problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried this aswel but same thing for me - tells me I don't own it.
When I check amazon underground it says I need to update to the new amazon app store which I previously had installed. I wish there was a way past this - you can see it loading up all in the background and can tell it will work when you can get that message of the screen but just have no idea how

OK so I finally found a way to get this to work, install amazon appstore on any other android device that's not android TV. Install the apps from there - then when you use the apk on shield it will now say you own it and not bother you anymore. Installed my5 and is working perfectly, way better than the side loaded app I was using for all these years (would have been fine if they didn't update so now it doesn't work on android TV anymore). So thank you amazon, last mission is to get all4 from either fire TV or Sony TV somehow and then all apps will be remote friendly. The all4 amazon apps I've found seem to be wrappers and not actual apps...

I've given up trying to get all4 and ITV hub working, now using the ITV hub pluggin via plex which works a treat and removes the ads, so even the mrs likes it better than the itv hub app.