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
Related
So it's a bit rubbish that you can't use Amazon Video on your Kindle Fire if it's rooted. I don't want to steal movies, crack DRM or anything else, I just want to have a rooted device to use with my Amazon Prime VOD feature. Bit harsh imho. Sooooo.... I thought i'd have a poke around and see what I could find out.
What I found was a very complex web of protection on a scale above anything i've seen an Android app before. Not only does the application check for root in more that one location (in the application itself and in the native library), it also performs tamper detection on the APK. Not only that but it also checks that the signature on the APK to check that no code has changed (if you change the code in classes.dex and drop it in, this is usually OK on a /system/app file, but not in this case). The code itself doesn't have a single, uniform tamper / root check function, it does it all over the place. Finally, just to make things even more difficult, key parts of the code are pretty heavily obfuscated to make the code hard to analyse / modify.
Despite this, I thought i'd see what I could achieve by patching it piece by piece with the goal of allowing video with root.
The first step was to work out how to get around the signature check. Without sorting this out, the app would immediately flag up as being tampered if I made ANY change to the code. The answer to this was to re-sign the Amazon Video APK, ATVAndroidClient.apk. Of course we don't have the Amazon certificates, so we can sign them with our own, or with SDK certificates. Since Amazon Video uses a shared user id, other APKs need to be signed too. The full list is ATVAndroidClient.apk, KindleForOtter.apk, OtterTutorial.apk, AmazonVenezia.apk, Launcher.apk, Windowshop.apk, CSApp-unsigned.apk, MyAccount-unsigned.apk, amazonmp3-unsigned.apk, Cloud9-unsigned.apk, OOBE-unsigned.apk, com.amazon.dcp.apk, Cloud9SystemBrowserProvider-unsigned.apk, OTASilentInstall.apk, Facebook.apk and OtterAppManager.apk.
After doing this, the next step is to patch out the tamper checks. This can really only be achieved by tracing where the app goes and how it works and by carefully analysing logcat to get clues as to where the errors are happening. Since i'm in the UK I also had to use a DNS proxy with a static IP... I used unblock-us which works a treat. Eventually I got to a stage where I got the application to ignore any tamper detections, thereby enabling the various 'Watch' buttons.
In the next step I could see what something was triggering another problem, and it turned out to be detection of root. This was happening in one of the more obfuscated bits of code, but again with careful tracing I managed to find this and patch it out.
At this point the application was loading, passing tamper checks, giving me the watch buttons, requesting the stream from Amazon and giving me the loading progress bar etc... BUT... the licence request to Amazon continually failed. This is the point where I came to something of a brick wall. It appears that there is some additional root checking going on in the native library, and unfortunately, reverse engineering this is beyond both my abilities and more important the time I have available, so we don't have a fully working solution.
The positive things though are that we now have a patchable Amazon Video APK, which means we can implement the functionality of the 'root keepers' within the app itself. We can effectively make the Amazon Video APK hide the su binary from itself on launch and put it back after it's run it's checks. Not ideal, but might be the best way to go. Note that the root check doesn't care about the Superuser APK, it only checks for 'su'. It checks in all the locations in the PATH variable, so moving it to, say. /system/root and adding that to the path won't help. Unfortunately.
For now, I have to put this on the back burner, but i'm posting my patched APK below so that if anyone wants to pick up the work of reversing the native binary they can do so, simply by using this APK and re-signing it and the other APKs mentioned above.
Any questions, feel free to ask them here. Obviously I have no interest in saving streams, downloading movies or any stupid stuff like that, so don't even ask.
P
DOWNLOAD - MD5: f6044dbeffa4eb3f8361c71a96683150
send to kindle - passage through amazon servers
Apologies if this seems off off topic but I believe it may tied to your explanation of the security at Amazon --
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21366426#post21366426
As proof of concept Ive been messing around with the SendtoKindle.exe from the desktop explorer -- and have failed to get anything worthwhile past the amazon servers.... to see if I can use the Send to Kindle to get say, a rom file or binary kernel or apk or something of that sort -- and have not been able to get anything past.
The fact that everything is failing is only making me want to keep trying different things -- which Ill just keep on trying.. so i will try different things -
Ive sent 40 different documents of all kinds to see what goes through and what doesnt... and the only things that are going through are basically legitimate items.
If this is entirely irrelevant to your quest, then my apologies -- but regardless I shall enjoy observing how you shall achieve your success Paul!
Solved. Its hacky, but I've confirmed it working. http://rootzwiki.com/topic/15134-how-to-get-amazon-prime-video-working-with-rooted-stock/
infinitybiff said:
Solved. Its hacky, but I've confirmed it working. http://rootzwiki.com/topic/15134-how-to-get-amazon-prime-video-working-with-rooted-stock/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense but this has been around for awhile and is known as a workaround. This thread is about finding a solution instead of having to use a workaround I suppose.
Here is an example of a thread posted in November with this information.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19718688&postcount=6
And another thread in December.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1414235
G1ForFun said:
No offense but this has been around for awhile and is known as a workaround. This thread is about finding a solution instead of having to use a workaround I suppose.
Here is an example of a thread posted in November with this information.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19718688&postcount=6
And another thread in December.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1414235
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Late to the party i suppose
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
What ROM were you testing on? Even if you temp unroot with RootKeeper on CM7, Amazon Video will not work (in my experience). The Watch button is always greyed out.
Takenover83 said:
What ROM were you testing on? Even if you temp unroot with RootKeeper on CM7, Amazon Video will not work (in my experience). The Watch button is always greyed out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried force closing the video app and restarting it while unrooted?
Also does video work on CM7? I have not installed it to try.
Sent from my E4GT using xda premium
mkuehn10 said:
Have you tried force closing the video app and restarting it while unrooted?
Also does video work on CM7? I have not installed it to try.
Sent from my E4GT using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, sure did. Something about CM7 that amazon does not like
Takenover83 said:
Yep, sure did. Something about CM7 that amazon does not like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it's more than just the Amazon video app you will need to get this working...what apps are installed and are they on the system partition. Can you keep us posted on your progress?
B3L13V3 said:
I'm sure it's more than just the Amazon video app you will need to get this working...what apps are installed and are they on the system partition. Can you keep us posted on your progress?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was 3 or 4 apks I had to install. Cant remember all the names off the top of my head. I know some account apk just to sign into amazon, video. I wish I could be more helpful but do not have my Pc in front of me right now (out and about). But the app its self was runing just fine. I Just was being blocked (even though I unrooted.)
Code:
[STRIKE]I just XBMC'd and rooted my Fire TV recently and sideloaded the play store successfully on my Fire TV.
However Google looks at the fire TV as TV device and thus does not show all apps or make them accessible (hulu android version (free content viewing))
I used this method but it looks like that Market Helper is crashing after step 1.
[url]http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-trick-google-play-store-into-allowing-all-apps/[/url]
Went to the dashboard and the new device is not showing up....any ideas? :(
[/STRIKE]
I'm thinking about editing the Build.prop but I dont know what to put to mimic a AT&T Nexus 7 in the USA
I want to fake my entire device so I can use hulu for android on it. As android you can view free content on a mobile device without a plus account. I'm thinking about editing the Build.prop but I dont know what to put to mimic a AT&T Nexus 7 in the USA. I have a non-carrier Nexus 7 2012 and I can get the information from that but I'm slightly cautious...I've seen HDX threads how this is safe but what about on the Fire TV? I don't want a brick ;__:
lol looking at the build.prop the code name for the Fire TV was...Bueller..Like Ferris Bueller
Thread Topic Changed
seriously? no one has tried this yet??
stanleyopar2000 said:
seriously? no one has tried this yet??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably because your OP is confusing.
Okay, you want to spoof Hulu, that is what I am gathering from your post. I mean, who doesn't want to spoof Hulu so we can get some free entertainment?
Okay, the Hulu app, even though people seem to claim you can get free stuff on it, doesn't allow free stuff on it. So that leaves web browsers.
So far, my best luck has been Dolphin since you can change it to tell websites you are on a Desktop. Which is basically loads up, but I haven't been able to get it beyond that.
What we need is a custom browser for the AFTV that spoofs being a desktop (don't need to spoof the phone/tablet ****), that then layouts the page so it's useful for AFTV users. And that can, of course, actually play the shows, which I assume are flash crap, but I could be wrong.
nyder said:
Probably because your OP is confusing.
Okay, you want to spoof Hulu, that is what I am gathering from your post. I mean, who doesn't want to spoof Hulu so we can get some free entertainment?
Okay, the Hulu app, even though people seem to claim you can get free stuff on it, doesn't allow free stuff on it. So that leaves web browsers.
So far, my best luck has been Dolphin since you can change it to tell websites you are on a Desktop. Which is basically loads up, but I haven't been able to get it beyond that.
What we need is a custom browser for the AFTV that spoofs being a desktop (don't need to spoof the phone/tablet ****), that then layouts the page so it's useful for AFTV users. And that can, of course, actually play the shows, which I assume are flash crap, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hulu allowed android users to stream free content that they can get on desktop free on mobile. It's only android. Not iPhone Every other platform (even the Desktop WIndows 8.1 app) requires a paid plus account. I was watching a full anime series (BECK) on the official hulu app on my Note 3 with a free account via chromecast screen mirroring. Using the Hulu Plus app on my smartphone. FREE. It's possible. I can jump on my Nexus 7 and go to the hulu app with a free account and pop on attack on titan without any issues (well with ads of course)
http://blog.hulu.com/2014/07/30/sample-free-content-on-hulu-for-android-2/
It says so here.
My problem is...is that when android hulu app starts up. It looks at the build.prop to see what device and model it is...and if it doesn't match the criteria of an android smartphone or tablet, it will be denied the free login.
currently my XBMC'd Fire TV has a "bueller" code name and a AFTV in the model area. Which is telling Hulu it's not an official android phone or tablet. I already used market helper to get full range of play store apps but that's just for the play store. My theory is that, if I change the build prop model and build names to my nexus 7 (2012) would it trick hulu into thinking the AFTV was a Nexus 7? thus allowing free content "sampling?"
I've changed the build.prop on my other devices for various things and reasons in the past and I can do it now. But is it safe to do on a AFTV??
stanleyopar2000 said:
Hulu allowed android users to stream free content that they can get on desktop free on mobile. It's only android. Not iPhone Every other platform (even the Desktop WIndows 8.1 app) requires a paid plus account. I was watching a full anime series (BECK) on the official hulu app on my Note 3 with a free account via chromecast screen mirroring. Using the Hulu Plus app on my smartphone. FREE. It's possible. I can jump on my Nexus 7 and go to the hulu app with a free account and pop on attack on titan without any issues (well with ads of course)
http://blog.hulu.com/2014/07/30/sample-free-content-on-hulu-for-android-2/
It says so here.
My problem is...is that when android hulu app starts up. It looks at the build.prop to see what device and model it is...and if it doesn't match the criteria of an android smartphone or tablet, it will be denied the free login.
currently my XBMC'd Fire TV has a "bueller" code name and a AFTV in the model area. Which is telling Hulu it's not an official android phone or tablet. I already used market helper to get full range of play store apps but that's just for the play store. My theory is that, if I change the build prop model and build names to my nexus 7 (2012) would it trick hulu into thinking the AFTV was a Nexus 7? thus allowing free content "sampling?"
I've changed the build.prop on my other devices for various things and reasons in the past and I can do it now. But is it safe to do on a AFTV??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, with the recovery installed, I don't see why it's not safe to change the build.prop. Not the expert on it though.
nyder said:
Okay, with the recovery installed, I don't see why it's not safe to change the build.prop. Not the expert on it though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for helping me so far! so install a custom recovery and backup and then change the build.prop and watch what happens?...I wish more people would weigh in on this.............
stanleyopar2000 said:
thanks for helping me so far! so install a custom recovery and backup and then change the build.prop and watch what happens?...I wish more people would weigh in on this.............
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some searching, found this article about it: http://apcmag.com/how-to-fake-an-android-device.htm
Found this also, different direction then spoofing build.prop http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/problems-with-hulu-on-android-fix-it-with-two-simple-and-easy-apps/
nyder said:
I did some searching, found this article about it: http://apcmag.com/how-to-fake-an-android-device.htm
Found this also, different direction then spoofing build.prop http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/problems-with-hulu-on-android-fix-it-with-two-simple-and-easy-apps/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks much! I will definitely look into this!
I've been looking around for a streaming device and decided on the Fire Stick. I want regularly-updated native Netflix and Amazon Video apps (I subscribe to both) and kodi is a big plus. It was a choice between the stick or Roku2 and I haddecided on the stick because of Kodi. (although Roku2 has added bonus of ethernet)
Reading around, it seems that rooting is being updated, there are ways around and I guess it will be a cat-and-mouse of amazon blocking and workarounds. Bottom line, could there potentially come a time when amazon will totally block Kodi and it becomes too much of a pain of constantly finding workarounds. In which case I may as well go for Roku2
Also, as I understand rooting just allows easy access to Kodi from menu, even without root is it possible to still use Kodi ?
Any advice appreciated
You dont need to be rooted to have easy access to Kodi. Up until the latest update you just sideloaded Kodi and used Firestarter to access it easily. Now with the latest update wich has broken Firestarter you can still easily access Kodi via the recents menu. I have 3 AFTV's all run Kodi, none are rooted.
I think the writing is on the wall. Amazon has already moved to disable Firestarter and IMO will likely start looking at Kodi/SPMC to do the same. My thoughts are Amazon wants nothing to do with the Fire Sticks being sold for Kodi. This might be a unpopular opinion (as I use Kodi on my Fire Stick) but I am kind of hoping they do. These Fire Sticks being sold with Kodi setup with illegal streaming addons are a cancer in the Kodi community.
runderekrun said:
I think the writing is on the wall. Amazon has already moved to disable Firestarter and IMO will likely start looking at Kodi/SPMC to do the same. My thoughts are Amazon wants nothing to do with the Fire Sticks being sold for Kodi. This might be a unpopular opinion (as I use Kodi on my Fire Stick) but I am kind of hoping they do. These Fire Sticks being sold with Kodi setup with illegal streaming addons are a cancer in the Kodi community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know much about Kodi so I don't really know what else it offers apart from streaming mainly. So taking away the streaming or okay the 'illegal streaming' what other stuff does Kodi provide that will make the masses want to have this? I maybe missing out on the potential Kodi, so i'm also curious what you use Kodi for?
sony007 said:
I don't know much about Kodi so I don't really know what else it offers apart from streaming mainly. So taking away the streaming or okay the 'illegal streaming' what other stuff does Kodi provide that will make the masses want to have this? I maybe missing out on the potential Kodi, so i'm also curious what you use Kodi for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case I have a linux server in my office that holds all my movies and they are indexed by Kodi so that I can play them downstairs on my main tv. Plex does this too but notice Plex isn't banned from the Amazon Appstore but Kodi is; Plex doesn't have an addon "problem".
sony007 said:
I don't know much about Kodi so I don't really know what else it offers apart from streaming mainly. So taking away the streaming or okay the 'illegal streaming' what other stuff does Kodi provide that will make the masses want to have this? I maybe missing out on the potential Kodi, so i'm also curious what you use Kodi for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't touch any of the illegal streams but I still use kodi as a media player.
It's free, relatively easy to use, plays most of what I want and it doesn't require a server to run (unlike Plex).
Kodi does also support legal streaming through it's plugins for various sites (don't know about now, but in the past I used it for the BBC iPlayer before it was as widespread).
Also, Amazon sell pre-kodi installed Android boxes on their site, so to me it will be a bit hypocritical to ban kodi from their devices while still selling these alternative devices.
Same here, I use KODI occassionaly as a media server. Never used streaming.
I'm a subscriber to both Netflix and Amazon Video that's why I've just bought the stick - native apps for both.
Is there a way to get stats on streaming bandwidth, or a speedtest ? I can only see signal quality in Settings.
tech3475 said:
I don't touch any of the illegal streams but I still use kodi as a media player.
It's free, relatively easy to use, plays most of what I want and it doesn't require a server to run (unlike Plex).
Kodi does also support legal streaming through it's plugins for various sites (don't know about now, but in the past I used it for the BBC iPlayer before it was as widespread).
Also, Amazon sell pre-kodi installed Android boxes on their site, so to me it will be a bit hypocritical to ban kodi from their devices while still selling these alternative devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tech3475 said:
Also, Amazon sell pre-kodi installed Android boxes on their site, so to me it will be a bit hypocritical to ban kodi from their devices while still selling these alternative devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazon does whatever the hell it wants to, like banning Chromecasts from their Amazon store. If you ebay or craigslist "fire stick" all you will see is Fire Sticks loaded up with Kodi and illegal streams. Not a good look at all. You would think they would try to curb this.
Tbh I think people are looking a bit too far into the firestarter thing. If they really wanted to stop firestarter and kodi they would have removed them and blocked side loading apps. I think its more firestarter conflicted with something in the new os so it gets removed.
Wow! When I saw there were several replies to this thread, I figured I should check it out. I'm surprised to hear this level of concern.
It's HIGHLY unlikely kodi will be "blocked" by AFTV. I'm not even certain what that would entail. Kodi is open source software that runs on many OSs. Amazon has no control over that. What they'd need to do is block sideloading. Maybe a dev or a more knowledgeable person could chime in but I think that'd make the AFTV really a pain to develop software on.
I've never used FIRE STARTER, But from what I understand it basically highjacks the UI. I hate that amazon did it because imo if I bought the box I own and should be free to do with it what I want. But I understand why amazon blocked it. Can't go into the details but FireStarter is much different than most other apps. BTW--Did they do this to all launchers? Has anyone tried Nova or others? I've tried Nova but preferred fire tv ui. I know others use custom launchers and I'm wondering if those got broken too...
My stick just updated despite I blocked all the known host from amazon. As was meant to happen firestarter is gone.
Enviado desde mi OnePlus One
pbanj said:
Tbh I think people are looking a bit too far into the firestarter thing. If they really wanted to stop firestarter and kodi they would have removed them and blocked side loading apps. I think its more firestarter conflicted with something in the new os so it gets removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KLit75 said:
Wow! When I saw there were several replies to this thread, I figured I should check it out. I'm surprised to hear this level of concern.
It's HIGHLY unlikely kodi will be "blocked" by AFTV. I'm not even certain what that would entail. Kodi is open source software that runs on many OSs. Amazon has no control over that. What they'd need to do is block sideloading. Maybe a dev or a more knowledgeable person could chime in but I think that'd make the AFTV really a pain to develop software on.
I've never used FIRE STARTER, But from what I understand it basically highjacks the UI. I hate that amazon did it because imo if I bought the box I own and should be free to do with it what I want. But I understand why amazon blocked it. Can't go into the details but FireStarter is much different than most other apps. BTW--Did they do this to all launchers? Has anyone tried Nova or others? I've tried Nova but preferred fire tv ui. I know others use custom launchers and I'm wondering if those got broken too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sideloading will never be blocked. That would mean Amazon is basically saying "do not develop for this device" and that is the opposite of what Amazon wants. They could "block" Kodi the same way they "blocked" Firestarter. That's what it would entail, Amazon just deciding in a new update to hide Kodi/SPMC, effectively killing it on FireTV.
Firestarter didn't conflict with anything nor did it "hijack the ui". What it did (among other things) was watch for Home button presses using adb and launch things Amazon didn't want launched. Pure and simple Amazon did not like that. They want FireTV launcher to show up when you press home button. They are not interested in their FireTV line being a jack of all trades Android device. They want to sell you stuff from the Amazon store. They want you to see the ad at the top of the launcher. That is how Amazon makes it's money and it will protect that anyway they can.
runderekrun said:
They could "block" Kodi the same way they "blocked" Firestarter. That's what it would entail, Amazon just deciding in a new update to hide Kodi/SPMC, effectively killing it on FireTV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly do they do that? And if they can, why haven't they already? Awhile back they removed it from the app store and labeled it a "piracy app". Seems like if they had the means, that would've been a perfect time to block (or hide) it. In fact, if its REALLY a piracy app then I'd go as far as saying they have a moral responsibility to block it. But they didn't do it. This leads me to think its not so simple. Also another fact--this is amazon. They're the company that breaks root, locks bootloaders and introduced most of us to efuse. If anyone can block kodi I'd think they'd be the ones to do it.
But I'm not being real technical here. This is more about motive than ability. Could be wrong but thought I read awhile back they'd need to block side loading in order to kill kodi on aftv...this isn't true?
KLit75 said:
How exactly do they do that?
Could be wrong but thought I read awhile back they'd need to block side loading in order to kill kodi on aftv...this isn't true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very true. Amazon can disable Kodi but there probably will be workaround as long as sideloading/adb is still enabled. Amazon disabled Firestarter by hiding anything with the package name that is installed on the FireTV. I believe people have gotten around that by simply renaming it.
This shows (IMO) that Amazon is actively trying to disable things on their FireTV they don't want on there. This is their first attempt, but I do not think it is the last. It would be hard, maybe impossible, to completely disable Kodi permanently AND keep adb intact but if anyone can do it, the assholes at Amazon can.
On the note of kodi I thought aftvnews.com found an interesting nugget in the update that he feels indicates they are sort of supporting kodi. Check the article on his site.
ouradu said:
On the note of kodi I thought aftv[news].com found an interesting nugget in the update that he feels indicates they are sort of supporting kodi. Check the article, [found here], on his site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fixed that for you
I wouldn't necessarily say they are "supporting" Kodi, but they are at least acknowledging that Fire TV owners are using it and explicitly made sure it appeared on the Home screen after the new update.
Sorry I left the news off. Yeah I threw the "sort of" in there for that reason. Interesting catch.
AFTVnews.com said:
Fixed that for you
I wouldn't necessarily say they are "supporting" Kodi, but they are at least acknowledging that Fire TV owners are using it and explicitly made sure it appeared on the Home screen after the new update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! Amazon bans Kodi from Appstore but adds extra support if its side loaded? Apparently Amazon doesn't mind their sticks being loaded with Kodi and sold on ebay/craigslist. Surprising to say the least. Like publicly they aren't supporting it but must be loving the sales numbers. I'm sure people fall back to Amazon Prime when the Kodi plugins eventually break.
runderekrun said:
Wow! Amazon bans Kodi from Appstore but adds extra support if its side loaded? Apparently Amazon doesn't mind their sticks being loaded with Kodi and sold on ebay/craigslist. Surprising to say the least. Like publicly they aren't supporting it but must be loving the sales numbers. I'm sure people fall back to Amazon Prime when the Kodi plugins eventually break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is it's two separate teams that did each thing. The ones that added the Kodi code are at Lab126, the hardware division of Amazon. The decision to remove Kodi from the appstore probably had nothing to do with Lab126.
AFTVnews.com said:
My guess is it's two separate teams that did each thing. The ones that added the Kodi code are at Lab126, the hardware division of Amazon. The decision to remove Kodi from the appstore probably had nothing to do with Lab126.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still would have thought it would a corporate wide policy to pretend Kodi doesn't exist. I mean at least not help it. So very odd. At least it's good news for people that like Kodi to run on their Fire Sticks.
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.
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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.
Hi!
As I have no access to the FireTV Amazon App Store, I would like to request two apk's. The first one is the Amazon App Store-app from FireTV, and the second one is the newly released official Apple TV-app available for Amazon FireTV. Are anyone able to extract those two for me?
Thanks in advance!
Also waiting on these. Have 12 months free Apple TV but no way to play on TV
---------- Post added at 02:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:47 PM ----------
So managed to put an old version on the Shield to get past the verification and then it tells me that I don't own this app (referring to Apple TV) and then it takes you to the app page on the App Store which tells you that the device isn't compatible. Looks like there isn't a way to bypass the check currently
Could we use this method? /fire-tv/help/bbc-iplayer-sideloaded-app-owned-error-t3315474/amp/
Found it with five minutes of googling
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/apple...-tv-fire-tv-variant-1-2-android-apk-download/
Ravetcofx said:
Found it with five minutes of googling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is it says you do not own this app when trying to run.
Can anyone patch this?
Too Fresh said:
Problem is it says you do not own this app when trying to run.
Can anyone patch this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Install the phone/tablet Amazon Appstore app on TV/settop box.
2) Open app & sign in with your Amazon credentials
3) With your computer, or desktop mode on phone/tablet browser, visit this site: https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Inc-TV/dp/B07XDD7GYT/
4) Hit "Get App" icon, signing in if needed. Even though it says it is not compatible with any devices, it will still allow the 'purchase.' Let it continue, and you should see a confirmation text towards the top of the page that you now own the app.
5) Return to TV/settop box & run the app again.
Now I haven't used this update yet, but there may yet still be problems actually logging in with Apple ID.
ADDENDUM: This version checks build.prop so it likely won't work in anything but a compatible Fire TV model. This won't be an easy fix, and such a fix may require root.
Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk
GenesisDH said:
1) Install the phone/tablet Amazon Appstore app on TV/settop box.
2) Open app & sign in with your Amazon credentials
3) With your computer, or desktop mode on phone/tablet browser, visit this site:
4) Hit "Get App" icon, signing in if needed. Even though it says it is not compatible with any devices, it will still allow the 'purchase.' Let it continue, and ypu should see a confirmation text towards the top of the page that you now own the app.
5) Return to TV/settop box & run the app again.
Now I haven't used this update yet, but there may get still be problems actually logging in with Apple ID. I plan to try in a while.
Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the instructions. I seem to have gotten closer but now run into a new error.
“To use Apple TV app, please install the latest fire tv software version in settings”
I’m using the Fire TV (first gen) with the newest software on it currently. Any idea on how to bypass this? (Some reason they decided to not give access to Apple TV on the 1st gen)
Too Fresh said:
Thanks for the instructions. I seem to have gotten closer but now run into a new error.
“To use Apple TV app, please install the latest fire tv software version in settings”
I’m using the Fire TV (first gen) with the newest software on it currently. Any idea on how to bypass this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First gen Fire TV... I don't believe first gens are supported. Only Fire TV Stick 2nd Gen, and the Fire Stick 4K.
It might work with the 3rd gen, TV Cube or TV Editions, but do not know.
It appears to be looking at the build.prop (or maybe the Fire OS build version) upon launch, which you can't easily modify without root access. So it looks coded to fail if it isn't a supported device.
Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk
The link above and attached is good
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/apple-inc/
The snag for me was that i had an Apple ID but that is not enough. You must open an iTunes account too. Once that was done I was in. Then, I was underwhelmed. Nothing new there except for the Jason Mamoa flick "See". You can watch two episodes free and then must pay. I passed.
After jumping the hoops it runs fine on my Cube 2 that is going back after my new Shield Pro arrives tomorrow. My second Cube 2 continually stalls like the first. Cannot duplicate the behavior on Stick 4k, Cube 1, Roku HD, Roku Stick 4k, and LG WebOS 3.5. YTTV, Netflix, Showtime, all stall. Nice that Fire now supports YTTV and Dis+ but too late for me. Tired of jumping from platform to platform. Cube 2 would have done it finally for me but tired of restarting programs. My Harmony Hub has HBO Now issues with the Cube 2 too. Select/OK doesn't work. Weird. Too many moving parts.
Has anybody managed to get this to work on Nvidia Shield without rooting it to change build.prop?
(And I assume that changing build.prop has the potential to break other things as well).