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Open BurgTV automatically when you switch on

· Checked with BurgTV 1.3.10 (TV)

From version 1.3.10 of the TV app, BurgTV can open by itself when you switch on the device or the television. The option is called Open BurgTV at power-on, it is off by default and you turn it on with the remote on Google TV, Android TV and Fire TV with Fire OS 7. On Fire TV devices with Fire OS 8, Amazon has no page to grant the permission: if you want, you can grant it once with ADB, as explained below.

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What the option does

  • Like the iconBurgTV opens exactly as when you press its icon. If it is already on screen, nothing happens.
  • Start-up and TV onIt opens when the device starts and when you switch the television back on, if BurgTV is still in memory.
  • Parental controlsIt does not open if the profile that would open is outside its allowed hours or has used up today’s time.
  • Off by defaultYour choice: turn it on and off whenever you like in the BurgTV settings.

How to turn it on

  1. In BurgTV open Settings > Preferences.
  2. Turn on Open BurgTV at power-on.
  3. On Google TV and Android TV, BurgTV asks for the Display over other apps permission: choose Open settings, turn the permission on for BurgTV and come back with the Back button.
  4. On a Fire TV with Fire OS 7 nothing else is needed.

If you later remove the permission in the device settings, BurgTV turns the option off by itself, because without the permission it could not open.

Where you can turn it on with the remote

FeatureWith the remoteWhat you need
Fire TV with Fire OS 7 or earlierYesNothing: just turn the option on.
Google TV and Android TV with Android 10 or laterYesThe Display over other apps permission: BurgTV opens the right page.
Android TV with Android 9 or earlierYesNothing: just turn the option on.
Fire TV with Fire OS 8 (for example the 2nd-generation Fire TV Stick 4K and 4K Max, from 2023)NoOnce, an ADB command from a computer or a phone (see below). Then the option appears.
Fire TV with Vega OSNoBurgTV cannot be installed: see Fire TV with Vega OS.

To find out which version your Fire TV has, open Settings > My Fire TV > About: the software version says Fire OS 7 or Fire OS 8.

Why the option is missing on Fire TV with Fire OS 8

Since Android 10, an app cannot open by itself unless the user has given it the Display over other apps permission. Fire OS 8 is based on Android 11, but Amazon’s settings have no page for this permission, and Amazon does not provide for apps opening automatically. This is Amazon’s choice and it applies to every app, not just BurgTV. So that you don’t see a switch that would not work, BurgTV hides the option while the permission is missing. If you grant it once with ADB, the option appears by itself.

Fire OS 8, for advanced users: prepare the Fire TV

This is optional and you do it only once. You need a computer or an Android phone on the same Wi-Fi network as the Fire TV.

  1. On the Fire TV open Settings > My Fire TV > About and press the device name 7 to 10 times, until a message confirms that Developer options are on.
  2. Go back to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer options and turn on ADB debugging.
  3. Write down the Fire TV’s IP address: you find it in Settings > My Fire TV > About > Network (for example 192.168.1.50).

With ADB debugging on, a device on your network can ask to control the Fire TV: the Fire TV asks you every time with a message. Only accept your own devices.

Grant the permission from a computer

On the computer you need the adb program, part of Google’s free SDK Platform-Tools (Windows, macOS and Linux). Open a terminal in the adb folder and type these commands, using your Fire TV’s IP address instead of the example:

adb connect 192.168.1.50
adb shell appops set com.burgtv.player SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW allow
adb shell appops get com.burgtv.player SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW
  1. At the first adb connect, a message on the television asks you to allow debugging: choose OK. You can tick the box to remember this computer.
  2. If the first command answers unauthorized or failed to authenticate, accept the message on the television and run adb connect again.
  3. The last command is only a check: the answer must contain allow.

Grant the permission from an Android phone

Without a computer you can use an ADB app for Android, for example Remote ADB Shell (a third-party app, not connected to BurgTV).

  1. Install the app on the phone and connect it to the Fire TV’s IP address, port 5555.
  2. On the television, accept the message asking you to allow debugging.
  3. In the app’s command line type appops set com.burgtv.player SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW allow (here without adb shell in front: the app is already in the Fire TV shell) and confirm.

After the command

  • Open BurgTV, then Settings > Preferences: Open BurgTV at power-on is now there. Turn it on. If the settings were already open, leave them and go back in.
  • If you don’t need ADB debugging for anything else, turn it off in Settings > My Fire TV > Developer options. The permission given to BurgTV stays.
  • The permission also stays after restarts, until you uninstall BurgTV. If you reinstall it, run the command again.
  • To remove the permission, use the same command with default instead of allow: BurgTV turns the option off by itself.

If it doesn’t work

  • adb does not connect: check that ADB debugging is on, that the IP address is right and that the computer or phone is on the same network as the Fire TV.
  • The “allow debugging” message does not appear: look at the television right after adb connect; if you declined it, turn ADB debugging off and on again and retry.
  • The option does not appear in BurgTV: check with appops get that the answer is allow, then close and reopen the BurgTV settings.
  • BurgTV does not open when you switch the television back on: if the system had closed it to free memory, it opens at the next start of the device. It also does not open outside the hours set in parental controls.

Frequently asked questions

Is opening automatically included in the free version?

Yes. The Open BurgTV at power-on option is in the free version of the TV app, from 1.3.10.

Why can’t I see the option on my Fire TV?

Your Fire TV probably runs Fire OS 8: Amazon has no page to grant the permission with the remote. You can grant it once with ADB; then the option appears by itself.

Is the ADB command dangerous for the Fire TV?

The command gives BurgTV a single permission, Display over other apps, and you can remove it whenever you like. It is best to turn ADB debugging off at the end if you don’t need it.

Do I have to repeat the command after every restart?

No. The permission stays until you uninstall BurgTV.

Does BurgTV open even if the profile is outside its hours?

No. If the profile that would open is outside its allowed hours or has used up today’s time, BurgTV does not open by itself.

Does it work on Fire TV devices with Vega OS?

No. Fire TV devices with Vega OS cannot install Android apps, so they cannot install BurgTV either.

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