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Philips 55PUH6002/96 Smart TV Notes

Recently (2018-03) purchased a Philips 55PUH6002/96 Smart TV, which appears to be a Taiwan-only model 55" 4K TV. It runs Android TV, but it is very locked down (eg no Google Play Store), so here are some notes on how to get various stuff working.

Model: Philips 55PUH6002/96 
Max resolution: 3840x2160 @ 60
CPU: ARM Cortex A53 (supports arm64)
GPU: Mali-820MP4
Memory: 4GBEMMC, 1GB DDR3
Internal Storage: 2GB
Android Version: 5.1.1, probably


How to enable installation from unknown sources on 55PUH6002/96

Installation from unknown sources is normally hidden from view. Luckily, there is a non-invasive hack that will allow you to enable it.

The PTS / 公共電視 App requires YouTube to work, which is not installed by default and can't be found in the Philips App Store. This is great, because it starts installation for it.

  1. Install the PTS / 公共電視 App from the Philips App Store
  2. When it asks to install YouTube select Yes
  3. When it complains about the package being from unknown sources, open the menu provided and enable installation from unknown sources
  4. Finish the YouTube installation

Congratulations, you now have YouTube and can install applications from APK files.

How to install YouTube on 55PUH6002/96

See Above

How to install APKs from the web on 55PUH6002/96

Follow the procedure to enable installation from unknown sources above, then
  1. Set up USB Storage - format a USB disk in FAT32 and plug it into the USB port (if you don't have USB storage, downloads from the browser don't work)
  2. Open the Browser
  3. Navigate to APKMirror.com and find the APK you want (the CPU supports ARM64) and Download it
  4. Open the Media Browser (or install ES File Explorer from the Philips App Store) and find your file in Downloads.
  5. Open and Install :)

Android 6.0+ on 55PUH6002/96

There's various discussions around Philips TVs and Android 6.0+. Many people report bugs with 5.1, such as no YouTube 4K, no Netflix HDR, PS4 incompatibility and sound issues.

It looks like what happened is:
  • At CES 2016, a range of manufacturers (including Philips) announced Android 6.0 updates for their 2015 and 2016 model TVs to happen during 2016
  • In Feb 2017, Philips backed out of updating 2015 models to Android 6.0
  • In Oct 2017, Philips promised to update 2016 and 2017 models to Android 7.0

How to tell which year your TV is from?  Oct 2017 update says model numbers that end with 01 are 2016 year and model numbers that end with 02 are 2017 year.

55PUH6002/96 Appears to be released in July 2017 (according to PCHome), so in theory it should get an Android 7 update.

 

Unanswered Questions/TODO

  • What is the relationship between the models internationally? Will a firmware from one country work in another?
  • How to get Netflix working :)
    • Tried various APKs and they either don't launch (Android TV APKs) or launch but don't play videos (Normal Android APKs)
    • Tried Kodi asciidisco plugin, which installs and login/menus work, but videos don't play

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