Installing SmartTUBE app on Android TV & Amazon Fire TV manually

This article reveals several ways to install SmartTUBE app manually on Android TV and Amazon Fire TV devices. Manually implies that you have a .apk file that you are going to install.

If you are a SmartLabs customer, you can download it from the Software Release Notes page in your SmartLabs Wiki‘s space.

If you just want to try out our demo app, please email us at sales@smartlabs.tv.

Note: You can also install the SmartTUBE app on your Android TV device right from the Play Market.

Using Android SDK Platform Tools

(Requires USB or Network connection to the computer)

Turn on the Developer mode on your device.

Android TV

Launch the Settings application on your device.
Tap the About device option.
Then tap the Build number option 7 times to enable Developer mode. You will see a toast message when it is done.
Now go back to the main Settings screen and you should see a new Developer options menu you can access.
Go in there and turn on USB debugging and Install via USB.

Amazon Fire TV

From the main screen, select Settings.
Select Device (or My Fire TV) > Developer Options.
Turn on ADB Debugging.
Turn on Apps from Unknown Sources.
(Optional) If your Fire TV supports USB, and you plan to connect your computer to your Fire TV device using a USB cable, turn on USB Debugging. Note that when USB Debugging is enabled, the USB port is unavailable for other uses such as external storage or input devices. To re-enable the USB port, turn off USB debugging.

Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Extract the ZIP to an easily-accessible location.

Open a Terminal window in the unzipped folder.

Windows

Open Windows explorer and browse the folder to which you extracted the contents of ZIP file.
Right-click the context menu and select Open command window here. (Some Windows 10 users may see PowerShell instead of command window.)

macOS

Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services.
Enable New Terminal at Folder.
In the Finder , browse the folder to which you extracted the contents of ZIP file.
Right-click the context menu and select New Terminal at Folder.

Linux

Run sudo apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal in a Terminal.

Run nautilus -q to quit all open Nautilus windows.
Open Nautilus and browse the folder to which you extracted the contents of ZIP file.
Right-click the context menu and select Open in Terminal.

Connect to your device using ADB tool.

Network

Make sure your device and your computer are on the same network. You can use either a wifi network or a wired network.

Get the IP address of your device.
1. Amazon Fire TV
  Settings > Device (or My Fire TV) > About > Network > note the IP address listed on this screen.
2. Android TV
  Settings > Network & Internet > select the network you are connected to > note the IP address listed on this screen.
In the Terminal window, run the following command, where <ipaddress> is the IP address of your device noted in the previous section. The <port> can be any number within the 5555 to 5585 range.
adb connect <ipaddress>:<port>

For example:

adb connect 10.49.172.51:5555
Allow debugging on your device’s screen.

If the ADB connection was successful, ADB responds with the message:

connected to <ipaddress>:5555
Verify that the Fire TV device appears in the list of devices:

adb devices

ADB responds with a message like this:

List of devices attached

10.49.172.51:5555 device

(where 10.49.172.51 is your IP address.)

USB

Connect your device to the computer using a USB cable.
Run the following commands in Terminal:

adb kill-server

adb start-server

adb devices

After the last command, ADB responds with the following message, where <serialno> is the serial number of the device:

List of devices attached

<serialno> device

Rename the downloaded .apk file to lime.apk and copy it to the folder where you unzipped the Android SDK Platform Tools.
Input the following command in the Terminal: adb install lime.apk
Allow the application to be installed on the screen of your device.

Using USB Drive or Memory Card

(Requires a computer)

Connect an USB drive or memory card to your computer.
Copy the downloaded .apk file to the drive/card and rename it to lime.apk.
Disconnect the drive/card safely from your computer and connect it to your device.
Launch the lime.apk file with any file explorer (for example, X-plore File Manager).

Using Downloader application

(Requires an Internet connection on your device)

Install the Downloader application on your device using these instructions for Amazon Fire TV or for Android TV devices.
Open the Downloader and type URL of the .apk file (for example, https://www.smartlabs.tv/limetv.apk) in the address bar.
The Downloader should download the file, request permission to install and install the application.