Develop Bugs

[Q] Fire Tv Stick and (hotel) Wifi

Is the Fire TV Stick easier to set up in a hotel than a Chromecast (with the AP Isolation issues)?
Am I right is saying that the Fire TV Stick is not dependent on the Wifi signal for the speed at which it 'flings' a media file, the Wifi is used to make a direct wireless connection between the fling sender and the fling receiver?

You can login through Chrome browser in Fire Tv.

SandLake said:
Is the Fire TV Stick easier to set up in a hotel than a Chromecast (with the AP Isolation issues)?
Am I right is saying that the Fire TV Stick is not dependent on the Wifi signal for the speed at which it 'flings' a media file, the Wifi is used to make a direct wireless connection between the fling sender and the fling receiver?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm the network connection is in the path of the data from the sender to the stick. You will always have a dependency on network throughput unless you are playing from local media storage - which the stick doesnt support.
If you are interested in playing from a local storage device, one thing you can do is invest $20 in one of the HooToo Tripmate travel routers. They have usb ports that you can plug in a local drive and share via wifi to your stick.

Sorry, I'm not very proficient with this, I had heard of WiFi Direct (http://www.howtogeek.com/178691/htg-explains-what-is-wi-fi-direct-and-how-does-it-work/) and thought that maybe this is how the Fire TV Stick worked - the sender and receiver needs to be on the same network to 'find' each other but then communicate directly.
I have tried using plex on my android phone to stream from my home plex server (admittedly over mobile internet) and the experience was underwhelming. I had thought that maybe (just maybe) I could load up my tablet with media and using a Fire TV Stick fling the media at a TV using this direct connection and avoid any slowdowns on hotel wifi. If this isn't going to work I have just bought a Raspberry Pi2 which I can connect using an actual cable (how 20th century!!!!)

SandLake said:
Sorry, I'm not very proficient with this, I had heard of WiFi Direct (http://www.howtogeek.com/178691/htg-explains-what-is-wi-fi-direct-and-how-does-it-work/) and thought that maybe this is how the Fire TV Stick worked - the sender and receiver needs to be on the same network to 'find' each other but then communicate directly.
I have tried using plex on my android phone to stream from my home plex server (admittedly over mobile internet) and the experience was underwhelming. I had thought that maybe (just maybe) I could load up my tablet with media and using a Fire TV Stick fling the media at a TV using this direct connection and avoid any slowdowns on hotel wifi. If this isn't going to work I have just bought a Raspberry Pi2 which I can connect using an actual cable (how 20th century!!!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can achieve local playback to a FTV easily with one of the HooToo Tripmates. They give you a local wifi hotspot. Devices plugged into the hotspot can be shared (like usb drives etc). Media on your wifi connected devices can be accessed as well. Your tablet and FTV would connect to the Tripmate wifi and not to the hotel. The Tripmate can connect to the hotel and allow your devices to connect to the internet for netflix etc.. You have many options using this method.

Fire Stick: Connecting to Kodi in Halls of Residence?

Hi all, first post so sorry if it's in the wrong place! I seem to have an issue connecting to my Fire Stick via adbfire. Adbfire won't connect to my Stick (Followed all steps required) and I have a feeling that it could be because I'm connected to my university Halls of Residence WiFi which is a shared network; is it possible that because of this the IP Address on my laptop won't match the one with the Stick? If so, is there any possible workaround to be able to get Kodi on the device?
Many thanks!
John

Hi,
Most universities employ Layer 2 client isolation, so that one wireless client is not able to communicate with another client. You will likely need to bring in your own router and use your own wireless SSID (against most university network AUP) in order to connect and push things via ADB.

Easiest workaround I can think of is to create your own wifi network, either by using your own router (even without an active internet connection, there are cheap ones available) or you could try a laptop/desktop or a smartphone.
If you have a wired ethernet connection or get a router which can connect to another wifi network, you may be able to get away with your own router all the time, but it's a gamble depending on your uni (mine apparently claimed that they would ban people, but I've been using a cable router without any problems so far (touch wood)).

If you go the path of your own router, be sure you hide the SSID.
The Cisco APs we used, at the university I used to work at, had a dubious "feature" that would actively search out "rogue" SSIDs and would continuously associate/deassociate with them in order to overload the AP and cause them to lock up. They didn't want students using other public available SSIDs for fear of privacy concerns.

If I take my AFTV outside of my home network, how to get KODI to connect to my movies

Hi there
I got 3 external hard drives plugged into a Amazon Basic USB 4 Hub, this is then connected to the single USB socket on my home router.
Using Kodi I can access my folders and added all my movies to KODI, streams brilliantly
Question is if I take my AFTV outside of my home network, how do I get KODI to connect to my movies?
I used to use plex and my router is already setup.

Won´t work that easy way. The SAMBA/CIFS or UPnP (DLNA) protocols which are used in most cases by routers for local streaming are designed for a local network not for use via Internet or between networks behind different router NATs.

darkdjay said:
Hi there
I got 3 external hard drives plugged into a Amazon Basic USB 4 Hub, this is then connected to the single USB socket on my home router.
Using Kodi I can access my folders and added all my movies to KODI, streams brilliantly
Question is if I take my AFTV outside of my home network, how do I get KODI to connect to my movies?
I used to use plex and my router is already setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install PleXBMC client on the FTV, works for me but I have a NAS running Plex Server.

Look in the settings of your router and see what options it has for sharing what's plugged into it. Mine has an option to allow access from the net for my files, its a netgear. U should just be able to point kodi to whatever URL it makes.

Configure Wifi without Remote Control

Ok, I am in a hotel and have tried to plug-in my Fire TV Stick, but it doesn't find my home wifi - no surprise - darn! I've forgot the standard Remote Control!!!! ARGHHH
So I configure my phone as a wifi hot spot and name it as my home wifi (with the same password) - voila! I can connect with the Fire TV app for Android but as soon as I go to reconfigure the wifi to use the hotels wifi it disconnects and I can no longer access it at all from the Android app.
Now, is there a way to reconfigure the wifi-settings manually either by plugging it into a computer via USB or some other app that will emulate the stock remote that comes with the Fire TV?

OzzMosiz said:
Ok, I am in a hotel and have tried to plug-in my Fire TV Stick, but it doesn't find my home wifi - no surprise - darn! I've forgot the standard Remote Control!!!! ARGHHH
So I configure my phone as a wifi hot spot and name it as my home wifi (with the same password) - voila! I can connect with the Fire TV app for Android but as soon as I go to reconfigure the wifi to use the hotels wifi it disconnects and I can no longer access it at all from the Android app.
Now, is there a way to reconfigure the wifi-settings manually either by plugging it into a computer via USB or some other app that will emulate the stock remote that comes with the Fire TV?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.storm.lightning.client.aosp&hl=de

If you are using a wifi remote control app like Wukong Romote, your phone and the AFS has to be on the same network for your phone to be able to find it.
Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk

I find the control can be use in this app called CetusPlay, you can find it on google play store

Use a second smartphone or tablet with firetv to reconfigure the stick to the hotel WiFi
For the "not long enough, want to read" explanation -
As the OP said, configure 1st smartphone as a WiFi hotspot with identical name and password as home WiFi.
Firetv should automatically connect you this when powered up.
Connect 2nd smartphone to this network (probably will automatically connect as it will 'see' it as its home network)
Use the firetv app on 2nd smartphone to navigate to system/settings/network (not exact steps but you should be able you find it) and reconfigure the firetv stick to connect to the guest/hotel WiFi.
Once connected turn off WiFi hotspot on 1st phone and connect it to guest/hotel WiFi.
Start firetv app, search for firetv and connect.
Discover that most content is geographically controlled and cannot be viewed and settle in for a season of Man in the High Castle.

@finkle - this was a good idea, but sadly as soon as the other wifi is selected on the fire stick it changes to the hotel wifi and opens the browser page to enter the credentials, which simultaneously disconnects the remote app! So close ;-(

That's what you want to happen.
Once the firestick is connected to the hotel Wi-Fi you connect either of the remote devices to the hotel Wi-Fi and you're good to go - the firestick and device will both be on the same network so they can chat..
The hotel Wi-Fi I used this on only required confirmation that you wanted to connect and accept their usage terms, which the firestick coped with fine.
Honestly, it worked in real life!

Hi,
I tried the above steps, but when I then connect my mobile to the hotel network, it then cannot find the firestick. I have the firestick stuck on the hotel pop up asking for the password, but can not navigate to enter the password in. Help?
Thanks
---------- Post added at 07:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:54 PM ----------
Hi,
I tried the above steps, but when I then connect my mobile to the hotel network, it then cannot find the firestick. I have the firestick stuck on the hotel pop up asking for the password, but can not navigate to enter the password in. Help?
Thanks
finkle said:
That's what you want to happen.
Once the firestick is connected to the hotel Wi-Fi you connect either of the remote devices to the hotel Wi-Fi and you're good to go - the firestick and device will both be on the same network so they can chat..
The hotel Wi-Fi I used this on only required confirmation that you wanted to connect and accept their usage terms, which the firestick coped with fine.
Honestly, it worked in real life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks To User FINGLE......
Thanks ,..I tried it.. I lost my remote to my firestick... I got the app on my phone...for remote... Firestick was still on previous network....and since we got new internet..service provider... The network was diffrent,....so we changed hotspot on phone, ( to the previous netwrk we had...and I got a diffrent phone...and with the second phone,, I was able to conect with the phone ap remote...[theseconv
QUOTE=finkle;69046260]Use
HTML:
a second smartphone or tablet with firetv to reconfigure the stick to the hotel WiFi
For the "not long enough, want to read" explanation -
As the OP said, configure 1st smartphone as a WiFi hotspot with identical name and password as home WiFi.
Firetv should automatically connect you this when powered up.
Connect 2nd smartphone to this network (probably will automatically connect as it will 'see' it as its home network)
Use the firetv app on 2nd smartphone to navigate to system/settings/network (not exact steps but you should be able you find it) and reconfigure the firetv stick to connect to the guest/hotel WiFi.
Once connected turn off WiFi hotspot on 1st phone and connect it to guest/hotel WiFi.
Start firetv app, search for firetv and connect.
Discover that most content is geographically controlled and cannot be viewed and settle in for a season of Man in the High Castle.[/QUOTE]

ok i have done everything exactly as you have said, but unfortunately my fire tv is not automatically connecting....Any thoughts on why? I know i reconfigured the hot spot correctly because i disconnected a 2nd smart phone from the current wifi and it automatically found our home network and connected...

What i typically do is connect my FireTV stick to the USB port on my computer, i can then manually send keyevents via ADB to connect the device through the hotel portals, yes it is tedious but once you get it connected you should be able to connect to it via Fire TV remote App on your phone. you can then plug it back into the wall and when it reboots it should auto connect to wifi this time.
P.S. this will only work if you have already previously enabled developer mode and allow adb connection on your fireTV stick.

Oh clever people, I hope you can help? I am absolutely not techy-minded, I wish I was..
I've read through this thread, and I fear there is no help for me..
I was bought a firestick by a well-meaning friend, who set it up for me... About 18 months ago. I have since moved house, and the move has meant the remote is misplaced.. So I downloaded an app that I can use as a remote. However the firestick is still linked to the old wifi, of which I have no idea what the username or password was....
So am I buggered? A useless firestick?
Please advise!

LinzAM said:
Oh clever people, I hope you can help? I am absolutely not techy-minded, I wish I was..
I've read through this thread, and I fear there is no help for me..
I was bought a firestick by a well-meaning friend, who set it up for me... About 18 months ago. I have since moved house, and the move has meant the remote is misplaced.. So I downloaded an app that I can use as a remote. However the firestick is still linked to the old wifi, of which I have no idea what the username or password was....
So am I buggered? A useless firestick?
Please advise!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found this answer on the Amazon help page ( https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx3ERA8C5GDSLWS?_encoding=UTF8&sort=helpful ) :
All tvs have a cec option under settings. Google search cec settings and it'll help ya. It lets you control hdmi plug ins with the regular tv remote. Tried it on one of my tvs and wouldn't work. Tried it on another tv in the house witch is different brand and it worked. I was able to set the wifi back up and then was able to use the fire stick remote app on my phone. Good luck
Someone confirmed that it worked for them. if not then you can order a new remote fairly cheaply: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LORGAG6/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Problem Solved
Hold down the home button on your Amazon firestick remote until you get a popup on your tv screen that the remote is connected. This will take 5-10 seconds. No internet necessary. Cheers!!

Thank You!
This CEC on my visio worked perfectly. we haven't been able to use one of our firesticks for quite a while now. thank you!! and no... holding down the select button on a diff remote does not work..

Enable the CEC Setting on your TV
OzzMosiz said:
Ok, I am in a hotel and have tried to plug-in my Fire TV Stick, but it doesn't find my home wifi - no surprise - darn! I've forgot the standard Remote Control!!!! ARGHHH
So I configure my phone as a wifi hot spot and name it as my home wifi (with the same password) - voila! I can connect with the Fire TV app for Android but as soon as I go to reconfigure the wifi to use the hotels wifi it disconnects and I can no longer access it at all from the Android app.
Now, is there a way to reconfigure the wifi-settings manually either by plugging it into a computer via USB or some other app that will emulate the stock remote that comes with the Fire TV?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
----
Go into the settings on your tv and enable CEC. I have a Vizio and it worked for me.
In your search engine type: How to Enable HDMI-CEC on Your TV, and Why You Should then click on the HowtoGeek link

In case anyone runs in to this in the future (including myself).
If your stick is rooted then you can manually configure the WiFi over ADB/USB in the file /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf

My situation is that one day i switched my tv input from blue ray player to fire tv stick as ive done for a long time, but this time when itd boot up it would hold on the home screen and the 3 dots, and then network connection lost. But nothing has changed with my wifi, all my other devices still connect to wifi just fine. And i dont have the remote and have been using my phone to navigate my fire tv stick. Any advice?
Now its bootlooping after it shows network connection lost for about 1min then reboots.

Could provide steps as to how to reconfigure Wi-Fi setting in the Fire Stick via ADB?

SmartDNS service doesn't work anymore after Fire OS 5.0.5 update

I am using a smart DNS service (such as unblock-us / unlocator) on my Amazon Fire TV as well as on a Fire TV Stick, in order to watch shows in my home country language, as I am currently living in Germany.
The DNS setup was done directly on the Fire TV Box, not in my router due to limitations from my internet provider. When I started with the DNS service, everything worked like charme from the start. But yesterday evening my Fire TV got the update by Amazon onto OS version 5.0.5 (before it had an OS version called 51.1.6.3.) From this moment on, the DNS service stopped working on the Fire TV.
Everything is still set up correctly, but I just get the German content, no matter what region I have set in my DNS Service account. No error message though. I tried to restart the device, deleted and re-added the network with the DNS settings and restarted again, restarted the router, but nothing helped. I haven't done anything different than before. So I am quite sure, it has to do with the OS update by Amazon. The Fire TV Stick in the other room still has the former OS version (54.1.2.3.). There, everything still runs smooth as it used to be as well on the Fire TV box.
Is anyone here facing the same issues with the new Fire TV OS 5.0.5? Does anyone know how to solve this or what I can do different, to make it work again?
Thanks in advance for your help.

same !!!
I have same prob since update today.. I was using overp*ay
Any luck getting it sorted thx

One way around is to get your internet provider to bridge their modem (if it is build into router) and buy a good router you can set-up using a custom DNS/VPN

I talked to the u*locator support today (Smart DNS Service I use). They say it's because of IPv6 that seems to break their service. Under settings → system → about → network, the DNS is not in IPv4 but IPv6 format. Apparently Android 5.1 (Fire OS 5.0.5) and my cable provider plus the Fritz!Box Router I am forced to use by them don't go well together in this combination. Former OS version was based on Android 4.2.2. - no problems. I found several reported issues in other contexts (smartphone wifi, smartphone push notifications, etc.) with the keywords IPv6 in combination of Android Lollipop, my ISP and the router I gotta use. So it seems I am unlucky with this combination.
So does anyone have a hint, what workaround options I have?
- downgrade to the former OS? How can that be done?
- would rooting and disable IPv6 on the Fire TV be a possibility?
- (bridging the modem as bula1ca said is unfortunately no option with my ISP)

I heard wired connections on the firetv box doesnt have this problem but im curious to know the fix because I have a fire tv stick

So I got a solution! Inspired by bula1ca's post, I am additionally using an old TP-Link Router now (TL-WR841ND), which doesn't support IPv6. No rocket science. I just connected the WAN Port of that Router with a free LAN port of my original Fritz!Box, set up a wireless network on that old router and changed DNS to my smart DNS service in DHCP settings. So now I have an additional wireless network that I only use with the Fire TV and my Fire TV Stick. Result: The Fire TV doesn't get a IPv6 DNS anymore, but only Ipv4. Works like a charme.

Whizzkid78 said:
So I got a solution! Inspired by bula1ca's post, I am additionally using an old TP-Link Router now (TL-WR841ND), which doesn't support IPv6. No rocket science. I just connected the WAN Port of that Router with a free LAN port of my original Fritz!Box, set up a wireless network on that old router and changed DNS to my smart DNS service in DHCP settings. So now I have an additional wireless network that I only use with the Fire TV and my Fire TV Stick. Result: The Fire TV doesn't get a IPv6 DNS anymore, but only Ipv4. Works like a charme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happy that worked for you however some modems need to be "bridged" before you can use your own router.

My router is a Fritzbox and I'm using it in bridge mode. I have simply disabled ipv6 support for the home network:
-DNSv6-Server in Home Network - DNSv6-Server through Router Advertisement (RFC 5006) - off
-DHCPv6-Server in Home network - deactivate
SmartDns is working again even over a Wlan connection. Other router brands might also have this possibility

I'm facing the same problem with IPv6/IPv4.
How do you connect WAN with LAN ports etc., and what else needs to be done how so that the FireTV can eventually work with an IPv4 address?

will2go said:
I'm facing the same problem with IPv6/IPv4.
How do you connect WAN with LAN ports etc., and what else needs to be done how so that the FireTV can eventually work with an IPv4 address?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my answer above. You have to find a way to disable IPV6 DNS in your home network.
-You might be able to do it in your router settings
-if your router doesn't allow switching it off attach another hardware (router) to your WAN cable modem's port where it is possible to do so/or the router is an old pre-ipv6 model where it is off anyway.
Just connecting the firetv to a lan port won't help unless you have a special router setup

uzi74 said:
See my answer above. You have to find a way to disable IPV6 DNS in your home network.
-You might be able to do it in your router settings
-if your router doesn't allow switching it off attach another hardware (router) to your WAN cable modem's port where it is possible to do so/or the router is an old pre-ipv6 model where it is off anyway.
Just connecting the firetv to a lan port won't help unless you have a special router setup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't disable IPv6 since my ISP is just providing IPv6 addresses. If I disable that within my router, there's no internet connection.
How do I setup another router via WAN? That may actually work. Do you happen to have a step-by-step guide how to do that?
Thanks.

will2go said:
I can't disable IPv6 since my ISP is just providing IPv6 addresses. If I disable that within my router, there's no internet connection.
How do I setup another router via WAN? That may actually work. Do you happen to have a step-by-step guide how to do that?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to disable IPV6 completely, just for your home network (if your router supports it). - in case you get a dual stack IPV6 (you get an IPV4 and IPV6 address assigned the same time)
How to do it exactly, how to use a different router and what is possible for you, you would better ask in forums of your internet provider. (I had to request my internet provider to switch the router/cable moden they gave me to bridge modus, than I was able to hook up a different router on the LAN1 port of my cable modem - I needed it before for different purposes)
Your options are very much dependent on your internet provider and hardware you own, but basicly your goal is the have IPV4-only DNS on your home network

Not an option, sorry.

My router won't allow full disabling of IPV6 unfortunately.
I have just heard from unblockr.net a SmartDNS provider, and they suggest that it would potentially help to disable this.
My traffic is definitely being routed via their servers as I can connect to the DNS servers fine, but it won't unblock geoblocked content for a certain country I'm aiming for which is a shame.

johnsmithtetley said:
My router won't allow full disabling of IPV6 unfortunately.
I have just heard from unblockr.net a SmartDNS provider, and they suggest that it would potentially help to disable this.
My traffic is definitely being routed via their servers as I can connect to the DNS servers fine, but it won't unblock geoblocked content for a certain country I'm aiming for which is a shame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of router do you have that can't handle this simple setting?