Device thinks it is an android tv

Plex Players
1

Server Version#: 1.40.2.8395
Player Version#: 10.14.0.xxxx

I have an android device. When I install the plex android app from the google play store it defaults to TV layout. However, it is a mobile device with lots of storage and I want to download things to it.

I know that you can only download on the mobile layout, and I also know that when in the mobile layout you can switch to the TV layout.

I cannot find a way to switch from a device that thinks it is a tv to mobile layout.

I also don’t know which version of the android app started this, I am pretty sure you used to be able to go from tv to mobile.

How can I either switch from TV to mobile, or make plex think it is on a mobile device, or find an apk version of the android app before this change was made?

2

What device?

Can you reach the Plex app settings?

Settings → Experience → Application Layout.

3

This works when you try to go from mobile to tv. But when your device starts in android TV mode, this option is not there. I have tried about 7 or 8 different versions of the app on an android TV device and that option has not been there back to the start of 2023. I don’t really want to keep randomly trying versions of the android app, so was hoping one of the developers or someone could help me.

4

What device?

5

Viture. However, the question is device independent.

6

The VR glasses (viture.com)?

What is running the Plex app?

A quick scan of their web site reads like the Plex app is running on another device connected to the glasses by USB-C.


the question is not device independent.

It depends if the device runs Android mobile or Android TV.

If it runs Android TV, then the Play Store will load the Android TV version of the Plex app, which cannot be switched to a mobile layout and does not support downloads.

7

This, I think, is partially true. However, plex does not have different apks for android mobile or android tv. As I said before, I downloaded an android mobile apk, and installed it on an android TV device, and it started in TV layout, not in mobile layout. I was unable to switch it to mobile layout. If I download the exact same APK onto an android mobile device, it starts in mobile layout and the option is there.

Therefore there is something that the device tells the plex app that says, “hey, I am an android TV device.” Even loading a mobile APK does not solve this issue. Therefore it is not simply an “android tv” version of the app.

8

Your not actually answering the questions @FordGuy61 is asking and I’m not sure why.

The Android TV app intentionally does not have the option and afaik there are zero plans to ever implement it there. The only reason that option exists on mobile is due to the many third part “android boxes” that actually run a very customized version of Android mobile rather than Android TV. So if you are using that device that he linked to …

and do in fact have it connected to an android TV which actually has the app installed, then that is what you will get.

9

Correct. I was mistaken.

I’m thinking the Plex app detects if it is running on Android mobile or Android TV and then behaves accordingly. Which is why my Nvidia Shield cannot be switched to mobile layout, but my Pixel 6a phone can switch to TV layout.

If you can reach the Plex app settings, you might enable the Android logs and see if they reveal anything.

Here’s a log snippet from my Pixel 6a. Notice the entry [Sync] PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_PRODUCT = Plex for Android (Mobile).

The logs from my Nvidia Shield do not have any [Sync] entries. I do not see any lines that mention Android mobile vs Android TV.

05-14 14:09:48.278  i: Hello, Plex for Android world (debug: false)!
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: App version: 10.15.0.571 (955261873)
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: Nano server version: 1.40.2.8273-7630a4c43
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: FFmpeg version: 2.0-ad474602b33
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: Treble version: 2.1.0.587
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: ASS version: 0.16.0
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: Manufacturer: Google  Device: bluejay  Model: Pixel 6a  Product: bluejay  Version: 14
05-14 14:09:48.278  i: Screen size: Normal Screen density: Unknown Resolution: 2400x1080 DPI: 420 Touchscreen: true  Marketplace: com.android.vending  Architecture: arm64-v8a
05-14 14:09:48.279  i: [Crashlytics] Enabled crash reporting.
05-14 14:09:48.279  i: [BootBehaviour][Background] Crashlytics behaviour took 0ms to execute on the background thread.
05-14 14:09:48.279  i: [BootBehaviour][Background] ExtractCertificate behaviour took 0ms to execute on the background thread.
05-14 14:09:48.279  i: [BootBehaviour][Background] Install Referrer behaviour took 0ms to execute on the background thread.
05-14 14:09:48.279  i: [AppEventMonitor]              StartingNano			+0.02s
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [CleanupBehaviour] Cleaned up 1 existing seek maps.
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [Sync] Setting environment variables.
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_HOME = /data/user/0/com.plexapp.android
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [BootBehaviour][Background] Players Manager behaviour took 0ms to execute on the background thread.
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [BootBehaviour][Background] SyncCleanup behaviour took 0ms to execute on the background thread.
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR = /data/user/0/com.plexapp.android
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_PORT = 38175
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_PRODUCT = Plex for Android (Mobile)
05-14 14:09:48.280  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_VENDOR = Google
05-14 14:09:48.281  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_DEVICE = Pixel 6a
05-14 14:09:48.281  i: [Sync]    PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_MODEL = bluejay
11

Sure I did.

But the question was (and still is) - is it possible to change the layout from tv to mobile on a device that is telling plex that it is a tv. And that question (should be) device independent.

Sounds like the answer is no, which is unfortunate, because there are multiple use cases were an android tv device is both mobile and capable of downloads (just browse reddit). Sounds like the devs did not think forward enough so now there is a false positive where plex thinks the device is stationary and it is not.

I understand why the option would not be there to download in most cases, but surely not in all cases? If there are third party android boxes that run android mobile but are actually android tvs, why not allow for the cases of android tvs that are “mobile” in the sense that they can be taken somewhere and used without internet (in a car, on a train, on a plane, sam I am) and therefore would need plex downloads?

12

Thanks for the detailed reply! Yeah, that is what I was afraid of. I could not find anything that said “android tv” either. But it sounds like the devs didn’t think about this case, which is unfortunate.

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