I purchased the Plex Pass and downloaded the .apk file vor the latest beta image.
It appears that I have a lot of hoops to jump through to install the beta on my Fire TV 4k.
The easiest approach appears to be installing a Downloader app from the Amazon App store,then, after some configuration, enter a URL to point at the .apk file.
Does Plex host the beta file at a URL I can enter into Downloader?
Is there a document describing this process?
Once I download and install the beta, should I expect to see 2 Plex apps on my Fire TV 4k? How will I differentiate the beta from the release?
If I decide to hold off, how long might it be before " Plex for Android 9.26.0.2526-beta" will become the default download on the Amazon App Store?
There may be multiple beta releases. The current beta may not be the version that becomes the public release. There is no publicly announced timeline for releases.
The public and beta releases cannot coexist. Only one copy of the Plex app can be installed. Delete the version from the Amazon app store before installing the beta.
Sideloaded apps do not auto-update. To go back to the public version, delete the beta and install from the Amazon store. To update to a new beta, delete the current and install the new version.
The Fire TV must be configured to allow apps from unknown sources (sideloading). Fire TV Settings → My FireTV → Developer Options → Apps from Unknown Sources = On.
Use the Amazon AppStore (armv7a) version. The Google Play versions will not function correctly on Amazon devices (Amazon uses a customized version of Android).
Use a URL shortener such as tinyurl.com or bitly.com to make entering the URL in Downloader (much) easier.
You might be able to use the Amazon Fire TV app to more easily enter the URL. The app acts as a remote control for the Fire TV. I’ve never tried using it to enter a URL.
I use an app called Easy Fire Tools to install apks on my fire cube. Download the apk to my phone and then use the app to install. Much easier than the download tool.
I had to unload the previous version manually before Downloader would install the new version. (for future reference…)
I went to Home | Settings | Applications | Plex and verified the version number.
Unfortunately, nothing changed w.r.t. Alexa knowing about the Plex app on my Fire Tv 4K.
I went to the privileges for the Plex beta player. The only privilege is Access Storage. I turned it on, but it made no difference.
Somewhere there is supposed to be an “advertise As Player” option.
Am I missing something? Do I need to set Fire TV 4k Plex app options from my phone? (Which I can’t see anymore…) Or is there a settings panel for the Fire TV 4K Plex app that I am not accessing?
Load either the current public release, 9.26.0.2648, or the current beta release, 9.27.0.2795.
On my Shield, running 9.27.0.2795, “Advertise as player” is in Plex App Settings → Advanced.
When casting/flinging from another Plex client, the Plex app on the FireTV must be running and in the foreground for it to be visible to other devices on the network.
I’m not sure if the same is true for Alexa. I do not use that feature.
I power cycled the Fire TV 4K and then Alexa would perform the
“Ask Plex to change my player to Garage” command.
(Alexa actually told me that it only found a single player currently running, and that my Primary player has been set to Garage.)
I have also found that asking plex to play THE MOVIE Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s works a lot better than simply asking Plex to play Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s.
Ditto for every “movie” (as contrasted with song) title. So my Exercise Videos, Concerts, Musicals, etc. Libraries are all “movies”…
