Related
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.
Click to expand...
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?
Hello there peeps!
Im thinking of getting rid of my old laptop as my torrentbox/Kodi and fileserver. Its noisy, draws lots of power and it can barely handle 1080p HEVC movies. So Im really longing to buy a Nvidia Shield TV 16GB
Im thinking of buying the 16GB version, putting a 128GB micro-sd card in it and use a powered usb3.0 HUB to connect my current 3 external HDDs to it.
My plans is to let the 128GB micro-sd card act as the torrent partition and storage for the games and apps. When the apps are finished Im moving the stuff to the three external NTFS HDDs and store it on them. All this would be nice to be able to manage with my Android phone. Im thinking that it might be hard on the unit to handle torrents at the same time we watch movies or play games. Is there an app to paus the torrents if the rest needs more resources, or make some kind of script?
Will all this work? Ive read that the Shield TV cant handle more than two external USBs thanks to the limitatons of Android but this can be fixed by rooting it. Is it correct?
You need to get a SMB server app working on it. Google: Funkyfresh Samba
uTorrent has an Android version.
I think Android can handle more than two ext HDD's. My sister has 4-5 HDD's connected to her AFTV, same with my cousin. Try StickMount.
I don't know but I think it's going to be hard to do what you want. I'd buy an Asus ChromeBox, put Win10 on it and use that for Kodi MySQL server, torrent, media, etc.
Ive been curious about this, when you say your sister had 4-5 HDDs connected to AFTV, im assuming she has them connected via some sort of usb hub?
I wouldn't use an SD card for long-term torrenting as they're not very good at handling frequent writing.
hobs0n said:
Hello there peeps!
Im thinking of getting rid of my old laptop as my torrentbox/Kodi and fileserver. Its noisy, draws lots of power and it can barely handle 1080p HEVC movies. So Im really longing to buy a Nvidia Shield TV 16GB
Im thinking of buying the 16GB version, putting a 128GB micro-sd card in it and use a powered usb3.0 HUB to connect my current 3 external HDDs to it.
My plans is to let the 128GB micro-sd card act as the torrent partition and storage for the games and apps. When the apps are finished Im moving the stuff to the three external NTFS HDDs and store it on them. All this would be nice to be able to manage with my Android phone. Im thinking that it might be hard on the unit to handle torrents at the same time we watch movies or play games. Is there an app to paus the torrents if the rest needs more resources, or make some kind of script?
Will all this work? Ive read that the Shield TV cant handle more than two external USBs thanks to the limitatons of Android but this can be fixed by rooting it. Is it correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So heres my experience so far: Currently I have 1 external usb 3.0 HDD connected to my shield tv. using an android app called servers ultimate pro, I was able to create multiple file servers. The nice thing is that shield tv is already low powered, but can even go into sleep mode and still run the server (i have a feeling sleep mode just turns off the screen). with servers ultimate, you can get lots of configuration options, limiting the amount of users, ip addresses that can access, you can set up basic rules, and notifications for things like if the server stops or starts, to email, text, pop up a notification, etc. Its pretty nice.
But heres the catch: I've been searching for a solution for over a month now, but transfer rates are slow im getting 5-10MBps on average, but i know the network is capable of more. after searching, it seems to be a limitation of either android, or the protocols the app is using. Another user on here pointed out to me that the SMB protocol for instance, seems to be running SMB v1 (which is already up to like V3- or V4, which are more feature rich and capable of much faster speeds)
then theres the issue of what devices will be accessing it. So far, ive tried my android phone, my windows 10 PC, and an iphone. the android phone can see the servers just fine when configured properly, iphone didn't seem to want to work without any sort of specialized app (which honestly i didn't even try after that point), and windows 10 works, but if you want to map a network drive, your going to need the SMB protocol, and even then it took several weeks of google searching until several tweaks, registry settings, etc finally allowed windows 10 to see my server.
I don't torrent, so unfortunately can't help you on that front, but like another user pointed out, using the sd card will just wear out the amount of times it can read/write. if it does work out for your needs, why not just save directly to the external HDDs?
For the record, I was able to stream using things like kodi or another media player, but i do notice that any initial loading takes several seconds. for example, initial playback will take several seconds to load, but once the video plays, it plays smooth and doesnt stutter or pause, UNLESS i were to try fast forwarding or skipping to another section, then the video takes several seconds again. this all works for my personal needs (for now) but other users might want more demand.
hope any of this helps.
unvaluablespace said:
Ive been curious about this, when you say your sister had 4-5 HDDs connected to AFTV, im assuming she has them connected via some sort of usb hub?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, both my sister and cousin have the 10 port USB 2.0 hub from Amazon working fine on their Amazon Fire TV's.
Cool, thats good to know. I've been kind of curious about this for in the future (i don't see myself using more than 4 HDD's for whatever server setup i use) Hopefully the shield wont have an issue with this, either. Now just trying to figure out my transfer speed issue. lol
Thank you very much for the experience and help!
This certainly learned me very valuable points
what is the point of putting a server on shield tv?
can you download torrents directly to the shield (hd)?
and would plex be able to see these files?
I have personally done exactly what you are looking for with one of my shield boxes. I installed a Linux chroot on my shield tv (I ended up flashing foll android as it was easier), installed transmission-cli in there, and ran kodi on top then enabled media sharing, and put an ssh server on the machine. Works fantastically.
what does this all enable to do?
This is pretty close to my plans, minus the torrent box and fileserver.
my plan is to load up my new external drive and copy everything from my laptop and existing externals into one location (so I can eliminate duplicates) and then move it to the SHIELD TV and setup KODI so it sees all my files and use it for playback (I can always routinely plan file transfers to it manually thru the USB and computer when I need to add new content), but it would be nice to be able to access the external over the network if possible.
kdb424 said:
I have personally done exactly what you are looking for with one of my shield boxes. I installed a Linux chroot on my shield tv (I ended up flashing foll android as it was easier), installed transmission-cli in there, and ran kodi on top then enabled media sharing, and put an ssh server on the machine. Works fantastically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhm so you are running some kind of Linux or what is foll Android?
unvaluablespace said:
So heres my experience so far: Currently I have 1 external usb 3.0 HDD connected to my shield tv. using an android app called servers ultimate pro, I was able to create multiple file servers. The nice thing is that shield tv is already low powered, but can even go into sleep mode and still run the server (i have a feeling sleep mode just turns off the screen). with servers ultimate, you can get lots of configuration options, limiting the amount of users, ip addresses that can access, you can set up basic rules, and notifications for things like if the server stops or starts, to email, text, pop up a notification, etc. Its pretty nice.
But heres the catch: I've been searching for a solution for over a month now, but transfer rates are slow im getting 5-10MBps on average, but i know the network is capable of more. after searching, it seems to be a limitation of either android, or the protocols the app is using. Another user on here pointed out to me that the SMB protocol for instance, seems to be running SMB v1 (which is already up to like V3- or V4, which are more feature rich and capable of much faster speeds)
then theres the issue of what devices will be accessing it. So far, ive tried my android phone, my windows 10 PC, and an iphone. the android phone can see the servers just fine when configured properly, iphone didn't seem to want to work without any sort of specialized app (which honestly i didn't even try after that point), and windows 10 works, but if you want to map a network drive, your going to need the SMB protocol, and even then it took several weeks of google searching until several tweaks, registry settings, etc finally allowed windows 10 to see my server.
I don't torrent, so unfortunately can't help you on that front, but like another user pointed out, using the sd card will just wear out the amount of times it can read/write. if it does work out for your needs, why not just save directly to the external HDDs?
For the record, I was able to stream using things like kodi or another media player, but i do notice that any initial loading takes several seconds. for example, initial playback will take several seconds to load, but once the video plays, it plays smooth and doesnt stutter or pause, UNLESS i were to try fast forwarding or skipping to another section, then the video takes several seconds again. this all works for my personal needs (for now) but other users might want more demand.
hope any of this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the all the valuable info!
Using the Shield TV as a torrentbox/fileserver/NAS is only temporary until I can afford a real NAS, or preferably get a mini Linux box running as a VPN server and router but that's in the future, in fact Shield tv is also in the future since I can't afford it now =)
But back to your comments, I checked out Ultimate Pro and it seems it's dead but maybe some of its servers works good Regarding SMB I'm thinking of getting another app for SMB sharing.
Another thing I'm wondering is the multitasking abilities of the Shield TV, sure it's by far the most powerful Android TV box but how can it handle torrenting, SMB sharing, running Kodi at the same time? Or do you have to manually manage it? Or get some apps that let you set up certain priorities? And will it be able to game on the Shield while Kodi/SMB/torrents running in the background?
hobs0n said:
Thanks for the all the valuable info!
Using the Shield TV as a torrentbox/fileserver/NAS is only temporary until I can afford a real NAS, or preferably get a mini Linux box running as a VPN server and router but that's in the future, in fact Shield tv is also in the future since I can't afford it now =)
But back to your comments, I checked out Ultimate Pro and it seems it's dead but maybe some of its servers works good Regarding SMB I'm thinking of getting another app for SMB sharing.
Another thing I'm wondering is the multitasking abilities of the Shield TV, sure it's by far the most powerful Android TV box but how can it handle torrenting, SMB sharing, running Kodi at the same time? Or do you have to manually manage it? Or get some apps that let you set up certain priorities? And will it be able to game on the Shield while Kodi/SMB/torrents running in the background?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't torrent, so unfortunately I can't help you there, but I have tried using my file server in multiple ways: file transfers & streaming video, while running another app, even streaming games. Here are a few examples of things i've tried:
file transferring a big file to my pc, while gamestreaming on the nvidia shield tv at the same time (worked great. I saw no issues during this time)
file transferring a big file to my pc, while running a local app such as netflix, emulators, youtube, (as you can see i tried both maximizing bandwidth, while even testing lag with cpu intensive tasks. again, worked great)
streaming a 1080p movie from the shield tv, to my pc, while gamestreaming from the same pc, back to the shield tv (seemed to work fine. honestly didnt test this for extended period.)
streaming a 1080p movie from the shield tv to my pc, while running local apps on shield tv such as netflix, emulators, youtube, etc (once again, seemed to work fine)
So as you can see, the shield tv seemed to handle everything i threw at it rather well. i even tried multiple apps for multitasking on the shield and i just honestly did not see any performance hints with the media server, aside from anything youd normally expect on the shield tv. keep in mind i am running on a gigabit ethernet network, wired on both ends, from the shield tv to the router, and router to the pc.
my only issue with it all is as mentioned before: transfer speeds are just barely fast enough, even though i know my network and the device is capable of much faster speeds, but the cpu and ram on the shield tv seemed to handle everything i tried rather well.
as for your comment about trying other smb apps, ive gone through several, and the ones i was able to manage to get working, all ended up with the same speeds as with ultimate servers pro. :\ If you can find something that gives you faster speeds, i would love to hear about it so i can try it. i tried ftp server, smb server, webdav server, etc and all seem to max out at about the same speed.
Thanks for your reply!
It really seems the Shield is awesome and powerful to handle multitasking! I'm longing to get my own!
Crappy about the SMB speeds, let's find solutions to that problems
Hm I havent found any real data on the speed between a computer and an Android device when it comes to SMB...
When I transfer between my old gaming laptop from the external usb2.0 HDDs to my Xperia Z3, I get between 700KB/s to 1100KB/s.
The laptop is connected with Ethernet cable to the Netgear CG3799 router and the Z3 is connected with full connection on 802.11N 5Ghz. Altho the laptop is pretty sweaty atm, its converting old DVDs to HEVC and downloading around 15 torrents
Ill compare speeds later when the laptop isnt as busy
What kind of speeds do you peeps get when transfering between Android devices other devices?
Which Samba app are you using?
Hey folks,
I'm trying the same now. Had an Odroid XU4 as file and MySQL Server and try to replace it for an all in one Shield TV Solution.
I'm running a rooted Shield with SambaDroid for the SMB Share which works fine. And KSWEB Server for MySQL and ftp.
Sometimes it seems like the apps are closing in the background, I don't know why, seems to be a android multitadking problem to free up RAM.
But my biggest problem is the transfer speeds. No matter what protocoll (smb/ftp) I'm not getting more then 8 MB/s read out of the box. I tried to read from internal memory, sdcard and my external HDD. All came out with the same speed connected over GBit LAN to my PC.
Write side it much faster with 20 MB/s what I do not really understand but you need root to write to external memory like sdcard or usb.
So far it works, but it is less then optimal compared to my Ordoid XU4 what did 80MB/s but has no HDMI 2.0 output :/
Maybe Android 6.0 brings more speed for the network because It has to be bottlenecked somewhere in the OS, FTP and SMB showing the same speeds.
What's funny is I was actually doing the reverse of what you're doing. I got my Shield as an Android media center device since my Odroid U2 never seemed up to my standards with Kodi. When HardKernel came out with the XU4 I scooped it up and made it my webserver, after seeing an Android TV rom out for it, I flashed it and now Kodi's UI will lag like crazy after about a half hour of usage.
Sent from my Pixel C using Tapatalk
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forums, but I read the rules and I think I'm in the right place.
I own the original Nvidia Shield TV. I've long wanted touch emulation and to sideload games that I can play on my phone but on my TV. A couple years ago I rooted my shield, had a dual boot setup (Android TV + Full Android Marshmallow), and purchased Videomapit's Droid Mote server and client as well as his profile app. This worked for all intensive purposes, but it was clunky. My girl friend couldn't get the hang of using flashify to switch back to stock Android TV to watch Netflix, and I felt I had to use multiple game controllers, a keyboard, mouse, etc to navigate fluidly. I have since returned the shield to stock and given up on touch emulation...until....
The other day I came across this app in Google Play: USB Gamepad TouchMapper by makithappendigital. Apparently if I buy an Arduino Board: Micro, ProMicro, Leonardo or Beetle USB Stick and plug my gamepad into that using this app, touch screen on stock Android TV is now viable.
I have a couple questions...
1.) Has anyone actually tried this or something similar and did it work well?
2.) What is the difference between Micro, ProMicro, Leonardo or Beetle Arduino boards? Is one more effective for what I'm trying to accomplish, cheaper, or can be used for more than what I'd be purchasing one for (swiss army knife)?
Thank you in advance for your help and advice.
-OverClocked-
Use octopus! Thank me later
Slayerkodi said:
Use octopus! Thank me later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I appreciate your help I have to pass on this app... Many people of complained they have gotten credentials stolen in reviews.
Cut/Copy/Paste of permissions required from the Play Store:
This app has access to:
Device & app history
retrieve running apps
read sensitive log data
read your Web bookmarks and history
Cellular data settings
change/intercept network settings and traffic
Identity
find accounts on the device
add or remove accounts
read your own contact card
modify your own contact card
Calendar
read calendar events plus confidential information
add or modify calendar events and send email to guests without owners' knowledge
Contacts
find accounts on the device
read your contacts
modify your contacts
Location
approximate location (network-based)
precise location (GPS and network-based)
access extra location provider commands
SMS
read cell broadcast messages
read your text messages (SMS or MMS)
receive text messages (MMS)
receive text messages (SMS)
receive text messages (WAP)
send SMS messages
edit your text messages (SMS or MMS)
Phone
directly call phone numbers
reroute outgoing calls
read call log
read phone status and identity
make/receive SIP calls
write call log
add voicemail
Photos/Media/Files
access USB storage filesystem
read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
Storage
read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
Camera
take pictures and videos
Microphone
record audio
Wi-Fi connection information
view Wi-Fi connections
Device ID & call information
read phone status and identity
Wearable sensors/Activity data
body sensors (like heart rate monitors)
Other
access the cache filesystem
Access download manager.
connect and disconnect from WiMAX
choose widgets
delete other apps' data
delete apps
power device on or off
download files without notification
force stop other apps
directly install apps
interact across users
full license to interact across users
manage users
update component usage statistics
Read install sessions
read your social stream
read sync statistics
close other apps
adjust your wallpaper size
read subscribed feeds
write subscribed feeds
transmit infrared
modify app ops statistics
modify battery statistics
modify/delete internal media storage contents
write to your social stream
read Home settings and shortcuts
write Home settings and shortcuts
receive data from Internet
view configured accounts
access other Google services
YouTube usernames
AdSense
AdWords
Google App Engine
Blogger
Google Calendar
contacts data in Google accounts
Dodgeball
Google Finance
Google Base
Google Voice
Google Groups
Google Health
iGoogle accounts
JotSpot
Knol
Picasa Web Albums
Google Maps
Google mail
Google mobile apps
Google News
Google Notebook
Orkut
Google Book Search
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Voice Search
Personalized Speech Recognition
Google Talk
Google Wi-Fi
Google Spreadsheets
Google Docs
YouTube
read instant messages
write instant messages
mock location sources for testing
view network connections
act as the AccountManagerService
create accounts and set passwords
read battery statistics
pair with Bluetooth devices
access Bluetooth settings
send sticky broadcast
change system display settings
change network connectivity
allow Wi-Fi Multicast reception
connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
Change WiMAX state
delete all app cache data
disable your screen lock
expand/collapse status bar
control flashlight
measure app storage space
full network access
close other apps
change your audio settings
control Near Field Communication
make app always run
read sync settings
read terms you added to the dictionary
run at startup
reorder running apps
set time zone
set wallpaper
draw over other apps
use accounts on the device
control vibration
prevent device from sleeping
modify system settings
toggle sync on and off
add words to user-defined dictionary
set an alarm
write web bookmarks and history
install shortcuts
uninstall shortcuts
Google Play license check
read Google service configuration
=====
Has anyone had any experience with Arduino Boards?
That list is ridiculous, I will be deleting the app. Thanks for the heads up
Slayerkodi said:
That list is ridiculous, I will be deleting the app. Thanks for the heads up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome slayerkodi!
I am still looking for the answer to my 2 questions in my first post. Has anyone had experience with Arduino boards and touch emulation?
Bump...
Anyone?
USB Gamepad TouchMapper by makithappendigital. Apparently if I buy an Arduino Board: Micro, ProMicro, Leonardo or Beetle USB Stick and plug my gamepad into that using this app, touch screen on stock Android TV is now viable.
I have a couple questions...
1.) Has anyone actually tried this or something similar and did it work well?
2.) What is the difference between Micro, ProMicro, Leonardo or Beetle Arduino boards? Is one more effective for what I'm trying to accomplish, cheaper, or can be used for more than what I'd be purchasing one for (swiss army knife)?
3.) I am not familiar with Arduino boards, and I was hoping you could help me pick the lowest cost board that will work for Gamepad TouchMapper on Amazon.com. Can you send me a link or two of known boards that work on Amazon?
4.) Also I have a PS3 controller, but I noticed the PS4 has a touchpad. Does the touchpad work via the Arduino board on the Shield TV? If so I'd like to purchase a new controller.
5.) Is it possible to use the lesser expensive Snakebyte Gamepad for PS4 - Wired Controller? This controller is half the price.
6.) Can I use a 15 foot USB 3.0 extension cable to plug the controller into the board?
7.) What other cables do I need...I thought I read something about an OTG cable? Can you send me a link on Amazon?
I have started a thread about your software on an Android forum. Please answer my questions and I will help promote your product on the forum and to friends/family if this all works:
Thank you in advance for your help and advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
1) Google told me, that the App Gamepad TouchMapper will crash from the start on Android TV's (maybe google do not allow the "Overlays" on TV Devices). Maybe someone can install the Demo and send some crash reports. Then I can see what I can do.
2) The only difference is the USB port. For the Beetle (Amazon: CJMCU-Beetle-Leonardo-ATMEGA32U4-Development-Arduino) you don't need an USB cable, for all the others you need an USB cable to plug it in the USB Hub.
3) I'm using this: CJMCU-Beetle-Leonardo-ATMEGA32U4-Development-Arduino
But you can also use this (incl. USB Cable): KEYESTUDIO-Arduino-Compatible-Micro-Atmega32U4
4) PS3 and PS4 are working fine. The PS4 Touchpad is a Button only with Gamepad Touchmapper
5) No. But you can use the old XBox 360 USB "wired" gamepad
6) Yes.
7) You need the USB OTG cable for other Android Devices (Tablets, Smartphones) only, because they have no full USB 2.0 Port. UGREEN-Adapter-Samsung-Controller-Smartphone
Hint: With my NVidia Shield Tablet (with HDMI Output Port) the Gamepad Touchmapper is working fine. It has the same Processor like the NVidia Shield TV. And with an USB OTG Y Cable you can use USB OTG (USB Devices like: Gamepad, Ethernet, Arduino, ...) and charge the Tablet at the same time. So you don't need the NVidia Shield TV anymore. You can also install an Android TV Launcher on your tablet. Then you have the same usability like you know it from a real AndroidTV Device.
The best thing with the Gamepad Touchmapper is: it is made for Gamepad handling including the settings. You do not need fingers or a mouse to set up the settings/games. And you don't need a rooted device.
MakeItHappenDigital said:
Hi,
1) Google told me, that the App Gamepad TouchMapper will crash from the start on Android TV's (maybe google do not allow the "Overlays" on TV Devices). Maybe someone can install the Demo and send some crash reports. Then I can see what I can do.
2) The only difference is the USB port. For the Beetle (Amazon: CJMCU-Beetle-Leonardo-ATMEGA32U4-Development-Arduino) you don't need an USB cable, for all the others you need an USB cable to plug it in the USB Hub.
3) I'm using this: CJMCU-Beetle-Leonardo-ATMEGA32U4-Development-Arduino
But you can also use this (incl. USB Cable): KEYESTUDIO-Arduino-Compatible-Micro-Atmega32U4
4) PS3 and PS4 are working fine. The PS4 Touchpad is a Button only with Gamepad Touchmapper
5) No. But you can use the old XBox 360 USB "wired" gamepad
6) Yes.
7) You need the USB OTG cable for other Android Devices (Tablets, Smartphones) only, because they have no full USB 2.0 Port. UGREEN-Adapter-Samsung-Controller-Smartphone
Hint: With my NVidia Shield Tablet (with HDMI Output Port) the Gamepad Touchmapper is working fine. It has the same Processor like the NVidia Shield TV. And with an USB OTG Y Cable you can use USB OTG (USB Devices like: Gamepad, Ethernet, Arduino, ...) and charge the Tablet at the same time. So you don't need the NVidia Shield TV anymore. You can also install an Android TV Launcher on your tablet. Then you have the same usability like you know it from a real AndroidTV Device.
The best thing with the Gamepad Touchmapper is: it is made for Gamepad handling including the settings. You do not need fingers or a mouse to set up the settings/games. And you don't need a rooted device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much! I am going to place an order on Amazon for the Arduino board and give it a try. I will report my results here in the next week or two.
over_clocked said:
Thank you very much! I am going to place an order on Amazon for the Arduino board and give it a try. I will report my results here in the next week or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I've found a way to use Overlays with the NVidia Shield TV (there is a different API for TV). I've ordered one, and then I will make an App especially for the Shield TV and Android TVs next week. I've published also a 2nd App to play Games with Mouse and Keyboard (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.makeithappend.keymousetouchmapperdemo). I'm so happy to have the possibility to do it without root and without hacks. Now it's perfect for me. There are so nice games in the App Store with fantastic 3D Graphics, but it annoyed me to play these games with fingers. With Mouse und Keyboard and also Gamepad it's easier and it makes more fun
MakeItHappenDigital said:
I think I've found a way to use Overlays with the NVidia Shield TV (there is a different API for TV). I've ordered one, and then I will make an App especially for the Shield TV and Android TVs next week. I've published also a 2nd App to play Games with Mouse and Keyboard (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.makeithappend.keymousetouchmapperdemo). I'm so happy to have the possibility to do it without root and without hacks. Now it's perfect for me. There are so nice games in the App Store with fantastic 3D Graphics, but it annoyed me to play these games with fingers. With Mouse und Keyboard and also Gamepad it's easier and it makes more fun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so my arduino board arrived! I ended up purchasing this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0786LJQ8K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And I bought this case to protect it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07984HVT7/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
So I tried your "original" demo on Nvidia Shield TV and it allows me to assign the analog stick and a button to the screen, but never allows me to actually test the stick and the button. Your app was on sale a week or two ago so I purchased it. With the full application it never detects the ps3 dualshock controller is plugged in. Then I realized that a long time ago when I rooted my Shield TV I had used the sixaxis pairing utility to change the master address to pair via Bluetooth (please note my Shield TV is no longer rooted, I returned it to stock firmware). I assumed Bluetooth connectivity was the problem. So I plugged my ps3 controller into my computer, ran the sixaxis pairing utility and created a fake address so it would no longer pair with my Shield TV. I then verified that my Shield TV was no longer pairing with my ps3 controller via Bluetooth.
I opened your paid app on the shield. When it asks me to plug in the ps3 controller it still does not detect the controller. However the USB hub, usb cable, and ps3 controller is working as I am able to navigate through menus on my Shield TV with the PS3 controller, so I do not know what is wrong here. I can't test on my phone because I have a Google Pixel and it uses USB C, so I do not have USB C to 5 pin mini B cable at the moment, but I'm sure it would work.
I will wait for your new app to test on the Shield TV once you incorporate the new API.
Thanks for the reply. Interesting. I have to think about.
I will receive my NVidia Shield TV Device in a few days, then I can more to say.
Btw. did you connected the Arduino Board and then ack the permissions a few times? After two ack permissions you have to see a PopUp Window with "Modify Data" and then "Success! Reboot... please wait 10 Seconds!"
If not, then the Arduino Board is not activated.
---------- Post added at 08:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------
I've tested my PS3 Controller with the Paid App and my NVidia Shield Tablet ... it found the controller (ask permission) the menu was coming up, but no control. Then I pressed the PS button once, then I could navigate the menu.
The PS3 controller is working also with the paid app.
MakeItHappenDigital said:
Thanks for the reply. Interesting. I have to think about.
I will receive my NVidia Shield TV Device in a few days, then I can more to say.
Btw. did you connected the Arduino Board and then ack the permissions a few times? After two ack permissions you have to see a PopUp Window with "Modify Data" and then "Success! Reboot... please wait 10 Seconds!"
If not, then the Arduino Board is not activated.
---------- Post added at 08:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------
I've tested my PS3 Controller with the Paid App and my NVidia Shield Tablet ... it found the controller (ask permission) the menu was coming up, but no control. Then I pressed the PS button once, then I could navigate the menu.
The PS3 controller is working also with the paid app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply! When I was using the demo, I remember it was asking for permission. I thought I granted it, but it kept nagging for permission relentlessly. It's not asking anymore?!? I do not remember if it ever said "modify data" or not. How can I get Android to ask again? Also my arduino board has a green power light on that is solid. Additionally it has a yellow light that is blinking. The letter "L" is next to the yellow flashing light. I'm not sure that is a problem or not... I have gone into settings, developer options, revoked usb debugging, disabled and re-enabled usb debugging (this was probably not necessary, but just troubleshooting). I still can not get the Shield TV to ask for permission.
over_clocked said:
Thank you for your reply! When I was using the demo, I remember it was asking for permission. I thought I granted it, but it kept nagging for permission relentlessly. It's not asking anymore?!? I do not remember if it ever said "modify data" or not. How can I get Android to ask again? Also my arduino board has a green power light on that is solid. Additionally it has a yellow light that is blinking. The letter "L" is next to the yellow flashing light. I'm not sure that is a problem or not... I have gone into settings, developer options, revoked usb debugging, disabled and re-enabled usb debugging (this was probably not necessary, but just troubleshooting). I still can not get the Shield TV to ask for permission.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For this app you don't need Developer options or other options/settings.
If you have more than one TouchMapper Apps installed, then you have to quit all running TouchMapper Services! Reason: The other Services are stealing the device and you will never see a reaction with the app you are currently using.
If the Arduino Board "L" LED is blinking every second, then the Board is not modified by the App. The Arduino Board is correct modified if both LEDs TX/RX are blinking every 3 seconds. Unplug and replug the board. Then you will be asked about permissions (on some devices you have to press "OK" very quickly, otherwise the Arduino board will not work) and then you will see "modify data". This is only necessary for the first time. If the board is modified, then it will be instantly activated when you connect the board (no wait time).
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/It_T2Dl6c70
I will receive my NVidia Shield TV wednesday, then I can say more about the Shield.
MakeItHappenDigital said:
For this app you don't need Developer options or other options/settings.
If you have more than one TouchMapper Apps installed, then you have to quit all running TouchMapper Services! Reason: The other Services are stealing the device and you will never see a reaction with the app you are currently using.
If the Arduino Board "L" LED is blinking every second, then the Board is not modified by the App. The Arduino Board is correct modified if both LEDs TX/RX are blinking every 3 seconds. Unplug and replug the board. Then you will be asked about permissions (on some devices you have to press "OK" very quickly, otherwise the Arduino board will not work) and then you will see "modify data". This is only necessary for the first time. If the board is modified, then it will be instantly activated when you connect the board (no wait time).
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/It_T2Dl6c70
I will receive my NVidia Shield TV wednesday, then I can say more about the Shield.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your video was helpful, thank you. I think I may have checked the box a few times (Use by default for this USB device) when I was asked for permissions, and therefore the board was never modified by your app. I am not sure how to reset that option in android as unplugging the board and plugging it back in no longer asks for permission. Under settings>apps>permissions there are no defaults set. I also hit the reset button on the arduino board, but that didn't help either. I hope you enjoy your Shield TV, it is truly a great device. The video processor is an upgrade over the shield tablet Tegra K1 processor. The Shield TV uses the Tegra X1 processor if I remember correctly.
over_clocked said:
Your video was helpful, thank you. I think I may have checked the box a few times (Use by default for this USB device) when I was asked for permissions, and therefore the board was never modified by your app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try to install the App on an other Andorid device and modify the Arduino Board there.
This looks really cool! Years ago, I was able to use a Wii remote as a mouse on android. It was incredible, and I would gladly pay you handsomely if you could use this method and make it happen again. To illustrate what I am looking for, it was this. https://youtu.be/r1d1tU6o-Uo
If you can make that happen on my Shield TV, I would give you $, and shout your name from the rooftops for people to buy your app! Do you think that is possible using your method here?
bradleyw801 said:
This looks really cool! Years ago, I was able to use a Wii remote as a mouse on android. It was incredible, and I would gladly pay you handsomely if you could use this method and make it happen again. To illustrate what I am looking for, it was this. https://youtu.be/r1d1tU6o-Uo
If you can make that happen on my Shield TV, I would give you $, and shout your name from the rooftops for people to buy your app! Do you think that is possible using your method here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This were easy, and I have the code, but is not working, how so many other function I would use. Google changed the Bluetooth Stack since Android 5 or so, till then Wii Bluetooth is not possible anymore.
But you can use another Phone to simulate the Wii Controller without IR Lights This is in the making.
MakeItHappenDigital said:
This were easy, and I have the code, but is not working, how so many other function I would use. Google changed the Bluetooth Stack since Android 5 or so, till then Wii Bluetooth is not possible anymore.
But you can use another Phone to simulate the Wii Controller without IR Lights This is in the making.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I remember. I used to use my Wii remote as a light gun for emulators and games like Major Mayhem. Unfortunately all airmouse or gyroscopic methods don't work well when trying to use it as a gun. Wii IR is the best for that purpose. Please let me know if you find a way to make this work with an arduino. Thank you!
bradleyw801 said:
Yes, I remember. I used to use my Wii remote as a light gun for emulators and games like Major Mayhem. Unfortunately all airmouse or gyroscopic methods don't work well when trying to use it as a gun. Wii IR is the best for that purpose. Please let me know if you find a way to make this work with an arduino. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With an Arduino Leonardo + USB Host Shield + USB BT CSR Dongle it were possible.
But I don't know it for the NVidia Shield TV (different than normal Android Devices), I will test it in a few days.
Hmmm... I could make wireless Gamepad (Wii, PS3, PS4, XBox) also possible with Arduino Leonardo.
Update: Wii Remote (incl. Pointer) + Arduino Leonardo + Touch is working fine with Android Devices (without TV), but it was not easy, because of the low memory of the Arduino Leonardo, and some USB trouble with Android.
Waiting for my NVidia Shield TV Device.
Hello folks.
In the last few weeks (not sure when it happened) all my external keyboards and mice are not working on the Shield Pro. I have tried 3 wireless and one wired keyboard and wired mouse, and none of them show the cursor moving at all. In settings, my main keyboard, Logitech k400, is visible in settings, but there is no mouse cursor, nothing happens when I try to navigate.
Secondly, when I try to connect the Google Android TV app to the Shield Pro, it never connects. They are on the same (and only) wifi.
Was there some update that broke the use of external devices? I have not done anything to my settings or device. It is not rooted, it is as it came from the factory...
Help please, thanks!
Mark.
Hey everyone! I bought an Onn. Streaming Box at Walmart a couple of days ago, intending to run Torque Pro on my car's preexisting Backup Screen w/ a Bluetooth OBD2 dongle (a tiny $25 self-contained Android box seemed to make a lot of sense for that application). I sideloaded the Torque apk onto the box and used a remote app w/ mouse cursor to set up the layout, but when I went to finally pair the OBD2 dongle, it wouldn't pick it up. Since the screen just says "Accessories", I'm guessing you can only pair things like headphones, controllers, keyboards, etc.
I also tried sideloading "Bluetooth Direct", and forcibly connecting to my phone's Bluetooth address (just to test), and it couldn't connect (it seems like that app doesn't work for a lot of people though).
Is there any way around this?
I'm waiting for a powered OTG cable to be delivered today, so I can root and hopefully figure something out that way. It seems weird if it's really a limitation built into the OS, since regular android is buried underneath there somewhere, and it isn't like the box has some special Bluetooth hardware that limits it to certain devices.
If all else fails, maybe I could just get an OBD2 to USB cord and plug into an OTG, but idk if that would work either (it should on other Android devices).
And for anyone wondering, yes, the Android TV UI optimized for giant 4k TV's does not work well on a 5" 480p HDMI -> RCA screen, LOL.
Figured this out if anybody wants to do something similar, I just sideloaded the app "Bluetooth Scanner - Bluetooth finder - pairing" (com.pzolee.bluetoothscanner), and was able to pair it right away. I am running LineageOS and rooted with Magisk, but I'd think this should work on stock too.