# Can you side load?



## Dan203

Is there anywhere in the UI to enable development mode so you can side load apps like you can on a FireTV?


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## mdavej

Asked and answered:
TiVo Stream 4k is NOW AVAILABLE


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## Mr Flint

Dan203 said:


> Is there anywhere in the UI to enable development mode so you can side load apps like you can on a FireTV?


Yes.

But, you have to use another app to install the APK.

In my case I downloaded "Downloader by TROYPOINT" from the store and gave it permissions to install apps from unknown sources. You can give Downloader a URL to an APK to download and then it will attempt to install that APK.


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## eherberg

I assume those of us using adb at the command prompt would still have that option, as well?


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## Dan203

mdavej said:


> Asked and answered:
> TiVo Stream 4k is NOW AVAILABLE


Sorry, that thread is 9 pages long and I didn't have time to read the whole thing


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## blacknoi

mdavej said:


> Asked and answered:
> TiVo Stream 4k is NOW AVAILABLE


apologies, went through the entire thread and somehow missed it. where do you enable the ability to sideload so you can use apps like adblink for example to push an apk not in the androidtv app store?


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## mdavej

blacknoi said:


> apologies, went through the entire thread and somehow missed it. where do you enable the ability to sideload so you can use apps like adblink for example to push an apk not in the androidtv app store?


No problem. I don't have this device, but on my other Android TV boxes, go to the bottom of the main screen, select the gear icon for settings, go to security & restrictions and toggle unknown sources to ON.

Incidentally, for @Dan203 who's trying to sideload Apple TV+, I've read that even though it installs, it won't run. But there is a workaround of loading the Firefox browser and running via the web site. Drawback, besides clunky navigation, is it won't do 4k.

One must have app for Android TV is Mouse Toggle. It allows you to more easily navigate web sites and sideloaded apps that weren't designed for TVs. Another is some sort of side load launcher for side loaded apps that don't appear on the main app screen.

It's a shame there are so many mainstream apps that aren't in the Play store yet and we have to resort to all this hacking.


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## Dan203

mdavej said:


> No problem. I don't have this device, but on my other Android TV boxes, go to the bottom of the main screen, select the gear icon for settings, go to security & restrictions and toggle unknown sources to ON.
> 
> Incidentally, for @Dan203 who's trying to sideload Apple TV+, I've read that even though it installs, it won't run. But there is a workaround of loading the Firefox browser and running via the web site. Drawback, besides clunky navigation, is it won't do 4k.
> 
> One must have app for Android TV is Mouse Toggle. It allows you to more easily navigate web sites and sideloaded apps that weren't designed for TVs. Another is some sort of side load launcher for side loaded apps that don't appear on the main app screen.
> 
> It's a shame there are so many mainstream apps that aren't in the Play store yet and we have to resort to all this hacking.


One issue with Mouse Toggle... it requires you to double tap play/pause to enable and the TiVo remote doesn't have play/pause. (stupid omission on an otherwise great remote)


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## philco782

I use one of these with my FireTV stick, once paired up a mouse cursor actually appears.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BALK9CM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also sideloaded a settings apk from some random android installation but I'm not 100% sure it was needed to make the mouse cursor work. I think just having a pointing device linked via bluetooth makes a cursor appear.

I know it's not a Tivo stick but I'm just recommending a device that works well for me on another device, which IMHO for all intents and purposes, I think the two might be somewhat similar in being considered "yet another android stick".


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## cp2k

Can someone try out the Spectrum TV app to see if it works by any chance? On Fire TV it fails with a message about requiring Google Play Services


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## Dan203

cp2k said:


> Can someone try out the Spectrum TV app to see if it works by any chance? On Fire TV it fails with a message about requiring Google Play Services


Doesn't work. Once you get past the intro screen it just crashes every time


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## blacknoi

mdavej said:


> No problem. I don't have this device, but on my other Android TV boxes, go to the bottom of the main screen, select the gear icon for settings, go to security & restrictions and toggle unknown sources to ON.
> ....
> 
> It's a shame there are so many mainstream apps that aren't in the Play store yet and we have to resort to all this hacking.


Thats the thing (and appreciate you saying you don't have the device yourself), On the android homescreen on this device, the gear icon is in the upper right and is "general settings" it says.

When you go to security and restrictions, it has that exact section about unknown sources, but there is *no* toggle button on/off.

See my pic. Thats where I'm lost. Imgur

It mentions "no apps can perform this action" implying its OFF globally (no sideloading / no untrusted sources) but it gives no indication on how to enable it.

And I also have an AT&T TV Osprey box, so I'm familiar with what I *should* be looking for, but the toggle isn't here on the tivo stick.


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## cybergrimes

blacknoi said:


> It mentions "no apps can perform this action" implying its OFF globally (no sideloading / no untrusted sources) but it gives no indication on how to enable it.


More recent versions of Android ask for this permission per-app, so malicious apps can't abuse the system setting if enabled.
Have you tried opening an APK from a file explorer app like 'FX' to see if it works? All of my recent devices will ask permission for the app, kind of like storage, location, camera, etc


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## blacknoi

cybergrimes said:


> More recent versions of Android ask for this permission per-app, so malicious apps can't abuse the system setting if enabled.
> Have you tried opening an APK from a file explorer app like 'FX' to see if it works? All of my recent devices will ask permission for the app, kind of like storage, location, camera, etc


I'd love to but there are no file explorer apps (that I know of, I'll be honest) in the current Android TV market whitelisted to show on the tivo stick.

Is there one? I looked for ES File explorer for example, but its not there.


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## cybergrimes

blacknoi said:


> Is there one? I looked for ES File explorer for example, but its not there.


ES File Explorer isn't available on any Android TV devices afaik. Look for "FX File Explorer", I have that on my Shield and Jetstream boxes.
Sorry I am just shooting in the dark a bit here, mine isn't being delivered until tomorrow


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## blacknoi

cybergrimes said:


> ES File Explorer isn't available on any Android TV devices afaik. Look for "FX File Explorer", I have that on my Shield and Jetstream boxes.
> Sorry I am just shooting in the dark a bit here, mine isn't being delivered until tomorrow


You rock, FX File Explorer is there, but the 'free' version says no networking! argh.... chicken before the egg stuff here w/o paying, if I cant use it to install from a network location, maybe I can somehow attach a usb stick to the usb-c input with my apk already sitting on there? ...


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## cybergrimes

blacknoi said:


> You rock, FX File Explorer is there, but the 'free' version says no networking! argh.... chicken before the egg stuff here w/o paying, if I cant use it to install from a network location, maybe I can somehow attach a usb stick to the usb-c input with my apk already sitting on there? ...


Ah sorry I've had the license for a long time. "FX Connect" feature is just too handy.
Try "X-plore File Manager" by Lonely Cat Games instead. I think that should do it.


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## Dan203

cybergrimes said:


> Try "X-plore File Manager" by Lonely Cat Games instead. I think that should do it.


This is what I used. I linked it to my Google Drive and passed apks from my tablet to the TiVo that way. Only thing it didn't work for was a couple of the apps I downloaded were zip files, which are apparently split bundles. There is a special app called SAI you need to install those. It's UI is remote friendly so that's nice, but you have to side load it.

Only thing I couldn't get working was the orientation. Some side loaded apps are sideways. There are apps that claim to fix this but the ones I tried didn't work.


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## blacknoi

cybergrimes said:


> Ah sorry I've had the license for a long time. "FX Connect" feature is just too handy.
> Try "X-plore File Manager" by Lonely Cat Games instead. I think that should do it.


that's the one. I successfully side loaded att tv. Woot.


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## stuart628

blacknoi said:


> that's the one. I successfully side loaded att tv. Woot.


Mind shooting me some instructions or help please

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## blacknoi

stuart628 said:


> Mind shooting me some instructions or help please
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have a NAS with an open share I use to keep things easy for stuff like this.

I found from the Reddit Thread re AT&T TV and Nvidia Sheild-friendly APKS and figured that'd work for this tivo stick (both android tv). I was right.

This thread:

__
https://www.reddit.com/r/AttTVNow/comments/eg0v0m
but used this file specifically:
ATT_TV_HBR_v3.0.21302.03002

and for X-Plore File Manager, I went to the LAN section on the right, did a scan, the IP of my NAS showed up.

I opened the folder where my I knew I dropped the APK, from my PC. It showed and I clicked it. It downloaded and at first refused to install. Said I needed to allow access to unknown sources from this app (I expected this). That was the trick (and why before I had no prompts, you cant turn on the setting globally at first, you have to have an app TRY to install something, then it gets an entry to enable unknown sources through that app specifically in androidtv settings). So after I enabled unknown sources for this app, I clicked on the APK again and it installed no problem.

You would then repeat this process for any other locally downloaded APKs you have you want to try and side load.

Incidentally, I was hoping the AT&T TV / Now apk would allow me to use the numeric keys. It did, but for ALPHA characters. Like a telephone, The #2 brought up "a" "b" "c" onscreen and jumped me in the channel guide, to that section of the alphabet. So it did work, but since the apk doesnt order the channels in directv # order (unlike the osprey box), at least the numeric keys worked to jump you into the alphabet ...again #2 was a-c, #3 d-f, #4 g-i etc etc.

Also when the guide is up, the "channel up" and "channel down" buttons did skip through the channel guide 2 channels at a time, just like the osprey box and osprey remote does. That was a nice bonus. The tivo "i" info button didn't do anything though.

I did not get any other benefit you'd expect from the osprey box (no live tv pause buffer and no live-picture when you are fastforwarding DVR'ed content).


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## stuart628

blacknoi said:


> I have a NAS with an open share I use to keep things easy for stuff like this.
> 
> I found from the Reddit Thread re AT&T TV and Nvidia Sheild-friendly APKS and figured that'd work for this tivo stick (both android tv). I was right.
> 
> This thread:
> 
> __
> https://www.reddit.com/r/AttTVNow/comments/eg0v0m
> but used this file specifically:
> ATT_TV_HBR_v3.0.21302.03002
> 
> and for X-Plore File Manager, I went to the LAN section on the right, did a scan, the IP of my NAS showed up.
> 
> I opened the folder where my I knew I dropped the APK, from my PC. It showed and I clicked it. It downloaded and at first refused to install. Said I needed to allow access to unknown sources from this app (I expected this). That was the trick (and why before I had no prompts, you cant turn on the setting globally at first, you have to have an app TRY to install something, then it gets an entry to enable unknown sources through that app specifically in androidtv settings). So after I enabled unknown sources for this app, I clicked on the APK again and it installed no problem.
> 
> You would then repeat this process for any other locally downloaded APKs you have you want to try and side load.
> 
> Incidentally, I was hoping the AT&T TV / Now apk would allow me to use the numeric keys. It did, but for ALPHA characters. Like a telephone, The #2 brought up "a" "b" "c" onscreen and jumped me in the channel guide, to that section of the alphabet. So it did work, but since the apk doesnt order the channels in directv # order (unlike the osprey box), at least the numeric keys worked to jump you into the alphabet ...again #2 was a-c, #3 d-f, #4 g-i etc etc.
> 
> Also when the guide is up, the "channel up" and "channel down" buttons did skip through the channel guide 2 channels at a time, just like the osprey box and osprey remote does. That was a nice bonus. The tivo "i" info button didn't do anything though.
> 
> I did not get any other benefit you'd expect from the osprey box (no live tv pause buffer and no live-picture when you are fastforwarding DVR'ed content).


Worked great...thanks for the apk.....what I did was threw the apk on my google drive downloaded file explorer by mobisystems linked my google drive and downloaded it off of there...att tv on all three streams...your right this is the old Directv now guide...here's to hoping that att tv will officially support android tv and we can use our remotes...and it links with tivo guide and tivo stream  that would be crazy nice for me!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## justinw

Well, I downloaded the X-Plore file Manager and tried to side load the Xfinity Stream app.. Needless to say it didn't work. I got it installed, but it said "You don't have an app to do this" when I clicked on the Get Started within Xfinity Stream.


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## TivoJD

for anyone trying to use adblink to push apks, you have to enable developer options (settings, device preferences, about and go to build and just keep pressing select until it is enabled), then back one menu and into the developer options and turn on USB debugging. That seemed to work to allow adblink to connect to it.


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## blacknoi

TivoJD said:


> for anyone trying to use adblink to push apks, you have to enable developer options (settings, device preferences, about and go to build and just keep pressing select until it is enabled), then back one menu and into the developer options and turn on USB debugging. That seemed to work to allow adblink to connect to it.


This should be in a sticky somewhere.


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## eherberg

Is anybody just using adb from the command-line? The ol' start-server, kill-server, install, etc?


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## BillyClyde

Anyone side load an Android phone or old FireTV TiVo app yet?


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## stuart628

BillyClyde said:


> Anyone side load an Android phone or old FireTV TiVo app yet?


I swore I saw someone who said yes they did but are having a hard time with the mouse apps as it wont run off the remote or something to the effect of it not being useable... I was going to look at that this week, I move a little slower as I have 5 kids so my play time isnt as much as some lol


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## BillyClyde

stuart628 said:


> I swore I saw someone who said yes they did but are having a hard time with the mouse apps as it wont run off the remote or something to the effect of it not being useable... I was going to look at that this week, I move a little slower as I have 5 kids so my play time isnt as much as some lol


Must be that 15 yards of mulch holding you up! 

Thanks for the info. I seem to recall reading that too, but I thought that was for attempts on other older devices. Has anyone actually tried on a Stream 4K?


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## babsonnexus

BillyClyde said:


> Anyone side load an Android phone or old FireTV TiVo app yet?


I tried last night to load the Android App APK. I got to the install part, and it just failed on me there multiple times. It definitely recognized it was the TiVo App installer, but it just died in installation and said it could not be done. I did it both through Downloader and X-plorer to no luck. Very sad because this is what I wanted to test the most.

As an side, I have a Bluetooth keyboard with mouse pad built in that I can use very easily with the device. It was funny making the mouse pointer move on screen. There was a big problem, though, when typing anything. It went in fine in most screens (some things like Hulu wouldn't allow it), but there was no way to "submit" without on the on-screen virtual keyboard. But as soon as the BT keyboard connected, the virtual keyboard would disappear!


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## pldoolittle

BillyClyde said:


> Anyone side load an Android phone or old FireTV TiVo app yet?


Yes. A user in Tivo Community on facebook. It's working, but he described it as "not usable"


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## Dan203

BillyClyde said:


> Anyone side load an Android phone or old FireTV TiVo app yet?


I did the Android app. It works but you have to use the mouse app and the whole UI is sideways. (I can't find an orientation app that works)


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## babsonnexus

Dan203 said:


> I did the Android app. It works but you have to use the mouse app and the whole UI is sideways. (I can find an orientation app that works)


Can you link me to the APK file you used? Maybe I was just using a bad one.


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## Dan203

babsonnexus said:


> Can you link me to the APK file you used? Maybe I was just using a bad one.


I just downloaded the latest one from the play store. I used the X-plore app to just transfer it from my Samsung tablet to my Google cloud drive and then the same app on the TiVo to install it from the Google drive.


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## babsonnexus

Dan203 said:


> I just downloaded the latest one from the play store. I used the X-plore app to just transfer it from my Samsung tablet to my Google cloud drive and then the same app on the TiVo to install it from the Google drive.


Hmmmm... I started over again, went to the Play store, shared the link, took the link to a website that allows me to download the APK, downloaded the APK to my Dropbox (did both of these steps on a Windows laptop), went to X-plore, downloaded it to a folder on the Stream 4K, clicked it to install, yet ended up here:










I can't figure out what I'm missing...


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## stuart628

BillyClyde said:


> Must be that 15 yards of mulch holding you up!
> 
> Thanks for the info. I seem to recall reading that too, but I thought that was for attempts on other older devices. Has anyone actually tried on a Stream 4K?


I havent even begun on the mulch, Ohio weather is being Ohio weather and well its cold. I will try later today if I get a free second and let you know how it goes for me, that would be GREAT if it works.


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## Dan203

babsonnexus said:


> Hmmmm... I started over again, went to the Play store, shared the link, took the link to a website that allows me to download the APK, downloaded the APK to my Dropbox (did both of these steps on a Windows laptop), went to X-plore, downloaded it to a folder on the Stream 4K, clicked it to install, yet ended up here:
> 
> View attachment 48934
> 
> 
> I can't figure out what I'm missing...


Seems right. The only thing I did different is I actually have an Android tablet, so I installed the app there first from the Play store and then in X-plore there is a "folder" for all your installed apps that you can use to upload from.


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## Dan203

babsonnexus said:


> Hmmmm... I started over again, went to the Play store, shared the link, took the link to a website that allows me to download the APK, downloaded the APK to my Dropbox (did both of these steps on a Windows laptop), went to X-plore, downloaded it to a folder on the Stream 4K, clicked it to install, yet ended up here:
> 
> View attachment 48934
> 
> 
> I can't figure out what I'm missing...


I still have the apk I used on my Google Drive. Here is the link...


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## stuart628

Man I could be way off here, but I remember different apks for phones and tablets and everything for android...I wonder if there isnt a apk for another tablet or phone that would take care of that sideways issue.


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## Dan203

stuart628 said:


> Man I could be way off here, but I remember different apks for phones and tablets and everything for android...I wonder if there isnt a apk for another tablet or phone that would take care of that sideways issue.


That may be true. That is the one that installed on my Samsung tablet. It's a Galaxy Tab S2 if that matters.


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## stuart628

not at home right now, but I wonder if this will work


__
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/5zte51


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## Dan203

stuart628 said:


> not at home right now, but I wonder if this will work
> 
> 
> __
> https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/5zte51


Most of the ones I found on Reddit and Stackoverflow like this we just pointing to some random download site, not Google Play. Several had warning lower down that they had viruses. So be careful of these. I tried about 5 different ones from the Play Store and none of them worked.


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## spiderpumpkin

I have the Tivo app running on my Tivo Stream 4K. You will need to a bluetooth mouse or trackpad or air mouse remote to use it because the Stream remote doesn't do much with app. The only thing I had handy was my iMac Magic Trackpad and that works perfectly with the Stream 4K. I think I'm going to buy a bluetooth air mouse remote like this one. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T55JTKT/

First I installed adblink and connected it to my Tivo Stream 4K. Great app for adb shell commands and for side loading apk files.
adbLink

I installed the latest Tivo app. 
TiVo 4.5.2-1337327 APK Download by TiVo Corp - APKMirror

Then I installed Set Orientation.
You searched for set orientation - APKMirror

Also, installed TV App Repo. This app can make leanback shortcuts to the side loaded apps in system apps so that they can be added to favorites and appear in app drawer. 
ITVlab/TvAppRepo

Another thing I installed while I was at it was the Slingplayer app. Works great but you'll need a bluetooth trackpad or mouse or air mouse to use it. Stream remote can launch it and connect but not much else.

Also, if your Tivo that is connected to a Slingbox is nearby in another room you can use that Tivo's remote to use slinged Tivo.

I have Tivo A93 hooked up to a Slingbox HD that I've had for years. I don't use this Slingbox setup much, but it comes in handy when I really want to watch something away from home when Tivo app doesn't let me watch certain things remotely.

You searched for slingplayer - APKMirror


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## spiderpumpkin

I tried to side load the Xfinity Stream app but I can't get past the "Get Started" page because it says it's unable to do next step. Apparently it can't use the Google web view app for that next step. Not sure if this is fixable. Anyone know of an Xfinity Stream apk that can be installed?

You searched for Xfinity stream - APKMirror


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## Dan203

FYI there is a mouse app in the Play Store that you can use. Unfortunately you turn it on/off by either double clicking play/pause, which the Stream remote doesn't have, or by pressing Vol -/Vol + in succession which doesn't work with Stream remote. However if you use the mobile app you can turn it on off using it's virtual remote and double tapping play/pause. 

Also your link to the orientation app is broken. I tried a few of them and couldn't find on that worked. Was going to try yours but the link is truncated like it appears with ... where there shouldn't be.


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## spiderpumpkin

Dan203 said:


> FYI there is a mouse app in the Play Store that you can use. Unfortunately you turn it on/off by either double clicking play/pause, which the Stream remote doesn't have, or by pressing Vol -/Vol + in succession which doesn't work with Stream remote. However if you use the mobile app you can turn it on off using it's virtual remote and double tapping play/pause.
> 
> Also your link to the orientation app is broken. I tried a few of them and couldn't find on that worked. Was going to try yours but the link is truncated like it appears with ... where there shouldn't be.


Mouse Toggle? I did look at it last night, and it doesn't support all Android TV hardware. I didn't want to buy it just to find out it's not supported. Have you installed it on the Tivo Stream 4K and if so does it work?


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## spiderpumpkin

You searched for set orientation - APKMirror


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## Dan203

spiderpumpkin said:


> Mouse Toggle? I did look at it last night, and it doesn't support all Android TV hardware. I didn't want to buy it just to find out it's not supported. Have you installed it on the Tivo Stream 4K and if so does it work?


Yeah I bought it and it does work. But like I said you have to use the app, or another remote, to toggle it as the Stream remote doesn't have the right buttons to activate it.


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## gkottner

I've got the whole thing installed, but since I have no bluetooth mouse capability, I can't get by clicking the checkboxes to set permissions. Will probably hit up Micro Center during the week and pick up a bluetooth mouse and see what happens next. Is there any specific type I should get?


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## spiderpumpkin

gkottner said:


> I've got the whole thing installed, but since I have no bluetooth mouse capability, I can't get by clicking the checkboxes to set permissions. Will probably hit up Micro Center during the week and pick up a bluetooth mouse and see what happens next. Is there any specific type I should get?


Just install Mouse Toggle for Android TV from Play Store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fluxii.androidtv.mousetoggle

Then install Google Remote for Android TV on you iOS or Android phone. You'll need your phone to toggle physical remote between mouse and button mode, because Tivo Stream 4K remote doesn't have a play/pause button that is needed to activate mouse mode. Then to return to physical button mode you need to click home button.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv.remote

‎Android TV


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## spiderpumpkin

I paired an extra Tivo Bolt Vox remote to my Tivo Stream 4K and it works great with a lot of buttons that just work well with various apps like Channels DVR. I did program several buttons with Button Mapper to get it working even better. 

Also, record button, channel up/down and channel number entering works with Channels DVR. 

FF/RW directional pad buttons works with side loaded Tivo phone app when mouse mode toggled off. Makes it easy to ff and rw show or movie while it's playing because it skips 30 seconds forward and back and if you hold it down it skips further.

The small Tivo Stream 4K remote is now in a drawer because the Vox remote is so much better. 

Now, running the side loaded Tivo phone app is very usable. There's a big learning curve because of the need to use mouse toggle for remote but it works very well. Definitely worth it if you have Tivo DVRs and you want to watch them away from home or in another room.


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## BillyClyde

Has anyone tried pairing a Slide Pro Remote with the slide out keyboard?


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## moyekj

BillyClyde said:


> Has anyone tried pairing a Slide Pro Remote with the slide out keyboard?


I tried but doesn't work. Dan explained to me the slide Pro uses some kind of proprietary RF signal versus the TS4K which uses Bluetooth.


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## gkottner

spiderpumpkin said:


> Just install Mouse Toggle for Android TV from Play Store.
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fluxii.androidtv.mousetoggle
> 
> Then install Google Remote for Android TV on you iOS or Android phone. You'll need your phone to toggle physical remote between mouse and button mode, because Tivo Stream 4K remote doesn't have a play/pause button that is needed to activate mouse mode. Then to return to physical button mode you need to click home button.
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tv.remote
> 
> ‎Android TV


Thanks ... but a bit of old guy ignorance  I have the Mouse Toggle and remote installed and all permissions granted. But I have no clue on how to actually use the mouse toggle. No matter what I try I can't seem to get a mouse pointer to appear. Could you pass on more detailed instructions? Thanks


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## spiderpumpkin

gkottner said:


> Thanks ... but a bit of old guy ignorance  I have the Mouse Toggle and remote installed and all permissions granted. But I have no clue on how to actually use the mouse toggle. No matter what I try I can't seem to get a mouse pointer to appear. Could you pass on more detailed instructions? Thanks


Double click play/pause button on virtual phone remote or second remote to activate mouse mode because Stream 4K doesn't have that button. Then d-pad can be used to move cursor around and click. To deactivate mouse and return to button mode you click home button on either remote.

Mine didn't work right away and then all of a sudden it did. I think I rebooted and it started working. So, you may need to reboot box after first installing everything.


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## gkottner

spiderpumpkin said:


> Double click play/pause button on virtual phone remote or second remote to activate mouse mode because Stream 4K doesn't have that button. Then d-pad can be used to move cursor around and click. To deactivate mouse and return to button mode you click home button on either remote.
> 
> Mine didn't work right away and then all of a sudden it did. I think I rebooted and it started working. So, you may need to reboot box after first installing everything.


For some reason, I could never get the mouse cursor to appear. When I restarted, it would appear briefing while everything was loading, but would never stay visible after that. Maybe I'll give the mouse air remote a try. Appreciate the directions


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## spiderpumpkin

gkottner said:


> For some reason, I could never get the mouse cursor to appear. When I restarted, it would appear briefing while everything was loading, but would never stay visible after that. Maybe I'll give the mouse air remote a try. Appreciate the directions


The reboot has nothing to do with making cursor visible. I was just saying after intial install of everything a one time reboot may be needed.

Mouse cursor is only visible when double clicking single play/pause button on virtual or second remote that has that actual single button.

Don't use the volume down/up button activate mouse toggle because that definitely doesn't seem to work.

You may also have to unpair virtual phone remote and then repair one time to get it to work.

I haven't had time to recreate how exactly I got it to work. I will probably do a clean install of box soon to test some other things out and will have to reinstall mouse toggle again.


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## gkottner

spiderpumpkin said:


> The reboot has nothing to do with making cursor visible. I was just saying after intial install of everything a one time reboot may be needed.
> 
> Mouse cursor is only visible when double clicking single play/pause button on virtual or second remote that has that actual single button.
> 
> Don't use the volume down/up button activate mouse toggle because that definitely doesn't seem to work.
> 
> You may also have to unpair virtual phone remote and then repair one time to get it to work.
> 
> I haven't had time to recreate how exactly I got it to work. I will probably do a clean install of box soon to test some other things out and will have to reinstall mouse toggle again.


I've already uninstalled the app and somehow Google refunded my money. I still think my next step is some sort of physical remote. I'll probably find more uses for that. Again, I appreciate your tips.


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## tiv0 newbie

Guided by this thread, I am now able to access my Tivo DVRs through the Tivo stream 4K. Thanks!

A few questions if I may:When I click on to a folder in my shows, I am only able to access the first show in the list. This doesn’t appear to be a problem when scrolling through the shows that are not in folders. Does anybody know how to scroll down the list within a folder?

Can anyone compare the video and navigating qualities of the sideloaded Tivo app on the Tivo Stream 4k to those on the now defunct FireTV Tivo app? 
Thanks in advance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## spiderpumpkin

tiv0 newbie said:


> Guided by this thread, I am now able to access my Tivo DVRs through the Tivo stream 4K. Thanks!
> 
> A few questions if I may:When I click on to a folder in my shows, I am only able to access the first show in the list. This doesn't appear to be a problem when scrolling through the shows that are not in folders. Does anybody know how to scroll down the list within a folder?
> 
> Can anyone compare the video and navigating qualities of the sideloaded Tivo app on the Tivo Stream 4k to those on the now defunct FireTV Tivo app?
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The side loaded Tivo phone app needs mouse input for most things because the phone app is touch based. You'll need a bluetooth mouse, touchpad, air mouse remote. You can also make the current Tivo Stream 4K remote have mouse functionality by installing Mouse Toggle from the Play Store.


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## mdavej

spiderpumpkin said:


> The side loaded Tivo phone app needs mouse input for most things because the phone app is touch based. You'll need a bluetooth mouse, touchpad, air mouse remote. You can also make the current Tivo Stream 4K remote have mouse functionality by installing Mouse Toggle from the Play Store.


How about just using Tivo online site in a browser (Firefox, etc.)? Wouldn't that be a lot easier?


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## moyekj

mdavej said:


> How about just using Tivo online site in a browser (Firefox, etc.)? Wouldn't that be a lot easier?


The web page doesn't work for me at all - doesn't give me option to play my recordings even when on my home LAN. At one point that used to be functional...


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## keithg1964

spiderpumpkin said:


> I paired an extra Tivo Bolt Vox remote to my Tivo Stream 4K and it works great with a lot of buttons that just work well with various apps like Channels DVR. I did program several buttons with Button Mapper to get it working even better.
> 
> Also, record button, channel up/down and channel number entering works with Channels DVR.
> 
> FF/RW directional pad buttons works with side loaded Tivo phone app when mouse mode toggled off. Makes it easy to ff and rw show or movie while it's playing because it skips 30 seconds forward and back and if you hold it down it skips further.
> 
> The small Tivo Stream 4K remote is now in a drawer because the Vox remote is so much better.
> 
> Now, running the side loaded Tivo phone app is very usable. There's a big learning curve because of the need to use mouse toggle for remote but it works very well. Definitely worth it if you have Tivo DVRs and you want to watch them away from home or in another room.


How did you do this. I have been unable to get it to pair.


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## philco782

moyekj said:


> I tried but doesn't work. Dan explained to me the slide Pro uses some kind of proprietary RF signal versus the TS4K which uses Bluetooth.


It uses Zigbee IIRC. I have a funny feeling that if the TS4K will accept the Slide Pro dongle plugged into the usb-c with an adapter from usb-c to usb-a, maybe. Because the slide pro's keyboard will type like a regular keyboard when I plug the dongle into my Windows 10 PC.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## spiderpumpkin

keithg1964 said:


> How did you do this. I have been unable to get it to pair.


Has to be a TiVo Vox remote. Roamio and latest Slide Pro won't pair due to not having Bluetooth built in or something.

To pair Vox remote.

First clear it of any old pairings by holding silver TiVo button and power down at same time until red light lights up and then click thumbs down button 3 times and then click Enter button down in the bottom right corner.

Second go into TiVo Stream 4K settings and click add remote and then it will have screen searching for remotes to pair.

Third, click a button on Vox remote and TiVo Stream 4K will see it and pair with it. I clicked the silver TiVo Vox button.

After pairing the Vox d-pad is about all that works so you will need to use Button Mapper to see which buttons can be remapped to your liking.


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## spiderpumpkin

mdavej said:


> How about just using Tivo online site in a browser (Firefox, etc.)? Wouldn't that be a lot easier?


Even if you can get it to load in a browser you would still need a mouse cursor to navigate. Browser is even more dependent on cursor versus remote on Android TV.


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## spiderpumpkin

spiderpumpkin said:


> The reboot has nothing to do with making cursor visible. I was just saying after intial install of everything a one time reboot may be needed.
> 
> Mouse cursor is only visible when double clicking single play/pause button on virtual or second remote that has that actual single button.
> 
> Don't use the volume down/up button activate mouse toggle because that definitely doesn't seem to work.
> 
> You may also have to unpair virtual phone remote and then repair one time to get it to work.
> 
> I haven't had time to recreate how exactly I got it to work. I will probably do a clean install of box soon to test some other things out and will have to reinstall mouse toggle again.


I did a reset of my TiVo Stream 4K to test some things out and had a chance to get Mouse Toggle working again. I installed it and did a quick test with Google virtual remote on my phone and double clicking play/pause button didn't activate mouse toggle. So I did the following.

The trick is to actually have a physical remote with actual play/pause button paired to TiVo Stream 4K and then mouse toggle works. I paired a FireTV remote before and this time and that seemed to do the trick because it has a play/pause button

After that the virtual phone remote play/pause button will work from there on out even if that physical remote with play/pause button is unpaired. It's almost like the box needs to have buttons mapped and working with physical remote before virtual remote can emulate.


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## jimpmc

spiderpumpkin said:


> I have the Tivo app running on my Tivo Stream 4K. You will need to a bluetooth mouse or trackpad or air mouse remote to use it because the Stream remote doesn't do much with app. The only thing I had handy was my iMac Magic Trackpad and that works perfectly with the Stream 4K. I think I'm going to buy a bluetooth air mouse remote like this one. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T55JTKT/
> 
> First I installed adblink and connected it to my Tivo Stream 4K. Great app for adb shell commands and for side loading apk files.
> adbLink
> 
> I installed the latest Tivo app.
> TiVo 4.5.2-1337327 APK Download by TiVo Corp - APKMirror
> 
> Then I installed Set Orientation.
> You searched for set orientation - APKMirror
> 
> Also, installed TV App Repo. This app can make leanback shortcuts to the side loaded apps in system apps so that they can be added to favorites and appear in app drawer.
> ITVlab/TvAppRepo
> 
> Another thing I installed while I was at it was the Slingplayer app. Works great but you'll need a bluetooth trackpad or mouse or air mouse to use it. Stream remote can launch it and connect but not much else.
> 
> Also, if your Tivo that is connected to a Slingbox is nearby in another room you can use that Tivo's remote to use slinged Tivo.
> 
> I have Tivo A93 hooked up to a Slingbox HD that I've had for years. I don't use this Slingbox setup much, but it comes in handy when I really want to watch something away from home when Tivo app doesn't let me watch certain things remotely.
> 
> You searched for slingplayer - APKMirror


With the TiVo app sideloaded, does it stream shows like the Android phone app would? How is the quality?


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## spiderpumpkin

jimpmc said:


> With the TiVo app sideloaded, does it stream shows like the Android phone app would? How is the quality?


It is the Android phone app that is side loaded on Android TV and is exactly the same except orientation needs to be set as landscape in get orientation app. The quality at home is local network and looks great.


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## jimpmc

spiderpumpkin said:


> I did a reset of my TiVo Stream 4K to test some things out and had a chance to get Mouse Toggle working again. I installed it and did a quick test with Google virtual remote on my phone and double clicking play/pause button didn't activate mouse toggle. So I did the following.
> 
> The trick is to actually have a physical remote with actual play/pause button paired to TiVo Stream 4K and then mouse toggle works. I paired a FireTV remote before and this time and that seemed to do the trick because it has a play/pause button
> 
> After that the virtual phone remote play/pause button will work from there on out even if that physical remote with play/pause button is unpaired. It's almost like the box needs to have buttons mapped and working with physical remote before virtual remote can emulate.


I wasn't able to get it to work with the Android Remote app on the phone. I paired a Fire Stick 4k, double tap the Play/Pause and it works. But I could never get the Android Remote App to work using the play/pause button on that.


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## spiderpumpkin

jimpmc said:


> I wasn't able to get it to work with the Android Remote app on the phone. I paired a Fire Stick 4k, double tap the Play/Pause and it works. But I could never get the Android Remote App to work using the play/pause button on that.


I don't know what is wrong with the Android Google remote app but it doesn't work with mouse toggle. However, the iOS Google Remote does work with mouse toggle.


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## movielover76

cp2k said:


> Can someone try out the Spectrum TV app to see if it works by any chance? On Fire TV it fails with a message about requiring Google Play Services


I haven't tried the app, but because it's an actual Google Android box with Google play and hence Google play services you won't have that particular error.


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## shwru980r

spiderpumpkin said:


> It is the Android phone app that is side loaded on Android TV and is exactly the same except orientation needs to be set as landscape in get orientation app. The quality at home is local network and looks great.


So I guess the excuses made by Tivo for not delivering an OTT version of their app were pure balderdash.


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## gkottner

spiderpumpkin said:


> I have the Tivo app running on my Tivo Stream 4K. You will need to a bluetooth mouse or trackpad or air mouse remote to use it because the Stream remote doesn't do much with app. The only thing I had handy was my iMac Magic Trackpad and that works perfectly with the Stream 4K. I think I'm going to buy a bluetooth air mouse remote like this one. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T55JTKT/


I went ahead and ordered this. Should get it Tuesday. I'll let you know my thoughts after I play with it.


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## gkottner

gkottner said:


> I went ahead and ordered this. Should get it Tuesday. I'll let you know my thoughts after I play with it.


OK ... received this yesterday morning. Basic issues that I had with the remote included 
1. An unreadable keyboard even with backlighting (but I am in my 60s)
2. Clicks for both the mouse and OK button were sometimes not recognized. I could not click the confirm button to exit Prime Video or the Submit button to log into the TiVo app
3. My biggest complaint was that the remote went into standby very quickly. Best example was the TiVo app where it would go into standby before I could even get the email and password typed in. And of course coming out of standby, the screen reloaded and I had to start again.
4. Didn't like the "feel" of the remote either. Just seemed a bit wide.

In it's defense, the instructions focused mainly on using this remote with a Fire TV, so it may work fine with that.
I did send it back today.


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## Intention

spiderpumpkin said:


> I don't know what is wrong with the Android Google remote app but it doesn't work with mouse toggle. However, the iOS Google Remote does work with mouse toggle.


I have experienced similar in my testing:


Firestick remote , double tap home works every time
IOS Android Remote, double tap home works every time
Android Remote App (tested on 2 different Android Phones) Never works when double tapping the play button


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## gkottner

Slightly off topic, but I was bored yesterday and attempted to sideload the TiVo app on my 4k Fire Stick. I do have a USB logitech K400 combo keyboard attached to the firestick with an OTG micro USB y cable. I used the TiVo and SetOrientation apps that @spiderpumpkin had previously mentioned. After I loaded the app, my keyboard worked on it and was successfully able to view recordings on my TiVo Bolt. 
My conclusion - it was fun playing around with and may be an acceptable backup, but it is nothing like using a real TiVo. There are very limited controls, 30 sec FF and 8 sec RW. On the plus side, same excellent picture I get viewing directly from the TiVo. And I certainly spent more time accessing the controls with a keyboard than the few seconds it would have taken me to switch the HDMI port and pick up the TiVo remote.


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## shwru980r

gkottner said:


> Slightly off topic, but I was bored yesterday and attempted to sideload the TiVo app on my 4k Fire Stick. I do have a USB logitech K400 combo keyboard attached to the firestick with an OTG micro USB y cable. I used the TiVo and SetOrientation apps that @spiderpumpkin had previously mentioned. After I loaded the app, my keyboard worked on it and was successfully able to view recordings on my TiVo Bolt.
> My conclusion - it was fun playing around with and may be an acceptable backup, but it is nothing like using a real TiVo. There are very limited controls, 30 sec FF and 8 sec RW. On the plus side, same excellent picture I get viewing directly from the TiVo. And I certainly spent more time accessing the controls with a keyboard than the few seconds it would have taken me to switch the HDMI port and pick up the TiVo remote.


I had a similar experience on my 3rd gen fire tv pendant. There is no reason why Tivo can not release a set top box version of the Tivo app.


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## dadrepus

All I can say is we have some brilliant people here and you've started my hacker juices flowing with this. I'm glad to see there are programs that will actually work on my Mac to help me get this done. I used to get so frustrated when a tool I needed was only written for PC. I'm especially excited about getting my Stream 4k to see and play my recordings from my DVRS. From reading this thread I see not all functions work yet but people are diligently working on solutions. I CAN follow instructions but cannot program to save my life so cannot contribute as I would want. I'm so excited. You know if TIVO would just do this then they would not only sell more 4Ks with also more DVRs.


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