Backup YouTube NOW! Google pulling support for YouTube on FireTV!

[Sizzlechest]

https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/5/16738748/google-amazon-feud-youtube-pulled-off-fire-tv-echo-show-nest-devices

Back it up while you can!

Link to the current APK: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlFvM-kUCwh-j5XfAMn9ySTPBp3

I think they will shut it down from their end. Unless someone can hack the apk, it will cease to work on January 1st.

 

[TT_Vert]

I read about this yesterday and saw a notification on my fire today. I'm sure a modded apk will resolve this. I also wonder if playing you tube from within kodi will work. Not as nice but it does the job. I went into youtube in kodi and it did not have that notification so that may be a work around. Not the bet but better than nothing. Really sucks that it doesn't show history and has no "home" per say.


Dave

 

[Sizzlechest]

I decompiled the YouTube app. I'm not convinced Google knows it's coming from a FireTV from the user agent string. Here's what the app uses:

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/27.0.1453.93 Safari/537.36 Mozilla/5.0 (PLAYSTATION 3; 3.55)

 

[TT_Vert]

So that begs the question, how can they block it? Is it just a scare tactic? If they don't know the source is an amazon fire they cannot possibly block it unless they put a youtube update to look for certain hardware criteria to ID it as a fire. If that's the case we just don't update the apk.

Dave

 

[don_ernesto]

they seem to know how, since they are displaying the warning message on fire tvs only

 

[TimmyP]

What about alternative apps like Newpipe?

 

[SH4YD33]

Im sure the hardware is identified by the build.prop...

 

[rodalpho]

The YouTube "app" is really just a webview to https://www.youtube.com/TV plus a shim to translate remote control commands. It seems very likely that any block should be trivially evadeable as long as that website remains available-- and since androidTV and smart TV UIs also use the HTML5 website, that isn't going to happen.

My guess is it is indeed something to do with the HTTP user-agent or some sort of other easily cloned fingerprint.

 

[TT_Vert]

they seem to know how, since they are displaying the warning message on fire tvs only

Well when I play youtube from kodi it does not display that message so..

Dave

 

[Sizzlechest]

Well when I play youtube from kodi it does not display that message so..

Right. So the question is how does Google know it's the app vs. Kodi? The user agent string seems pretty generic. Therefore, something else is going on that needs to be found.

 

[rodalpho]

The Kodi YouTube addon uses the API, which ultimately would be pretty easy to block. The FireTV literally connects to a public website, which is much more difficult. There are tons of ways to fingerprint a browser beyond the user agent.

https://amiunique.org/

 

[blue1978]

This is exciting! It's a technology war. Doesn't effect me in any way. I rarely use YouTube on my fire tv and I'll just use chromecast if I need to watch it on my TV. Sure their will be an easy workaround. I'm team google. F amazon! Lol

 

[mijorus]

look at this website.
https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/en/

there is a working apk to get YouTube back working on the stick. it is recognized as a lg tv

 

[rodalpho]

Yes, that app works perfectly. Good stuff.

I still think Amazon and Google will work it out, but if they don't, use that.

 

[killerz298]

Is this better than the regular youtube app anyway?

 

[rodalpho]

That app is basically identical to the FireTV app, being a HTML5 webview of https://www.youtube.com/TV, but it supposedly also blocks their ads.

 

[TT_Vert]

LOL NM I'm an idiot. I saw 1080 and instantly went for it without reading. FAIL.

Dave

 

[daddymikey1975]

look at this website.
https://smartyoutubetv.github.io/en/

there is a working apk to get YouTube back working on the stick. it is recognized as a lg tv

I sideloaded this today and also can confirm that it works.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[tw39515]

you tube is still working for me. i get the warning message but it load just fine.

 

[daddymikey1975]

you tube is still working for me. i get the warning message but it load just fine.

Eventually it'll quit. Mine was the same way for a little while.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk