Database Users

[Q] Preferred Wireless Display Adapter?

I recently upgraded my Nexus 7 and saw this in the "What's New" section:
Share what’s on your phone on the big screen.
Android 4.2 allows devices to enable wireless display. You can share movies, YouTube videos, and anything that’s on your screen on an HDTV. Just connect a wireless display adapter to any HDMI-enabled TV to mirror what’s on your screen quickly and easily.
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Click to collapse
I immediately went to Amazon and looked for different "wireless display adapters" per the announcement above, but I'm totally in the dark to which are going to be compatible with the Nexus 7. Does anyone have a recommendation?
Also, will I be able to connect to my Wi-Fi and still have an internet connection? I'm assuming I will be able to and it's more like they're all networked together (Computer, Display Adapter, Nexus 7, etc.), correct?
Lastly, I don't believe I noticed a new app on my phone to facilitate the connection once the Wireless Display Adapter is purchased and connected; am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for all of your help, you guys are the best!

Start with this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1987695 Post 2 & beyond.

Thanks for the direction. Checked that thread out and found that Miracast is not compatible with N7, but is there any other hardware/software that would be?
For example:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Screen...353&sr=8-1&keywords=wireless+display+adapters

jcalderone said:
Thanks for the direction. Checked that thread out and found that Miracast is not compatible with N7, but is there any other hardware/software that would be?
For example:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Screen...353&sr=8-1&keywords=wireless+display+adapters
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The N7 currently does not support Miracast, and there is doubt it ever can since it does not support 802.11a.

ya gotta love it
If mrs pete and Mr repeat sat on a log Mrs repeat fell off . what would happen next
This subject has been beaten to death .. Im so sad it does not work But that is the reality ..

No, not yet. You must wait.

If there's a will there's a way
jcalderone said:
I recently upgraded my Nexus 7 and saw this in the "What's New" section:
I immediately went to Amazon and looked for different "wireless display adapters" per the announcement above, but I'm totally in the dark to which are going to be compatible with the Nexus 7. Does anyone have a recommendation?
Also, will I be able to connect to my Wi-Fi and still have an internet connection? I'm assuming I will be able to and it's more like they're all networked together (Computer, Display Adapter, Nexus 7, etc.), correct?
Lastly, I don't believe I noticed a new app on my phone to facilitate the connection once the Wireless Display Adapter is purchased and connected; am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for all of your help, you guys are the best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have scoured the internet for days and days trying to find the solution to not having hdmi capability and hopefully I'm on the right path. The wireless way sounds like it will be the only possibility so I was reading an article on engadget . Unfortunately I'm unable to post a link to it on here. But if you search nexus 7 WiFi media you will find the article I am referring to.
Any of you more intelligent people have any comments, sounds like a 100 dollar solution. Thanks

ibemayhem said:
I have scoured the internet for days and days trying to find the solution to not having hdmi capability and hopefully I'm on the right path. The wireless way sounds like it will be the only possibility so I was reading an article on engadget . Unfortunately I'm unable to post a link to it on here. But if you search nexus 7 WiFi media you will find the article I am referring to.
Any of you more intelligent people have any comments, sounds like a 100 dollar solution. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not screen mirroring. It's just DLNA/UPNP. And there are better and cheaper solutions. First look if your TV already supports DLNA/UPNP. If not, get yourself a raspberry pi and install raspbmc, openelec or any other distro that gives you XBMC. Then just enable it in the XBMC settings and get yourself a xbmc remote and a UPNP/DLNA app like bubbleupnp. That way you can even watch nearly any media you want on your big screen including avi(enable unsupportet mime types in bubbleupnp settings) and youtube videos(in the youtube app just press share and then share it via your xbmc remote).
But it is still no screen mirroring like miracast. I still have hope for miracast on the n7, since MIRACAST DOES NOT NEED 802.11a it is only optional for better performance in some situations.
And if that doesn't work, there is always the amazing open source community. Android Transporter just needs to be implemented into Cyanogenmod and given sound support and we don't need to wait for the big players to implement miracast on our n7.

Look at what asus has to say.
commercial.asus.com/product/detail/nexus-7
Nexus 7 is powered by Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean, the latest version of the world’s most popular mobile platform. Featuring faster and smoother graphics and transitions, smarter notifications, new widgets that put frequently used content front and center, and home screen customization with easy drag and drop navigation, the platform is faster and more intuitive.Now, via FOTA update, Android™ 4.2 is available. Features of this latest operating system include support for multiple users on a tablet, Swype-style gesture keyboard for easy typing while on-the-go, Daydream screensaver which displays useful information when the tablet is idle or docked, Photo Sphere which creates a new way to take panoramic photos, and the ability mirror what's on the tablet to an HDMI-enabled HDTV through a wireless display adapter to share with others.[\QUOTE]
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Click to collapse

FireTV - XBMC major censorship going on!!

Hello guys
I have two generic Android TV boxes and two PCs with XBMC.
I got my FireTV yesterday, and since it was unrootable, I updated it.
MOST of the video addons like Genesis, Icefilms, Navi-X do not work at all or are extremely limited.
Genesis, for example, when you click on Genre you get nothing. Click on Box office, you get nothing, Popular... nothing. Icefilms gets a script error.
ALL of those things are working fine on ALL of the other devices in my home. I did side-by-side tests and am not running any proxy servers on xbmc or home network, so it seems clear that Amazon has managed to censor certain streaming sites...
It seems clear to me that the new FireTV, released in the UK Oct 17th 2014 is NOT a viable XBMC option if that is what you want to use xbmc for.
Bad news for many, I know.

This is NOT good news at all. In fact this is a disaster for me who was just about to spent the afternoon installing XBMC on two new FTVs for family that arrived yesterday.
How Amazon have managed to do this I have no idea, my USA FTVs have no such censorship. Now it could be the case that Amazon UK have adhered to UK laws, banning certain websites at the firmware level (such as primewire.ag). If these restrictions don't exist in the USA then the USA FTVs will always be ok but the UK FTVs will no doubt need a custom firmware to circumvent these restrictions.

fredphoesh said:
Hello guys
I have two generic Android TV boxes and two PCs with XBMC.
I got my FireTV yesterday, and since it was unrootable, I updated it.
MOST of the video addons like Genesis, Icefilms, Navi-X do not work at all or are extremely limited.
Genesis, for example, when you click on Genre you get nothing. Click on Box office, you get nothing, Popular... nothing. Icefilms gets a script error.
ALL of those things are working fine on ALL of the other devices in my home. I did side-by-side tests and am not running any proxy servers on xbmc or home network, so it seems clear that Amazon has managed to censor certain streaming sites...
It seems clear to me that the new FireTV, released in the UK Oct 17th 2014 is NOT a viable XBMC option if that is what you want to use xbmc for.
Bad news for many, I know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got my fire tv yesterday. First thing i did was setup xbmc everything's working fine including all the above.
Are you sure its not a issue with your isp?

londoner said:
Got my fire tv yesterday. First thing i did was setup xbmc everything's working fine including all the above.
Are you sure its not a issue with your isp?
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Click to collapse
nope, as i said, there are 4 other boxes in the house that run Genesis addon perfectly... FireTV does not.
Are you in the UK? The UK has facist ISP rules... and my guess is Amazon is taking advantage and making it a LOT harder for anyone in the UK

londoner
fredphoesh
Please post back with exact FTV software version and also the exact XBMC version you have installed, for example:
FTV: 51.1.4.0_user_514006420
XBMC: SPMC 13.2
Thanks.

fredphoesh said:
nope, as i said, there are 4 other boxes in the house that run Genesis addon perfectly... FireTV does not.
Are you in the UK? The UK has facist ISP rules... and my guess is Amazon is taking advantage and making it a LOT harder for anyone in the UK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the UK and I'm using Genesis right now no problems what so ever.
In-fact just rechecked all my addons, all working fine.

londoner said:
I'm in the UK and I'm using Genesis right now no problems what so ever.
In-fact just rechecked all my addons, all working fine.
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Click to collapse
Well that's great news I hope the same turns out for me. Would you mind confirming the details pls.... so that we can see if there's any difference between fredphoesh's set up and yours?

Adit18 said:
Well that's great news I hope the same turns out for me. Would you mind confirming the details pls.... so that we can see if there's any difference between fredphoesh's set up and yours?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sometimes fresh xbmc installs take a while to populate and update the addons , i've seen that also here and there with new installs on all platforms, not just the ftv.

Here is a Youtube clip showing the problem, using the same network as my PC
http://youtu.be/PCf73VV9lJ4?list=UUmYOTGN1vwcBWIkNu9VTooQ
Something has come up... though I can watch Prime Video without any problem, plays very well... when I go to HOME, it cannot get to "home" and says "We are currently unable to contact our servers Try Again" - but I dont see how this affects XBMC, particularly when Prime video works fine.
Box going back to Amazon... I have had enough of this.
version 51.1.4.0_user_514006420
FWIW

Your FTV's XBMC needs some..... A L U M I N U M FOIL...

Y314K said:
Your FTV's XBMC needs some..... A L U M I N U M FOIL...
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Click to collapse
I use copper cladding to hold the shaped charges on my piracy plugin loaded fireTV, it works a treat as a Faraday Cage too. I ground it to the delay timer on the thermobaric ignition system in the basement - if the explosives are defused when I'm not nearby with the radio suppression unit, the house goes all Enemy of the State.
I find that the Reynolds Foil makes an excellent tricorner hat to wear when posting. I fold out a left and right antenna, kind of like cyclists' rearview mirrors, to alert me to movement in Mum's basement. my office.

Just did first install on one of my new UK FTVs.
XBMC works fine - no censorship no blockages, nothing different from my US FTV at all.
All add-ons working as expected.

roustabout said:
I'm use copper cladding to hold the shaped charges on my piracy plugin loaded fireTV, it works a treat. I ground it to the delay timer on the thermobaric ignition system in the basement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tried that, didn't work.
Adit18 said:
Just did first install on one of my new UK FTVs.
XBMC works fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and are you uk based?

Your youtube video is not proof of censorship. That's silly. Amazon isn't censoring XBMC.
Turn on debugging, repeat the process, and take a look at your log file, I bet you'll find some clues. There's lots of things that could cause a plugin movie list to populate on one XBMC install but not another.

I've got rid of the fire TV box... so am leaving this thread. Cheers.

yes, berkshire. and it's probably to do with the build of xbmc you're using. I'm using official 13.2 from xbmc.org.

Im having the same issues on my uk firetv,latest stable build of xbmc runs great,all addons fail with script errors,tried spmc,and some of the nightlies,still problems remain...xbmc on chinese box runs without issues,head scratcher!

Im having exactly the same problem here. Constant script errors or apps displaying no content, tvmc and various xbmc,spmc builds tried and all have the same result.

Sussed what my problem was...having all the described issues in this thread with my uk fire tv...im with BT, on a homehub 4...disabling smart setup in advanced settings cured it for me...so it looks like its bugger all to do with Amazon and more an isp/hardware problem...hope this helps
T

Code:
TELREA said:
Sussed what my problem was...having all the described issues in this thread with my uk fire tv...im with BT, on a homehub 4...disabling smart setup in advanced settings cured it for me...so it looks like its bugger all to do with Amazon and more an isp/hardware problem...hope this helps
T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I could pass you a pint via the web then I would, that has cured my problem! You've saved me hours of messing about, don't think I would have ever thought of that.
Thankyou so much!
---------- Post added at 03:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 PM ----------
fredphoesh said:
I've got rid of the fire TV box... so am leaving this thread. Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shame, a user has fixed this for me and its working great now.

[Official] Fire TV 2 / Fire OS 5 (Fire TV 1) Tips & Complaints Thread

WORK IN PROGRESS: UPDATING
STOP PRESS: FIRESTARTER 3.0 RELEASED. SANITY RESTORED.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135
Before sending your Fire TV/Stick back to Amazon in disgust, beware of its limitations, and try these tips.
Bottom line is it's going to be a solid step up from Fire TV 1. But right now, it has a few issues.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the angry reviews. Almost all the complaints are about the glitchy remote (we have a fix), battery cover (sometimes the customer isn't always right), audio issues (Amazon is patching, stay tuned). No question, it's got some bugs out of the gate, but Amazon has responded and hopefully all will be resolved shortly . Enjoy:
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-DV83YW-Fire-TV/product-reviews/B00U3FPN4U/
Fire TV 2: hardware shortcomings by design that many regard as substandard.
If these are important, you might need to look elsewhere.
1. USB 2.0 not even USB 3.0. USB-C is the new standard appearing on phones and laptops.
2. Ethernet 10/100 not GB.
3. No optical port. Possible solution: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010JQMHNW/?
4. HDMI 1.4, not HDMI 2.0, limited to 4K at 30fps.
Software bugs and annoyances, most probably due to OS 5, but yet to be confirmed.
Could be fixed either by Amazon or developers.
1. Audio limited to stereo other than for Amazon Prime. Quiet audio.
As promised, Amazon has released a patch (extremely quickly):
“By this coming Monday, October 12th, you will receive an automatic software update that enables Dolby Digital Plus for customers who have a Dolby Digital Plus system (including support for Netflix and Amazon Video). An update for older Dolby Digital systems (not Dolby Digital Plus) will be distributed on November 30th.” -Amazon
Update from AFTVNews:
One of the new device’s largest complaints, a lack of Dolby Digital surround sound support, which has been partially fixed already, stems from changes made to support Netflix. I’m told by my source at Amazon that Netflix gave the Fire TV engineering team a new version of their software at the last minute which required changes to the Fire TV’s software to work correctly. Those changes conflicted with Dolby Digital surround sound support. With not enough time to fix support for both, Amazon was faced with the decision to ship without Netflix or without Dolby Digital surround sound. They chose the latter which, in my opinion, was the right choice.
http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-is-d...-internal-testing-pool-for-bug-fixing-effort/
2. Fire TV 2 WiFi Remote drops out, glitchy, lags, etc.
Do this when setting up if you're connecting via Ethernet: disconnect your LAN cable, connect to WiFi, reconnect your network cable.
And then do this anytime if your remote becomes laggy: disconnect Ethernet cable, reconnect Ethernet cable.
That should fix it. Really, it's usually that simple.
If not, there could be interference, you could try changing channels or frequency on your router or restrict the available protocols (just N or AC, for example). Let us know if you're still having problems.
3. Highly inconvenient to launch Kodi and other sideloaded apps.
Long story, somewhat shortened: The Fire OS only shows icons for apps obtained from Amazon's App Store. That, unfortunately, doesn't include Kodi, everyone's favourite media player, and about 99% of the reason the AFTV has a cult following. There have been two popular ways to get around Amazon's belligerence: by having Kodi launch as proxy of another app (usually Ikono TV) using Llama; or by employing Firestarter to bind it to the Home button.
Both can be loaded via ADFire.
Unfortunately, Llama no longer works (for this purpose) in OS5/AFTV2, so skip that route and install FireStarter:
ADBFire : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786505
FireStarter http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135
Kodi: http://kodi.tv
I recommend mapping the Home Button single click to Kodi, and the Home button double-click to Amazon Home. Or if you'd prefer to use Firestarter as your home screen, then map it to the double-click. The added bonus to this setup is every time you're in Kodi and hit the Home button inadvertently, instead of losing your **** yet again, it'll just flash in and out of the app and then pause whatever you're watching.
Here's a guide on sideloading to the Fire. Again, I strongly recommend ADBFire:
http://www.aftvnews.com/sideload/
If you have an Android tablet or phone, there are several apps that can push apps across to the Fire, such as Apps2Fire. That way you can download your apps direct from the official Google Play Store. Don't forget they won't automatically update. You'll need to push those updates across as well.
4. Can't connect via ADB to sideload using ADBFire etc since using FireStarter
First up: make sure you have ADB enabled. Settings>System>Developer Options> Both ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources need to be On.
FireStarter has two methods of intercepting Home button presses: one using ADB, and one not using ADB. The issue that's arisen since the introduction of Fire OS 5 is that the operating system no longer permits parallel ADB connections, so if FireStarter is using it to intercept Home button presses, you won't be able to connect to the Fire TV using ADB, and thus you won't be able to sideload apps and files using ADBFire.
We now have two options:
Option 1 (Firestarter won't use ADB): Open FireStarter, under Settings, uncheck "Home Detection via ADB."
Advantage: You only need ADB enabled to connect with ADBFire. No need to touch FireStarter.
Disadvantage: Only detects your customized Home button choices within the Fire TV's home screen, and not within apps. Pressing Home within Kodi, for example, will return you to the Home screen. Pressing it again will send you back to Kodi (or whatever action you've chosen. A potential advantage is this now gives you three variants of the Home button: a single and double-click from the Home screen; and the traditional Fire TV Home shortcut from within any app.
Option 2: (FireStarter uses ADB): Open FireStarter, check "Home Detection via ADB"
Advantage: FireStarter will now obey your Home button choices (single and double-click) from anywhere.
Disadvantage: You will either need to kill FireStarter (see below) or temporarily revert to Option 1 in order to do your ADB stuff. Note: there's now a handy shortcut direct to the ADB Debugging toggle within FireStarter.
Tip: If you go with Option 2, you can quickly kill FireStarter's grip on ADB by going: Settings>Manage Applications>FireStarter and Force Stop. And then restarting FireStarter or the Device once you've finished your ADB business.
5. External storage limited to disks formatted in FAT32.
There's no reason why Amazon couldn't enable other formats, but there's little incentive to bother. Even Macs don't support NTFS out of the box. Either format your drives in FAT32 (and split larger files if necessary) or move them to a network share. Not hard to work around. Here's a tip:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-play...b-off-the-fire-tvs-fat32-usb-storage-in-kodi/
6. Difficult to remove battery cover?
No it's not. Slide it back then lift it up. Dead easy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3t1GOCzjzY&
7. Can't move Kodi to external storage.
http://www.aftvnews.com/some-apps-like-kodi-cannot-write-to-external-storage-yet-on-fire-os-5/
Upgrade to Jarvis (still in alpha but perfectly acceptable).
8. LED only glowing when it detects a remote button press
Either a bug or a new way of doing things. Either way, it's not ideal.
9. Can't Chromecast from Android device to Fire TV
Yes, you can cast from Youtube, but nothing else (that I can find). Blame Google for that:
http://www.aftvnews.com/google-has-chromecast-receiver-app-pulled-from-fire-tv-appstore/
You can, however, Airplay to it. Via Kodi is one method, that usually works, but can be flaky sometimes. There are a bunch of apps you can try. Some work better than others. I picked up this one when it was free, it works:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/x9F99-x65B9-x513F-AirReceiver/dp/B00L5HQRGS/
And for those of you with other Amazon devices, there's always Fling:
https://developer.amazon.com/public...g/docs/understanding-the-amazon-fling-service

How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.

sudman said:
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the AFTV2 remote Wi-Fi?

I will be watching this thread closely. Thank you for posting.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app

list additions
I would add to the list:
Issues with day 1 software update, (several resets, issues to get working)
Wifi remote constantly cuts on/off (taking out batteries seems like temp fix)
Stutters in apps like WatchESPN
Second the dropping of lama/kodi icon support
Despite better hardware, little change in actual performance (yet to be fully seen)

Claude Koch said:
Isn't the AFTV2 remote Wi-Fi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the impression that it was BT same as the original but cant find a definitive answer eitherway. Eitherway the damn thing keeps discontecting!!!! Will be sending mine back if things dont improve fast.

sudman said:
I was under the impression that it was BT same as the original but cant find a definitive answer eitherway. Eitherway the damn thing keeps discontecting!!!! Will be sending mine back if things dont improve fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.aftvnews.com/list-of-all-fire-tv-and-fire-tv-stick-remote-and-game-controller-specs/

Claude Koch said:
About time we compiled a tally of what's broken, missing or just plain annoying on the new Fire TV, and what's (about to be) broken by the official release of OS 5 on the old Fire TV.
4. More to come.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I was criticized elsewhere for bringing up some shortcomings of 2. I am very interested in the gizmo you linked that breaks off the 5.1 via Optical and 2ch mini-jack from the HDMI stream. The product dates back to 2013 which makes me skeptical. I've bought a few of these that did not work. I have 4 port Monoprice HDMI switch that has the 5.1 and 2ch breakout. It disappoints as it is 5.1 OR 2ch, not both. The one's I have had tried similar to your post would pass sound to all six speakers but it was in reality Stereo which will fool some people. The clue for me is, does the blue Dolby light come on? A quick test for DD Plus handling is "House of Cards". If you get a blue light viewing that, it's good to go. It's been almost a year since I last fooled with them so maybe there is something that is NEW and works.
I am still looking for one that really works. The only thing I know that splits off 5.1, for real, is 1's Optical connector.
What's funny is that I pitched my Roku3 over the DD+ impasse. Now Roku4 is coming out and it HAS an optical connector.
I have an Echo/Alexa too and waiting to see how all that works out with my 1 if it does at all. I'm rooted so unless Rbox comes through, I'm out of luck. Right now my Echo is pretty much a party novelty but it can now control my Nest and Insteon devices. Just found the most useful feature is using it as a meat timer.
It's a shame 2 isn't all of 1 but better and more.

I had problems with the connection with my remote too.
Are you used ethernet at the first start to connect with your router? Never set up wifi connection?
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
for me i think it works... I am not 100% sure because the connection lost was very rare before. but give it a try.. :laugh:

There are huge issues with the WiFi the gain on the 5GHz 802.11ac is terrible in addition to issues above. I sent two of them back. Returning all of them is the only way Amazon will fix this!

I hate to say it, but it's looking like a lemon.
Edit: things are looking much better today.

What is an "Accessory Port". On my 1 I use a little dongle called Flirc to allow my Logitech Harmony One unified remote to control it. Needed it to feed the "Menu" command to 1. I now have a Harmony Ultimate with Hub and just imported the same settings.
I wonder if 2's "Accessory port" will allow a Flirc dongle to support unified IR remotes. Also wonder if it is even necessary with the 2. The Ultimate remote is still totally IR but the Hub is WiFi allowing it to talk to some smart devices. Guess I could test but hate to fix something that ain't broke. That's the main reason I'm afraid of 2. See no benefit except for 4K and I don't have that. My 1 setup works pretty well.
What I want to do is ditch my $160/mo DirecTV bill and replace it with another DVR option. SBC (aka AT&T) ate them and nothing good will come from that. "Repeating" myself, the Tivo Bolt is intriguing. Would replace FireTV and DirecTV. On the other hand, my rooted 1 with Nova Launcher and a Logitech K400 KB is a pretty nice little big screen Android box.
Nothing is just right.

sudman said:
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Edit: fixed.

Claude Koch said:
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
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Click to collapse
But it's ON SALE. hurry while the supply lasts. Pulling 2 1/2 Stars. Not good.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U3FPN4U/?tag=aftvndeal-20

The Main Reason AFTV 2 Is Not For Me
Root and Nova Launcher

Claude Koch said:
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A page back i posted a method to fix that if you are used ethernet cable at the first start o AFTV2.
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
For me no connection losts between remote control and AFTV2 after a couple of hours.

I know the Apple TV was looming, but I don't get why Amazon felt the need to rush this out so fast. There just really isn't a reason to refresh a video streaming device annually. I understand they wanted to beat Apple to 4K, but looks like it cost them this time. I am sure updates will make it better, but this box might be the dud when we look back and the history of these things. I just hope it doesn't flop so bad they stop future revisions.

MajorWinters said:
A page back i posted a method to fix that if you are used ethernet cable at the first start o AFTV2.
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
For me no connection losts between remote control and AFTV2 after a couple of hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. I'm going to let it be for a couple of days, then try your fix. Otherwise, I won't know it it helped.
Been trying to get it to detect the bluetooth remote from my other Fire TV but not having any luck.
EDIT: Great tip, seems to have done the trick! Added to list.

I sent mine back. I can't believe that the newer Fire TV performs much worse than my 1st Gen Fire TV. Here is what I find annoying.
Remote cover is very hard to open. Broke my nail and it took me nearly a half hour to get it open. Once it is open it is much easier after.
Remote freezes and stops responding. Have to take out batteries and put them back in. At first I though the unit froze but my BT keyboard works fine. Had to use that quite often.
Netflix no 5.1 surround sound. Also it takes much longer to get up to 1080p. On my old Fire TV 1080p instantly and if not just restart the stream. On the 2nd gen Fire TV mud quality sub 480p which can take up to 40 seconds or longer to get to 1080p unless I fast forward and rewind the stream but then it ends up ruining what I am watching when there are spoilers in the beginning of the program.
Other third party apps actually run worse. They stutter and skip frames like trying to watch a HD video on a Celeron PC from 2008.
The external storage option is a joke. First thing is they should have included more than 8gb of internal storage because the external microSD is useless. I moved all the apps and games I can to the external storage however most apps and some games still store at least half the data on internal storage so even then I was already running low on space while my 64gb microSD barely used any space.
Box runs much warmer than before and I have it on a cooling pad.
To me the picture quality seems worse. I don't have a 4k TV just 1080p but the picture is much darker and reds look more pixelated.
That is what I can think of off the bat but in the end I ended up sending it back like many others and I see a recall soon from Amazon. They should have never released this thing as the 1st Gen Fire TV was pretty much perfect. Yes it had issues when it first came out mainly the once outdated Netflix app and having to occasionally clear the Amazon video data app when it would not play but otherwise it performed much better than this new thing does.

It's looking like under OS5, external storage is sandboxed as read-only to Kodi. The same seems true of Android TV (Nvidia Shield), so I suppose it's a Lollipop security issue. If I'm right, this means no moving Kodi data/thumbnails to external storage and using the /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties to redirect. Can anyone confirm/disprove this?

Fire TV 3

I received the Fire TV 3 yesterday and though I'd share a few observations about the gadget.
1. I'm in a rural area and internet here is 'almost' not existent at home. We do have an account and receive about 2-3 Mbs speed. I offer this as the Fire TV 3 works only by wi-fi and has no ethernet plug-in. Even with my low speed, I could run the Fire TV 3 alright, but of course streaming is strained. We hope to have the internet speed issue resolved in a month or so.
2. No SD port. Had about 4.89 Gigs free of 5.34, or so before putting my apps on. Currently 3.53 still avail.
3. You can use the Android app, "Apps to FireTV" which works just fine. In fact for me the transfers/installs are much quicker than on my Fire TV 2. When using the app for 'installing', the app does say at the end that the transferred file was successfully uploaded to the Fire TV 3, but the install 'failed', even though every app did end up installing just fine, it just took a few seconds longer than the app transfer allowed for with the notice.
4. AppStarter works just fine for me.
5. Cetusplay and MouseToggle 1.06, 1.07, 1.08 (most recent version) do not work for me. Cetusplay loses the mouse cursor near the buttons I need to activate, and with MouseToggle, the mouse size/resolution has changed so the mouse is much smaller and does not activate what it rests over. At this point in time, both useless. I suspect that the background screen resolution of Fire TV 3 has changed and that may be the reason the Mouse Toggle may be smaller and 'off'.
6. Other apps installed, YouTube, Netflix, PIA, etc work just fine. Netflix HDR movies do view in HDR and I get the HDR 'notice' on my LG OLED tv screen.
7. I wish I could find a good internet browser that would work with the Fire TV 3 remote, and a mouse toggle that works with this new Fire TV 3 OS, and web browsers, as well.
8. SET TV works, but as the download speed is slow, I do get lagging. SET TV is about $20 a month subscription for 3 or 4 devices, 300+ channels, movie channels, CNN, HBO, et al. Very worth the monthly fee. Can't wait to have a reasonable internet connection speed soon... so I hope.
The Fire TV 3 is about as quick as the Fire TV 2 in terms of screen and page freshening. I did mention that Apps to Fire TV installs and uploads seem much quicker. The Fire TV 3, as you know, is much smaller and lighter, and hangs off the HDMI port on the TV. Velcro will work for that. Other than the new HDR output option, I can not say I am 'excited' about the Fire TV 3 yet, and whether to keep it or put my Fire TV 2 back up and wait for a Fire TV 3+, which has ethernet and an SD port.
That's about what I've come up with so far.

JeffDC said:
I received the Fire TV 3 yesterday and though I'd share a few observations about the gadget.
1. I'm in a rural area and internet here is 'almost' not existent at home. We do have an account and receive about 2-3 Mbs speed. I offer this as the Fire TV 3 works only by wi-fi and has no ethernet plug-in. Even with my low speed, I could run the Fire TV 3 alright, but of course streaming is strained. We hope to have the internet speed issue resolved in a month or so.
2. No SD port. Had about 4.89 Gigs free of 5.34, or so before putting my apps on. Currently 3.53 still avail.
3. You can use the Android app, "Apps to FireTV" which works just fine. In fact for me the transfers/installs are much quicker than on my Fire TV 2. When using the app for 'installing', the app does say at the end that the transferred file was successfully uploaded to the Fire TV 3, but the install 'failed', even though every app did end up installing just fine, it just took a few seconds longer than the app transfer allowed for with the notice.
4. AppStarter works just fine for me.
5. Cetusplay and MouseToggle 1.06, 1.07, 1.08 (most recent version) do not work for me. Cetusplay loses the mouse cursor near the buttons I need to activate, and with MouseToggle, the mouse size/resolution has changed so the mouse is much smaller and does not activate what it rests over. At this point in time, both useless. I suspect that the background screen resolution of Fire TV 3 has changed and that may be the reason the Mouse Toggle may be smaller and 'off'.
6. Other apps installed, YouTube, Netflix, PIA, etc work just fine. Netflix HDR movies do view in HDR and I get the HDR 'notice' on my LG OLED tv screen.
7. I wish I could find a good internet browser that would work with the Fire TV 3 remote, and a mouse toggle that works with this new Fire TV 3 OS, and web browsers, as well.
8. SET TV works, but as the download speed is slow, I do get lagging. SET TV is about $20 a month subscription for 3 or 4 devices, 300+ channels, movie channels, CNN, HBO, et al. Very worth the monthly fee. Can't wait to have a reasonable internet connection speed soon... so I hope.
The Fire TV 3 is about as quick as the Fire TV 2 in terms of screen and page freshening. I did mention that Apps to Fire TV installs and uploads seem much quicker. The Fire TV 3, as you know, is much smaller and lighter, and hangs off the HDMI port on the TV. Velcro will work for that. Other than the new HDR output option, I can not say I am 'excited' about the Fire TV 3 yet, and whether to keep it or put my Fire TV 2 back up and wait for a Fire TV 3+, which has ethernet and an SD port.
That's about what I've come up with so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a crisp and neat review. I am from India and i was confused bw fire tv2 and 3. My requirement is to install some games on fire tv and play it. Ex i want to know if i can install asphalt8, real racing 3, modren combat games on it.
Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

There is indeed an ethernet adapter made for this device sold directly by Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074...g_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DNC38R95V66GWW829SZN
I suppose you could also use OTG ethernet since it supports OTG

I also just got my FireTV3 2 days ago. So far it's been freezing up more often than my FireTV2. I'm not sure if it's because of the WiFi connection (tried both 2.4 & 5Ghz), but I was able to stream a 4K movie (Spectre) for 2 hours without any hiccups last night. I'm on FiOS 75/75 internet and my router is 15ft away.
I did order the Ethernet Adapter but haven't tried it yet. I wanted to see if WiFi would be good enough. I have my FireTV2 setup in my living-room on a wired LAN connection. This new FireTV3 is in my bedroom replacing my Gen1 FireTV stick. I might go ahead and connect the wired LAN this weekend if I find some free time.
The biggest hiccup I've come across was the Apps & Games section wouldn't load. I found a fix online = clear the cache for the Amazon App Store app.
Just like OP, Mouse Toggle app doesn't work at all with FireTV3. I've loaded it 3 times through Apps2Fire and through the new in app interface. It's just stuck on 'starting'.
PIA works just fine, but it's really stretched out. Unlike on my FireTV2 it shows up with black bars on the side.
Is there a big OS difference between FTV2 ad FTV3?

JUSTINMARMER said:
There is indeed an ethernet adapter made for this device sold directly by Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074...g_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DNC38R95V66GWW829SZN
I suppose you could also use OTG ethernet since it supports OTG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Justin, thanks for that info. I will likely get one as I don't think Amazon is going to put out a Fire TV 3+ anytime soon!

FlipMarc said:
Just like OP, Mouse Toggle app doesn't work at all with FireTV3. I've loaded it 3 times through Apps2Fire and through the new in app interface. It's just stuck on 'starting'.
PIA works just fine, but it's really stretched out. Unlike on my FireTV2 it shows up with black bars on the side.
Is there a big OS difference between FTV2 ad FTV3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Re: Mouse Toggle, after the install and setup, mine also said ... starting. I then went into System Setup, Developer Options and turned adb off and waited a few seconds, and then back on. Then I rebooted and the Mouse Toggle would come up with the double press of the play/pause button. It's resolution and hotspot are off enough on many screens/apps, that it's about useless for me.
For example, I can run the mouse down to the bottom of the screen, which would normally scroll down with a real mouse, or down press on the button, and the mouse disappears...
but is actually located on the page, still... but over some item you can not see/get to. It will select the app or place you can't see, so it's a toss up what you are activating at that point.
My PIA redresses itself upon loading and works as on my FireTV2, lower resolution, but it does work.
I'm not sure of the differences with the change of OS, other than HDR and I suspect static screen resolution, as Mouse Toggle is off, and Cetusplay, as well.

XDA Labs app works pretty good, as long as you have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse connected.
Sent from my needle using XDA Labs
---------- Post added at 12:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 AM ----------
and it looks like the codename for Fire TV 3 is needle.
Sent from my needle using XDA Labs

JeffDC said:
Re: Mouse Toggle, after the install and setup, mine also said ... starting. I then went into System Setup, Developer Options and turned adb off and waited a few seconds, and then back on. Then I rebooted and the Mouse Toggle would come up with the double press of the play/pause button. It's resolution and hotspot are off enough on many screens/apps, that it's about useless for me.
For example, I can run the mouse down to the bottom of the screen, which would normally scroll down with a real mouse, or down press on the button, and the mouse disappears...
but is actually located on the page, still... but over some item you can not see/get to. It will select the app or place you can't see, so it's a toss up what you are activating at that point.
My PIA redresses itself upon loading and works as on my FireTV2, lower resolution, but it does work.
I'm not sure of the differences with the change of OS, other than HDR and I suspect static screen resolution, as Mouse Toggle is off, and Cetusplay, as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press the fast forward button for scrolling down. Press the button with 3 lines to scroll up

sd_shadow said:
XDA Labs app works pretty good, as long as you have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse connected.
Sent from my needle using XDA Labs
---------- Post added at 12:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 AM ----------
and it looks like the codename for Fire TV 3 is needle.
Sent from my needle using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought Needle was the new stick and the box was Stark.
---------- Post added at 09:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 AM ----------
JUSTINMARMER said:
There is indeed an ethernet adapter made for this device sold directly by Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074...g_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DNC38R95V66GWW829SZN
I suppose you could also use OTG ethernet since it supports OTG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my new FTV3 box and it remains in the box. It does support OTG per AFTNews.
http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire-tv-3-supports-usb-peripherals-via-otg-cable-including-usb-drives-keyboards-mice-flirc-ethernet-hubs-etc/
They have some suggestions. I ordered a powered OTG cable and an USB A Ethernet dongle. I will be sending the AFTV Ethernet adapter back. With the OTG I will be able to plug in my existing powered USB hub that supports my Flirc, USB stick, KB dongle, and cheaper USB Ethernet dongle. I use a HDMI switching AV receiver so I am not happy with no HDMI input. I will get around that with an HDMI coupler.
That is if I get 3 out of the box. All the hoops to jump through is a downer. Reading that this thing will flood your screen with marketing crap makes me more leery. I may send it back and get a Shield. The only plus I see is the price. I got the Dot for $10 more offer. I can try it and junk it if it is annoying.

schneid said:
I thought Needle was the new stick and the box was Stark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new Fire TV "pendent" (aka/codename Needle) is officially being called the 3rd generation Fire TV. Codename Stark is an unreleased Fire TV "cube" that I leaked last month. No idea what Amazon will end up officially calling that device.

schneid said:
. Reading that this thing will flood your screen with marketing crap makes me more leery. I may send it back and get a Shield. The only plus I see is the price. I got the Dot for $10 more offer. I can try it and junk it if it is annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is one banner you can easily disable.

sd_shadow said:
XDA Labs app works pretty good, as long as you have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse connected.
Sent from my needle using XDA Labs
---------- Post added at 12:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 AM ----------
and it looks like the codename for Fire TV 3 is needle.
Sent from my needle using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll have to look that app up. Not familiar with it.

JUSTINMARMER said:
Press the fast forward button for scrolling down. Press the button with 3 lines to scroll up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that!

Could someone from uk with FTV3 pull itv hub, my5 and all4 for me please? hoping they were updated for later versions of android

As I haven't found anything yet, I know its brand new, this 3rd Gen FTV is my first, I assume someone is working on root access, or do older routes work, if anyone knows. TIA.

Well, I packed up my Fire TV 3 today and have a pickup/return to Amazon scheduled for tomorrow.
Overall the Fire TV 3 worked ok. It was quick 'enough', etc, but after gaging against Fire TV 2, other than HDR, I don't feel there were benefits sufficient to change from the Fire TV 2. Given our poor internet here, just getting by with 1-3 Mbs, currently, I need the ethernet. I also did not like the SD slot being removed from the Fire TV 3.
Overall, other than the HDR addition, the Fire TV 3 seems a step down from the Fire TV 2. It is a little slower than the Fire TV 2 in testing, but not notably by 'experience' of daily use.
I have an Nvidia Shield coming this week, and will see how that compares.

Ronin3178 said:
As I haven't found anything yet, I know its brand new, this 3rd Gen FTV is my first, I assume someone is working on root access, or do older routes work, if anyone knows. TIA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far I've have not seen any for this device.

JUSTINMARMER said:
There is one banner you can easily disable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How? There's a whole thread on it in this forum and the conclusion is the banner can't be disabled on the FTV1/2 with current software. Is the FTV3 software different in that?

I'm back to my Fire TV 3, after having the Nvidia Shield Pro for about a week. The first one arrived, started updating, got to about 15% download, went black, and could not be hard reset. Returned.
Got a replacement Shield and have been messing about with that for the last 4-5 days, along with hours with Amazon support and Nvidia support. In the end it turns out that the Shield can not do Dolby or HDR in some standard format, so Netflix 4K HDR & Dolby out. That's how I get the ending, at any rate. Remote is abysmal. That Shield is going back.
Now back to the Fire TV 3. Simply, easy to use, and the remote is effective, over all.

rodalpho said:
How? There's a whole thread on it in this forum and the conclusion is the banner can't be disabled on the FTV1/2 with current software. Is the FTV3 software different in that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is much, if any, info on the Fire TV 3. I sure haven't seen any.

How do you use your Nexus 7 in 2021?

I had lost my N7 2013 about 5 years back when I moved to a new place. I randomly found it yesterday, and of course I jumped on here and flashed it with the latest LineageOS (18.1). These forums are awesome and covered all issues etc and process was smooth. So the tablet is alive again .
The tablet is 16 GB, so not a whole lot of place by todays standard. So its not going to be my primary driver for my daily activities as I have another tablet for this, so I was wondering how people are using the N7 today? So thought it would be nice to check on here to see if there are any alternative interesting usecases !

rvgsd said:
I had lost my N7 2013 about 5 years back when I moved to a new place. I randomly found it yesterday, and of course I jumped on here and flashed it with the latest LineageOS (18.1). These forums are awesome and covered all issues etc and process was smooth. So the tablet is alive again .
The tablet is 16 GB, so not a whole lot of place by todays standard. So its not going to be my primary driver for my daily activities as I have another tablet for this, so I was wondering how people are using the N7 today? So thought it would be nice to check on here to see if there are any alternative interesting usecases !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have nexus 7 LTE 32GB with the common hardware problem of digitizer randomly not working and screen rotation issues. I'm trying to reset it because it became too laggy... Once it was the faster device I had so lets see if my attemp to restore it will succeed....

rvgsd said:
I had lost my N7 2013 about 5 years back when I moved to a new place. I randomly found it yesterday, and of course I jumped on here and flashed it with the latest LineageOS (18.1). These forums are awesome and covered all issues etc and process was smooth. So the tablet is alive again .
The tablet is 16 GB, so not a whole lot of place by todays standard. So its not going to be my primary driver for my daily activities as I have another tablet for this, so I was wondering how people are using the N7 today? So thought it would be nice to check on here to see if there are any alternative interesting usecases !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an old CD only stereo which had RCA input too, right now I am using it as a player with a 3.5mm to RCA adapter, it is working very well
It could be useful for running simple automated scripts if you are confortable with termux. It also has 5 Ghz wifi connection, so I guess it is not even that bad for downloading stuff.

I bought one used to use as a motorcycle GPS and Bluetooth music player. I adapted it to a phone holder that also serves as a wireless charger.
Pros: Bright, large screen, connects to BT helmet right away. My bike had an expensive OEM GPS optional unit that was only 5".
Cons- GPS totally unreliable. Difficulty acquiring and holding signal where other devices pick up right away. Apparently this was a common problem with them.
I'm going to try two things-
1. Lenonvo M7 Gen 3 7" tablet (no wireless charging), or
2. NC-105 external GPS receiver, connects via USB port.
The Nexus would be perfect for my needs if the GPS were reliable. The wireless charging has worked well on it while in the holder I modified. If I can get the USB GPS receiver to work with the Nexus, I'll likely return the Lenovo, although my mount has a USB charging option also.

For a few years it is now a "video tablet", on it there is Netflix, Disney+, Plex, Vimeo, MX Player, the local TVIP apps and others providers, etc and it is used to watch videos on it directly or broadcast to the TV on the wall (dumb TV with a chromecast).
Sometimes I fight with it because touchscreen or rotation is not working, as it does for almost 10 years now, I can now pry open it easily and reset cable in less than 1 minute

Magister54 said:
For a few years it is now a "video tablet", on it there is Netflix, Disney+, Plex, Vimeo, MX Player, the local TVIP apps and others providers, etc and it is used to watch videos on it directly or broadcast to the TV on the wall (dumb TV with a chromecast).
Sometimes I fight with it because touchscreen or rotation is not working, as it does for almost 10 years now, I can now pry open it easily and reset cable in less than 1 minute
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious, do you have Netflix playing in HD using Lineage OS? If so, how'd you do it? I resorted to installing version 6.26.1 of Netflix to get what looks like 720p.

RJFlames said:
Just curious, do you have Netflix playing in HD using Lineage OS? If so, how'd you do it? I resorted to installing version 6.26.1 of Netflix to get what looks like 720p.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, Widevine L3 so it plays in SD