Quick update so far these are the tv streaming services i have tested that work on the firetv box after being sideloaded.
bein sport (poor quality)
Skygo
directv (usa login required)
xfinity (usa login required)
Fios mobile tv (usa login required)
tvcatchup
filmon
nowtv
nbcsports live (usa login required)
foxnow, fx, tnt,tbs, nbc (usa login required)
dish (usa tv login required)
itv player

Going to be testing more soon.

Out of interest, how's everyone doing with remote batteries?

I'm now on my third set since xmas. Obviously the first set I didn't expect to last but I replaced them with decent ones and they've only lasted a couple of months.

No probs here. I've been using an AFTV Stick on a daily basis since it was launched in the US, and never had to change the batteries.

The AFTV Box has been in use since the German launch (which was a month before UK) and still on the same batteries, although to be honest, for that box I tend to use my Harmony remote more.

I'm on second pair since November but i'm only using those cheap panasonic ones, i got 4 durracell of ebay though for £1.80 so will try those next.

Has anyone discovered a way to switch off the annoying 'click' from the box when you press a button on the remote?

Settings>Display & Sounds>Audio>Navigation Sounds

Thank you!

I have a couple of questions. Firstly side loaded apps is there anyway to put them in recent apps? I have Hulu Plus installed and its a pain having to navigate to settings etc everytime I want to open it, even if it appeared in the Apps menu might help.

Secondly with a prime sub is there anyway to hide the rent crap? Browsing through the menus they always seem to stick the stuff for rent first before the items included in your prime sub which is a major pain in the backside, its poorly thought out but I can see why they do it, if Sky did such a thing there would be uproar, they have a separate section for rentals

Liking the new x ray feature, no more wondering where you've seen the actor before, and having to go and look on IMBD. Now if they could get NF on board with it, it would be fantastic

Agreed ^^

And if they could get Netflix on board, it would make all the more reason for Netflix customers to choose the AFTV Box which is incentive for Amazon to encourage Netflix.

I've sideloaded a few apps and they work fine however NowTV isn't playing.

I sent it to the Fire from my Nexus 4, i've browsed and then logged in but when i try to play something, Live or a Boxset i get an error message.

'oops not now. Now TV is not available on this device'

This was the 4th device i added and it's listed in my devices under my NowTV account.

Anyone have any ideas?

The best way to see side-loaded apps is to download and install the FiredTV Launcher app. When you first start the Fire TV go to Settings/Applications, etc. and Launch FiredTV. From within this app you can create a menu and add all the side-loaded apps/hide native apps, etc. Within the settings of this app there is an Disable Home Button Detection which is checked by default. If you uncheck this option and then start a side-loaded app, you can press the Home button on the remote and it will go back to the FiredTV Launcher.

Note: If you click on the Amazon Settings icon within FiredTV you effectively exit the FiredTV app and the Home Detection option does not work and you would need to relaunch FiredTV.

I've not tried it but you could also install the Autostart - No Root app from the Google Play Store and then use this to autostart FiredTV.

I hope this helps.

Does anyone know how to view resolution/bitrate/etc info when watching Netflix on FireTV please?

What software does the Fire TV Stick use to cast from laptop to stick?

I've had to give up on the Chromecast as it was using too many resources on the laptop and I was getting the working cursor a lot fo the time.

Well, strangely enough, this has started working now. I didn't re-install or anything it just worked today

I'm currently using Unblockus to access the NBC sports app. It's working ok but I've read a lot about VPNs, what benefits are there to using a VPN over something like Unblockus?

Would it improve streaming quality? Less buffering?

Also, can anyone recommend a VPN?

VPN's are great when you want to fully encrypt your traffic. But they have a couple of downfalls for watching television.

* They are not as easy to configure directly on most set-top-boxes. After-all, there are no VPN settings on an AFTV. (Though some devices like the Roku canÄt configure either).
* Smart DNS is also easier to configure on most routers.
* Smart DNS can unblock from multiple countries at the same time. i.e. on your AFTV, you can use the BBC iPlayer and other UK apps, and quickly switch to US apps. Also, if you put your Smart DNS on your router, you can access multiple apps at the same time even if they are from different countries.
* Smart DNS is generally faster than VPNs which is important for video traffic. VPN tunnels everything through the VPN connection, whereas Smart DNS traffics the normal video feed in most cases.

There are loads more advantages to Smart DNS, so for video, in most cases, you should just stick with it.

The only advantage I can think of with VPN for video is that unlike Smart DNS, it tends to work with all services that go through it, so you don't have to worry if a Smart DNS supports your service.

For Hulu Plus just login into Amazon and click Manage Device and change the region to The US. Then goto Amazon.com and login with your co.uk details and purchase the fee Hulu Plus app (and any other US service the FireTV has in the US that you want). You may need to add a US address to your account but you only need a valid zip code (90210 should work).

Then on the FireTV in settings choose Sync Content and the US apps will sync. Then on Amazon.com chose manage devices again and switch back to the UK. Then you have access to the US apps which will show on recent and under apps.


As for not seeing rental stuff, just use the Prime Video tab

Would you believe I tried that, Hulu Plus doesn't show up, Sure I got the likes of PBS Kids, and other US only apps but no Hulu Plus, I did find away around it though. There is an android app called Hola, its a free VPN. It unblocks Google Play store apps, I downloaded it to my phone then sideloaded it to the fire TV and it worked fine.

Only issue is it doesn't show up in recent apps.

If you don't have Hulu showing up in your recent apps, it seems you don't have the official version of Hulu on your AFTV, but the Android mobile version (which is way inferior).

Try the tip suggested above again (i.e. changing the device region to the US) but if you have a Kindle set up, make sure that is also set to the US.

Then, on your AFTV, you should have all the US apps in the app store. If you don't see them, try logging out of the AFTV (settings, where you deregister) and log back in again (despite the term "deregistering", it's not as complicated as it sounds). I found this usually brings the US apps.

just put the fox sports app on my fire TV, all i'm getting is a continual spinning circle while it try's to load, i'm using unblock us for my DNS, I have no problems accessing the service on my I-pad or pc, anyone else having problems with this app?

Ok scrub that last post, woke up today and everything working fine with fox sports, didn't want to know yesterday, must have been a problem there end. On another note, sideloaded xfinity TV go and NBC sports on yesterday, and now have official apps for them in the recents tab, I was under the impression you had to access them from the applications in settings, has this recently changed?

Recently purchased a firetv stick got it for £19, id love to add kodi or XMBC on there but simply wouldnt have a clue how to. I have a macbook and from what ive read you have to install stuff on there to get the ball rolling.

Try Googling about it. Always a good option when other people are more than likely to want the same thing.

Got it working via a PC. Can now access media on an external HD attached to my router as well as media on my PC.

What software do you use to access media on the PC? Is the software on the PC or on the stick?