Google TV - No Daydream

[ScherlOMatic]

Dear Martin,

First of all, thank you for your fantastic app and the incredible work you do.

Let me provide some context: I’ve been using PhotoCloud for years, starting my photo journey on a small tablet. I then moved on to a Grundig 32" TV with Android TV, and just a few weeks ago, I switched to a Xiaomi TV A Pro 43" (2025 model) running Google TV.

I was hoping the transition from Android TV to Google TV would be seamless, but unfortunately, I’ve encountered some challenges replicating my previous setup. I wanted to share these details with you, as they might help others in similar situations:

1. No Turn On/Off Timer Support
The Xiaomi TV does not seem to support a scheduled turn on/off feature. On my previous Android TV, I could set it to turn on automatically at 7 a.m., run for a few hours, then turn off and restart at 6 p.m. I haven’t found a way to achieve this on the new TV. I’m unsure if this limitation is due to the Google TV OS or Xiaomi’s implementation.
2. PhotoCloud App and Daydream Integration
On my Grundig TV, the slideshow feature worked flawlessly using the Daydream screensaver option. I selected PhotoCloud directly from the menu, and everything functioned as expected. However, on the Xiaomi TV, PhotoCloud doesn’t appear as an option in the Daydream screensaver settings. Despite having purchased the app and verifying its activation in the settings, I now need to start the app manually and navigate through extra steps—something that wasn’t necessary before.

While the first issue might be outside your scope, is there anything you can do to address the second one? I’m happy to assist in any way to help troubleshoot or test potential solutions.

Thank you for your time and support!

Kind regards,
Stefan

[mvysny]

Hi Stefan, thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm happy that PhotoCloud serves you well. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. The problem is, both of these troubles may have origins in Google securing Android in newer versions.

1. PhotoCloud actually should be able to start itself automatically, and stop itself at certain times. However, that never worked reliably - Android doesn't want apps to wake it up. The whole system was locked down in newer Androids on purpose. The PhotoCloud would register as boot listener, then register an alarm, get waked up by Android and start presenting. Unfortunately, the alarm can only be registered by a foreground service and that thing is locked down in new Androids (security reasons). Also, the boot listener is now locked down (security + performance reasons), so I just gave up and disabled the entire functionality in PhotoCloud when using new Androids.

2. Unfortunately I'm not sure how I can help there. PhotoCloud exposes itself as a Daydream provider, and then it's up to Android to discover all Daydream providers and allow the user to select one. In the older TVs it used to work (as you wrote); maybe something changed in the newer Androids?

Unfortunately, I don't have an Android TV myself (I fully switched to Apple and I'm quite happy with Apple Photos on Apple TV - I warmly recommend you to do the same), and therefore I can't investigate anymore. But perhaps what you could do is to buy an Android TV stick with an older Android (say Xiaomi TV or an Amazon Firestick) and run PhotoCloud on that.

[ScherlOMatic]

Hey Martin,

Thanks for your response. This doesn't sound great, but it seems to be accurate. I also tried another brand with Google TV OS, and it appears to have the same limitations.

The workaround with a Fire Stick might also require some manual steps, which I’d prefer to avoid completely.

The last option would be migrating from Nextcloud to Google Photos and using their fully integrated service, but I’m not sure if I want to go that route.

Thanks again, and happy holidays!
Stefan

[ScherlOMatic]

Hello Martin, quick question is there a reason why the app can't be installed anymore on Google TV or Android TV? I purchased another TV with Android TV and this one (Grundig) would fulfill all my requirements well, but unfortunately it tells me that the app is not supported on this device. Thank you