[ROM][UNOFFICIAL][11] LineageOS 18.1 for Fire TV Stick Lite/3rd gen (sheldon/p)

[ozfunghi]

Haven't been keeping track of this thread for some months now. I think i came across a post that stated the last version still doesn't have Netflix or casting working, but now i can't seem to find the post anymore. It's a good thing i found my Fire stick for only 19 euro, because otherwise it wouldn't have been worth the hastle compared to a Mi TV stick, lol.

Anyway, i have Netflix working via the Kodi app. It's a bit less flashy, but it works and that's the main thing. I followed this walkthrough and though it wasn't written for Android TV, most of the steps explained were close enough to how it was presented in order to figure out what to do. https://kodibeginner.com/install-netflix-kodi/
I installed the latest Kodi from the google play store, so no shady website had to be visited nor did Aptoide have to be downloaded.

Hope that helps some people who might be on the fence (or already made the jump like myself only to be disappointed to find out Netflix still isn't working 6 months later). For me Netflix not working was kind of a deal breaker, especially with casting also not working, so i'm glad now the Fire stick can actually be usefull.

I won't be upgrading/updating the OS unless either Netflix or casting has been fixed, i don't feel it's worth going through all that again for some minor improvements. I actually wanted to use the Fire stick as a genuine Android TV device, not as a tinkering hobby project. It now serves its purpose for what it is. I'm running Kodi/Netflix, Stremio, some local TV stations official apps (VRTnu, VTMgo, Auvio...) and Spotify. All works well. I'm thankful for the work that has been put into the OS, even though it would have been nice to have those extra features working. But for me, it does what it needs to do.

Looks like i posted my previous post in the "other" topic, though it should have been posted here.

Unfortunately just one day after posting that, that plan went out the door.

As Lineage isn't an official ROM, i assumed i could just leave play store set to auto update for the apps i was using without doing any damage. Unfortunately the latest update of Stremio demands an account, whereas previous versions allowed you to log in anonymously. So i deleted and wanted to go back to the previous version. In the meantime i also deleted updates of the Android TV Home to get rid of the Disney+ recommendations on the homescreen (as i don't have Disney+ and don't like these pushy ads).
But after installing the old Stremio app, i had to install the add-ons again, and some of these add-ons have to be installed via the browser. This was no issue before, but now suddenly this did not work anymore. Upon trying to install the add-on (which worked before with the same app, same add-on, same browser, same Fire TV Stick, same Lineage OS...) now suddenly i get an error message ER_UNKNOWN_URL_SCHEME. Tried a different version of Stremio, tried 5 different browsers. No dice. I set the stick back to factory settings, no avail. Finally i decided to just go through the hassle of installing an entire new OS (latest version of Lineage), wiping everything in TWRP. So after some hours, i was sure this time it was going to work... but it didn't. Also strange that my Kodi install after wiping everything and installing the latest OS, automatically still had my Netflix add-on installed automatically... How is that even possible? I know i wiped data and cache before installing the new OS. And still the same error remained and is keeping me from installing the Stremio add-on. Even when typing the line of code in Stremio to fetch the add-on externally, does not work. I have no idea what is causing the issue. It worked when i initially flashed lineage OS the first time.

Luckily i got Netflix working through Kodi, so Stremio not working isn't such a big deal anymore, but if someone knows what the problem is, please let me know.

As for the latest version of Lineage, i thought there was talk on page 1 or 2 to include an overscan setting in the next update (especially handy for old tv's that don't have that setting on the TV side), but i did not find this feature in the latest version. The audio/microphone search works, but you have to keep pressing the button.

 

[pcp12]

Installed correctly and working but the microphone does not work, I do not know why

 

[Rortiz2]

Installed correctly and working but the microphone does not work, I do not know why

It actually works in a weird way (as mentioned in older changelogs)

NOTE: As for the assistant button, it works but in a bit weird way; do not release the button when you stop talking, keep it pressed even if you have finished (the assistant will notice once you stop talking).

 

[pcp12]

It actually works in a weird way (as mentioned in older changelogs)

True, I hadn't read it, thanks for the clarification. It is curious because the assistant does not work from the remote control of the phone neither

 

[pcp12]

I've also noticed that hardware acceleration doesn't work well at all with VLC, while with nova player it works fine.

 

[ozfunghi]

True, I hadn't read it, thanks for the clarification. It is curious because the assistant does not work from the remote control of the phone neither

It was also mentioned in the sentence before your post

 

[ludger100]

Hello,

please apologize right away, but I am a total beginner.

Would it be possible with this software also to use a touch monitor (via USB) for control?

 

[strikert]

You can find Netflix kodi here btw

[APP][MOD] Netflix - Kodi Edition (Kodi fork with Netflix) + Netflix Mobile RCU MOD

Netflix - Kodi Edition is a Kodi 19.4 fork with Netflix addon pre-installed. It's customized for Widevine L1 Android TV boxes and can be installed alongside Kodi. For Widevine L3 devices (only 540p): - Netflix settings > Expert > ESN/Widevine...

forum.xda-developers.com

 

[skippyd]

Installed correctly and working but the microphone does not work, I do not know why

press and hold the button on amazon

 

[skippyd]

if you live in the USA this device isn't worth the time. For $19.88 walmart sells a better device with 2gb ram which is 4x faster.

 

[Rortiz2]

if you live in the USA this device isn't worth the time. For $19.88 walmart sells a better device with 2gb ram which is 4x faster.

Good to know. Too bad this device is not sold only in the United States.

 

[ChriMo]

I did a quick build with support for MicroG, if you want to try it out feel free to do so: https://github.com/mt8695/android_d.../lineage-18.1-20221001-UNOFFICIAL-sheldon.zip​

I finally was able to test this build. However since neither F-Droid nor microG F-Droid Repo (with sub-APK needed to fake GStore etc.) is included, it is a bit tricky/long to get all installed and setup. As suspected this config makes nothing better for a set of Games I tested. I did not try Magisk as I have no experience with it.
I may try installing GApps just to see how Micro voice search works and maybe some other GStuff. Regarding Games I basically have given up to use this device (with stock remote only) to play, since almost all the games need online connection and GApps (Google Play) which I despise - and many seem to require a different controller.

I tried FOSS Speech to Text Android solutions: AnySoftKeyboard in F-Droid is listed as imcompatible, Konele installs but the buttons do not seem to work. Would be interesting if someone got this to work on sheldon.

BTW: in the SETTINGS > REMOTES & A. > for a BT Keyboard
it seems no keyboard layout can be set up - just the standard English one is used.
Did I overlook some A11 TV setting?

 

[ChriMo]

open_gapps-arm-11.0-tvmini-20220215.zip
"horrible" experience IMHO: GApps take over with auto-updating (not sure if this could be avoided), the home-screen etc. loads Ads and Suggestions. I did not find a way to only load local (incl. Kodi or other non-Google) channels also for the main background (Google Play Trending). The suggested Apps Ads channel can be hidden.
Also GApps seems to have deactivated/hidden some crucial Apps for me like F-Droid and MyPhoneExplorer. Interestingly the following remained accessible: Aurora Store, Blokada, Kodi.
So the only main "features" of having GApps is the Voice Google Assistant, which in my opinion is not worth the privacy leak with the little added comfort. And the other thing is the higher Play Store App compatibility for anything related to payment, registration/login, Game App etc Support. So far also nothing crucial.
So I went back to plain Lineage OS TV with Kodi for local stuff and some Video Stream Apps (YouTube, TV Media Archives, etc.)

Thx Rortiz2

 

[meenmachine]

Anyone able to use kgdb with this build? Trying to write a kernel module for this thing.

We popped it open and were able to solder onto the uart port, but were unable enable ACM on that device. Currently unable to write an enable file to `/sys/class/android_usb/android0`

Any help with be awesome.

 

[nattan920]

any idea if I can port over the firetv AV sync option/app to work with this rom?

 

[Maddogg1972]

LineageOS is a free, community built, aftermarket firmware distribution of Android 11, which is designed to increase performance and reliability over stock Android for your device.

LineageOS is based on the Android Open Source Project with extra contributions from many people within the Android community. It can be used without any need to have any Google application installed. Linked below is a package that has come from another Android project that restore the Google parts. LineageOS does still include various hardware-specific code, which is also slowly being open-sourced anyway.

All the source code for LineageOS is available in the LineageOS Github repo. And if you would like to contribute to LineageOS, please visit out Gerrit Code Review. You can also view the Changelog for a full list of changes & features.
​

Instructions:

• Reboot to TWRP
• Wipe data, system (/system_root) and cache
• Flash the ROM and the GApps
• Reboot and enjoy!

Downloads:

• Builds: https://github.com/mt8695/android_device_amazon_sheldon/releases
• GApps: Open Gapps (arm/11/tvmini)

Reporting Bugs:

• DO NOT Report bugs if you're running a custom kernel, you installed Xposed or you installed Magisk
• Grab a logcat right after the problem has occurred. (Please include at least a few pages of the log, not just the last few lines, unless you know what you're doing.)
• If it is a random reboot, grab /proc/last_kmsg. (Do not bother getting a logcat unless you can get it just before the reboot. A logcat after a reboot is useless)

Known issues:

• Dolby Digital Plus™ E-AC-3
• Netflix

Notes:

• SELinux is in Permissive mode
• The ROM supports both sheldon (Fire TV Stick Lite) and sheldonp (Fire TV Stick 3rd gen)
• Do not ask for ETAs

How do i...

• Unlock and install TWRP?
  • Follow the instructions of the unlock thread
• Go back to the original/stock ROM?
  • Download the stock update.bin (sheldon | sheldonp) and flash it using TWRP

Remember to provide as much info as possible. The more info you provide, the more likely that the bug will be solved. Please also do not report known issues. Any bug not reported in the bug report format below may be ignored.

What is your--
LineageOS version:
LineageOS Download url:
Gapps version:

Did you--
wipe:
restore with titanium backup:
reboot after having the issue:

Are you using--
a task killer:
a non-stock kernel:
other modifications:

Provide any additional information (observations/frequency of problem/last version it worked on/etc) as needed:

Contributors
R0rt1z2, k4y0z, t0x1cSH, diegocr
Source Code: https://github.com/mt8695
Kernel source: https://github.com/mt8695/android_kernel_amazon_mt8695

Top man thnx.

 

[kbmc]

hi,
great work on the ROM
is there any plan to implement this or any other Android TV Rom on the Fire TV Stick 4K ?

 

[Rortiz2]

hi,
great work on the ROM
is there any plan to implement this or any other Android TV Rom on the Fire TV Stick 4K ?

Well, we have some private builds of 16.0 (Android 9) for the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, but that's all pretty much.

 

[yan2xme]

Well, we have some private builds of 16.0 (Android 9) for the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, but that's all pretty much.

OMG? Are you kidding bro? I mean can I be one of your testers? Please I really want a solid GApps or kind of Full Android TV without the Amazon BS... can you let me in? Thank you I would be willing to sacrifice my device in the sake of curiosity haha

 

[ChriMo]

OMG? Are you kidding bro? I mean can I be one of your testers? Please I really want a solid GApps or kind of Full Android TV without the Amazon BS... can you let me in? Thank you I would be willing to sacrifice my device in the sake of curiosity haha

I think 4K private builds are not open for Alpha or Beta Testing and there is no plan to develop a final version. If not so Rortiz2 may clarify.

Back to sheldon/p: I have created a thread where someone from here maybe qualified to contribute:

sheldon/p Specs microUSB and Hardware extensions (Ethernet, USB Sticks/Drives)​