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[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!
Hi folks,
I've got a Fire Phone, with default Fire OS 4.6.1
I am not quite ready to get into rooting it and adding a new OS, as I don't have the time.
So in the interim I have the Google Play Store installed, along with a launcher that's more to my liking.
I have the issue that when I click on links in apps which, I assume, are intended to launch the Google Play Store, I get a message from Fire OS saying,
Continue to Amazon Appstore?
This app is trying to open a link with an external market that is not available on your device. Would you like to open this link with the Amazon Appstore instead?
[CANCEL] [CONTINUE]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I click cancel, then the link does not open. If I click continue it goes to the Amazon Appstore and can't find what the link relates to (obviously).
I saw someone else posting something about this, and they were advised to edit some settings in the Manage Applications settings, and also External Market settings. Since updating to 4.6.1 I don't seem to be able to find any Manage Applications settings, no External Market settings (not even sure if those existed on the pre-4.6.1 OS that was on here when I received it).
Is there a way to set this thing to allow Google Play to launch when Play links are clicked?
Cheers,
J
On an unrooted device:
- Go to "settings" and look for "manage applications", select "all", to see every app installed...
- Disable the "Appstore"
As long as the Amazon appstore is disabled, Play Store will intercept the links.
It's not very comfortable, I know. On a rooted device, I used a shortcut to dis-/enable the Amazon Appstore to get the job done faster.
As of now, there is no official way to set the "Play Store" as your default store (of course not, why would Amazon be interested in that option ^^).
Bingo Bronson said:
On an unrooted device:
- Go to "settings" and look for "manage applications", select "all", to see every app installed...
- Disable the "Appstore"
As long as the Amazon appstore is disabled, Play Store will intercept the links.
It's not very comfortable, I know. On a rooted device, I used a shortcut to dis-/enable the Amazon Appstore to get the job done faster.
As of now, there is no official way to set the "Play Store" as your default store (of course not, why would Amazon be interested in that option ^^).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Bingo,
Thanks for the help.
The thing is, since it updated to 4.6.1 (and I see that last night it updated itself to 4.6.3 on its own accord) the "Manage Applications" option that was there previously has gone. There is now just an "Applications" option. And that
Okay... at last I've figured out where "Manage Applications" went since 4.6.1 update. There is now just an "Applications" menu. Touching that expands it to show various options. One of those options is "Force quite or clear data for applications". This is now the way to access the "Manage Applications" screen. The first option on that expanded "Applications" menu is "Manage the settings for individual Amazon applications on your phone". The wording of this had me thinking that this had somehow replaced the Manage Applications option.
Cool. I've now disabled Amazon AppStore.
Thanks.
This Fixed My Issue
I fixed my issue by going to the Applications menu under Settings (little gear in dropdown menu) then going to Manage Applications, then selecting All Applications from the dropdown there. I found the Appstore, clicked on it, selected Force Stop and Clear Cache. That seemed to do the trick. I also have Allow 3rd Party Apps selected, which can also be found under Applications in settings.
I've been searching everywhere for this solution. Youtube and google, and yes finally someone who just needed google play apps to not be redirected to kindle appstore. It worked by disabling the appstore. <3 The ES File Explorer helped me to uninstall the updated version and now apps can be directed to google play. Thanks for saving me from having to root. I like the launcher option from google play. Don't have enough patience to root and then it possibly doesn't work. TOT! Ty for solution!
My 4.6.3 new phone seems to work well in this regard without any setting being made. Just disabled Amazon store auto update. At first I had that redirect to Amazon problem, but then some other Google store link just redirected to Google play app.
For me, clicking on Disable App Store doesn't seem to be doing anything. Unable to disable and blocking of external market link continues
Can someone please help, nothing in here worked.
I tried going to settings -> apps and games -> manage all applications -> All -> Appstore and pressed "clear cache", "clear data", and "force stop", and it didn't help.
I also tried going to settings -> Apps and Games -> Amazon Application Settings -> Appstore -> External Market Links -> Don't Open and now it says "External Market Links Disabled You can choose to open external market links with the bracketbracketAppstore_long_namebracketbracket. Update this option in the External Market Links section of the Appstore settings." (I had to type bracket instead of using [ because it said I was using BBcode and couldn't post)
I'm using a 5th generation fire running Fire OS 5.3.6.4
Fixed it
I just figured it out.
Settings, Applications & Parental Controls, Configure Amazon application settings, Appstore, External Market Links, Don’t Open
This will prevent the Appstore from trying to open links for external app markets. It doesn’t prevent the links from opening with the correct market, just makes that message stop popping up and click-jacking you into oblivion. So now when you click on a link, a little box will open with apps to choose from to open the link, like your browser or Google Play Store, for example.
I want to keep using this phone, because it’s potentially a good privacy phone, without all the tracking stuff installed. Sorry, that would mean no Google Apps...but I use some apps that apparently won’t get notifications unless GAPPS are installed. I heard MicroG can fix that but it doesn’t seem to work. Anyway if I could fix that and maybe upgrade the camera module to a better quality camera, it would be a better phone...almost perfect actually.
thanks for your helpful post
Ninja000 said:
I just figured it out.
......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for posting today!! So happy to see people still using this nice phone. I too want a simple "relatively" private phone, plus I actually preferred the Fire OS UI (which is much better version of Fire OS than we have on Fire tablets).
But I came here because I was fearful that Amazon has bricked my device. It suddenly became "de-registered" and the menus for registering to my Amazon account do not work -- I'm not able to register. And I'm not able to use ANY app that I got from the Amazon app store, and I lost ALL of my nice customizations (organizing my apps into folders, etc -- a huge amount of work because I have a ton of apps).
Probably I should start a new thread on this issue but I wanted to post here in gratitude that people still discuss this phone, plus it is an app store (and bigger...) issue, so it is not entirely unrelated. I will try some of the above advice because perhaps it allow me to launch apps without the Amazon App Store demanding log in.
dini77 said:
Thanks so much for posting today!! So happy to see people still using this nice phone. I too want a simple "relatively" private phone, plus I actually preferred the Fire OS UI (which is much better version of Fire OS than we have on Fire tablets).
But I came here because I was fearful that Amazon has bricked my device. It suddenly became "de-registered" and the menus for registering to my Amazon account do not work -- I'm not able to register. And I'm not able to use ANY app that I got from the Amazon app store, and I lost ALL of my nice customizations (organizing my apps into folders, etc -- a huge amount of work because I have a ton of apps).
Probably I should start a new thread on this issue but I wanted to post here in gratitude that people still discuss this phone, plus it is an app store (and bigger...) issue, so it is not entirely unrelated. I will try some of the above advice because perhaps it allow me to launch apps without the Amazon App Store demanding log in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! "Sharing is caring" :laugh:
Yeah I like it too! I wish it was still supported by Amazon, but the bad press killed it.
As for not being able to use your account...you might try a factory reset, BUT...
FIRST: backup your APKs and saved files via USB to PC (can use file browser in Windows)
or MAC (will need this --->android.com/filetransfer/<---), and make sure under Battery and Storage, USB Connection Type is listed as File Transfer.
This is important because once you regeister, it might restore your last cloud backup, which I assume is probably pretty old after reading your reply.
Next:
Perform the Factory Reset OR...
To reregister your phone go to Settings, My Accounts, either "Register your phone" if that is an option (mine says "Deregister"), or maybe Manage your Amazon account.
The later will probably redirect you to the Amazon website, because the Amazon Shopping App is no longer supported on this older OS.
*I haven't found a newer version of the Amazon Shopping App that works on the Android 4.4 based Fire OS 4.6.6.1.
The other thing is you might be able to do it via the Amazon website, you probably have it listed under your account still, just need to find it.
I'd contact Amazon help to learn about how to do it that way. They might not know off hand, since the phone is no longer technically supported,
but they will definitely still try to help you.
I would really love it if someone on this forum could pull the launcher and everything from this version of Fire OS to work on the newer Android Roms like Cyanogen Mod,
because then we could just replace the old unsupported apps with the new versions. That would be awesome! I realize 2gb Ram would be a little low for the latest Android,
but just having a little newer OS version that is still supported by Amazon would be great. I really enjoy the Kindle App on this, because it has text to speech and
that is really convenient.
BTW, do you have the Google APPS installed on yours? I have them installed on mine, and it drains the batter like crazy,
granted, it's the original battery from 2014, but still.
Side note: If anyone has an extra screw(s) for the bottom they're willing to part with, I'd be willing to buy one (or a handful).
Lost one in the carpet (I know *rolls eyes) when I had to replace the camera module due to some (I guess) scratches or something actually on the sensor itself.
Thanks for all of your advice!! Very much appreciated. I tried one of them right away, which is to check My Devices on the Amazon site, but the phone is no longer listed (it used to be). So that only lists registered devices. Once it is de-registered, it is not considered to be my device. But, you are correct that Amazon customer service may possibly help, because if you buy a device from Amazon, it usually automatically gets registered to you (unless you say it is a gift), and that automatic registration is probably done via some code on the device box probably its serial # (that is, they don't register it by messing with the actual device, I'm guessing). But to be honest I'm not too hopeful about this. But something to try.
Before you replied, I started a new thread on this, mostly to warn people not to de-register their devices, because I think it may not be possible to register again. And this could be a very recent development. Amazon usually sends an email warning when an older device will no longer work, but maybe this was not intentional. I never realized that so much of the function depended on the registration, as if it were an Echo device!
I do have a collection of APKs saved so at least I won't need to re-download, but because I have so many apps, it would still be a lot of work to set things up from scratch, especially since I don't think it will work. I don't think my system is corrupted. Just de-registered. A soft reset (long-press of power button) did not help. Again this just happened by itself -- I had not added anything new or did any updates. So it is not likely that my install got messed up.
I'm always confused when people mention "Google Apps" -- if that means the Play Store and its dependencies, then yes, I have that. But I did not install GMail or Docs or Drive, etc. I minimize using Google things on this phone.
About the screws, eBay may have them. eBay has almost everything.
Ninja000 said:
No problem! "Sharing is caring" :laugh:
Yeah I like it too! I wish it was still supported by Amazon, but the bad press killed it.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is just extremely difficult for "alternative" phone systems to survive, which is soooo sad, because I like interesting variety. I also love Meego, and Windows 10 Mobile. Meego had just one model (it was from Nokia, not released in the U.S.; it was planned to be the Nokia successor for their older Symbian OS). Well, maybe FireOS is not truly "variety" because it is after all essentially Android, but much less messy or annoying, in my opinion. I really like how the Settings are organized. And I like the Carousel, especialy how nicely it works with the built-in apps like weather and email. Being basically Android, it actually had the best chance of survival out of the "Alternatives." It could use most of the same apps as a "real" Android.
The reason for quick death are probably multi-faceted but my guess is the problems with the earliest version of the OS were the most serious thing. And that led to the bad press, so you are correct, that is what did it. I got mine after the "fire sale" and by then the system was much nicer, with the most annoying or serious issues all fixed, so I only read about the early issues. I feel terrible for the (former) Amazon employees who put a huge amount of effort into this thing. (Like Meego, too!) And the hardware is still very nice, better than my Fire Tablet that is much newer. I really thought it would last me for years, for the sorts of things I used it for. (Another thing I liked to do is control my Squeezbox music streaming devices. And listen to podcasts. Things like that.) There are so many uses for an older device. And I enjoyed this one.
Since at the very minimum this device is a Kindle book reader and Amazon music player, Amazon loses by not providing some bare-minimum support for it. My first Kindle e-Reader from 2011 still works great. But my guess is, the number of people still using this phone is super low. Which is why I was happy to see your post!
dini77 said:
Thanks for all of your advice!! Very much appreciated. I tried one of them right away, which is to check My Devices on the Amazon site, but the phone is no longer listed (it used to be). So that only lists registered devices. Once it is de-registered, it is not considered to be my device. But, you are correct that Amazon customer service may possibly help, because if you buy a device from Amazon, it usually automatically gets registered to you (unless you say it is a gift), and that automatic registration is probably done via some code on the device box probably its serial # (that is, they don't register it by messing with the actual device, I'm guessing). But to be honest I'm not too hopeful about this. But something to try.
Before you replied, I started a new thread on this, mostly to warn people not to de-register their devices, because I think it may not be possible to register again. And this could be a very recent development. Amazon usually sends an email warning when an older device will no longer work, but maybe this was not intentional. I never realized that so much of the function depended on the registration, as if it were an Echo device!
I do have a collection of APKs saved so at least I won't need to re-download, but because I have so many apps, it would still be a lot of work to set things up from scratch, especially since I don't think it will work. I don't think my system is corrupted. Just de-registered. A soft reset (long-press of power button) did not help. Again this just happened by itself -- I had not added anything new or did any updates. So it is not likely that my install got messed up.
I'm always confused when people mention "Google Apps" -- if that means the Play Store and its dependencies, then yes, I have that. But I did not install GMail or Docs or Drive, etc. I minimize using Google things on this phone.
About the screws, eBay may have them. eBay has almost everything.
I think it is just extremely difficult for "alternative" phone systems to survive, which is soooo sad, because I like interesting variety. I also love Meego, and Windows 10 Mobile. Meego had just one model (it was from Nokia, not released in the U.S.; it was planned to be the Nokia successor for their older Symbian OS). Well, maybe FireOS is not truly "variety" because it is after all essentially Android, but much less messy or annoying, in my opinion. I really like how the Settings are organized. And I like the Carousel, especialy how nicely it works with the built-in apps like weather and email. Being basically Android, it actually had the best chance of survival out of the "Alternatives." It could use most of the same apps as a "real" Android.
The reason for quick death are probably multi-faceted but my guess is the problems with the earliest version of the OS were the most serious thing. And that led to the bad press, so you are correct, that is what did it. I got mine after the "fire sale" and by then the system was much nicer, with the most annoying or serious issues all fixed, so I only read about the early issues. I feel terrible for the (former) Amazon employees who put a huge amount of effort into this thing. (Like Meego, too!) And the hardware is still very nice, better than my Fire Tablet that is much newer. I really thought it would last me for years, for the sorts of things I used it for. (Another thing I liked to do is control my Squeezbox music streaming devices. And listen to podcasts. Things like that.) There are so many uses for an older device. And I enjoyed this one.
Since at the very minimum this device is a Kindle book reader and Amazon music player, Amazon loses by not providing some bare-minimum support for it. My first Kindle e-Reader from 2011 still works great. But my guess is, the number of people still using this phone is super low. Which is why I was happy to see your post!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I completely agree. I got mine for $199 and a year of Amazon Prime included made the phone basically $99. ? I happened to think of one more possibility. Maybe there is an Amazon Fire ?services app (like Google services) or account manager app that got automatically updated by your Google Play store, or even replaced by a version off the Play store that led to this issue, because like I mentioned mine is actually still working aside from the Amazon Shopping app, and some apps that require a newer google services to get notifications.
I actually had flashed several different Roms on this phone and yeah the stock (but updated) Fire OS 4.6.6.1 is definitely the best. --Amazon account registration is part of the initial setup BTW, so factory reset might work.
I made the jump over to iOS after experiencing the Android 7&8 difficulties on a few other devices and battery gate with Samsung phones. Now I am experiencing a crapy battery life issue with my iPhones. My Fire Phone is from 2014, original battery and still has better battery life than even my iPhone XS Max. Wow ? So yeah, there is something to Fire OS being so light that makes it probably just about the best OS for a phone. The last time I flashed back to stock I used a ROM from this website, but I don’t remember what thread that’s on. I think it’s in the Cyanogen 11 Rom thread for this device. Maybe try flashing that. And you could actually (if you don’t mind losing the storage space) create a backup Rom from your current one, then make a new slot in twrp or whatever it’s called and have the other Rom installed on there. Then check to see if it’s possible to register on that version. If it doesn’t work, no big deal you will still have your backup rom with all your data. If it does work, then you could transfer your stuff over via usb. That would save you quite a bit of time incase it decides not to work. You can do a root and install the other rom right from your fire phone these days. That’s a bonus.
What happens when you open Amazon Instant Video? Does it ask you for a loggin? That would be awesome. BTW My Kindle Fire HX 7 is still working great too, just starting to slow down a bit. I also have a 6" Fire HD. I really agree Fire OS is super clean and alot of modern OS's are not that great and way too heavy for what most people need, especially on mobile devices.
Thanks again for your advice, especially since I will almost certainly end up flashing this thing. I have done a lot of "phone hacking" in the past -- even back in flip phone days -- but it is very time consuming and I'm super busy now. But it is kind of fun. So, maybe later.
I did not have Google Play (or any app store, on any of my devices) to be set to automatically update apps. Tho I think the store itself and its dependencies may still update, even if my apps don't, and I can't control that. And sometimes my setting to not automatically update is "reset" when a google component is updated. So it is conceivable that something got automatically updated and that caused my issue. I did have to reset the "do not update" setting.
I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue, because if no, then you are right, I should just re-flash. I downloaded the latest Fire OS a while ago -- I collect stuff like that because you never know when it will be no longer readily available. So the phone is definitely not dead -- and it is nice that I have options for how to set it up. I'm glad to have the community contributions for that -- I did read thru those hacking posts.
I bought a spare battery a little while ago because I was worried they would be hard to get once I need one. But my currently installed battery, the original, is very satisfactory. So definitely I'll keep using this nice phone for a while.
dini77 said:
Thanks again for your advice, especially since I will almost certainly end up flashing this thing. I have done a lot of "phone hacking" in the past -- even back in flip phone days -- but it is very time consuming and I'm super busy now. But it is kind of fun. So, maybe later.
I did not have Google Play (or any app store, on any of my devices) to be set to automatically update apps. Tho I think the store itself and its dependencies may still update, even if my apps don't, and I can't control that. And sometimes my setting to not automatically update is "reset" when a google component is updated. So it is conceivable that something got automatically updated and that caused my issue. I did have to reset the "do not update" setting.
I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue, because if no, then you are right, I should just re-flash. I downloaded the latest Fire OS a while ago -- I collect stuff like that because you never know when it will be no longer readily available. So the phone is definitely not dead -- and it is nice that I have options for how to set it up. I'm glad to have the community contributions for that -- I did read thru those hacking posts.
I bought a spare battery a little while ago because I was worried they would be hard to get once I need one. But my currently installed battery, the original, is very satisfactory. So definitely I'll keep using this nice phone for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was just thinking of going back to this phone as my primary phone. My problem is trying to get Micro G or something to work, for spoofing google services, because I want to use some apps that require google services, else they won't receive notifications. I also found on app I use, it's Korean, Kakaotalk is not receiving notifications when closed anymore. I haven't figured out why yet. Saw another thread about notifications on 3rd party apps not working, but didn't see a solution. I would also like to see a camera upgrade (4k video) and maybe a speaker upgrade and storage would be nice, but obviously that would require some soldering that I'm not willing to do, but maybe if I had a few doner phones would try it.:laugh: happy thanksgiving by the way!
I just went back to a Nokia N9 as my primary, at least for voice and weather and such basics (MeeGo OS, and battery lasts for days, good quality voice, nice small size, does not crash, etc). But I have my iPad and iPhone SE (the older model) always turned on so that covers all my needs. So, it is perfectly fine to use an old phone as primary so long as you have another device to supplement what the primary lacks. The Fire Phone would also make a primary. Tho in my experience it is not as stable. The "mishap" in this thread was not my first serious hiccup. See also the thread on all apps crashing if they require the address book (including the phone). That one is serious and reoccurs. (I think it is caused by having a very large number of apps on the phone. Usually fixed when I delete one of the larger apps.) So in other words at least with the original OS, stability is an issue. Maybe the custom firmware on this board is more stable.
Have a great thanksgiving!
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?
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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.
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.
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