DirecTV Remote+ FAQs

Following the steps below, you can confirm that your Android device and DirecTV receiver or DVR is properly configured for network access.nPlease follow all of the steps outlined below and include the results when contacting technical support about connection issues.  The reason is because the first thing I will do is point you to this very FAQ and ask what the results of the steps are.  It isn’t meant to be punishment, but if any of these are not correct then it will NOT work, and these are requirements of the app that are completely out of my control.  I can say with absolute certainty that if one or more of your receivers are not coming up in the app (and they are a compatible model and set to allow external access) then the problem is a network issue on your end.  Sorry to be so blunt about it but it is a fact.As with just about anything, problems discovered below can be corrected!  But the first step is determining what is preventing the app from seeing your DirecTV receiver(s) and that is the goal of this document!n nNew:  This FAQ now includes more clarification on what needs to be corrected in order to get it working.  Where applicable, look for the “solution” text.n nTip:  Aside from the DirecTV receivers simply not being networked, a very common issue is #6 (EXTERNAL DEVICE settings)!  Also, if you have a Genie system with CLIENTS, be sure that all clients are powered ON prior to scanning.n n     1)  Ensure that your mobile device (phone / tablet) is connected to your home network via WiFi.  The DirecTV receiver(s) must be on this same network, but can be connected wirelessly or via ethernet cable.n     2)  When scanning begins, a message will briefly appear with the IP address assigned to your mobile device.  Make a note of it and cancel the scan.n     3)  Using your real remote, navigate to:  MENU > SETTINGS & HELP > SETTINGS > INFO & TEST > MORE SYSTEM INFO.  Please note that these menus may be different on Genie systems/clients.n     4)  Verify the following:n          A)  Receiver:  (MODEL) –  Please be sure that the model listed is one of the compatible models listed in the app requirements.n Solution:  If you do not have a compatible receiver model then the first step to making this app work is to get one.  DirecTV only allows network control of specific models.n B)  Network IP address:  (xxx.xxx.x.xxx) –  Ensure that the first three sets of numbers found on the DirecTV receiver’s system info screen match the first three sets of numbers as seen in the Android app.  For example, the app reports your IP as “192.168.1.124” and the receiver reports its IP as “192.168.1.112”.  If the numbers highlighted in yellow do not match each other, then you will NOT be able to connect.  Essentially, when the first three sets of numbers match then both devices are on the same network.  When they do not match, they are not on the same network.n Solution:  If they do not match (or do match but it still doesn’t work), see “Common situations that can cause the IP addresses to not match” below as well as the paragraph underneath it.nWhile not a necessity, it will also be a “bonus” if you see (static) next to the IP address listed in your receiver.  This means that the IP address will never change, which would require you to re-scan your network with the app!  If you are using DHCP Reservation in your router and it has been setup for your DirecTV receiver(s), then the absence of (static) is not important.n          C)  Network:  Connected n Solution:  If it doesn’t say “Connected” here then your DirecTV receivers are not connected to a network at all.  You will need to either connect them directly to your home network using an ethernet cable to your router or some kind of WiFi solution.  Another option is to request Whole Home service from DirecTV along with the Cinema Connection Kit.n D)  Internet:  Connectedn          Solution:  If it doesn’t say “Connected” here then most likely your receivers are not connected to your home network.  If the receiver shows “Connected” under network but not under internet, then the problem could be that you have Whole Home service but without the Cinema Connection Kit.  In this case you would need the CCK which connects your DirecTV receiver network to your home network.n     5)  Go to MENU > SETTINGS & HELP > SETTINGS > WHOLE-HOME > NAME LOCATION and enter a name for your receiver such as LIVING ROOM or BEDROOM. Please note that these menus may be different on Genie systems/clients.n          Solution:  If you do not enter a name here, the receiver will appear as UNNAMED in the DirecTV Remote+ app.  After changing the name here you will need to re-scan for receivers in order for the app to recognize the new name.n     6)  Go to MENU > SETTINGS & HELP > SETTINGS > WHOLE-HOME > EXTERNAL DEVICE and ensure that all options are set to Allow. Please note that these menus may be different on Genie systems/clients.n           Solution:  If those options are not set to “Allow” then the solution is to change them to “Allow”!  If these are not set to “Allow” then the receivers will block attempts to communicate with them.nnRepeat this process for each of your DirecTV receivers.  When done, try scanning again.Again, if any of these items are not how they are listed above, then the DirecTV Remote app will not be able to communicate with your DirecTV receivers.  It is as simple as that.  I will be glad to help you troubleshoot and correct the problem but you MUST tell me what is wrong first.  Please use these steps to help determine the problem then let me know what your results were.n nCommon situations that can cause the IP addresses to not match:nAside from not being networked at all, your DirecTV receivers might be networked with each other, but not connected to your home networknIt’s important to realize that it is possible that your receiver’s themselves may be able to communicate with each other but the receivers cannot communicate outside of their private network (and if this is the case, then the numbers mentioned in the scenario above will not match).  This can happen if you had Whole Home DVR service installed professionally but did not get the Cinema Connection Kit.  Without this extra part, your receivers can talk to each other, but they are in their own private network and thus cannot communicate with your home network.  With the CCK, that network is connected to your home network, thus allowing them to access the internet as well as other devices on your home network (your mobile phone / tablet running this app).  If you self-installed your Whole-Home network by connecting your receivers to your router, then the IP addresses should match your mobile device as mentioned above.nnThe IP addresses may (or may not) match, but it still won’t connect:nYour router may support multiple networks and your phone is not connected to the same one as your DirecTV receiver(s).  In some cases both networks may have similar looking IP addresses and in other cases they may not. Some routers may support multiple networks. For example, some wireless routers have a “guest access” feature which allows guests to your home to access the internet but blocks them from accessing devices and files on your network.  If you have one of these types of wireless routers then you might want to confirm which network your phone and DirecTV receivers are actually connecting to.  While dual-networks may not be very common, I can assure you that I have helped quite a few people who had this exact issue.nnOther possibilities:n* You have a WiFi access point that is configured incorrectly and is essentially isolating wireless traffic from wired traffic.n* You have multiple WiFi access points or a Wireless router in addition to a WiFi access point and they are configured incorrectly causing traffic on them to be isolated from one another.n nFor more info and troubleshooting steps, see this FAQ as well.

This information is current as of v3.8.0.  As new versions come out, occasionally new pro-only features and options emerge.  I will try to update this answer when things change.nEven if you don’t find reason enough to purchase the pro version for features or options, purchasing the paid version of any app helps to show your appreciation for the developer’s work. I challenge you to compare my DirecTV Remote apps to the competition.  You will find that no other DirecTV remote app for Android compares in terms of features, options and support!  Many options listed below (even though they may only available in the pro version) are not available at all in any competing app, and on the rare occasion that one is, their implementation is generally not nearly as robust as it is in my app.n nFeatures are not listed in any particular order, but features found in both Free and Pro are listed first.  As noted by the  icon, some features found in the Free version are limited compared to the Pro version.  In this case, please see the corresponding footnote beneath the table for more information.n nKey:n   = Fully Supported   = Supported but limited (see footnotes beneath table for limitations)N/A  = Not found in free versionn n

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n  Feature or option n	FREE	PRO
Many features and options not available in any other competing app!
A support website with lots of troubleshooting and other helpful information.
Lots of help and usage information built right into the app.
Automatic scanning / discovery of your networked receivers.
See what is currently airing on ALL of your receivers and favorite channels all at the same time in the Mini-Guide.  It also shows you what is on next after the current show.  By default the pro version shows all receivers but there is also an option to only show the currently selected receiver in the mini-guide if that is your preference.  [Network control only]	1
nIncludes 3 built-in remote layouts to choose from based on your preference or device size.nCompact fits ALL buttons in one screen.  Mid-Size fits all buttons except the number pad on one screen (the number pad is a pop-up).  Scrolling provides larger buttons in a scolling screen.n
Exclusive MEmote: a remote layout that you can design yourself!  You control which buttons to display, where to display them, and how large or small they should be!	2
Icon in ongoing notification area allows quick access to the remote as well as displays information about the currently tuned channel.  My app also allows you to disable this option if you would like to conserve battery!
Supports all remote control commands found on the real DirecTV remote control including slow motion!
Non-networked DirecTV receivers can be controlled in the main remote app with select Samsung, HTC and LG devices providing that it has a built-in IR emitter.
Network-controlled Genie CLIENTS do not support ‘Power’ commands (DirecTV’s decision) but the app can be configured to use IR only for sending power commands on clients.  Requires an IR-enabled Samsung or HTC phone/tablet.
Fully adjustable haptic feedback level (from off to strong).
Easily reboot a receiver from within the app.  [Network control only]
Option to show labels on colored buttons to assist those who are color blind.
Active developer with frequent updates and new features (many the result of customer requests).
Allows you to create a Favorite Channels list for quick access to the channels you use most.  The favorites channels also appear in the mini-guide.
Create shortcuts to any remote command, favorite, macro and even the mini-guide directly on your device’s home screen, anywhere you want!  This feature is provided by the free Shortcut Add-on.  This add-on can also be used in conjunction with other apps such as Tasker in order to automate tasks.	3
Easily create & restore the app’s configuration for backing up or transferring settings to another device.	4
Control volume, mute & power on your TV/AVR from the main remote pro app with the Volume Plugin!  If you have a Samsung, HTC, LG or Sony device with IR you can use IR to control your TV or AVR.  Otherwise you will be limited to using network control which is more rare and often a bit more difficult to set up.VERY LIMITED BRAND COMPATIBILITY WHEN USING NETWORK CONTROL!  You can try the plugin for free before you buy anything!**Note that FREE users can test the Volume plugin directly, they just can’t control volume at all from the main app. **	N/A **
Continue to use the remote even if the phone or tablet locks itself while the app is running!  It will also automatically dismiss the lock screen if it is not protected in any way (PIN, etc).	N/A
Rearrange and rename your receivers, favorites and macros as they appear in the app using the List Organizer.	N/A
Long-pressing the ‘Power’ remote button allows you to explicitly send Power On or Power Off to the DirecTV receiver and/or the TV or AVR if one is configured in the Volume Plugin.  You can also send Power ON or Power OFF to multiple DirecTV receivers at once (handy for bars and restaurants).	N/A
View power state of the receiver(s) at a glance (power button and indication in the mini-guide).  [Network control only]	N/A
Expanded Notifications (Jellybean, etc) include buttons to exit the app, view the mini-guide and refresh the notification (currently playing show on the receiver)	N/A
Supports the new SD/HD Toggle remote command (Menu > More).  [Network control only]	N/A
Long-press on the Replay button will skip back to the beginning of the recorded program (or the previous bookmark if it exists).  [Network control only]	N/A
Optionally tune to the same channel on any or all of your receivers simultaneously (long-press in the Mini-Guide or on a favorite channel from the main remote screen). [Network control only]	N/A
See more about the current show, movie or song by searching on IMDb, AllMusic.com, Google and Amazon.  [Network control only]	N/A
Optionally check more frequently for programming or channel changes even if the main app is not active.  Handy if you control the receiver from the Shortcut Add-on or a “real” remote.  This option is to help ensure that the ongoing On Now notification is current.	N/A
Easily enable and disable Closed Captioning with one button press! (Built-in macros)	N/A
Create and use your own custom macros!  Macros are a series of commands that can be executed with just a couple presses!	N/A
Search Assistant allows you to enter search queries using your phone then sends them to the receiver.  You can send characters one at a time as you type them or enter an entire search term using your device’s keyboard and send it all at once.  Includes a built-in QWERTY keyboard.	N/A
Easily launch the DirecTV DVR Scheduler app from the menu.	N/A
Option to lock the app to portrait or landscape mode regardless of device orientation.	N/A
Option to keep your device awake while on ‘main’ screens in the app.	N/A
Option to specify which receiver is used to acquire favorite channel guide data, which can be useful if you have a receiver that is faster than the others or used less frequently.  Ordinarily favorite channel guide data is acquired from the actively selected receiver.  [Network control only]	N/A
Footnotes:
1 Mini-Guide:  The free version only shows the currently selected receiver and first 3 favorite channels in the mini-guide.  The PRO version shows all of your receivers and all of your favorite channels in the mini-guide all at the same time with an option to only show the currently selected receiver (in the mini-guide).
2 MeMote:  The free version allows you to use the remote designer to design your own layout so you can see how the designer works.  Although your custom remote layout will be saved, it can only be used as the active remote style in the PRO version.
3 Shortcut/Widget Add-On:  With the free version, you can install the shortcut add-on and create shortcuts on your home screen with it but please note that they will only function if the PRO version is installed.
4 Backup & Restore Settings:  Both free and pro versions store settings on the SD card (if available) making it easy to backup and transfer settings.  The pro version takes it one further with the built-in ability to create and restore settings from within the app.

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So long as each of your Android devices are using the same email/Google account, any apps purchased on one device should appear as purchased on your other devices.

The Genie (HR34/HR44) is similar to the H2x and HR2x series of receivers and is/has been supported in all of my DirecTV Remote+ apps & add-ons.nSupport for the Genie client devices has been added to the main remote app and add-ons/plug-ins as of 3/10/13.

Because the free and pro versions are two separate apps, they each require their own shortcut on your home screen.  Most likely you have launched the free version by using your old shortcut.  Please uninstall the free version (recommended) and create a new shortcut for the pro version on your home screen.n nNewer versions of the free and pro apps warn you if the other version is also installed on your device.

It was announced by DirecTV in May 2011 that the ability to retrieve the playlists was going to be deprecated in the near future (and since then has been).  Rather than lure you in with a feature that I knew will be broken sometime soon, I chose to leave it out.  Update:  At the time of this writing (March 2012), most if not all receivers have already received the new HD GUI from DirecTV.  Along with this update, the ability to retrieve the playlist using 3rd party apps has been removed.  Playlist support in other apps either no longer works or has been removed from the app.

Scanning for receivers is a pretty straight-forward process and it should find them if they are the correct model and setup correctly.  Please follow all of the steps found here in order to confirm that your DirecTV receiver or DVR is configured correctly.n nIf your Android device’s IP address and the receiver’s IP address both appear similar as outlined in the linked instructions above, click here for more help with resolving this issue.n 

In some cases, a network may be configured incorrectly resulting in what are essentially two separate networks that cannot communicate with each other.  This can most often occur in a mixed wireless/wired network, but should be a pretty rare problem.  Obviously your Android device is connected wirelessly.  Depending on how your network is structured, your DirecTV receiver may be connected wired or wirelessly.  One easy way is to confirm or rule out wired/wireless connection problems is to try “pinging” your DirecTV receiver from your Android device.  There are many ping apps available on Google Play, but I will use one as an example that I have found to be easy to use.  If you have another app you like better, just skip step 1 below.n     1)  Download and install NetPing from Qwapp on Google Play.     2)  Run the ping app and trying pinging your DirecTV receiver.  In NetPing, select the text box at the top and remove the localhost text, then enter the IP address of your DirecTV receiver as found in step 4B of Confirming settings on the DirecTV receiver or DVR itself.  So if the IP address of your receiver is 192.168.1.124 then enter that into the box and press the Ping button.     3)  The results of the ping will be displayed.  If the results come back as packets lost: 4 of 4 then this means that your Android device cannot see your DirecTV receiver.  I will try to add more solutions to this problem as I discover them, but it is a problem in your network configuration.  Some possibilities are listed below.          A)  Your wireless router or access point may have an option for guest access and your Android device is connected to the guess access network.  The guest access feature found in some wireless routers allows guests to access the Internet using your wireless network but for security and privacy reasons it is designed to prevent them from accessing other devices found on your local network.  This will prevent the app from communicating with your DirecTV receiver.  If this is the case, you simply need to connect to your full wireless network or disable the guest access feature in your wireless router or access point.          B)  Another possibility is that you have a wireless access point connected to a wired router and both are setup as DHCP servers.  This can cause similar IP addresses in wired and wireless devices but they will not be able to see each other.  The solution is usually to disable the DHCP “server” or “client” option in the wireless access point but there may be other settings that need to be changed as well.     4)  Ideally your results should be no packets lost.  You may want to try the test several times to ensure that you are not losing any packets.  If there are any packets lost, then this could also cause a problem with the app finding some but not all of your receivers.     5)  While you can repeat this test for all of your receivers, if you have 4 of 4 packets lost in the first test then it is likely that you will have the same results for all receivers until the network issue is resolved.NOTE:  If you use static IP address, it has been reported by a Linksys WRT600N router owner that assigning a static IP address outside of the DHCP range did not allow the app to communicate with the receiver.  After changing the static IP address to a number within the DHCP range, it did communicate.  So if you are trying to use a static IP address in your receiver without any luck then you might want to try using an address within the DHCP range.  Even if it is not a Linksys brand router it is worth a try.  Just be sure that nothing else is assigned to the address you choose.  Many router configuration pages have a section that shows a list of devices that are currently connected using DHCP.n 

Note:  If this happens only with Genie CLIENTS, the problem may be related to this FAQ instead.n nFirst, be sure that your mobile device is connected to your home WiFi network and confirm your Whole Home settings if someone else may have changed them.  An even more likely cause however is that the receiver is setup to use what is called DHCP.  What this means is that your home network’s router assigns it an arbitrary IP address whenever it needs to be renewed.  Sometimes it happens to assign the same address, but often times it does not.nTo correct the problem, you can usually just re-scan for receivers in the app.  Note though that if your receivers are in fact using DHCP, then you may want to consider configuring your receiver for a static IP address or DHCP Reservation.  Static or DHCP reservation applies not only to DirecTV receivers but also is recommended for any network device you’d like to control, including TVs or AVR.n nIt’s also worth mentioning here that I have had some reports of DirecTV receivers and even AVRs (A/V Receivers controlled by the Volume Plugin) suddenly not being detected or controllable with the app.  While at first glance it appeared to be a problem with my app, the problem actually resolved itself after rebooting the DirecTV receiver or AVR itself.  So if things seem like they should “just work” but they are not, consider rebooting your DirecTV receiver or TV/AVR!

The most likely cause for this is your Whole Home settings in the DVR or receiver.  With some of them set incorrectly, you could still control the box but would not have access to extra information about what is currently tuned.  To check your settings, go to:  MENU > PARENTAL, FAV’S & SETUP > SYSTEM SETUP > WHOLE-HOME.  Scroll down to EXTERNAL DEVICE and ensure that all options are set to Allow.n 

Unfortunately, the DirecTV H2x and especially the HR2x models are known for getting laggy and slow to respond over time.  Macro reliability depends on a healthy home network and more heavily on the responsiveness of the DirecTV receiver.  The pro version allows you to adjust macro delays.  While the default settings should work well for most network environments, you can try increasing the delays if you continue to have problems.  Try increasing them in 250 ms increments.  If you find that your receiver has been sluggish or macros don’t work as well lately, try rebooting the receiver.  It should also be mentioned that immediately following a reboot, the receiver can sometimes be slow the first time or two when entering the guide, menus or viewing the Info banner.  For this reason, you may want to manually navigate these after a reboot before attempting to use macros.  For a bit more related information on this problem, see this question.n 

DirecTV receivers are notorious for dropping commands, especially when sending several in rapid succession (and particularly when in the Guide or Info banner).  Other DirecTV remote apps have this problem, and in fact the actual DirecTV remote is affected by this as well.  Usually rebooting the receiver will alleviate this problem but eventually it can get worse again.  Hopefully DirecTV can make their receivers run a bit more reliably in the future.n nAlso, reliability can be affected by network conditions.  If you have a very busy, overloaded, or just plain slow home network then you can expect delays between pressing a button in the app and the receiver responding to it.  This delay will be even worse if you happen to be actively using DirecTV’s Whole Home DVR service to watch content from one DVR on another DVR or non-DVR receiver (often called Multi-Room Viewing or Remote Viewing).  This increased delay is caused by additional network traffic and/or because the receiver’s network adapter and CPU are also busy processing the video stream.n nIf you are experiencing this problem within the menus/options of a Genie client, please see this post.

I tried to account for the variety of devices out there when designing the app, but I certainly might have overlooked something.  If the app is not displaying correctly on your device, please contact me please be as detailed as possible about your device and what is displaying incorrectly.  Also, be prepared to send me screenshots in a follow-up email (if not included in your original email) as they would help me to fix the problem in a timely manner.  

Special Request:  If this happens on your device, please send me an email through the ‘Email Developer’ button on the Options/Help screen in the app.  Also please let me know if you would be interested in trying “beta” versions that try to correct the problem.  Even if you do not wish to beta test and even if you decide you do not want to keep the app, please consider sending me the email so I can determine which devices this affects.  Unfortunately I don’t have a device that is affected by this problem so I have no way of personally testing any attempts at fixing it.  If a recent update (2.2.3 or newer) fixed the problem, please let me know that as well.  I made an attempt at fixing it but since I can’t duplicate the problem, I can’t test it.   Thank you for your cooperation!n nI have received two reports of this behavior on a Droid Charge, although it may affect other phones as well.  I am looking into the issue but when my app tells Android to show a notification icon it explicitly requests for it to NOT blink the LED, NOT play a sound and NOT vibrate.  I’m not sure why these settings are ignored on this (or other devices).  There are two work-arounds:     1)  In the DirecTV Remote Options/Help screen, uncheck the option “Show icon in notification area”.  The downside to this work-around is that you will no longer see the notification, which is handy for quickly launching the remote app or seeing which receiver is currently selected.     2)  This may vary by phone, but you can also disable the haptic feedback options on the device itself.  Below is how to do this on a Droid Charge (kindly provided by a DirecTV Remote Pro user).          a)  Press Menu > Settings > Sound then scroll to Haptic Feedback          b)  Check the ‘Haptic Feedback’ option and that enables the Vibration Intensity setting below it          c)  Drag the slider to the left to lower the vibration intensity to 0          d)  Uncheck the ‘Haptic Feedback’ option to disable it.

The reason is because of how these apps work.  The “real” DirecTV remote uses IR signals to control your TV (and DVD player, etc, if you have it setup to do so).  Android devices are not capable of emitting IR signals.  Remote Control apps made for mobile platforms (such as Android or iOS) use your home network to send commands to the device it controls (in this case, your DirecTV receiver).  In order for this to work, the device being controlled not only needs to be capable of connecting to your network, but it also needs to contain software that was written specifically to allow it to be controlled over a network.  In fact, up until around October 2010, your DirecTV receiver could not be controlled over your network. While there are a very small number of TV sets out that have the ability to be controlled over a network, almost all of them do not.  Even so, some of those that do need to be “hacked” in order to make it work, which is something that most people are not going to do.n nOn The Other Hand…  (11/21/2012 —> Check this out!)nI realize that some people do have network-enabled televisions, audio receivers, etc.  I’d love to add support for these (volume and power only… don’t get too greedy!) but adding support for multiple device brands is a bit much for an app that is meant to control a DirecTV satellite receiver.nBut, there is a way I could easily integrate this into my app.  Much like my Shortcut Add-on allows you to create shortcuts to buttons, favorites and macros (and use them outside of my app), all it would take is an app that controls your TV or audio receiver to add similar support for external shortcuts or intents.  If there were a way I could send a command to toggle TV power or adjust volume from within my app to the other app, I would add that feature.  So what you need to do is ask for shortcut or INTENT support to be added to your favorite volume-controlling app.  If it does get added, let me know and I will add support for it to my app.  

Free & Pro Versions (starting with v3.7.0):Prior to version 3.7.0, only Pro users could remove receivers from the app.  However, starting with v3.7.0 free and pro users can remove a receiver from the app by long-pressing on a receiver in the Setup/Scan screen.nPro version:nIn addition to removing receivers in the Setup screen (see above), you can also remove single or multiple receivers using the List Organizer.  To do so, press Menu > More > List Organizer.  Here you can remove, rearrange or rename receivers, favorites and macros.  To remove or rename an item, long-press on the item and choose Delete from the pop-up dialog.

Yes, you can control one of your receivers using your wireless carrier’s Internet connection.  However, since a single port (8080) is used to control the DirecTV receivers, only one receiver can be controlled this way and you will need to forward this port in your router.  If you own a Genie system with mini-clients, you can control ALL of your receivers over the internet since clients are all controlled through the main Genie itself!  You would simply follow the directions below using your Genie’s IP address.nAlso note that most home ISPs do not provide static IP addresses to consumers without paying extra money per month.  What this means is that at some point you will likely need to manually add your home network’s public (WAN) IP address again when it changes.  This can be avoided though if you use a DDNS service.  If that is the case, then see this FAQ to find out how you can enter your DDNS domain name into the app rather than your WAN IP address.nTo control a receiver over your device’s wireless carrier Internet connection, follow the steps below.  It is recommended that you use a static IP address for the receiver you wish to control remotely over the Internet.  Whenever you manually forward a port in a router it should always point to a static IP address otherwise the forwarding will eventually break when the destination IP address changes.  Alternatively you can use DHCP reservation rather than a static IP address.  For specific information on forwarding ports in your router, see PortForward.com.nThis is an advanced option and is not necessary for normal local operation of the app.n n

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1. Obtain the local network IP address of the receiver you wish to control over the Internet.  If you are not sure how to get this information, see this question for steps to follow.

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2. Log in to your router and forward TCP port 8080 to the network IP address of the receiver you wish to control then save the changes.

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3. Obtain the public (WAN) IP address of your home network.  This can usually be found in the router settings but a very easy way to do this is to go to the following web site:  http://www.whatismyip.com

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4. From this step on, be sure your Android device is NOT connected to your local WiFi (but IS connected to 3G, 4G, etc).  This will help ensure that you are properly communicating with the receiver without using your local WiFi connection.

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5. Start the app and go to the setup screen and press the ‘Manual Setup’ button to manually add a receiver.

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6. Enter the public (WAN) IP address of your home network and press the ‘Add’ button.  The app should state that it found the receiver.  If you happen to use a DDNS service, follow the steps here to enter your DDNS domain name instead.

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7. The receiver can now be controlled remotely over the Internet without your Android device having to be connected to your home WiFi network.

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8. Note that the app will retrieve the name of the receiver automatically.  Assuming you have already added this receiver in an automatic scan or manually, it will likely result in a duplicate name in the receiver list.  The pro version allows you to rename your receivers so you can change this to something different if you would like to.

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9. When your Android device is connected to the Internet with your wireless carrier’s connection (3G, 4G, etc), the app may warn you about not being connected via WiFi.  Normally this is important but when remotely controlling this single receiver that you have set up in these steps you can disregard the warning.

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n* IMPORTANT NOTE: Many routers use port 8080 by default for remote management.  If you use remote management (have it enabled in your router) then you will need to choose a different port other than 8080 for remote management of your router.  The reason is because the DirecTV receivers use port 8080 for remote access and there is no option to change it.  If remote management is enabled on your router and it is set up to use port 8080 then you will be unable to remotely control your DirecTV receiver through the Internet even if you have correctly forwarded that port to the receiver.

The pro version has the ability to display a mini-guide which contains a list of what shows are currently playing on all of your receivers and favorite channels. The speed at which the app downloads this information is related to the speed of your network and the speed of the receiver that the app is getting the guide data from.  By default, it will retrieve guide data from the currently selected receiver in the app.  If you have a fast receiver (such as an H24/HR24) or a receiver that you don’t use very often and would like to force the app to always retrieve guide data from that receiver then you can specify this in the prefs screen.  Note that this only affects favorite channel guide data.  The guide data (currently tuned) for your receivers (as opposed to favorite channels) comes from each receiver listed in the app.n nImportant:  It is recommended that you only use this option if you are using static IP addresses (or DHCP reservation) for the receiver you want to specify.  Failure to do so will eventually prevent the app from retrieving guide data and re-scanning your network will not fix it.  When entering the prefs screen, the app checks to see if you specified an IP address for the mini-guide and also checks to make sure that same IP address is listed in your receiver list.  If not, it will revert this option to the default (use current receiver).

In order to preserve battery, the On Now notifications will be suspended if the app is unable to receive data from the currently selected receiver for several minutes.  This can occur if you leave the area (WiFi disconnects) or the network is otherwise disconnected, if the receiver is rebooted, etc.  To resume notifications, simply press on the notification to open the app or in the pro version on devices with expanded notifications simply press on the ‘Refresh’ button inside the notification.nPlease note that this does not indicate any kind of connection problems under normal circumstances.  The most likely reason for seeing this is when you leave your home.  When the notification is set to update, it may show this notice instead if it cannot connect.  Rest assured that once back home, it will pick up where it left off by refreshing the notification or re-opening the app.nAs far as why it also mentions to check your IP or Whole Home settings, while that may sound alarming, that is just to cover all possible reasons.  If you see this in the notification immediately after setting it up then your WiFi is likely connected so it is just telling you what else may be wrong.

Android recommends that developers allow the OS to decide whether to suspend an app in the background or completely destroy the task in order to reclaim memory.  Further, if you have notifications enabled, they will continue to appear and update even after you back out of the app or return to your home screen.n nIf you would like to completely exit the app and stop all notifications, do the following from inside the app itself: nFree and Pro:  While on the main screen in the app (main remote screen), press Menu > More > Exit App.  Alternatively you can long-press on the EXIT remote button.  The app will close and the task will immediately be destroyed.  This will remove any notifications from your Notification tray.  To resume using the app, open it from a shortcut or the App list on your Android device.nPro:  If your phone or tablet supports expanded notifications, you can fully exit the app by choosing that menu item in the expanded notification.

This is likely related to a known issue with some Android builds where the OS fails to return an app’s internal “root” or “app data” path.  According to Google, uninstalling and reinstalling the app may resolve the issue.  If your device contains an SD card then please note that uninstalling the app should not wipe out your settings.  However, if your device does not contain an SD card (or it is temporarily removed or unmounted when the app is run again), you will lose your app settings.nStarting with v2.2.2 the app will handle this problem more gracefully but please note that this is not a specific problem with the app but rather it is a problem with certain builds of Android itself.

Note:  Prior to version 2.0 of the add-on, it could not be run as a “normal” app.  This resulted in there being no “Open” option after installation and it also required the user to use it by going through the process of adding any other shortcut or widget to the home screen.  This behavior has been changed starting in version 2.0 and the add-on now allows you to run it as a normal app in addition to how it worked in previous versions.nWhile it was not a bug, it became apparent that many people could not figure out how to use it as I originally intended.  In the newer versions, when running the add-on in “App Mode” the shortcuts or widgets you create will be placed in the first available slot on a home screen that Android finds.  When using the add-on in “Shortcut/Widget Mode” (the original method), you have more control over the exact location of the shortcut or widget but it is a bit more difficult to use.nApp Mode:   Simply open the Shortcut add-on as any normal app.  Choose which type of shortcut to create (Remote Button, Favorite Channel, Macro or Mini-Guide) then choose the options for it and press ‘Create’.  Android will place the new shortcut or widget in the first open slot it finds on a home screen.  After a shortcut is created you can continue to create more shortcuts or choose to exit the app.  You will likely want to move the new shortcuts/widgets to a better spot which can be done by long-pressing on the shortcut and dragging it to the desired location.nShortcut/Widget Mode:  This is the original method for using the add-on.  It is easy to do once you know how, but the process varies a bit by device and Android version. On some devices, they will be called shortcuts.  On others, they will be called widgets. While this method allows you more control over where the shortcut/widget will be placed, you can only create one at a time.  You will need to repeat the first step again in order to create another one.n1)  This first step could be slightly different based on who manufactures the phone.  Generally speaking it should be one of the following (or somewhat close):nJelly Bean (Phones & Tablets):  Long press on an empty part of the home screen and choose Apps and Widgets.  Select the Widgets tab then scroll left or right until you see DirecTV Remote Command.  Long-press and DRAG that icon to an empty spot on your home screen.  If the options don’t come up automatically, tap the new icon on your home screen to bring up the shortcut/widget options.nFroyo/Gingerbread:  Long-press on your home screen and choose the option to add a SHORTCUT (though NOT a normal ‘application’ shortcut).  Some devices require more steps, others are worded differently such as Long-press > Shortcut or Long-press > Shortcuts > App Actions, etc.  See screen shot below.nHoneycomb (Tablets):  There is a + to click on then it brings up a bar across the bottom half of the screen with tabs for shortcuts and widgets.  Press on the Widgets tab then scroll until you find DirecTV Remote+ Shortcut.  Long-press and DRAG that icon to an empty spot on your home screen.  Afterward, press the widget in order to set it up as a shortcut.nICS (Tablets):  Go to the home screen you want to add the widget to. Then touch the little grid in the upper right and it will take you to the app/widget drawer.  Press on the Widgets tab then scroll until you find DirecTV Remote+ Shortcut.  Long-press and DRAG that icon to an empty spot on your home screen.  Afterward, press the widget in order to set it up as a shortcut. n2) Choose what type of DirecTV remote shortcut or widget to create (Remote Button, Favorite Channel, Macro or Mini-Guide)3) Choose your options then press Create4) You can now send that button, channel or macro to the receiver right from your home screen.  No need to even open the DirecTV Remote app!n nn n 

In order to encourage current app ratings, the free and pro versions will prompt you for a rating any time a new version is installed.  The free version also prompts for a rating every X runs.  I don’t mean to be pushy with it, but ratings are important and unfortunately many people do not rate apps unless practically begged to do so.  By resetting the rate request prompt when a new version is installed, it also helps to encourage updated reviews to complaints of old problems or requests for new features that have been resolved.n nIf you are using the pro version and you have already rated the app recently and do not wish to rate it again until after the next version, simply choose the option to rate the app then just exit the Google Play or Amazon Appstore app without leaving another rating or choose the new Opt-Out button starting in v2.2.2 and my app will then leave you alone until a new version is installed.  Please note that this only works in the pro version.  The free version will still occasionally ask you to rate the app.nConsidering that the free version is ad-free, I consider this to be a very fair trade-off.

I generally do my own testing but I do on occasion send beta versions for people to test.n nWhile I have never done “mass” beta testing, if you are a PRO user and are interested in participating in beta testing should I ever decide to do that, just send me an email and let me know you are willing to beta test.  If I ever do decide to send out beta versions to a number of people, I might send it to you as well.n nBelow are a couple issues in DirecTV Remote that I wouldn’t mind doing some more testing with.  If these affect you then please send me an email if you’d like to help resolve the issue.  The problem is that I cannot repeat these issues on my own devices, network and equipment which makes it difficult to troubleshoot and fix.n* WiFi not properly detected on some devices (should be improved in version 2.2.2).n* Scanning sometimes misses one or more receivers on some devices or networks (but manually adding the receivers works every time).n* Scanning used to work but no longer does (neither does manually adding a receiver).  I’ve had a couple reports of this, one of which was resolved by making changes to their router.  I was never able to determine why it suddenly started happening though because the basic principals of scanning in my app have not changed since the first version I released.  I was never able to completely rule in (or out) a specific cause.n* Some devices vibrate and play a sound when the notifications are updated in the app.  There is a work-around, but I’d still like to test it further and try other things to fix it.

IR control requirements:n* If you do not have any networked DirecTV receivers but you do have a Samsung, HTC or LG phone or tablet with built-in IR, you can still control all of your receivers in the app.  Note though that some features (such as the Mini-Guide and On Now information) require networked receivers in order to work correctly and as intended.n nNetwork control requirements:n* DirecTV receivers and/or DVRs connected to your home network and configured to allow external access.  Be sure to give them a name as well, such as “LIVING ROOM”.  Supported models are H21, H22, H23 and H24 HD receivers and HR20, HR21, HR22, HR23 and HR24 HD DVRs. HR34/HR44 (Genie) and C31/C41 (client) receivers are supported!  R22s may work as well.n* An Android phone or tablet connected to your home network via WiFi.Alternatively (or in addition) you can control one single receiver over 3G/4G, etc.  Genie owners can control the Genie and all clients over 3G/4G!  Read More

If you want to re-scan your network or manually add another receiver, you can do so anytime by pressing the following in the app:n nMenu > Setup/Scann nNote that starting a new scan will remove all currently added receivers from the list and start over with the receivers it finds during the scan.  The intention behind this behavior was that one would only typically need to re-scan if they can no longer control previously added receivers.  Other than adding a new receiver to your household, the likely cause for this is that your receiver’s IP address has changed.  If you would like to prevent this from happening in the future, click here for instructions on how to do so.

Tip: If one or more receivers in the app appear as “UN-NAMED” then this means that you need to set up the name in the receiver itself.  Follow the steps below to rename the receiver in its own setup screen then re-scan your network with the app.n nFree Version: There is no way to rename a receiver in the FREE version (you can in the PRO version).  However, you can rename the receiver in the receiver’s setup and then re-scan.  This will effectively change the name of the receiver in the app.  To change the receiver’s name, go to MENU > PARENTAL, FAV’S & SETUP > SYSTEM SETUP > WHOLE-HOME and change the name there.  Afterwards, re-scan your network to see the changes in the app.nAlso note that the PRO version does allow you to not only remove receivers from the list, but it also lets you rename and rearrange them (in addition to doing the same with favorites and macros).n nPro version: To rename or remove single or multiple receivers in the PRO version, you can use the List Organizer.  To do so, press Menu > More > List Organizer.  Here you can remove, rearrange or rename receivers, favorites and macros.  To remove or rename an item, long-press on the item and choose Delete from the pop-up dialog.nIf you would prefer to change the name of the receiver at the receiver itself, go to MENU > PARENTAL, FAV’S & SETUP > SYSTEM SETUP > WHOLE-HOME and change the name there.  This is the more ideal solution if you wish to permanently rename the receiver without having to rename it in the app after a new scan.

Many devices by default use DHCP to obtain their IP address on your home network.  What this means is that the device tells your router, “I want to connect to the network” and the router replies back with “Okay.  Here is your address so that you can be found on the network.”  After a certain period of time, that address will expire and the device will again ask the router to connect to the network.  Sometimes the router will assign that device the same address, but often times it will assign it a different one instead.nNormally this is a quick and simple process that is transparent to the end-user.  However, problems can arise when other applications or devices expect to find that device at a certain address but it is suddenly not available.  When this happens in a DirecTV Remote app, the result is that the app can no longer control (communicate with) the receiver.nThere are two solutions to prevent this from ever happening again:n n     1)  If your router supports it, set up DHCP Reservation for each of your receivers.  This forces the router to always assign the same IP address to the device in question (in this case, your DirecTV receiver).  This is usually relatively easy to set up, but not all routers have this feature.  Please consult the documentation included with your router to find out how you can do this.n     2)  An alternative to #1 is to use static IP addresses in your DirecTV receivers.  This is similar to DHCP reservation, but is done the other way around.  Instead of making a change in your router’s settings, you make a change in the DirecTV receiver’s settings.  All routers allow this, but you do want to be sure that the address you assign to it is not already being used by another device on your network.  It should also be mentioned that should you ever replace your existing router with a new one, you may need to temporarily change any devices currently using static addresses back to DHCP.  The reason is because different routers use different address ranges by default.  Once the DirecTV receiver is communicating again with the new router you can then safely change it back to a static address. Valid addresses are typically 192.168.1.2 – 192.168.1.254 but note that the first three sets of numbers, 192.168.1, may vary depending on the router.  Most home routers do not use DHCP in the higher address range, so unless another device is using the same IP address you choose, you could probably get away with using an address over 200 as a ‘quick and dirty’ attempt.  What this means is that you might try 192.168.1.201 for your first receiver and 192.168.1.202 for your second receiver, and so on.  Just remember that when setting up a static IP address in your receiver, you should ONLY change the last portion of the IP address (192.168.1.xxx).  Many home routers use 192.168.1.xxx but not all do, so you do not want to change those first three sets of numbers.  PortForward.com has excellent information on many makes and models of routers and would be an excellent place to start whether you are thinking about trying option #1 or option #2.  Should you decide to go with a static IP address on your receiver, here’s how to do it:n          Go to MENU > PARENTAL, FAV’S & SETUP > SYSTEM SETUP > NETWORK SETUP then choose ADVANCED SETUP.  Here, you can adjust the IP address by changing the numbers in the last box (i.e. 192.168.1.xxx).  Choose numbers outside of your router’s DHCP range (if known) and ones that are not already assigned to another device.  When finished, click on CONNECT NOW.  If all goes well, it will report back that everything is working correctly.  If for some reason you seem to have problems with your new static IP address, you can choose RESTORE DEFAULTS which will allow the receiver to obtain its own address using DHCP.  Alternatively you can even then change the static address to the same as it was before if you are unsure whether or not it may be used by something else.n          Once finished setting your new static IP address, be sure to go through the troubleshooting FAQ (particularly steps 3 & 4B) to see if the receiver reports that it is now using a static IP address.  If you chose option 1 (DHCP reservation) then the receiver will not report a static address even though it essentially is.nNOTE:  It has been reported by a Linksys WRT600N router owner that assigning a static IP address outside of the DHCP range did not allow the app to communicate with the receiver.  After changing the static IP address to a number within the DHCP range, it did communicate.  So if you are trying to use a static IP address in your receiver without any luck then you might want to try using an address within the DHCP range.  Even if it is not a Linksys brand router it is worth a try.  Just be sure that nothing else is assigned to the address you choose.  Many router configuration pages have a section that shows a list of devices that are currently connected using DHCP.

If for some reason you find yourself wanting to reset the configuration (completely wipe out everything and start over), you can do so providing your phone or tablet contains an SD card.  Fortunately, most do!n nNote:  If you just want to remove your current receivers from the app and start over with a fresh network scan, follow these steps instead since following the steps listed here will reset EVERYTHING.n n** WARNING **nThe steps listed below will completely wipe out all app settings and restore it to how it was when you first installed it.  You will lose all receivers, favorite channels, macros and custom options that you have set!  If you are worried about this, you may want to make a backup of the file mentioned below before wiping it clean.n nThe instructions below are a general guideline.  Depending on your Android device’s OS version and computer OS version (Windows XP, Vista, 7 or Mac OS), the exact wording may vary.n* Run the free version of the app (if installed) and press Menu > More > Exit App. Then run the PRO version (if installed) and do the same.  This will ensure that the apps will not over-write the changes you will make in the steps below.  As an alternative to doing this you can also just reboot your device.  Once it is finished rebooting, proceed to the next step.n* Connect your Android device to your computer using a USB cable.  If presented with a menu on how to connect, choose “Disk Drive – Mount as Disk Drive” or something similar.n* If you have auto-run on your computer, you will be asked what you would like to do with the connected drive.  Choose Explore, Browse files, or whatever option sounds similar to this.  If you don’t have auto-run on your computer, you may need to browse manually to the Android device.  To do this in Windows, right-click on the Start button, choose Explore, then browse to the drive letter assigned to your device.  It may be listed as “Removable Device” or similar.n* When viewing the device in file explorer, you will typically see two folders: “phone” (or similiar) and “storage” (or similiar). Typically the file we are looking for will be inside the “phone” folder but it may also be in the other folder. You should probably check both just to be sure.  Once inside this folder, look for another folder called DirecTV_Remote and open it.  Then look for a file called “DirecTVRemote.ini”.  Depending on how your computer is setup it may also appear simply as DirecTVRemote.  Double-click on the file to open it with a text editor.  You will want to open it with a basic text editor such as Windows Notepad.  If Windows doesn’t know what to do with it, click Start > Run and type notepad into the box.  When the notepad program opens, drag and drop the “DirecTVRemote.ini” file into the empty notepad window to open it.n* One inside the file, press CTRL A to select all text in the file then press the Delete key.  You want to be sure that there is no text or empty lines in the file.n* Save the changes to the file. Then check the other folder (“phone” as well as “storage” as mentoned above) and repeat the process.  Close the file explorer window and if available, click on the Safely remove device icon near the clock. When prompted that it is safe to do so, unplug the USB cable from the device.n* Try running the app again and it should act like you have just installed it for the first time and all settings will be reset to defaults.  If for some reason this does not happen, try repeating the steps over, starting with a reboot of your Android device.

If scanning doesn’t work for you, you can also manually add a receiver.  To get started with that, open the app and press Menu > Setup/Scan then press the “Manual Setup” button.  When you do this, the app will display a message showing your phone or tablet’s IP address.  Make a note of this because one of the first steps to adding a receiver (or even performing a scan for that matter) is to ensure that your network and equipment is set up correctly.n nFollow these steps to manually add a receiver:n

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1. Confirm your receiver’s settings and retrieve its IP address.  Click here for instructions on how to do this.

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2. Once you have ensured that the IP address “matches” as outlined in linked instructions above, enter the receiver’s IP address into the app and press the “Add” button.

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3. Once the receiver is found, press the “Done” button to stop manually adding receivers or repeat the steps above to add another one.

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nIf your Android device’s IP address and the receiver’s IP address both appear similar as outlined in the linked instructions above, click here for more help with resolving this issue.

If you would like to make a backup of your settings or copy them to another device (rather than manually add all receivers, favorites and macros all over again), you can do so by following the steps below.  Note that on slightly older versions of Android, it may use a folder on your SD card (if available).  If no SD card, or on newer versions of Android, it should be located in a folder on the “phone” or “tablet”.nStarting with v2.2.5, the FREE and PRO versions automatically create a backup of your app’s settings anytime a new version of the app is run (first run after an update).  This won’t do much on a fresh installation, but as more versions/updates get installed you will start to accumulate several backups and this is all done for you automatically.  It is also recommended to create a backup yourself every now and then.n nPRO instructions (easiest):nStarting in v2.2.5, the PRO version makes creating and restoring backups even easier.  You can still somewhat follow the general steps below, but beforehand, simply create a backup of your prefs (found under Menu > More > Create & Restore Backups).  Create a backup and give it a unique name if desired.  This will be the file that you copy from one device to the other (if moving settings).  If you simply want to make a backup, then you are done.  You can restore this later at any time by pressing Menu > More > Create & Restore Backups then choose the option to restore one.nIf you are moving the settings, then copy this backup file to your computer, then connect the new/destination device and copy the backup file to the DirecTV_Remote folder on the new device.  Depending on the Android version, it may be located either on the SD card (if available) or on the phone or tablet itself.  Disconnect the new device from the PC and allow the SD card to get ‘mounted’ (if applicable).  Run the app and then the newly copied file can be chosen on the new device as a backup to restore. After restoring the backup, all of your old settings should be on the new device.nIf you need more specific help with locating these files while browsing the phone or tablet on your computer, you can use the instructions below.  Simply substitute the main configuration filename (DirecTVRemote.ini) with the name of your backup.n nFree/Pro general instructions:nThe instructions below are a general guideline.  Depending on your Android device’s OS version and computer OS version (Windows XP, Vista, 7 or Mac OS), the exact wording may vary.  The instructions assume you are copying a configuration from one device to another but it also will give you enough information to know how to back up your file instead. n

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1. On both devices, run the app and press Menu > More > Exit App. This will ensure that any recent changes you may have made have definitely been saved and that a new installation has definitely created a config file already.  This will also prevent the apps from making changes to the config file if you are copying settings from one device to another.

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2. Connect your original Android device to your computer using a USB cable.  If presented with a menu on how to connect, choose “Disk Drive – Mount as Disk Drive” or something similar.

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3. If you have auto-run on your computer, you will be asked what you would like to do with the connected drive.  Choose Explore, Browse files, or whatever option sounds similar to this.  If you don’t have auto-run on your computer, you may need to browse manually to the Android device.  To do this in Windows, right-click on the Start button, choose Explore, then browse to the drive letter assigned to your device.  It may be listed as “Removable Device” or similar.  Once you start browsing the device, it may list a phone (or tablet) and possible also an SD card.  Depending on your Android version it may be using a folder directly on the device or on the SD card.  If both the device and SD card appeear to have a DirecTV_Remote folder, look to see which one contains newer files and use that one.

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4. Look for a folder called DirecTV_Remote and open it.  Then look for a file called DirecTVRemote.ini.  Depending on how your computer is setup it may also appear simply as DirecTVRemote.  This is the configuration file for the app.  If you are using the pro version and have first created a backup, look for that file instead.

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5. If you are making a backup, simply save a copy of this file somewhere safe but be sure to leave the original file there!  If you are copying the settings from one device to another, save a copy of this file somwehere on your computer (such as the desktop) again leaving the original file there.

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6. Disconnect the original device from the computer and connect the device that you wish to transfer the app settings to by following the steps above.

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7. Browse to the DirecTV_Remote folder on the new device and copy or move the file from your desktop to the device.  If it asks if you wish to replace the existing file say yes.

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8. Disconnect the second device from the computer and wait for the SD card to remount to the device (if applicable).

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9. If you copied the DirecTVRemote.ini file itelf, try running the app again and it should now have all the same settings as your original device.  If for some reason this does not happen, try repeating the steps again being extra certain that the app has been fully exited on the target device.  If you are unsure, reboot the target device first.If you are using the pro version and have copied a backup instead, just run the app and then the newly copied file can be chosen on the new device as a backup to restore.  After restoring the backup, all of your old settings should be on the new device.

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Those who are paying attention and have a sharp eye may have seen a reference to an easter egg in the screenshots for the pro version.nThere is in fact an easter egg in the PRO version that has been there since day one.  I put it in there one night as a joke when getting the app ready for its initial release.nAt this point I am not going to give too much away about it.  However, starting with DirecTV Remote Pro v2.2.2 and higher, stumbling on the easter egg will get you a “code” that you can email me and I will give you a link to a very basic DirecTV Remote for Windows that I made when testing DirecTV’s network / IP control when it was in beta.nIt does not do automatic discovery (scanning), favorite channels or macros, but none-the-less you can control your receivers from your Windows desktop or notebook using it.  Hey, it’s free!  What do you want?

As of version 2.2.2, the DirecTV Remote (free and pro) apps use the following permissions:n n

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• android.permission.INTERNET  –  This allows the app to communicate with your receivers.

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• android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE  –  This allows the app to save its settings to your SD card which in turn makes it easier to back them up and transfer them as well as allowing the add-on to read the main app’s settings.

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• android.permission.VIBRATE  –  This allows the app to adjust haptic feedback levels.

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• android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE  –  This allows the app to determine whether or not the device is connected via WiFi.

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• android.permission.WAKE_LOCK  –  This allows the app to optionally keep the device awake when you are using main screens (Remote, Search Assistant and Scan).  This pro-only option is disabled by default.

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nThe add-on uses android.permission.INTERNET and android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE for the same reasons the main remote app uses them.

Having DirecTV Whole Home service allows your receivers to communicate with each other, primarily for the purpose of watching content from one DVR on another receiver or DVR.  However, just because the receivers can communicate with each other does not necessarily mean that they can communicate with anything else outside of the “Whole Home” network.  In order for that to happen, you also need what is called the Cinema Connection Kit or CCK for short.nThe CCK connects your DirecTV Whole Home network to your home network.  This then allows you to watch DirecTV On Demand content as well as listen to Pandora Internet radio and watch YouTube videos right on your TV.  It also allows you to control any receiver or DVR in your house through your home network, which is how the DirecTV Remote app works!nIf you are not sure whether or not you have the CCK or simply cannot seem to control your DirecTV receivers then I’d suggest following the steps for confirming your DirecTV receiver/DVR settings found right here on this site.  If the IP addresses found in the receivers do not “match” the IP address reported in the app then there is a good chance you do not have the CCK.  This would also be indicated by the receiver/DVR reporting that it is not connected to the Internet.nIf you definitely do have the CCK installed then another possible reason for not being able to control your receiver(s) through the app is if you do not have your Whole Home options set correctly in the receiver or DVR itself.  The steps outlined in the FAQ linked above will also walk you through that as well.n nFor more information on the CCK, please see DirecTV’s website.  They also have installation instructions which tell you how to connect it to your home network should you decide to self-install it.  The CCK can be purchased from them or at other online stores that sell DirecTV parts and equipment.  You may also choose to have DirecTV install it for you.

Some devices fail to return their WiFi connection status to the app.  This seems to only affect a small number of devices and thus far I have been unable to find a work-around through code.  However, below are some steps you can take if this happens to you.n n

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• Just to be clear:  WiFi refers to your wireless internet/network connection at your home or business.  This should not be confused with your wireless carrier’s internet connection which can go by several different names such as WiMAX, 3G, 4G, Edge, etc.  While the app can control a single receiver over your wireless carrier’s connection, it requires additional steps in order to make it work and there is no way to do an automatic scan over your wireless carrier’s internet connection.  See this FAQ for more information on that feature.  It should be noted that typically the app is used with your WiFi connection.

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• You’ve likely already done this, but the obvious first step is to make sure that your device is in fact connected to your local WiFi network.

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• If your device is in Airplane Mode, try disabling Airplane Mode.  On some devices, having Airplane Mode enabled prevents the app from detecting that WiFi is enabled.  After disabling Airplane Mode and confirming that you are in fact connected to WiFi, try running the app again and see if it now detects the WiFi connection.

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n nIf the app repeatedly fails to acknowledge your WiFi connection, then following the steps below should still allow you to scan your network for receivers and use the app normally.n

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1. In the app, press Menu > Options/Help and select the option to “Disable Wi-Fi Check”.

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2. Press the back button to return to the main remote screen then press Menu > Setup/Scan.

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3. Press the “Scan for receivers” button.  You may still be warned about the app requiring WiFi but just press OK.

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4. Press the Advanced button to begin an advanced scan.

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5. If you happen to know the IP address of your router or the local WiFi network address assigned to your device, enter that into the box then press OK.  If you do not know it then you can try entering one of the two most common IP addresses for routers:  192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1.

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6. If all goes well, the app will find your connected receivers.  If not, you may want to consider adding them manually or at a minimum, confirm that the options are set correctly in your receivers.

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7. Once your receivers have been setup in the app and the Wi-Fi check is disabled, you should be able to control your receivers normally with no warning about Wi-Fi so long as your Android device is able to communicate with the receiver selected in the app.

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n nFor more information please see the following:nConfirming your receiver’s settingsManually adding a receiver 

There are multiple reasons for this but I will try not to get into too much detail on why this isn’t possible.  Here are a few though:n n

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1. Most (if not all) routers block unsolicited incoming traffic unless a port is opened up and forwarded to a device on your local network.  This is for good reason.  You would not want anyone in the world to access your local networked devices!  This means that unless a device on your local network requested something from an outside address over the internet, any incoming packets that were not requested will be ignored.  This helps to fight hacking and illegal or unauthorized access to local networks.

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2. The scan works by looking for a response from all possible network addresses on your local network.  Generally and simply speaking there are about 255 possible IP addresses to scan on a typical home network.  Over the internet (as opposed to your local network), your device wouldn’t know which public (WAN) IP address to use in order to access your local network connection.  Which leads us to……..

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3. There are millions of internet IP address.  It would take a very long time to scan all of those possible addresses, and for those who have setup their routers to forward a port to their DirecTV receiver, that receiver would appear in your scan (assuming you had the patience to scan all of those millions of IP addresses).  Conceivably, you could wind up with thousands of receivers listed in the app.  Which one is yours?  Does anyone else have access to it?  Yikes!

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n nHopefully this explains the reasons without going into too much detail.  The short answer is that scanning for your receivers over an internet connection (as opposed to your local WiFi network connection) is impractical if not impossible from a technical point of view.nNote though that you can add and control one of your receivers over an internet connection, but it requires some preparation and manually entering your internet (WAN) IP address into the app.  For more information, see this FAQ.

Note:  I will update this article as any issues come up or get resolved.  If you are having an issue that is not listed here, first be sure you are using the latest version as it may have already been fixed.  If the issue is in the latest version, please send me an email (button in app) and let me know about it so I can look into it.  If you have already notified me but still don’t see it here then either I have been unable to duplicate it or I simply forgot to add it here.nnGeneral:nAlthough not really an issue with my app itself, it has been brought to my attention that Genie clients can stop responding to network commands when drilling down into the menus to change settings and options on the client.  See this post for more information. nnKnown issues in v3.5.1 (updated 11/15/2013)n* Some Samsung Galaxy S4 users have reported that pressing the device’s hardware volume rockers to control volume causes a Force Close in the main app.  Using the graphical volume buttons work as normal.  I believe this to be a problem in the main pro app.  If anyone who is experiencing this would like to try a test version to see if I have it fixed here, please send me an email from the main app and ask to test it.  I can send you a link to download a test version.n

Favorite channels in the app and mini-guide are separate from the favorite channels or channels listed in the guide in your DirecTV receiver.  Unfortunately there is no way for third-party developers to automatically retrieve the favorite channels from the guide on your receiver.nAdding favorite channels to the app is very easy.  Simply press on the Favorites button from a main remote screen and either add the currently tuned channel or enter a channel number to add as a favorite.  Afterwards, you can quickly change to that channel by pressing the Favorites button and choosing it from the list.  Also, that channel will appear in the mini-guide along with information about what show is currently airing on that channel.nWhile theoretically you could add all channels you get in your package to the app’s favorites list, typically one would only add their truly favorite channels.  For example, I have about 10 or so channels added to the app on my own devices.  Note however, that there is no limit to how many channels you can add as favorites in the app.  On the other hand, the free version will only show the first three favorite channels in the mini-guide.  The Pro version shows them all.

Many phones have a dedicated menu button (either built into the device or sometimes a “soft button” on the screen itself) but some do not, such as the HTC One V.  Some will say “Menu”, and others may be an icon (such as vertical dots, horizontal lines, squares, etc).nOn the HTC One V, press and hold the app switch button (right-hand button at the bottom of the phone).nFor sample images, see this page in the WhatsApp FAQ.nIf you are still having problems, then you might try a google search for more information specifying your device name such as searching for HTC One V menu button.n nIt was also reported by a user quite some time ago that a glitch in the prefs file caused his menus to not appear.  Although unconfirmed, it is worth a shot to try resetting the app’s prefs if nothing else seems to work.  To reset your prefs, following the instructions in this post.

If this is only happening for some of your favorites, then a possible reason is that the favorites were created with leading zeros (007 or 07 as opposed to 7).  This will be fixed in a future version but for now the solution is to create a new favorite without any leading zeros.n nIf this is happening to all channels or channels that do not have any leading zeros in them then please see this FAQ for another possible solution.  It is also possible that you have designated a specific receiver to use for the Mini-Guide source but that receiver is no longer available.  If this is the case, you can try changing the Mini-Guide Source option back to the default (current receiver).

Changing over to a new router can sometimes cause network problems, particularly if some of your network devices use static IP addresses or DHCP reservation.  Below are some things to look into or try if you have recently changed routers and you are experiencing communication problems.  I will include tips for before and after the router upgrade.  These lists are not complete, but are more focused on getting the DirecTV Remote+ app to work with your DirecTV equipment.  While most headaches will arise from devices using DHCP reservation or static IP addresses, it should be reinforced that utilizing one of those two options really is the best solution for networked devices that are often accessed by other devices on your network.n nBefore changing over to a new router:n

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1. Write down any port forwarding rules you may be using related to your DirecTV receivers.

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2. Write down any DHCP Reservation you may be using related to your DirecTV receivers.

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3. Write down the current router’s IP address, Net Mask and DHCP ranges.

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nThe router’s IP address can be a big one!  If your old router uses 192.168.1.1 and the new router uses 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1 then any devices previously set up for static IP addresses on the network will not be able to reconnect with the new router.  The result would be that computers and devices using automatic network settings will connect to the new router/internet but devices previously configured for static addresses will no longer connect.nYou basically have two choices: Change the new router to use the old IP address (recommended) or re-configure static addresses in all of your networked devices that use them.  This is the downside to using static IP addresses… it can make administering your network a bit more complicated.  In this case, DHCP reservation may seem easier but note that you will still need to enter those reserved addresses into the new router then possibly need to reboot the receivers in order for them to re-connect.  In short, whether you use DHCP reservation or static addresses, there will always be some work involved initially.  Static addresses usually only need to be set up once so long as your network addressing doesn’t change from router to router (the router’s IP address).  DHCP reservation will need to be set up every time you replace your router.nOnce you get your new router installed, be sure to go through the configuration pages and configure any settings you noted above.n nAfter changing over to a new router:n

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1. Configure the new router to use the same settings noted above.  If you have already switched routers but did not make note of old settings then it is recommended to follow the troubleshooting steps below.

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2. When using static IP addresses, some routers prefer that you use addresses outside of the configured DHCP range.  Other routers prefer that you use addresses inside of the configured DHCP range.  With this in mind, you may need to change the DHCP range on the new router or re-configure all of your DirecTV receivers with a different static IP address.

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3. If you have already installed the new router then you may want to reconfigure your DirecTV receiver(s) as well as any other network devices you may have previously configured with a static IP address to use DHCP and reconnect.  If this then allows the app to find the receiver(s), then you may re-assign a static address to it once again.

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4. You may need to reboot your receivers, computers and other network devices in order for them to connect to the new router.

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5. You may need to re-scan for receivers in the app after all steps above are complete.

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nIf you are having problems connecting with your receivers after changing routers then follow the troubleshooting steps below (links to other FAQs on this site).nConfirming the receiver’s settings (it is possible that your network addressing changed if the router’s IP address is different on the new router!)nAddresses appear similar but it still won’t connect (instructions for pinging your receiver from your Android device)n n n n n n 

While all power commands (Power Toggle, Power On, Power Off) work with all H2x, HR2x and HR34 Genie receivers, they currently do not work with Genie CLIENT devices (C31).n nThis is not a problem with my apps, but rather the commands simply do not work on the client devices.  Power Toggle toggles power on the Genie itself even if the command is sent to a client.  Power On & Off simply produce the “bonk” sound when sent to a client.nAt this time it is not known if this is a firmware problem with the Genie or if this is intended behavior.  At any rate, since these commands do not function normally on the clients, the main remote app has blocked these commands from being sent to clients.nThe “reboot” command does not work on the clients at all.  Because of this, the main app will not allow this command to be sent to a client.n nFor now, the Shortcut Addon will warn you that these commands do not work on Genie clients when you first try to create a shortcut.  However, it will allow you to create the shortcuts.  For reasons mentioned above, they will not work as expected.

When trying to get into settings (such as audio or display settings) within the menus of a Genie client, the client can suddenly stop responding to commands.  At the time of this writing (3/14/2013) the exact reason is unknown but I presume it to be a bug in the Genie or client firmware.nThe app still sends the commands and the Genie usually still acknowledges them (though only with the “bonk” sound), but for whatever reason it just stops responding to them.nUnfortunately there is nothing I can do to fix this since this is not a problem in my app, but rather it is a problem in the client (or possibly the Genie itself, since commands sent to the clients are actually sent to the Genie and forwarded to the client).

Starting in v3.1.0 of the DirecTV Remote+ app, some devices will no longer show the traditional menus.  To accomodate this change, I added a custom menu “button” to the far-right side of the silver bar at the bottom of the main remote screen.nn nFor details, read on…nStarting in this version, some changes were made in the app in order to prevent certain markets from showing the app as being incompatible with certain devices, primarily larger tablets.  In order to do this, I had to tell Android that my app will display correctly on “x-large” screens.  But before I could even declare that ability, I had to bring it up to speed with some changes in recent versions of Android.nOne of those changes is that they got rid of the traditional menus and replaced them with the Action Bar.  Because I didn’t want an Action Bar in my app, I added a custom “menu” button to the far-right side of the silver bar at the bottom of the main app screen (remote control view).  It provides the exact same abilities as the original menu.  In fact, on older devices, both the original menu and this new button will be available.  On newer devices, only this new button will be available.

When the app scans for receivers it will retrieve the name given to it in the receiver’s settings.  If one or more of your receiver’s show up as UNNAMED then that means no name was ever entered for it.  Obviously this isn’t a very descriptive name and it will make it difficult to determine which receiver is which.nTo correct this situation, press the Menu button on your DirecTV remote and navigate to the Whole-Home settings to configure a name for the receiver.  After changing the receiver name(s), be sure to re-scan for receivers in order for the app to use the new names.  See the Troubleshooting FAQ for more info.nIf you have the Pro version of the DirecTV Remote+ then you can also rename the receiver in the app using the List Organizer (Menu > More > Organize Lists).  However, it is best to enter the name into the receiver itself.

If scanning for your receivers finds the main Genie itself but one or more clients are missing from the results then please be sure that all clients are powered ON then try scanning again.nPrevious DirecTV receivers (as well as the Genie itself) will respond to requests for discovery even if powered off but the Genie clients will not.n nIf they seem to randomly ‘drop’ off of your network, then the likely cause is that they are powered off.  For unknown reasons, DirecTV made the clients work differently from all other normal receivers & DVRs.  When a client is powered off, it not only cannot be discovered in a scan, but also it completely “disappears” from the network, even if previously discovered.  For this reason, it is recommended to just leave clients powered on all the time.  DirecTV doesn’t even provide a way to power them on or off over a network anyway, which leads one to believe that they would prefer they are left on anyway.

Note: This applies only to DirecTV Remote+ Pro v3.3.0 and upnIf you have forwarded a port in your router in order to control your DirecTV receiver over the internet and you use a DDNS service, you can enter that domain name when manually adding the receiver to the app as opposed to entering your home network’s WAN IP address.  Obviously the advantage here is that if your home network’s WAN/Internet IP address changes, you will not need to change it in the app if you use DDNS instead.  For those unfamiliar, DDNS is a service that allows you to locate your home network over the internet by entering a domain name as opposed to an IP address.  While not exactly the same thing, it is similar to how you go to a website by entering its domain name into your browser (such as www.cognitial.com).n nIn order to avoid confusion, there is a trick to enabling this advanced option and this can only be done when manually adding a receiver.  It will not work for automatic scans.nPress Menu > Setup/Scan to enter the setup screen.  Then press ‘Manual Setup’ to open the IP input dialog.  Delete any default text in the input field and enter …. (four dots/periods) for the IP address and then press ‘Add’.  A message box will appear stating that Advanced/Alpha-numeric entry is enabled.  You can now enter text in addition to numbers.  Simply type in your domain name (without http:// or www.) and press ‘Add’ again to search for your receiver using DDNS.nExamples:nmydomain.comnsubdomain.mydomain.com

Introduced in v3.4.0, the MEmote is a custom remote layout that you can design yourself.  The remote designer is available in the FREE version (as well as PRO) but although FREE users can save the layout, it can only be used as the active remote layout in the PRO version.  You can design and save a custom remote layout using the free version and should you later decide to purchase the pro version, you will be able to use your custom remote immediately.n nSome basic info on the MEmote:n

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• To use the MEmote editor, press Menu > Remote Style > [Remote Designer].

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• To use the MEmote as your remote interface, press Menu > Remote Style > MEmote.  The DirecTV Remote+ Pro app will remember your last-used remote the next time you open it.

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• Only one MEmote custom remote is supported, but you can design separate layouts for portrait and landscape orientations with different buttons, positions and sizes.

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• When you initially create a MEmote layout, you will choose which built-in remote style to base it off of.  You can base it off of the Compact layout or the Mid-Size layout.  The primary difference is that the compact layout shows all buttons on one non-scrolling screen but they can be a bit small on phones.  The mid-size layout has slighly larger buttons and the number buttons are accessed as a pop-up number pad by pressing a single button the main remote screen (again on a non-scrolling screen).  Both portrait and landscape layouts in your MEmote must use the same base style but you can move, resize or hide buttons independantly in each orientation.

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• Only one orientation can be edited at one time.  In order to edit the other orientation, back out of the editor (saving changes as desired) then go back into the editor and choose the other orientation to edit.

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• Buttons can be hidden or shown individually by short-pressing on them and toggling the ‘Visible’ checkbox.  You can also choose to hide or show several buttons much quicker by pressing Menu> Options / Visible Buttons.

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• Buttons can be resized by short-pressing on them and using the slider or < and > buttons to adjust the overall size.

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• The silver status bar can be moved anywhere you wish vertically (up and down) but cannot be moved horizontally and cannot be hidden.

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• You can reset your custom remote layout from within the designer and start over.  You will be asked to confirm your decision before resetting it.  This cannot be undone, so be sure this is what you want to do or create a backup of your layout first.

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• The custom remote layout file can be found on your SD card in the following folder:  SD ‘root’/DirecTV_Remote/MyRemote.dtvl

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• As you move buttons around, they will overlap each other.  Some will be in front of others and some will be behind.  This is normal and does not affect the end result since buttons should not normally be overlapping anyway.

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LG and Sony have taken a slightly different approach with how 3rd party apps can control the IR in their devices.  Rather than giving developers direct access to the IR blaster itself, we can only send commands to a “device” that has already been set up in their own app.nBefore you can set up the volume plugin on one of these Android phones or tablets, you will first need to create a new “device” in the other app.nFor LG devices:  Open the “QuickRemote” app and create a new profile for any room and add a TV or AVR (whichever you intend to control from the plugin).  Once this is done, you should be able to choose that device while setting up the volume plugin.nFor Sony devices:  Open the Sony “Remote Control” app and register a new device.  It can be a TV or AVR (whichever you intend to control from the plugin).  Once this is done, you should be able to choose that device while setting up the volume plugin.

If volume works very well when testing inside the plugin but it is less reliable or slow when using from the main app, the most likely cause is multiple profiles associated with the same receiver.  If you are experiencing this problem, follow the steps outlined below to check for some common issues that can cause performance problems.nSometimes when setting up the plugin you may end up with multiple profiles while trying to find something that works.  You may also have set up multiple profiles intended for different DirecTV receivers but didn’t specify which DirecTV receiver to use with the given profile.  These scenarios were especially more likely before the Setup Wizard was introduced.nAt the top of the main setup screen in the plugin is a drop-down list of all profiles.  Press it and choose each profile one at a time then check for the following:n1) Check for unused profilesIf you know it to be an unused or old/temporary profile, simply press the [Delete] button near the bottom-left of the screen.  If you are unsure whether it is needed or not, you may also change its control method to “None/Disabled”.  Having extra profiles that are not used at all can cause very poor performance when sending commands from the main app, especially if no receivers are associated with the profile or it is associated with the same receiver as other profiles.  In general, you should have one profile for each TV that you control and it should be associated with the one DirecTV receiver that is in the same room.  An exception is that if you use a TV in conjunction with an AVR or sound bar, then you may have two profiles associated with one DirecTV receiver:  One for the TV and one for the AVR.  In that case, also see the FAQ linked at the end of step 3 below.n2) Confirm the associated DirecTV receiver(s)Before the wizard was introduced, this step may have been overlooked while setting up the volume plugin.  In case it was overlooked, the default behavior of the plugin was that if no receiver was specifically chosen for this profile, it would be associated with ALL of your DirecTV receivers.  If you have more than one DirecTV receiver or more than one profile, this can lead to problems.  Generally speaking each profile should only be associated with one DirecTV receiver, specifically whichever one is in the same room.  So if you are creating a volume profile to control volume on your living room TV, that profile should only be associated with the DirecTV receiver that is located in the living room.3) “Disable” unneeded commandsThis is more likely to apply if you intentionally have multiple profiles associated with the same DirecTV receiver.  For example, you may have a profile for your living room TV and another profile for a stereo (AVR) in the living room.  When you have multiple profiles associated with the same DirecTV receiver, this will slow down performance when pressing volume, mute, power, or other volume-plugin related buttons in the main app unless some things are tweaked.  The reason why you don’t see this slow down while testing is because the internal test only tests the current profile selected in the plugin.  For some things like “Power”, there isn’t much you can do about slow downs because you would obviously want to control power on both the TV and AVR in this case.  However, most people who use two profiles like this (TV and AVR) generally only use the TV for a “picture” and control volume and mute solely on the AVR.  If this applies to you then please see this other FAQ for instructions on how to optimize your profile settings.n nRepeat these steps for each profile in the plugin.  Once finished, be sure to press the BACK button to exit the plugin then try controlling volume from the main app again.  If you have cleaned up some things in the plugin you should notice an improvement in performance.n 

Assuming the device does in fact have an IR blaster (not all phone / tablet models do despite having similar sounding names), it could be a few things.nnBe sure that you are aiming the phone or tablet’s IR blaster directly towards the bottom of the TV when controlling volume, mute or power on the TV.  If using IR to control the DirecTV receiver, be sure you are aiming it towards the DirecTV receiver when controlling DirecTV functions.   This problem is actually quite common, especially when unfamiliar with how well (or not) the IR works on these devices.  Unfortunately they are not nearly as powerful as the real remotes often are.  With the real remote you may get away with aiming it several feet away from the TV where as the phone may require much more precise aim.nIt’s also possible that none of the IR presets in the app work with your particular TV or AVR model.  If your brand is not listed or none of the presets work, please send me an email using the ‘Report’ button in the Volume plugin.  Be sure to mention your brand (and model if known) and I can probably get working codes for you.  You should definitely check your aim though as mentioned above.  While it could be an IR code problem, if it is an aiming problem then it could very well be a waste of time to ask for different IR codes.nThis may be fixed by now, but if you are using a Samsung Galaxy device, please be sure that “Power Saving Mode” is turned off.  While the IR blaster appears to still work (when viewed through a digital camera), it apparently does not send the signal correctly when Power Saving Mode is turned on.  This is/was a known issue with the Galaxy Tab 2 and possibly other Galaxy models.nnAnother thing to try is to see if you can get the remote app that came with the phone or tablet to work.  If the “stock” app does not work, then you may want to seek help with that before trying to get the DirecTV Remote+ or Volume Plugin to work.  All phones and tablets with built-in IR blasters come with some kind of remote control app.  If you can’t find one on your phone, try searching Google for more information on how to use the IR / remote on your specific phone or tablet.

This message can come up if your Whole-Home settings are allowing external devices (i.e. your phone or tablet) to have basic access to the receiver but the “Current Program” option is set to blocked.nSee the troubleshooting FAQ (step 6) for more information on how to confirm or change this setting on your DirecTV receiver.  You want to be sure that all External Device options are set to Allow.

If you would like to make a backup of your remote settings or transfer your existing settings from one device to another, follow the steps below.  An SD card must be installed in both devices in order to copy or transfer settings:

1. Connect your Android device to your computer using the ‘mount as disk drive’ option.  Alternatively, if you have a folder & file browser app installed on your device, you can browse to it directly on the device.
2. Browse your device’s internal and external (SD card) storage and look for a folder called ‘DirecTV_Remote’.
3. Copy the file inside of that folder called ‘DirecTVRemote.ini’.  If you are simply making a backup, just save a copy of this file wherever you would like.  If you are transferring settings from one device to another, continue on to the next step.
4. Install the app on the device you wish to transfer the settings to and run the app at least one time.  Important:  Before performing the next step, go into the app then choose Menu > More > Exit App.  Failure to do so can result in the copied settings getting lost when the app saves its settings stored in memory.  By choosing the Exit App option, this cannot happen.
5. On the new device, copy the DirecTVRemote.ini file into the DirecTV_Remote folder, which may be located either in internal and external (SD card) storage, overwriting the existing file.
6. Run the app again to confirm that the settings have been transferred.  If not, try these steps again.

NOTE: The PRO version makes this easy with Backup & Restore (Menu > More)

The reliability of macros in this app heavily depends on the responsiveness of your DirecTV receiver.  You can adjust macro delays in order to allow the receiver time to respond to commands.  If you find macro reliability to be hit or miss, try increasing the delays in 250 ms increments.  Unfortunately, the H2x and especially the HR2x series of receivers are known to get a bit laggy over time.  If you find that the overall responsiveness of your receiver and the reliability of macros has deteriorated, please try rebooting your receiver.

Built-in macro commands can be overriden as follows.  The names can consist of lower/upper or mixed cases:

• CC On button – Create a macro named CCON
• CC Off button – Create a macro named CCOFF
• Search Assistant – The buttons at the top of the Search Assistant screen can use custom macros.  Create a macro named SEARCH or SEARCHDVR

• Organize Lists (PRO) – This brings up the list organizer, which allows you to rearrange, rename and delete receivers, favorites and macros.
• “MORE” FEATURES (ALL) – Pressing Menu > More will present a list of more commands and features found in the app.  Below is a brief description of each.
  • Launch DirecTV Scheduler (PRO) – This will launch the official DirecTV Scheduler app (if installed on your device).  The app allows you to schedule recordings on your DVR from anywhere!
  • Reboot Receiver (ALL) – Sometimes the DirecTV receivers and DVRs get a little slow over time.  This command will reboot the device without having to go through the menus, press the reset button or pull the plug.
  • Toggle SD/HD Resolution (PRO) – Along with the cool new DirecTV HD GUI came an issue for those with a TV connected to the SD (composite) video output: You cannot see or use the menus or guide when the device is set to put out an HD signal to any output!  This menu item will send the SD/HD toggle command to your receiver or DVR (DirecTV HD GUI only).
  • Create & Restore backups (PRO) – The pro version allows you to easily backup and restore the app’s settings.  This is useful simply for backup purposes as well as transferring settings (receivers, favorites, macros, etc) to another device.
  • Exit App (ALL) – Completely exits the app, “killing” all processes and services.

As a developer and user, I like options; and DirecTV Remote+ is loaded with them!  Many are only found in the pro version but the free version has some as well.

Haptic Feedback Level (ALL) – Here you can adjust vibration intensity when pressing buttons in the app, from off to strong.  Device must support vibration.

App Startup Screen (ALL) – Here you can tell the app which remote to display when first starting up.

Orientation (PRO) – ‘Auto’ will change the orientation of the app in relation to the orientation of the device.  If you would prefer to always use portrait or landscape, you can choose that as well.

Macro Delays (PRO) – The pro version allows you to create and use custom macros.  Their reliability depends on several factors (network health and speed, receiver speed, etc).  While the default settings should work well for most people, increasing them will often resolve reliability problems.  Major: Delay in ms after sending a command before it will send another.  This applies to buttons such as Menu, Guide, List, Info, etc.  Often times the receiver takes a while to display these.  Minor: This delay is used after sending relatively minor commands such as Ch/Pg Up & Dn, navigation, etc.

Show icon in notification area (ALL) – Places an icon in the Ongoing Notifications area so that you can quickly launch the remote.  Only available when on the main (remote) screen.

Show labels on colored buttons (ALL) – Displays R G Y B labels on the colored buttons.

Keep macro list open after executing (PRO) – Prevents the macro list from hiding after choosing a macro to execute.

Mini-Guide data source (PRO) – Normally the mini-guide gets its data from the currently selected receiver.  If you’d like, you can specify which receiver to use.  Useful if you have a particular receiver that is faster than the others or one that is rarely used.  *** Only recommended if you use static IP addresses or DHCP reservation!  If the address changes the mini-guide will no longer populate! ***

Disable Wi-Fi check (ALL) – If for some reason the app consistently fails to detect that your device is on Wi-Fi or if you always use the app to control a receiver over your wireless carrier connection (3G, etc), then you can disable the Wi-Fi check in the app.  Should you decide to use this option, it will be up to you to ensure that your Wi-Fi is connected as necessary.

On Now goes straight to Mini-Guide (PRO) – While using the remote, you can skip one step to the Mini-Guide by having the On Now button bring you directly to it.  Note that the ‘More Info’ is still available in the Mini-Guide by long-pressing on a guide entry.

Show ‘On Now’ info in notification (ALL) – When enabled, the notification will tell you what show, movie or music channel is currently playing on the selected receiver.  Please note that this option will consume more battery.  To preserve battery, this feature will suspend itself if the app is unable to communicate with the receiver for several minutes.  To resume the ‘On Now’ notifications again, simply open the app once you have a network connection to the receiver again.

Refresh every X seconds (ALL) – You can increase the delay time between On Now information requests which in turn will save some battery power at the cost of the ‘On Now’ information being a bit more delayed.  10-60 seconds, 10 is the default.

Keep device awake on main screens (PRO) – Prevents the device from sleeping when the app is on the main Remote, Search Assistant or Scan screens.  Consumes battery power quicker.  Be sure to exit the app when you are finished so that the device can sleep as normal.

Kill app when backing out of it (ALL) – This option will ‘force-close’ the app when you press the back button while on the main remote screen as opposed to sending the app to the background and letting Android manage it.  If you choose this option, notifications (if enabled) will be cleared and stop working until the app is run again.  This option is not recommended.

Scan continuously for channel changes even when app is not active (PRO) – When the app is ‘closed’, the On Now notifications remain and update with the current program info.  To conserve battery, the notification updates itself shortly after the last known program was due to end.  However, it you change the channel using a real remote or the Shortcut Add-On, the notification will not update until it thinks the last-known current program should end which will result in incorrect program info in the notification.  With this option enabled, the notification service will constantly check for channel/program changes in the intervals set in the app’s prefs screen even if you are not actively using the app.  While this will help keep the notification current, it comes at a cost of increased battery consumption.

Coming soon!

While most of the remote buttons in this app are obvious, there are some additional buttons provided.  Below is a brief introduction to them.

Short (normal) press toggles power.  In the PRO version, a long-press lets you specify Power ON or Power OFF and you can also send it only to the current DirecTV receiver, the TV/AVR associated with the current receiver (via Volume Plugin) or all networked receivers.

(PRO ONLY)  The power state of the current receiver is reflected through the power button’s color.  Green is ON and dark red is OFF.  The lighter red color above is used for IR-controlled DirecTV receivers or if the power state of the current network-controlled receiver cannot be established.

Displays ‘On Now’ (show/music info) or the Mini-Guide.

Press this button to create and access favorite channels.

(Mid-size remote only)  Pops up the numeric keypad for direct channel entry.

(PRO ONLY)  Built-in macro to turn Closed Captioning on.  If you create a macro with the name CCON, this button’s behavior will be replaced with your custom macro.  For example, you can opt to have this turn on DirecTV Subtitles instead.

(PRO ONLY)  Built-in macro to turn Closed Captioning on.  If you create a macro with the name CCON, this button’s behavior will be replaced with your custom macro.  For example, you can opt to have this turn on DirecTV Subtitles instead.

This is a custom macro (available in Free and Pro) that activates Slow Motion.  To do this on your real DirecTV remote, press and hold the Play (>) button for approximately 3 seconds.

(PRO ONLY)  Press this button to create and access custom macros!  Macros are a series of commands that are sent to the receiver at the press of a button.

(PRO ONLY)  Press this button to bring up the Search Assistant.  This allows you to enter text using your Android device’s built-in keyboard or the app’s custom keyboard and sends it as a special macro to DirecTV search fields!

Static IP address (or DHCP reservation):  Why you want to use it!

If I could only recommend one thing to users of my app it would be to set up your DirecTV receivers (as well as TVs and AVRs if networked) with either static IP addresses or DHCP reservation.  Doing so will prevent their IP address from ever changing which can cause them to be unreachable from the app.  If this happens, it can be corrected of course – typically by re-scanning for DirecTV receivers in the main DirecTV Remote+ app and re-scanning or manually configuring your networked TVs or AVRs in the Volume plugin.  For the best possible experience though, static addresses or DHCP reservation is the way to go.

While the two options are done differently, the end result is the same: Once configured, the IP address of the device will always stay the same.  While I may add more information about this to this documentation, I have also covered it here in the FAQ section.

Coming soon!

At this time, this online help for DirecTV Remote+ is a bit of a work in progress.  For several reasons I have decided to remove the “internal help” from the main app and put it online.  One reason is that it is much easier for me to manage and update it this way.

For now I have mostly just moved the information originally found in the app to this online document.  I intend to make it more complete over time.

Thanks for reading!