IMPORTANT: 

The native resolution of all browsers (The default Silk browser, or any browser you may load onto it) for the Firestick and Fire TV is 960x540. This cannot be adjusted. To get your custom screen to look as close to what the fire stick can produce, click on the gear ICON in the upper right-hand corner of the screen editor and set the Aspect Ratio to Custom, then the Resolution to 960x540. This will set the Screen resolution to match the Firestick. For the Predefined screen, you can use any layout you want, but to make it fit the screen the best under Settings & Defaults change the Base Font Size to X-Small to get the best results.


Follow the instructions below to use your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick as a DAKboard display.


You can also purchase a ready-to-go DAKboard Wall Display, or get a DAKboard CPU to make any TV or monitor a DAKboard!



TABLE OF CONTENTS



Create A Custom Screen Or Setup Your Predefined Screen


Access the Screens Page and click the Green ADD button in the top right to create a custom screen.  See our Screen Configuration Article Group for help creating your screen.






Link Your Fire TV Or Firestick To Your DAKboard Account


1. In your DAKboard account, go to Displays & Devices, click the "Add" button, and give the device a name. Now select the screen or schedule you would like to use in the Assigned Screen section. Give it a name and click SAVE:




A screen showing Device Added Successfully should pop up. Click "Close". 


2. Now, on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, open the Internet app (Silk web browser):




3. Type in https://dakboard.com/link. This will generate a code on the display:




4. Enter this code in the popup back in your DAKboard account. Navigate back to Displays & Devices and click on the 3 dots '...' to the right of the name of the device you added earlier for the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, then select Link with Device or TV:




5. Now enter the code from the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick that we generated in step #3, and then click Link Device:





Configure Fire TV or Fire TV Stick Sleep Timer & Screen Saver



If you plan to use your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick as a full-time display, you will need to adjust the default settings so the screen does not timeout or run the screen saver. The default sleep timer cannot be configured via the GUI as it is hardcoded to 20 minutes. To change this, we will need to do some additional steps outlined below. 



First, you will need to download adbLink software so we can change the hardcoded settings on the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. The software can be found here http://jocala.com/adblink.html for Windows, Mac, or Linux. Unfortunately, this method will not work using a phone or tablet. 


NOTE: Mac computers will not automatically allow you to install adbLink, however, you can get around this. To install adbLink on your follow the following steps:


  1. Download the MacOS version of adbLink
  2. Open your download folder on your Mac
  3. Right-click the adbLink package and choose Open With > Installer as seen below:
  4. Once the installer opens you will be guided through the steps to install the software
  5. Follow the steps and you will be asked to enter your password to proceed as see below:
  6. Once you have completed this you can continue with the remaining steps.



IMPORTANT:

For these steps, you will need to ensure your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick are on the same network as your computer or accessible on the same network via IP for adbLink software to work properly. 



If you are using the latest version of Fire TV software, you will need to initial the Developers Options. To do this Navigate to Settings > My Fire TV > About > Fire TV (or Fire TV Stick) and click this 7 times. A countdown of the number of clicks will arise after click number 3 and let you know how many clicks are left. In the end, a message will pop up telling you that you have enabled Developers mode, or that you are currently in Developers mode.


Next, we need to turn on ADB debugging with your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. Navigate to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer Options. Click on ADB debugging to turn it ON:




Now you need to determine the IP of your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. To find this on the device, navigate to Settings > My Fire TV > About. Click on Network to see the IP of the device. Take note of this for the next steps.




Now, open adbLink on your computer (from the first step in this section). Click the New button:




Give the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick a name in the Description Field. In the Address field, add the IP of the device, and then click Save:




Now click the Connect button. You will have a screen pop up on the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick asking for approval for your computer to connect to it. Check the box and click Yes. You should see the name of your device in the Connected devices box and under Connection status, you should see the IP connection if successful. 


NOTE:

If you do not see your device IP in the Connected device box, there is an issue with the network connection to the device, or path between the computer and the device which will require additional troubleshooting of your network




Next, click Utility in the toolbar, and select Set timers from the dropdown, or if you are using the latest version of the software, click Edit Timers:



A new screen will pop up. Sometimes this screen can take a moment to open as adbLink communicates to the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick so you may need to give it a moment. Once the screen opens, click on Sleep Off, Screensaver off, and then click OK:



You're all set! Enjoy your DAKboard screen anywhere on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick!




Rotate the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick Screen


If you would like to change your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick to portrait/vertical orientation, you can follow the steps we have documented here: Screen Rotation for Smart TVs




Tips, Tricks, and Notes


  1. Bookmark your screen URL in Silk to easily pull up if your device reboots.
  2. You can use the adbLink application to sideload applications like Firefox and more.
  3. To hide the Silk toolbar, scroll to the bottom of the screen and both the cursor and toolbar will hide.  When your screen fully refreshes every 6 hours, this URL will reappear and you will need to hide it again.
  4. The Silk browser will display video, but will not automatically play.  You will need to use the remote to start the video on the DAKboard screens.  If autoplay video is necessary for your installation we suggest a DAKboard CPU/Wall Display/DIY Raspberry Pi device.
  5. Loops unfortunately will not work with the Silk Browser at this time. You can only use them in sideloaded browsers running at the native resolution of 960x540 for all Screen resolutions. If you are looking to use Loops to their fullest, we suggest a DAKboard CPU/Wall Display/DIY Raspberry Pi device.
  6. Different TVs and Monitors have varying resolutions. Using smaller font adjustments in each block in your custom screen should be used to maximize your screen space as the native resolution of all browsers on Firestick will be set to 960x540.
  7. Loops will ONLY work with the browser built-in to the Downloader app. The Downloader app has the advantage of being able to go full screen without a URL bar, but its cursor remains on the screen as a large red circle. If this is ok visually for you, to use the Downloader app to display DAKboard, use the following steps:
    1. Install the Downloader app from the Amazon App store (Make sure it is the app called Downloader)
    2. Once installed click on Browser on the left side of the screen.
    3. Type dakboard.com/link into the browser URL and follow steps 3-5 of the section Link Your Fire TV Or Firestick To Your DAKboard Account as seen earlier in this document
    4. Click on the three bars to the right of the URL bar to save this page to your favorites to access your page easier next time
    5. To make the screen fullscreen, click on the three bars again and select Fullscreen Mode to expand the image
    6. Move the point to somewhere you don't mind seeing it and enjoy




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