Lovelace: Firemote Card - Remote controls for Amazon Fire / Android devices

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#1

Hello everyone! Some of you may have seen this post in other places already, but I was recommended to share it here too.

I’ve created a custom card for Amazon Fire TV devices, complete with realistic looking UI elements, and visual feedback as well. This card is installable through HACS, and easily configured through the UI.

Full Instructions can be found here: https://github.com/PRProd/HA-Firemote/

Or, click this handy shortcut to get started:
Open your Home Assistant instance and open a repository inside the Home Assistant Community Store.

fiveRemotes-v1.7.1
fiveRemotes-v1.7.11017×781 104 KB

dashboard
dashboard1057×817 82 KB

I’d love to get your feedback on this if you choose to use it! I’m still actively developing it, adding features and fixes and time permits and as requests roll in.

Enjoy!!

3 Likes
#2

Looks fantastic and just what I was looking for. Brilliant, thanks!

1 Like
#3

Glad to see you made it over here. I’ve been a bit busy, but I’m hoping to go through my house and retest my 5 Android/Fire TV setups with the most recent update.

#4

Hello, wanted to leave some feedback with my use of firemote. Tested on 25 OCT 2022 using v1.5.0

I’ll try to see what changes after I update to v1.7.0. Sorry this took so long.

Android Remote Testing:

  • Toshiba Fire TV - Model 32V35KU:
  1. Fire Device Type: Fire TV (4 Series)
  2. Compatibility Modes Working: Default, Strong, event0, event4
  3. Fastest Response Mode: Default
  4. Shortcuts Tested & Working: Plex, Tennis, YT, Prime, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu
  • Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen (2020):
  1. Fire Device Type: Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen)
  2. Compatibility Modes Working: Event1 [No Power Button, No Center Button], Strong [No Volume Control]
  3. Fastest Response Mode: Event1
  4. Shortcuts Tested & Working: Plex, Tennis, YT, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu
  5. Comments: Default mode can work, but only after I’ve used the physical remote. I assume this is due to some auth command or something similar. Not sure why the Prime shortcut doesn’t work here, but I’ve never gotten it to work with this particular device manually either. For that reason, I’m not sure if any other incompatibilities are due to this either. In Strong mode, the power button seems to send a discrete On command only, no Off.
  • Verizon Stream TV v2 (I don’t know if it’s the Askey or Arris version nor if that matters):
  1. Fire Device Type: Fire TV Stick 4K Max
  2. Compatibility Modes Working: Strong
  3. Fastest Response Mode:
  4. Shortcuts Tested & Working: HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+
  5. Comments: Default mode can control power both on and off, but not d-pad, so I didn’t test further. Strong mode powers on, but not off.
  • Five TV Cube 2nd Gen (2022):
  1. Fire Device Type: Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen)
  2. Compatibility Modes Working: Event1 [No Center Button], Strong [No Volume Control]
  3. Fastest Response Mode: Event1
  4. Shortcuts Tested & Working: Plex, Tennis, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, YT, Netflix
  5. Comments: Couldn’t get power on/off to work with any remotes for this device.
  • Five TV Stick 4K (2020):
  1. Fire Device Type: Fire TV Stick 4K Max
  2. Compatibility Modes Working: Strong
  3. Fastest Response Mode: N/A
  4. Shortcuts Tested & Working: Plex, Netflix, Tennis, YT
  5. Comments: This is attached to an old TV with no HDMI-CEC support, therefore volume and power weren’t expected to work.
1 Like
#5

Really Nice project… Thanks!!

1 Like
#6

THANK YOU for such a detailed write up!!! I sincerely appreciate it!

There’s a lot to dig into here, but hopefully I can simplify my response a little.

You tested with V1.5.0, and found some Amazon Fire TV Device specific issues that were addressed with the next release V1.5.1. To prioritize Amazon Fire TV Devices first (since that’s the remote style I emulated), let’s discuss the things that still might be issues there.

  • Toshiba Fire TV - Model 32V35KU:

    • Good to go!

  • Fire TV Cube 2nd Gen (2020):

    • It sounds like the default mode should be switched to “event1” based on your results. There was some discussion on the reddit comments about this when I first added support, but perhaps those discussions mislead me to set “event5” as the default. I’m probably going to need your help to pull specific commands for the cube’s Power and Center buttons to ensure that all buttons will work properly under5 “event1”
    • Prime button issues should have been resolved in V1.5.1. Please let me know if that’s not the case for the 2nd gen 2020 cube

  • Verizon Stream TV v2

    • Tabling these issues for now. Not an official Amazon Fire Device, if I’m understanding correctly. Can you provide a product link?

  • Fire TV Cube 3rd Gen (2022):

    • Your original name for this was "Five TV Cube 2nd Gen (2022), but after looking at the amazon specs for their devices, I think you meant Fire TV Cube 3rd Gen (2022). Can you double check that for me?
    • I’m excited to get this one working since it’s their latest and greatest! Can you help me here too? I’ll add specific support for the 3rd Gen cube, set the default event as event1, and then it looks like I will need your help to get the center button working. Maybe it will be the same special command as the 2nd gen uses.

  • Five TV Stick 4K (2020)

    • Your original name for this was “Five TV Stick 4K (2020)” but I was unable to find a 2020 version of the Fire stick on amazon’s product page. Could this actually be the Fire TV Stick 3rd Gen? If so, I’ll add specific support for this device as well.
    • Strong is painfully slow in every case. :frowning: If you’re able to find some faster and somewhat stable results with an event number, I’d love to hear about that.
#7

Release v1.9.0 is available now. I’ve added support for more devices, and shortcuts for more apps since this discussion started. Notably, today’s big news is support for the 3rd Gen cube!

I’m starting quite the collection of sticks and other Amazon devices here… it’s really the only way to properly iron out all of the unique device differences. That being said, I don’t see myself buying 27 more TVs right now. Take a look at the current product support here

@ShooterQ - I’d still love your help with the 2nd gen cube (see above). Or, if you decide to upgrade your 2nd gen cube to a 3rd gen cube this black Friday, you could always mail me your 2nd gen. :slight_smile: Any other updated diagnostics would be truly appreciated as well! Thanks!

1 Like
#8

Sorry I haven’t kept up. I plan to go through and test the latest version with all of my devices as soon as I’m able, as well as to respond to your last post. Just wanted to let you know I’m still around.

#9

I have the 4k Max, and most buttons on the nav do not work at all. The only buttons that seem to work are “Home”, “Back”, “Power” and the the app launch buttons. Nothing else is working.

#10

Disregard. I changed to strong compatibility, and so far so good.

#11

I have some problems with the app_button options as, after configuring them accordingly to the docs, i cannot see any button in the frontend… Where the app buttons will appear and how to chose one of them from the dashboard card?

#12

@maurizio53 - Could you copy/paste your YAML config here so I can better understand what the issue might be?

#13

@jlt1267 - You shouldn’t need to use “strong” mode, unless you’re OK with the degraded response time. Instead, I suggest making sure you’ve downloaded the latest version from HACS, selected the proper device type (in your case, the 4K Max), and read through the FAQ section on the GitHub page that discusses this very topic:

https://github.com/PRProd/HA-Firemote#faq

#14

Here it is:

                          - type: custom:firemote-card
                            entity: media_player.fire_tv_camera_letto
                            device_type: fire_stick_first_gen
                            compatibility_mode: default
                            app_launch_1: prime-video
                            app_launch_2: netflix
                            app_launch_3: hdmi_1
                            app_launch_4: paramount-plus
                            scale: 85
                            button_overrides:
                              mute-button:
                              script: script.panasonic_mute

My question is: How to have the app_launch options visible in the card?

#15

This is the part that is preventing you from seeing what you are hoping to see:

Selecting any device type will display the remote control that was shipped with that device. Since the Fire Stick 1st Gen did not have app shortcut buttons, they will not be available to use when you configure your card this way. The image and image labels at the top of this thread might help you to understand what I mean by that.

There is a chart in the read me section that lists the available options to use for the “device type” option. I’ve also noticed that you’ve included an HDMI input in your configuration, so I’m guessing that you actually own a TV or a Fire Cube 3rd Gen since those are the only Amazon Fire products that currently support HDMI inputs. Along with the Firemote Wiki help documents, you can also find help determining which Amazon Fire device you own on this Amazon page.

I hope that helps.

#16

Hi Doug,

thanks for the great UI.
I have an issue adding the card to my Dashboard.
I used the automatic install and found the location on config/www/community/HA-Firemote/HA-Firemote.js.
When I hit add on a dashboard, there is not “firemote” card available. I tried a manual yaml but get as error

  Custom element doesn't exist: firemote-card.
    type: custom:firemote-card
  No visual editor available for type 'custom:firemote-card'.

Any idea, what went wrong?

Thanks,
Markus

#17

@Markus77 - I’ve seen this behavior in the past sometimes when the Home Assistant Cache needs to be cleared. Sometimes, the issue can be resolved by restarting your home assistant instance, or the device that you are using to access home assistant.

If you are using a web browser, I suggest clearing the browser’s cache and trying again.

In the event that you are using an apple or android device to interact with your Home Assistant instance, and a simple restart does not solve the issue, please let me know. I might be able to provide some additional device specific help for you.

#18

Thanks for the quick reply.
So it means i can disable those options regarding buttons as my fire tv remote doesn’t have those buttons?
I have one fire stick 4k 1st gen and a fire stick first gen.
Which options are the best for these devices?

#19

Hi Doug, I cleared the cache of all browsers. But still the same result. I use Firefox and Edge. Reboot of my PC also didn’t change anything. Very strange…

#20

@Markus77 - Did you also restart your Home Assistant instance?

HARestart
HARestart935×724 96.8 KB

  1. Click on Settings in the left hand panel
  2. Choose “System” (not pictured here)
  3. Click the RESTART button in the upper right hand corner