[Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greno1:
Update 5/8/14 - Just wanted to let everyone know that I've released this app under a new name to the Amazon Appstore, now called "Signal for Fire TV". I really appreciate all the feedback and most the suggestions made it into the initial version, including Tasker support. I've also removed the temporary demo version.

Some links:

Download the app here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/dl/android?p=com.jigawattlabs.signal

Details on app here: http://www.jigawattlabs.com/signal-for-fire-tv

Tasker instructions here: http://www.jigawattlabs.com/tasker-instructions-for-signal

Thanks for all the help!

-Gregg

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Update 4/28/14 - just uploaded new version to (removed)

Added help screens and fixed a few bugs. I think this is feature complete for the first release, except for how to charge for it. Demo and Paid version, or in app purchase?

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Update 4/27/14 - just released an updated version of the app. Please install on both the FireTV and your Android phone/tablet. Changes include:

- Send notifications to all FireTV devices (although the Send button on the FireTVs tab only sends to the currently selected FireTV)

- Privacy settings on FireTV side to turn on/off the sender name and the actual message

- Added ability to get notified when any app posts a notification.

To enable app notifications, the following are REQUIRED

- You must be running Android 4.3 or above. The app takes advantage of a new app notification feature introduced in 4.3

- You MUST first hit the "Enable App Notifications" button in the APPS tab, and make sure the NotiFireTV app has a checkbox next to it

- Select the apps you want to get notifications on. For example - Gmail and mail are likely candidates

Please post your comments and suggestions. And thanks for all the great feedback.

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Hi all. I've developed a new app specifically for the FireTV called NotiFire, and I'm looking for feedback before I release it. The basic idea is that if you get a phone call or text message on your phone or tablet, a notification will pop up on the FireTV showing you the notification and who it's from.

It doesn't matter if your Android device isn't near by or silent - it just needs to be connected to the same wifi network (and same channel if you have multiple channels). I plan to add additional notifications over time.

There is one apk, and it needs to be installed on both the FireTV and your Android device. You can download the latest version here: http://jigawattlabs.com/notifire/NotiFire.apk

On the FireTV, do the following:

- adb connect (ip address of your firetv)

- adb install NotiFire.apk

- From FireTV home screen, go to Settings->Applications->NotiFire->Launch Application

- You can leave all the check boxes checked if you want, but you should set the FireTV name - maybe something like "Living Room"

- Exit back to the home screen

On your Android device

- Launch the NotiFire.apk

- If all goes well, within a few seconds you should see a line in the list for your FireTV. If you have multiple FireTV devices, they should show up

- Select your FireTV and it's name should turn orange to show it's now the default FireTV

- Go to the Notifications tab and make sure the notifications you want to send to the FireTV are checked

- Exit the app

At this point, any time you get a call or SMS message, you should get a notification on the FireTV - even in the middle of watching a movie or whatever. The NotiFire app doesn't need to be visible on either the FireTV or your Andorid device since they run background services that will also start up when you reboot either device. So you really don't need to launch the app any more on either device, except if the FireTV IP address changes. If it does, just launch the NotiFire app again and re-select your FireTV.

You can also just send a simple message from your phone to the FireTV by entering some text at the bottom of the Fire TVs tab and hitting the send button.

Permissions

Note that there are a lot of permissions that the app requests. Here is an explanation:

Checking WiFi status and sending messages across the network:

INTERNET

ACCESS_WIFI_STATE

ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE

CHANGE_WIFI_STATE

Keeps the devices going into such a deep sleep they won't respond when needed

WAKE_LOCK

For device discovery, send broadcast to all devices on network to see which are FireTVs:

CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE

See if my background process is running:

GET_TASKS

Reverse lookup to get name of caller/SMS sender

READ_CONTACTS

For caching files

READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

Detect if a phone call or SMS message is received

READ_PHONE_STATE

RECEIVE_SMS

Automatically start background service on startup

RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED

Known issues:

- (Fixed by locking orientation) After an orientation change on the phone/tablet, app doesn't seem to detect FireTV devices. For now, just close and open app again

- (Fixed) Preference changes on FireTV don't seem to take effect until you close and restart the NotiFire app again