Why won't the Shield remember my app?

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Rikkitic

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#245623 13-Feb-2019 19:25

This kind of thing is why I have problems with Android. Yes, the Shield is something else, but it is still Android.

I installed the Zattoo app. I was surprised when the Shield said it was an update because I haven't previously installed it, but okay.

Then I tried to make a shortcut into Kodi, as I have done many times before. No app.

So I went to settings and took a closer look. For some reason which I do not understand at all, it was at the far, distant end of system apps rather than downloaded apps. But it didn't appear on the regular apps page. So I installed it a second time. Then it appeared and I was able to make a shortcut to it. Everything worked fine. I tested it a few times to make sure.

This evening I went to use it and the app has disappeared. Completely. No trace of it anywhere. I also have a generic box that I installed the app on. I just checked it and it is fine. So why does this work on the cheap box but I get crap from the Shield? I just want to be able to play the damned stream. This is the kind of thing that really gets to me.

So is there some secret I am missing or do I have to reinstall this thing every time I want to watch it? I would appreciate serious answers but please leave the cats and comments about all the issues I have out of it. I just want to know what is going on here.

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#2177909 13-Feb-2019 19:55

does the app store say its installed?

dfnt

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#2177911 13-Feb-2019 19:57

Zattoo is a built in app on the shield, it's region locked to germany and switzerland

There was a bug about it disappearing, but for users in Germany and Switzerland because the language was set to english.. https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/1064150/shield-tv/pre-installed-app-zattoo-tv-need-to-be-reactivated-almost-every-days-/1/

At best you could probably clone the app and sideload it so the Shield doesn't hide it

Previously you could show region locked apps by turning off location services, but I don't know if that works anymore. You'd probably have to set your language to German to see Zattoo because I've never seen the app even with location services disabled

Rikkitic

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#2177923 13-Feb-2019 20:25

Thank you very much for that information. It explains a lot. I did sideload the app, which I downloaded, but it didn't install separately. Instead, it 'updated' the system app, which has now disappeared. I bought the Shield because of its reputation, but it is the worst purchase I have ever made. All it does is cause problems. I really am fed up with it. Anyway, I will investigate this further now that I know where to look. Thanks again.

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dfnt

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#2177924 13-Feb-2019 20:33

You're probably better off with a vanilla android tv device that doesn't have any built in apps that ship with it, then you can sideload without issue

The Shield TV is a mainstream Android TV device, I have one and it works perfectly fine for what I need it e.g. Plex, YouTube, Netflix, Crunchyroll etc.. basically I'm not sideloading region locked apps onto it

Jase2985

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#2177926 13-Feb-2019 20:35

the problem is you are trying to use it outside of its use case.

the sheild doesnt cause the problems, the user does. it works fine if you are just doing mainstream stuff but from all your many threads on here you dont seem to do much mainstream. im not having a dig at you im just saying i dont know if you picked the right device for you use case.

Rikkitic

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#2177934 13-Feb-2019 20:44

I now strongly feel I did not pick the right device so you are correct about that. The Shield has been an absolute pain in the butt. I have had to find hacks to work around its various limitations, which may well be by design but they are irritating in the extreme.

What annoys me most is I did research all of this at the time to the best of my ability, but it was absolutely not made clear that the Shield was a specialised device for specific purposes. The impression I had was that it was a top of the line Android box, not that there were all kinds of things regular Android boxes can do that it can't.

I hate the Shield. I hate all the grief it has cost me. But I feel stuck with it now. I have managed to find ways around most of its obstacles. This latest is just another one. I see from the link above that there is a way to get around the issue. Whee, another thing to get around, courtesy of the Shield!

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Jase2985

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#2177967 13-Feb-2019 21:00

The thing is it is a top of the line fast android device. there is no arguing that, its just not made for sideloading apps.

i think you will find with most devices you will run into the same problems as as mentioned your use case it outside what most users will do, you may be able to do some of what you do but just not other things.

TBH its not the sheild, its you, and i mean that in a nice way. the sheild is good at what it does.

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Dial111

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#2177968 13-Feb-2019 21:07

Well if you’re looking to offload the shield than I could be interested...

Rikkitic

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#2177988 13-Feb-2019 21:46

Not interested in selling, sorry. I have already invested too much blood, sweat and tears.

If the Shield cannot do what a $30 Chinese box can, They should at least make that clear. Nowhere on the site or anywhere else I can find does it say 'mainstream use only'.

We have already discussed this at length. I am not really interested in going through it again. I bought the wrong device. End of story.

Anyway, I just installed Zattoo on an alternative device. No problems, smooth install, no BS, watching it right now.

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Rikkitic

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#2177990 13-Feb-2019 21:50

dfnt:

You're probably better off with a vanilla android tv device that doesn't have any built in apps that ship with it, then you can sideload without issue

The Shield TV is a mainstream Android TV device, I have one and it works perfectly fine for what I need it e.g. Plex, YouTube, Netflix, Crunchyroll etc.. basically I'm not sideloading region locked apps onto it

I don't suppose there is any point in asking why it has region-locked apps on it? Why can't it just run apps like other devices? I don't understand what benefit this brings. It just seems like an unnecessary arbitrary restriction. I don't get that. Why buy something very expensive that doesn't do what much cheaper alternatives have no problem with. What is the benefit of this?

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Jase2985

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#2177993 13-Feb-2019 22:04

"Nowhere on the site or anywhere else I can find does it say 'mainstream use only'. "

it shouldn't need to they never advertised it as being able to do what you want it do do either didnt they? mainstream is popular apps mainly those already installed on it, local content etc. you are using DNS services, VPN's etc, trying to watch content from other regions, this takes you far from mainstream.

pretty much everything is sold as being for the mainstream.

why does it have region locked apps on it, because they struck a deal with the app owner io hardware provider, and its likely the sheild is not a NZ model its probably imported form a different region. and it most certainly can run apps like a normal device its just your choice of apps, and i bet a lot of devices would have similar issues. the sheild have very powerful hardware and the backing of a major brand so will have great product support. see what you get what a $30 Chinese box.

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#2177997 13-Feb-2019 22:21

The Shield is a great Android TV box. There are a lot of differences between Android TV and Android. Your $30 box is running Android for mobile, which has been hacked about to work on a TV.

Android TV is explicitly designed to give a good experience for media use on a TV, it's not designed to run every Android apk available. The device is functioning as intended and advertised.

Rikkitic

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#2178004 13-Feb-2019 23:23

I think this subject has run its course and I have no more to say about it so this will probably be my last comment. I am not a gamer and I am not an Android expert. I started out with a cheap tablet, just to see what it was all about. Later I bought a cheap box. It came with a lot of pirate stuff on it, which I deleted. I was interested in the box, not the content, which was not my taste anyway. Over time I discovered material I did want to watch, things like PBS and ABC, along with major news sites. These were FTA, but some were also geo-blocked. I don't do piracy because content creators lose out. I don't have a problem with geo-unblocking because that content is already paid for and freely distributed, and I regard geo-blocks as corporate copywrite BS which I am opposed to.

Initially I used my cheap Chinese boxes for streaming, but I had issues with buffering and the like so I decided to buy the best box I could. According to my research, that was the Shield. At that time I did not fully understand the difference between Android and Android TV, which is confusing to anyone who doesn't live in that world. There certainly was nothing about it on the Nvidia site or anywhere else I looked. I was given the impression that I was buying an expensive Android box on steroids. Clearly, I made a mistake. So now I have to go through all kinds of contortions to make it do the things I feel it should anyway. In the process of this, I also run up against a lot of Android frustrations which I have posted about elsewhere. It is a great OS when everything just works, but it can be an absolute pain to customise.

I'm sure the Shield is the bee's knees for those who just want to watch Netflix and YouTube but my taste runs to other things and for that it is an absolute bugger. But I have found ways to make it do what I want, instead of what it thinks I should want, and for the most part that works pretty well. Then of course I run into this stupidity with Zattoo. Just the latest in a long line of frustrations. But I can also get around that.

At least I now know the difference between Android and Android TV. We learn from experience, I suppose.

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Oblivian

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#2178010 14-Feb-2019 00:37

How dare that legitimate company pay branding/code licencing, adhere to contractual agreements and charge a bit more to support issues on a product to work as advertised when not modified following a guide found when googled online.

What's worse is the company that makes the OS went and also designed, certified and named a version after my Chinese made device called Android TV™ and didn't include anything to assist with copyright or piracy bypassing when selling it - The nerve!

Why would they do such a thing. Especially after a perfectly upstanding licenced Chinese factory throws such 'quality' components together, and a modified MOBILE PLATFORM Version to run on it and 'legitimately' advertise them as an 'Android TV Box'

My China sourced one even openly advertised it was rooted from factory and would run perfectly legitimate apps like TVNZOndemand and other NZ specific ones that check for root. And that it won't get updated or allow some google functions/security conscious/certified apps to install on because it's not really a phone or touch device.

- Oh wait.

Unfortunately, just because you can add a sidecar to and drive a new Ferrari on the right side of the road. Not mentioning it couldn't in the sales advert doesn't make the product any worse or shift the blame if things go bad. Simply because it looks the same as all the other things with 4 wheels and they can do it in America.

Handle9

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#2178015 14-Feb-2019 01:55

Oblivian:

How dare that legitimate company pay branding/code licencing, adhere to contractual agreements and charge a bit more to support issues on a product to work as advertised when not modified following a guide found when googled online.

What's worse is the company that makes the OS went and also designed, certified and named a version after my Chinese made device called Android TV™ and didn't include anything to assist with copyright or piracy bypassing when selling it - The nerve!

Why would they do such a thing. Especially after a perfectly upstanding licenced Chinese factory throws such 'quality' components together, and a modified MOBILE PLATFORM Version to run on it and 'legitimately' advertise them as an 'Android TV Box'

My China sourced one even openly advertised it was rooted from factory and would run perfectly legitimate apps like TVNZOndemand and other NZ specific ones that check for root. And that it won't get updated or allow some google functions/security conscious/certified apps to install on because it's not really a phone or touch device.

- Oh wait.

Unfortunately, just because you can add a sidecar to and drive a new Ferrari on the right side of the road. Not mentioning it couldn't in the sales advert doesn't make the product any worse or shift the blame if things go bad. Simply because it looks the same as all the other things with 4 wheels and they can do it in America.

Is there really any need to be so condescending and rude about this? I don't really know what that is meant to add to the topic.

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