Run Your App on Vega Virtual Device or Fire TV Stick

Run your app on Fire TV Stick

Running your Vega app on a Fire TV Stick is essential for testing real device performance and ensuring compatibility before submitting to the Amazon Appstore. This section walks you through setting up your Fire TV Stick 4K Select for development, enabling Developer Mode, and deploying your Vega app for testing.

Prerequisites

1. Install the Vega SDK.
2. Fire TV Stick 4K Select.

Step 1: Set up and register your Fire TV Stick

To set up and register your Fire TV Stick

1. Connect your Fire TV Stick:

   a. To your development machine using USB cable.

   b. To a display using the HDMI adapter.

   The remote pairing screen appears.

2. Complete remote pairing:

   a. Press Home button when prompted.

   b. Follow on-screen instructions.

   c. Wait for Fire TV logo to appear.

3. Configure settings:

   a. Press Play/Pause on your remote.

   b. Select your preferred language.

   c. Connect to your network.

   d. Enter your network credentials.

   Warning: The device checks for over-the-air (OTA) updates. Don't power off or restart your device until updates complete. Interrupting the update might prevent network discovery.

4. Complete device registration:

   a. Sign in to your Amazon account either online or through QR code.

   b. Follow on-screen instructions.

   c. Wait for "Successfully registered" message.

5. Press OK when you see "Your Fire TV remote is now successfully set up."

Step 2: Register Fire TV Stick for Developer Mode

Developer Mode allows you to sideload apps and test development builds on your Fire TV device. See Enable Developer Mode. Before you enable Developer Mode, you must have an Amazon developer account and register the device serial number (DSN) in the Developer Console. The DSN is a 16-character alphanumeric identifier unique to your device.

To find your DSN:

1. Go to Settings > My Fire TV > About.

2. Look for "Serial Number" in the device information.

   You can also find the DSN on the original packaging box or in your Amazon account under "Manage Your Content and Devices."

   Important: Registration applies only to the Fire TV 4K Select model.

To register the Fire TV Stick:

1. Go to the registration page.

   

2. Enter the DSN in the box and click Add Device. The DSN appears in the Registered Devices list.

   

Step 3: Configure Developer Mode

1. Access Settings using the Home button or the Home button shortcut.

   Using Home button

   a. Press the Home button on your remote to go to the Home screen.

   b. Navigate to the top menu bar.

   c. Scroll right to find and select the Settings icon (gear symbol).

   Using Home button shortcut

   a. Press and hold the Home button on your remote for 3 seconds.

   b. Select Settings from the quick menu that appears.

2. Go to Settings > My Fire TV > About.

   

3. Select Fire TV Stick.

4. Press the center button on the remote control 7 times.

   Note: If you register the Fire TV Stick with an EU account, the Developer Options menu appears in My Fire TV.

5. Press the Back button to return to My Fire TV.

   The Developer Options appears in the menu list.

6. Select Developer Options.

   The display indicates the Developer Mode status, which is Disabled by default.

7. Click Developer Mode to enable it.

8. After device reboot, use the Back button on your remote and navigate to My Fire TV > Developer Options > Developer Mode.

   The Developer Mode status should show Enabled.

9. Check device recognition.

   Copy code Copied to clipboard.

    kepler device list
   

   Example output with one device connected:

    Found the following device:
    [Serial Number] : [Device Number]
   

   Example output with multiple devices connected:

    Found the following devices:
    [Serial Number] : [Device Number]
    [Serial Number] : [Device Number]
   

10. Connect to the device.

    • If you have one device connected:

      Copy code Copied to clipboard.

      kepler device shell
      

    • If you have multiple devices connected, specify the DSN:

      Copy code Copied to clipboard.

      kepler device -d <Device Serial Number> shell
      

      Example output:

       (hostmachine)% kepler device -d <Device Serial Number> shell
      
       ##################################################
      
       ##### Welcome to Developer Mode Shell #####
      
       ##################################################
      
       sh(com.amazon.dev.shell):/$
      

Step 4: Load your app on a Fire TV Stick

After you configure Developer Mode on your Fire TV Stick, open a new terminal and use the following commands to load your app:

One device connected to your computer

Replace <my-package.vpkg> with your package name.

kepler device install-app --packagePath <my-package.vpkg>

Multiple devices connected to your computer

Use the following command to specify the target device. Replace <Device Serial Number> with your device's serial number and <my-package.vpkg> with your package name.

kepler device -d <Device Serial Number> install-app --packagePath <my-package.vpkg>

Example output:

Installing/Updating '/tmp/keplerproject_armv7.vpkg' .. success

Step 5: Run your app on Fire TV Stick

After you load your app on your Fire TV Stick, use the following commands to run your app.

One device connected to your computer

kepler device launch-app --appName <component-id>

Multiple devices connected to your computer Use the following command to specify the target device. Replace <Device Serial Number> with your device's serial number and <component-id> with your app's component ID.

kepler device -d <Device Serial Number> launch-app --appName <component-id>

Example output:

(hostmachine)% kepler device -d <Device Serial Number> launch-app --appName com.amazondeveloper.keplersampleapp
Launching app 'com.amazondeveloper.keplersampleapp' .. success