Develop Bugs

[Q] will the marketplace work overseas?

My question is, will i be able to buy/download apps for a WP7 phone (lets say from the US[samsung focus]) in countries that don't have windows phone 7 yet?(lets say Israel)

Hard reset my phone and booted it up in airplane mode, market works just fine that way with wifi so I don't see why not.

KingpinEX said:
My question is, will i be able to buy/download apps for a WP7 phone (lets say from the US[samsung focus]) in countries that don't have windows phone 7 yet?(lets say Israel)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you can buy a windows phone there at present, then yes you shouldn't have a problem. if it isn't available there at the moment, you may have to do some dodgy things and make it think you're from US.

Works fine in Norway, but I'm not sure if I can get all programs available in the US or just a subset...Hard to tell, really

Unless the marketplace is available in that country no.
For instance, they sell WP7 phones in Sweden but they haven't launched the marketplace here yet. Which is idiotic.
You can get around it though by making a new windows live id that has the country set to a country with the marketplace available.
Check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=830701 for more information.

wow thats cool i just change my PC location to USA and i got my Zune Marketplace i never had before thats cool, i see the windows phone marketplace now...
is there a way i can make my pc think i have a windows phone phone conected so i can try to download free apps?
and for payed apps i have an AMEX card so i think im set.

You can download free apps if your Windows Live is set to a country with marketplace support. However, to buy apps you need to set your credit card details in Zune with an address in that country. I have a Netherlands Mastercard but put in my parents address in UK and its working great.

Hmm so I assume it will not NORMALLY work in Poland without setting another account which is set as UK?
I mean I use Hotmail for 12 years and probably it's set as polish, so...
Without this workarounds no chance?
On offical MS polish page they invite to buy 3 WP7 devices in polish stores....
So looks like official....
Any clue?

jhughesy said:
You can download free apps if your Windows Live is set to a country with marketplace support. However, you buy apps you need to set your credit card details in Zune with an address in that country. I have a Netherlands Mastercard but put in my parents address in UK and its working great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which mastercard are you using. I have got one from ABN AMRO but it is not working. Only thing different is that I'm trying it with the US marketplace. I read somewhere it only worked a few days after launch day. I tried it btw on the zune desktop. Keep getting a error message saying that my creditcard details are wrong.

There is a service called global shop for AMEX card owners that gives u an address in the USA in Miami, so I can register to any us retail and give them the global shop Miami address that’s just cool
And as for changing the Live, takes only a sec to do and I have my account for like 5 years.
but i still wana be sure, so if any of you know of any virtual WP7, or if any one tried in a country that don't sell phones yet.

Setting up your WP7 device with a US live-id works fine, but you won't be able to buy apps without a US credit card also. Downloading free apps works fine, though, but when WP7 is launched with all services and the marketplace in your own country you will have to reset your device and set it up again with a local live-id to use these. Any apps downloaded from the US marketplace will then be lost.

throndr said:
Setting up your WP7 device with a US live-id works fine, but you won't be able to buy apps without a US credit card also. Downloading free apps works fine, though, but when WP7 is launched with all services and the marketplace in your own country you will have to reset your device and set it up again with a local live-id to use these. Any apps downloaded from the US marketplace will then be lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So all that makes buying a WP7 device NOW nonsense.
Whether you don't have access to all the features or you're screwed later....
Discouraging.

at present, perhaps, but i think over time as they support more and more languages they'll open it up more.

The Gate Keeper said:
at present, perhaps, but i think over time as they support more and more languages they'll open it up more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. But that changes a bit my thoughts of getting it NOW.....

tbk21 said:
Which mastercard are you using. I have got one from ABN AMRO but it is not working. Only thing different is that I'm trying it with the US marketplace. I read somewhere it only worked a few days after launch day. I tried it btw on the zune desktop. Keep getting a error message saying that my creditcard details are wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ING Mastercard (Netherlands), In Zune add credit card UK address with Netherlands card number, Windows Live UK account.
I did this two days ago and already bought some apps. I also read somewhere this is the official method endorsed by Microsoft Netherlands so maybe give them a call if its not working?

marketplace working for unsupported countries?!!!

Hey folks,
I 've been using an unlocked at&t samsung focus in Brazil for quite some time and as any user from unsupported country i've been limited to free apps in marketplace. I dont know if marketplace changed policy or not but today i bought a gold subscription for my xbox live account (which is the same as the one i use in wp7 - US Live Account) and magically everything is working now. I bought monopoly ($4,99) and sound recorder ($0,99) from wp7 marketplace without a problem.
When you buy a gold subscription in xbox they just validate your credit card information without verifying the address so i used my credit card and an US address. Now wp7 seems to be using the same credit card info from xbox live for purchases.
Can anyone confirm this works or mktplace really changed policy and has nothing to do with xbox live?!

This sounds really interesting, please someone to test and report if this works. Regards

Are your Live account registered as an U.S. account too? Otherwise I don't think that you shouldn't have been able to even download free Apps. To register an account in another country is the "official" workaround, the problem is to get a creditcard validated since they seem to check which country it's registered in nowadays.

Nop.
Tried to register my credit card using the same profile that I've used with my PSN account (wich works perfectly). But here, when I try to register my credit card, it gives me error.
It's annoying; I need to buy some apps. That is annoying and non sense.

nop. thats the point i didn't registered any credit card on my live account. I can't... like any other person living in unsupported country. What i did was making my xbox account gold (which happens to be the same US live ID i use for wp7) and voilà! xbox website doesn't check your location, you can use your normal credit card and input any US address to become gold.
After this step they don't ask for a credit card in my live account anymore, it uses the one i have in my xbox account. Since then I'm able to buy apps.
in resume:
1. Get your US live account and register/convert it on xbox live at www.xbox.com. (The liveid must be the same primary account you use on wp7)
2. Go gold using the US page ($9.99/mo if i recall). (Will ask you for a credit card)
3. Try to buy something in wp7 marketplace.
That's what i did and surprisingly worked for me.

also make sure you are in /en-us at xbox.com. Check the address bar. Force en-US if it redirects to your country.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/joinlive?xr=shellnav

Is here anyone who tested this and can say its woking?

Please somebody else has tried this? I need to know.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

nope, not working
tried everything explained twice, showed up "give a correct credir card numbers"

superaca said:
nope, not working
tried everything explained twice, showed up "give a correct credir card numbers"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I tried myself some minutes ago and this is BS, doesn't work.

damn...maybe i was lucky. My xbox subscription expired but i still have my credit card on their site and i have full access to marketplace. Bought 7 apps so far.

Lucky. Here didn't work.

Google Services block in Pakistan, Any work around? :(

First of all i did not found an apropiate sub forum to start my thread, so really sorry if this is a wrong forum. I owned galaxy nexus so I thought this would be a good sub forum
Now let's come to the main issue.
Recently an anti islamic movie was upload to Youtube. Which creates alot of tension in the 3rd world.... Pakistan's government block the website across the Pakistan to protest against the video. And YouTube will remained close till the removal of that video (which ain't gonna happen like this).
As you all know that Pakistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Pakistan telecommunication authority hire inexperienced IT experts due to political pressures. These incompetent employees and government could not manage to block the YouTube properly at first. So PTA immediately block the IP of YouTube. But in doing of such impotent work by our ****ty government more then half of Google services become unusable in Pakistan. We can't connect to gmail account on our android and not even play store.
We can not download apps from the app store because of such failed action of our government.
As you know that YouTube is owned by Google. Yoiube IP is same as most of the Google's ip's.
PTA have blocked the IP so many Google services had stop.
In light of above explanation I need a work around on how open my gmail account and play store. Any help would be highly appreciated.
I know through proxy I can unblock the websites. But I,m unable to sync my gmail account through proxies because of the Google's high security. And I still can not download apps via market through proxy.
Give me a good suggestion. Any work around, any good proxy please.
Any modified Google play store.
I have galaxy nexus, galaxy note HTC desire and Asus transformer. All of them could not connect to Google services due to this blockage. And I know this problem had spread across whole of the android users in pakistan.
Refrain from political discussion or abusing thanks.
THE THREAD IS CLOSED, YOU CAN GO TO http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1903105 for Solution Thanks

I don't think a workaround will work unless PTA lifts the ban or at least unblock ip's affecting google services. I have a galaxy note and I thought it was because of the custom ROM I was running. So I did a full wipe, nothing happened. Then I checked on my brothers HTC one X which was on stock and he was having the same problem. PTA guys are a bunch of ****ing retards. Thanks for starting this thread, I hope someone comes up with a solution. Btw, I started experiencing this problem yesterday while youtube was blocked a few days before. When did you first start experiencing these problems?

Well for websites I know there are sites I know you can use to mask what you are looking at, but I don't think it will work with services based in apps.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

How are you trying to connect to google services, via WiFi or EDGE? If WiFi, then which ISP (PTCL DSL, Wateen or some other?) I see you're on Warid's network.
I'm in Karachi and my Google related accounts sync/work fine over wifi but have a problem over EDGE/2G. If you're trying to download apps from mkt I can only assume you use wifi for it (because on EDGE speeds it would take you forever to download any apps at all). PTCL is the only ISP that has a problem as far as I know. I know in Lahore and Karachi several isp's are working fine in this regard (Wateen, WiTribe, Worldcall, etc).
If you're trying to get google services to work over EDGE on Warid then you can just use gmail and market etc from the browser, which works fine. Only the apps themselves have a problem (like email sync which takes really long).

muneeb.abbas3 said:
I don't think a workaround will work unless PTA lifts the ban or at least unblock ip's affecting google services. I have a galaxy note and I thought it was because of the custom ROM I was running. So I did a full wipe, nothing happened. Then I checked on my brothers HTC one X which was on stock and he was having the same problem. PTA guys are a bunch of ****ing retards. Thanks for starting this thread, I hope someone comes up with a solution. Btw, I started experiencing this problem yesterday while youtube was blocked a few days before. When did you first start experiencing these problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I,m facing this problem since Youtube was blocked. and I,m running slim bean 2.5 on gnex and aokp on asus transformer. there are some Proxy Apps on play store. Hope our incompetent government will soon restore youtube and all google services like they did a year ago when facebook was blocked.
Guiding.God said:
How are you trying to connect to google services, via WiFi or EDGE? If WiFi, then which ISP (PTCL DSL, Wateen or some other?) I see you're on Warid's network.
I'm in Karachi and my Google related accounts sync/work fine over wifi but have a problem over EDGE/2G. If you're trying to download apps from mkt I can only assume you use wifi for it (because on EDGE speeds it would take you forever to download any apps at all). PTCL is the only ISP that has a problem as far as I know. I know in Lahore and Karachi several isp's are working fine in this regard (Wateen, WiTribe, Worldcall, etc).
If you're trying to get google services to work over EDGE on Warid then you can just use gmail and market etc from the browser, which works fine. Only the apps themselves have a problem (like email sync which takes really long).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I,m from sialkot,Punjab. here all edge networks and ISP are having the same issue. I had tried Wateen, Witribe, and ptcl they all getting the same issue, i don't know if they are working through the same channel or not. i have tried edge over ufone, warid, mobilink. but still can't open the play store and contact syncs in gmail account on my android.
On my Gnex i,m running on Slim bean 2.5 rom, and AOKP on Asus Transformer. All of them are getting the same error.
if your play store is working good, i heard there are some apps in play store which can direct android traffic through proxy channel. kindly research on it and see if one of them can work for youtube app in android. i think that is possible. because if i modify my access point(wifi) setting in android, and set proxy setting to manual, and enter the proxy ip with port. i can access youtube and i can also sync gmail. but that channel only work for 2 or 3 min :/. i kept on changing proxies ip and ports. but not working

gagb1967 said:
Well for websites I know there are sites I know you can use to mask what you are looking at, but I don't think it will work with services based in apps.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your Post. Is there any apps on play store which can direct all android traffic through proxy channel? i have tried modifying my access point settings through wifi advance settings, and set proxy mode to manual and set ip of proxy. that is a possible work around and my gmail and youtube also work for 2 or 3 min, but not a permanent work through, can you please research on any work around. if possible. i,m looking to subscribe Hidemyass.com for complete anonymous Ip. if it can work on android through some kind of proxy app.

You might be able to do this using a VPN. Settings > More > VPN. You'll need to find a free VPN service that will give you the login information. I'm sure there's one out there but I don't know any off the top of my head.

mmolitor87 said:
You might be able to do this using a VPN. Settings > More > VPN. You'll need to find a free VPN service that will give you the login information. I'm sure there's one out there but I don't know any off the top of my head.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is the best way indeed although I have to say most free vpns are seriously slow. you can get a proper one for like 5 to 10 dollars a month.
Sent from my galaxy nexus

mmolitor87 said:
You might be able to do this using a VPN. Settings > More > VPN. You'll need to find a free VPN service that will give you the login information. I'm sure there's one out there but I don't know any off the top of my head.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eniux said:
this is the best way indeed although I have to say most free vpns are seriously slow. you can get a proper one for like 5 to 10 dollars a month.
Sent from my galaxy nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A wild idea and i have done it, finally a work around using orbit by tor Service..!

hassi4042 said:
First of all i did not found an apropiate sub forum to start my thread, so really sorry if this is a wrong forum. I owned galaxy nexus so I thought this would be a good sub forum
Now let's come to the main issue.
Recently an anti islamic movie was upload to Youtube. Which creates alot of tension in the 3rd world.... Pakistan's government block the website across the Pakistan to protest against the video. And YouTube will remained close till the removal of that video (which ain't gonna happen like this).
As you all know that Pakistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Pakistan telecommunication authority hire inexperienced IT experts due to political pressures. These incompetent employees and government could not manage to block the YouTube properly at first. So PTA immediately block the IP of YouTube. But in doing of such impotent work by our ****ty government more then half of Google services become unusable in Pakistan. We can't connect to gmail account on our android and not even play store.
We can not download apps from the app store because of such failed action of our government.
As you know that YouTube is owned by Google. Yoiube IP is same as most of the Google's ip's.
PTA have blocked the IP so many Google services had stop.
In light of above explanation I need a work around on how open my gmail account and play store. Any help would be highly appreciated.
I know through proxy I can unblock the websites. But I,m unable to sync my gmail account through proxies because of the Google's high security. And I still can not download apps via market through proxy.
Give me a good suggestion. Any work around, any good proxy please.
Any modified Google play store.
I have galaxy nexus, galaxy note HTC desire and Asus transformer. All of them could not connect to Google services due to this blockage. And I know this problem had spread across whole of the android users in pakistan.
Refrain from political discussion or abusing thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aed.droidvpn ? DroidVPN free has a limit of 100MB a day which i guess is good enough for sync purpose?

if you have a rooted phone then you can use this proxy in your wifi settings. I tested, it works. not too slow either
77.37.192.19
port: 3128

i am from sahiwal punjab Playstore is not opening i am using wateen wifi but cant access the website.help..
and anybody can tell me that how to buy apps from play store as in Pakistan Paypal is valid then how can i buy apps i dont have credit card but UBL WIZ CARD

grown ups said:
i am from sahiwal punjab Playstore is not opening i am using wateen wifi but cant access the website.help..
and anybody can tell me that how to buy apps from play store as in Pakistan Paypal is valid then how can i buy apps i dont have credit card but UBL WIZ CARD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP has already posted a workaround bypass here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1903105 and it works fine over wifi and EDGE
Also, UBL's wiz internet card is usable on play store....call UBL's helpline to confirm and get instructions

VPN maybe?
Sent from my GT-I9305 using XDA Premium HD app

Guiding.God said:
The OP has already posted a workaround bypass here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1903105 and it works fine over wifi and EDGE
Also, UBL's wiz internet card is usable on play store....call UBL's helpline to confirm and get instructions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have ubl internet card but how can use to buy apps in $ help me please

grown ups said:
i have ubl internet card but how can use to buy apps in $ help me please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand the problem, what issue are you facing? If you have a UBL WIZ Internet card, just login to play store, press buy on any app and enter your card details like you would with any credit card - your card number, the cvc/cvv code at the back the expiry date and your billing address - works fine here
Make sure you call UBL's phone help line first and give them your card number and confirm if you are authorised to make online transactions
EDIT: It doesn't matter if the price stated is in US$ or Britis Pound or Euros or Kuwaiti Dinars, UBL bank will convert to Pak Rs with their prevailing bank conversion rate and charge your card for the right amount automatically

FWIW, I used Witribe today (in Pindi) and Playstore works fine. PTCL is flaky - sometimes, yes, at other times, no. I'm on Mobilink (I think I need to update my profile) and I couldn't sync my account with Google the entire day.
So - it depends from ISP to ISP. Your best bet is to either use Onavo Extend - or Orbot (Tor) for Android... or another VPN solution.

I have posted the Bypass and solution of this Issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1903105
to All having this issue kindly go to that thread thank you.
i,m requesting the Moderator to lock this thread. Thank you

aeoveu said:
FWIW, I used Witribe today (in Pindi) and Playstore works fine. PTCL is flaky - sometimes, yes, at other times, no. I'm on Mobilink (I think I need to update my profile) and I couldn't sync my account with Google the entire day.
So - it depends from ISP to ISP. Your best bet is to either use Onavo Extend - or Orbot (Tor) for Android... or another VPN solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1903105
Hit thanks if i helped you

[How-To]Getting the $25 Google Wallet for Nexus 7 outside US[Ends 30 sept 2012]

Google is offering $25 wallet for apps purchase but its only for US – but you guessed that already huh? Fear not, we are not left out Its very simple if you follow these simple steps.
The key is to get your device connected to the US IP via Virtual Private Network (VPN), but its hard to find a really good free VPN provider that actually works. It took me a few hours to find one that was really reliable. Until I found one that will get our job done perfectly here. Its FREE, simple to use, and stable too! Its called the CactusVPN. All you have to do is just sign up for it and you will get a free account which is valid for 24 hours – more than the time we need to run this little hack.
So here are the steps:
I personally advice you to factory reset your device first so you can start from the very beginning and get definite chances for this to work. That said, factory reset your device. If you don’t know how, go to Android Settings -> Backup & Reset -> Factory data reset.
When the device loads, select English as your language. Setup your WIFI, but do NOT setup a Google account. Also do NOT enable the geolocation services. Skip everything and you will reach the homescreen.
Now, put the device aside. Go to CactusVPN (click here) and sign up for an account under “Free VPN”. Once you have signed up, login and go to the Client Area and select “MyVPN services”. Click on the free VPN in the table under “My VPN Services” and you will be presented with all the details that you need.
Now, on your Android device, go to settings and hit the “more” below “Data usage”. You will see an option for VPN, select that. Now click on “Add VPN Profile”. Insert “CactusVPN” as the name and PPTP as the type. You can get the server IP from the accounts page above. Enable PPP encryption and save the settings.
Now, select the profile. It will ask for your username and password which you can get from the same account page above. Thats it, you should be connected to the VPN gateway.
Now, run Google Play. It will ask you to add a credit card. Just use your local credit or debit card (it worked with my Maybank debit card too). Leave the country as US, insert the postcode as 10002 and phone number as (212)9255599. Once it validates, you will get $25 credited to your account.
When making purchase, in the payment details, select Google Balance and it will deduct from it. Oh, and feel free to remove the debit card or credit card that you added earlier.
Thats it! Pretty simple isnt it? Good Luck!
**credit to shahz & google.
dont forget to click thanks if this help you.

Your wrong mate in the UK Google give you £15 to spend in the play store.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

davekeeling5 said:
Your wrong mate in the UK Google give you £15 to spend in the play store.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, try to convert $25 usd to UK pound, u will get £15 mate.

Cool. Next, anyone tried to download the Transformer movie? Any success so far?
Sent from my Nexus 7

Downloaded the film first day I got my nexus 7. Downloaded no problem but takes up about 3.5gb. Watched it then deleted it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

so we can buy cheap app in next 5 days, cheers:good:

Canadians don't need to do this for anybody who's is going to ask. I have two and both got their $25 bux no problem without VPN.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

Thanks, worked perfectly although I must say:
You do NOT have to factory reset!
The only thing you need to do is open the Play Store, log out (or add new account) and then go to Settings - Apps - Play Store - Clear Data
Then just open the Play Store again and it should prompt you with the 25$ gift card. That being said, it seems like you can do that with as many Accounts as you want (assuming you have more than one credit card which most people do).
Just be careful that you don´t do too much!

Let me get this straight, add another account on the same device, enter a different card and you'll get another $25? Is that it? I've 3 account in my N7, so with different card I'll get $75. Sure?
Sent from my Nexus 7

adxgrave said:
Let me get this straight, add another account on the same device, enter a different card and you'll get another $25? Is that it? I've 3 account in my N7, so with different card I'll get $75. Sure?
Sent from my Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you got the free $25/£15 with your nexus you have to use a different card on that different account.
So yup just make another account with a different card and you get free monies

Nope. Just tried, failed. It's per devices, account and card too.
Sent from my Nexus 7

adxgrave said:
Nope. Just tried, failed. It's per devices, account and card too.
Sent from my Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not, they done it like this incase you decide to sell your nexus 7 to someone and "factory reset it" so they can have the nexus 7 experiance....or somthing like that )
Try this.
Make a cwm backup or twrp backup.
Factory reset
When you get to the welcome screen, enter youre wifi etc. Hen when it asks if you have gmail account press no, then press yes to create one.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

I'm stuck on adding a vpn. Android is asking me to inputI the password for credential storage. I have no clue what that is.
I have a bunch of system credentials, I always assumed that's normal? So I don't want to go erasing them.

Logic_ said:
I'm stuck on adding a vpn. Android is asking me to inputI the password for credential storage. I have no clue what that is.
I have a bunch of system credentials, I always assumed that's normal? So I don't want to go erasing them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it is normal.

not only for US, Australia got the $25 credit also

It worked for me, at least getting the $25 added to my account. Only when I try to buy an app, it is grayed out for me when not connected through VPN. My connection is timing out all the time on VPN, so can't try that yet. But if that is the case, you'll have to buy everything today while the VPN account last, or find another free VPN

CactusVPN is not letting me create a Free account as they have banned my country's IP to create any free account. Is there any other good free VPN sites?

ozzy666 said:
yes, it is normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, good. Now regarding my problem... How can I set up a vpn without deleting my credentials?
It's asking me for a password I don't have.

Logic_ said:
Ok, good. Now regarding my problem... How can I set up a vpn without deleting my credentials?
It's asking me for a password I don't have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you post the screenshot?

http://db.tt/l8hZ3QIw
If I type anything it says wrong password; you have x number of tries until all your credentials are deleted.
Or something of the like. I won't demonstrate because I'm on my last try. I have never touched the credentials let alone set a password -.-

How is the device pre linked to my account?

The first thing I noticed when I received my Fire TV was that it was auto linked to my amazon account that I purchased the unit with. Is this done with the RFID chip that was in the ifixit tear down pictures? I am trying to remember if I had to re-authenticate at any point or if purchases could be made immediately. I wouldn't want to have the device lost in transit if someone can make purchases from the get-go.

meber said:
The first thing I noticed when I received my Fire TV was that it was auto linked to my amazon account that I purchased the unit with. Is this done with the RFID chip that was in the ifixit tear down pictures? I am trying to remember if I had to re-authenticate at any point or if purchases could be made immediately. I wouldn't want to have the device lost in transit if someone can make purchases from the get-go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the RFID chip is not even connected to anything.
I doubt they do anything to do the device, they probably just have some sort of serial no->user binding they use for the linking process when your box connects to the service.

FISKER_Q said:
No, the RFID chip is not even connected to anything.
I doubt they do anything to do the device, they probably just have some sort of serial no->user binding they use for the linking process when your box connects to the service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking they scanned the RFID chip before shipping which contains the device serial number which then auto links it to your account.
But like I said if they come pre-connected.. if someone else took it would they be able to make unauthorized purchases.

I know for a fact how they do it. When the device is scanned for your order the devices s/n is recorded. Then when the device hits the internet Amazon sees the s/n and it automatically authenticates itself to your account.

kbowman said:
I know for a fact how they do it. When the device is scanned for your order the devices s/n is recorded. Then when the device hits the internet Amazon sees the s/n and it automatically authenticates itself to your account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't this dangerous to send a pre-authenticated device shipped? Thanks for the confirmation though.

kbowman said:
I know for a fact how they do it. When the device is scanned for your order the devices s/n is recorded. Then when the device hits the internet Amazon sees the s/n and it automatically authenticates itself to your account.
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Click to collapse
how would this work when you resell device.

if they're tying the user to the device using the s/n, doesn't really matter if it's a bar code, qr code, rfid, etc... functionally all equivalent.
the rfid makes sense in that bar code labels wear off, rfid is easier to read for inventory, processing, shipping, returns/repairs etc. - you don't have to physically locate an optical code to scan it. it's probably a lot more prevalent than we think - you already see rfid-type stickers on the inside of packaging (in the past mostly for loss prevention?) - why not just put it inside the item itself.
but...
seems like amazon could have planned that a little better - yeah, anyone could take it and have access to your account.
also the fact that when I ordered, I was not given any option if the device was not meant for myself, no option for either a blank one or specify the recipient.
if I selected "as gift" at checkout, would it still put my account on it and then either I have to fix it or the gift recipient simply has to deal with it?
if I bought it for someone through their wishlist - same questions.
I think I read that you can change the amazon account on it. which is only common sense. so at least you can remove your account and give it to a friend or family, or sell it.
also have to wonder how they manage the association on their end - what if I do change the account on the device, then do whatever factory reset / total clean wipe? when it initializes again, which account will come up?

YoColdRain said:
how would this work when you resell device.
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Click to collapse
I have not tried this, but my guess is you log on to Amazon and click on devices and deregister your device. Then do a factory reset on the Fire TV.
tarvoke said:
if they're tying the user to the device using the s/n, doesn't really matter if it's a bar code, qr code, rfid, etc... functionally all equivalent.
the rfid makes sense in that bar code labels wear off, rfid is easier to read for inventory, processing, shipping, returns/repairs etc. - you don't have to physically locate an optical code to scan it. it's probably a lot more prevalent than we think - you already see rfid-type stickers on the inside of packaging (in the past mostly for loss prevention?) - why not just put it inside the item itself.
but...
seems like amazon could have planned that a little better - yeah, anyone could take it and have access to your account.
also the fact that when I ordered, I was not given any option if the device was not meant for myself, no option for either a blank one or specify the recipient.
if I selected "as gift" at checkout, would it still put my account on it and then either I have to fix it or the gift recipient simply has to deal with it?
if I bought it for someone through their wishlist - same questions.
I think I read that you can change the amazon account on it. which is only common sense. so at least you can remove your account and give it to a friend or family, or sell it.
also have to wonder how they manage the association on their end - what if I do change the account on the device, then do whatever factory reset / total clean wipe? when it initializes again, which account will come up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I hope this gets more attention.

YoColdRain said:
how would this work when you resell device.
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Click to collapse
If you go to settings there an option to de-authorize the FireTV, after you select this it will then prompt you to login to a Amazon account of your choosing.

hm, yep, I went to "Your Devices" in my amazon account, and there's the firetv, registered at the date&time that I ordered it.
they haven't even shipped it yet lol, but they already registered it for me! is this how amazon does kindles too?
are people too incredibly lazy for the extra step of entering ID and password? (amazon wants to be super friendly like apple where "things just work right away" and screw that security nonsense?)
poking around my amazon account, I have the option to delete the device - hm I guess that *might* be one way to secure the firetv before you receive it, or if you're giving as a gift.
I think I'll delete it, before I boot it the first time, just to see - it shouldn't hurt anything... probably.
- expected case: makes me enter a new id/pass.
- worst case: limbo state where I can't enter id/pass.
- scary case: starts up normally with my ID anyway and re-adds the device in my account.

It could also be from IP address association.

tarvoke said:
are people too incredibly lazy for the extra step of entering ID and password? (amazon wants to be super friendly like apple where "things just work right away" and screw that security nonsense?)
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User experience sells, the less work a user has to do to access content the better.
As for all the security complaints I dont see the issue. People are looking way to much into this. Worst case your firetv goes to the wrong house and someone starts buying movies with it. Then you get on the phone/computer and deactivate the device and then contact amazon and get refunded, they probably have some of the best customer service anywhere. I ordered a gpu from the amazon warehouse and all I got was an empty box(you could tell something was amiss by the shipping weight), called them and got refunded the $500 something I paid in a matter of 2 minutes. Also its not like they are going to have access to buy a 80" 4K tv from your firetv, worst they could do is a couple seasons of shows. Also if you don't notice that your device isn't delivered after its marked as delivered, well then you probably have worse things going on.

meber said:
The first thing I noticed when I received my Fire TV was that it was auto linked to my amazon account that I purchased the unit with. Is this done with the RFID chip that was in the ifixit tear down pictures? I am trying to remember if I had to re-authenticate at any point or if purchases could be made immediately. I wouldn't want to have the device lost in transit if someone can make purchases from the get-go.
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Click to collapse
I am 80% sure that I never had to type in any passwords before making a purchase and I bought Plex and Sev pretty much right after it updated.

so, before booting for the first time, I did this:
- delete device from my amazon account
- delete all autoloaded-because-of-firetv apps from my amazon account
the behavior on first boot was:
- dl latest software
- reboot
- install latest software
- reboot
- continue install latest software
- check for updates
- ask me to register with email/pass
- stupid tutorial video
I tried hitting Esc, which did quit the video - for some reason dropped me back to the Wifi setup screen. got past that and then the tutorial video started again, from the very beginning.
other notes:
all of those autoloaded apps are on the device anyway, and there is no way to delete them (yet)
and they all reappeared in my app list in my amazon account webpage.

When I got mine and first plugged it in, it prompted me for my Amazon username and password. I believe it also prompted me to enable parental controls, either that or I went into setting immediately and turned that on. That allowed me to protect purchases with a PIN.

In Germany Amazon will pre-register Kindles.
If u want to avoid registering it to your account u can mark it as a gift i think

I remembered purchasing a Fire HDX for a friend using my account and it came preregistered for me. All I have to do is de-authorize and reset it.
I have already set up a pin for one-click. I'm don't know if this is a default option now but Amazon should make it more secure.

tarvoke said:
hm, yep, I went to "Your Devices" in my amazon account, and there's the firetv, registered at the date&time that I ordered it.
they haven't even shipped it yet lol, but they already registered it for me! is this how amazon does kindles too?
are people too incredibly lazy for the extra step of entering ID and password? (amazon wants to be super friendly like apple where "things just work right away" and screw that security nonsense?)
poking around my amazon account, I have the option to delete the device - hm I guess that *might* be one way to secure the firetv before you receive it, or if you're giving as a gift.
I think I'll delete it, before I boot it the first time, just to see - it shouldn't hurt anything... probably.
- expected case: makes me enter a new id/pass.
- worst case: limbo state where I can't enter id/pass.
- scary case: starts up normally with my ID anyway and re-adds the device in my account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another scary thing, is saving your WiFi passwords, that will link to your account.