[APP][NO ROOT][ANDROID TV] Leanback Launcher for Fire TV

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CuF

Senior Member
Aug 29, 2015
171
44
Hi! It's great to see someone continuing this work. I obviously haven't had time to work on this and I don't use the AFTV platform as much as I used to. I'll reach out via PM in a bit and we can potentially figure out updating the posts to direct to your work.
I think you're limiting this app by calling it 'for Fire TV'. It's a great clone of the Nougat launcher for any device that can't install the real version.
In my case, Sony has taken my 2015 TV and with a firmware update in the past month, shoved that awful Oreo launcher into it. They then added an un-modifyiable dummy app with the same name as the old launcher to prevent any from going back.
This works great for me. Perhaps just call this Leanback Launcher for Android TVs (which seems redundant). But it is great to have and should work with any android device.
Btw, I don't know if you read the last few posts, but the settings change from v1.10 to v1.11 removes at least one option that I need to have access to.
 

jt81951

New member
Dec 20, 2010
3
0
Change Category of App within Leanback Launcher?

Hey, this is a great App for my Fire TV 4K! Glad it is still being developed by tsynik!!! I use it to access my sideloaded HBO Max app that does not show up in the standard Fire TV interface. One question, is it possible to change the category of an app somehow? I have a few TV channel Apps (such as The CW) that shows up in Apps instead of the Video section. If any help it would be appreciated, but otherwise thanks again Devs!
 

jt81951

New member
Dec 20, 2010
3
0
Change Category of App within Leanback Launcher?

Thanks, but unfortunately it doesn't work for me... I am using the tsynik release... maybe that is the difference? Long press on the app I want to move gives me an uninstall option at bottom, and if click menu button I only get View In Store, App Settings, Add to Favorites, and HIde in Launcher. I may try the original to see the differences...
long press on the app you want to move and pick "Move to Section" then choose which section you want to put it in. You can make or remove sections by long pressing on any app and then choose launcher settings/sections/manage sections. You can hide apps that you don't use or want on the home screen too by long pressing on an app then choose launcher settings/hidden apps and check the apps you want to hide. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks, but unfortunately it doesn't work for me... I am using the tsynik release... maybe that is the difference? Long press on the app I want to move gives me an uninstall option at bottom, and if click menu button I only get View In Store, App Settings, Add to Favorites, and HIde in Launcher. I may try the original to see the differences...

I'm sorry guys, I was thinking of another launcher. Wrong advise on my part.
 
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dictorclef

Senior Member
Jul 22, 2017
57
6
Thanks guys for your work. @tsynik, could you add the possibility of moving the application between the rows?
I second that. I just installed it, and so far it's miles ahead of the Google launcher included in tsynik's Google Play market and services magisk module. I just have an issue with the recommendations tab not showing some apps, like smart YouTube TV, which showed up in Google's launcher [EDIT]They do, but it takes a long time for them to appear. When I exit the launcher settings, it sometimes brings me back to the original launcher instead of this one.
I was also wondering if Tsynik could add an option to add custom pictures to an app's banner?
 
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CuF

Senior Member
Aug 29, 2015
171
44
I can confirm that v1.13 still has the input row. (Yay, thanks tsynik!)
Stupid question: How do you add something to the favorites row? I've enabled it, but it isn't visible.

Also: What are the dimension allowed for the wallpaper? My TV is 4k, but is the wallpaper limited to 1080p or something?

Edit: It TOOK a 4k file, I have no idea if it is being shown in 4k. Btw, it would be nice if any wallpaper image could be selected, say from a folder on a USB stick. Rename and copying a single file each time to the /storage/0 directory is kind of a pain.
Heck... a slow slide show from a selected directory would be a nice feature as well.
 
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CuF

Senior Member
Aug 29, 2015
171
44
That doesn't work for me. Holding the select button changes to the page to reorder apps and there is no favorites category there. Pressing 'menu' afterwards takes me to the, well, menu.
Rockon99's release did this differently. There was a Star icon at the bottom that let you select apps for your favorites.
I just can't figure if it's possible with tsynik's release. Maybe it's my device, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do it.

Of course I also don't see a way to hide apps (although there is a setting in the menu that is supposed to list hidden apps), and the list of apps that can make recommendations doesn't include Smart YouTube TV (although that app shows recommendations on my original launcher page).
 
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vimesUK

Senior Member
Aug 18, 2007
465
77
Nr Manchester
Does anyone have any luck with limiting the total number of apps on a row...? I am using version 1.17 by tsynik.
Using this wonderful launcher on a Fire TV stick and Cube I find that entering any value to limit the number of apps on a row has zero effect.

Thanks
 
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PureKaozJ

New member
Dec 16, 2011
4
0
Mooresville, NC
I installed this on a Dolamee D18, and having some issues with the Home button on remote not really working. If I click home, it doesn't do much. If I click on the select button, it chooses an app and will open it but I cannot see what I am picking. When I hit the settings key on remote it will go to the home screen and open a settings dialog that I can't get to clear out.

I tried the Launcher Hijacker also, but not much luck. Anyone find any workarounds for android TVs that desperately need this launcher?
 

CuF

Senior Member
Aug 29, 2015
171
44
I installed this on a Dolamee D18, and having some issues with the Home button on remote not really working. If I click home, it doesn't do much. If I click on the select button, it chooses an app and will open it but I cannot see what I am picking. When I hit the settings key on remote it will go to the home screen and open a settings dialog that I can't get to clear out.

I tried the Launcher Hijacker also, but not much luck. Anyone find any workarounds for android TVs that desperately need this launcher?
Try FTVLaunchX. I use that with Leanback Launcher on Sony Android TVs. I will warn you that some options just don't work with this launcher on my TV and FTVLaunchX breaks Google Play Apps so installed apps don't show up. I keep my app updates to manual so I have to disable FTVLaunchX update apps and then re-enable it. I'm not sure if autoupdates work okay or not.
 

theportal2

Senior Member
I am using this with my chromecast with google tv and I am liking it so far but I got some bugs with it.

1) I can't set custom wallpaper
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2) recommendations does not work (I gave it WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS)
0k2stYo.jpg

3) I can't hide apps, the launcher shows no apps to hide in the menu
inBpzim.jpg

I am using the latest version
 

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  • 39
    Leanback on Fire
    Android TV Launcher Ported to Fire TV

    Source Code: https://github.com/leanback-on-fire/LeanbackLauncher

    Project is continued at https://github.com/tsynik/LeanbackLauncher, not supported by rockon999
    Releases: https://github.com/tsynik/LeanbackLauncher/releases (no longer offered by rockon999, forked releases)

    1.jpg


    (More screenshots are attached)

    Tested on:
    - Fire TV Stick 2

    Features:
    - Can open Bluetooth and WiFi settings without the stock launcher installed.
    - Opens notification center, notification settings, and displays the current amount of unread notifications.
    - Can display Amazon-downloaded apps in the store for easy updating and management.
    - Can open individual app's settings.
    - Can sort applications by categories (video, music, favorites, etc)
    - Stripped of all Google services (to prevent crashes!)

    Limitations:
    - Recommendations were removed (unfortunately they are too unstable and unworkable without root, though I am exploring a method of adding them back into the launcher in Alpha 3)
    - As this is based on decompiled sources there are bugs that must be squashed
    - The uninstall button in edit mode is broken via the traditional Android TV method. Instead use the Fire TV app menu.
    - Also, the done button in edit mode is broken too. Simply use the back button on your remote :)

    Basics:
    - The menu button will open up an app menu.
    - The edit favorites launcher in the settings row can be used to add apps you want easy access to. Press back to exit the selection screen.

    Installation:
    - Install like any other APK over ADB. (adb install [path])
    - If you want the notification counter you need to execute the following command: "adb shell pm grant com.rockon999.android.leanbacklauncher android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS"
    - If you are on firmware 5.2.6 or lower you can disable the stock launcher. See this thread for more information. I don't recommend disabling all amazon features. Only OTA and com.amazon.tv.launcher.
    - You should install LauncherHijack v3 for a fully functioning home button.
    - If you want Google Search you'll need to install a specific version. 've found a working 2.x series version that is better looking, more stable, and much faster than the previous 1.x version. You can get the APK here. Note: The current version of Leanback on Fire may crash if you try to use the "microphone" orb to interact with the 2.x version. Always use the keyboard orb.
    A future version will remove the microphone orb. Unfortunately the latest version is incompatible but an older version works surprisingly well. I've found version 1.0.6.2108324 to be the most stable. You can download the APK here.

    Notes:
    -The notification counter is still in its infancy and may not always function exactly.
    - The app must be restarted for WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permission to take effect.
    - I'll be posted a full guide to the various Android TV APKs that function on Fire TV soon :) - The guide is posed in General
    12
    Alpha 3 is coming soon (hopefully in a few days)... I still have some issues to fix (as is readily apparent in this screenshot). But on the plus side I've figured out how to get notifications working :)

    HOzLu8Nl.jpg
    7
    Did you get a chance to check?

    I am on FireTV2 with latest update btw

    It is working on my end but I'll wipe my system and try a clean startup. This should be (mostly) mitigated in Alpha 3 as Alpha 3 is based on Leanback 1.11.x instead of Leanback 1.1.x. 1.11.x has a complete database overhaul that should speed up the launcher and generally get rid of some of the annoying database glitches that 1.1.x has.

    Also, as an update. I've got recommendations sorta working. Images sometimes load, sometimes don't. I won't have a lot of development time until Friday/Saturday though :)
    6
    Latest source code commit was on 23 Feb, 4 months ago.

    The Alpha 3 branch was created on 25 Mar, but still contains identical sources of Alpha 2, no new code.

    That's a very long construction phase, but let's see what else @rockon999 is up to ;)

    Hey all! It's not dead, but I've been without my Fire TV Stick since May (working on it, I promise). Actually Alpha 3 is significantly more stable and has numerous improvements over Alpha 2 and I was using it as a daily driver starting in late April. There are certainly bugs but it is rebased on a much newer leanback launcher and includes a ton of bug fixes. I'm going to try to finish packaging Alpha 3 soon. My actual work has been consuming a lot of development time though, so I won't make any promises. I did get recommendations fully working but it requires old firmware due to Amazon blocking.