Not installed yet, or the Accessibility toggle won't stay on? Start with the install guide — this page picks up right after: verifying your subscription, syncing with the mobile app, Fire TV mode, voice search, and Jellyfin, plus a fix for every known issue, by error code.
There's no account or password — just an email. Using that same email on the mobile app is also what links it to your TV, so watch history and recommendations sync both ways. How you pay depends on where you got WatchBridge TV from:
Installed from Google Play
Settings → Subscription. Buy the lifetime plan right there with Google Play Billing — pay with your Google account, directly on the remote, no phone or QR code involved.
Prefer to try it free first? Type an email and tap "Start 2-day free trial" instead — no card, no Play purchase yet.
To also use it on your phone: with that email still in the field, tap "Verify subscription" — this links your Play purchase (or your trial) to that email.
Installed the APK (sideload)
Scan the QR code shown for the free trial (no card, 2 days) or the €4.99 lifetime plan with your phone, and pay with whichever email you want linked to your account.
Back on the TV, enter that same email and tap "Verify subscription". That's it — the TV is linked.
Either way, once you have an email verified on the TV: install WatchBridge Mobile on your phone or tablet and verify it there with the exact same email — no separate purchase needed. Watch history and recommendations now sync automatically between the TV and the phone.
Fire OS blocks the standard Accessibility method for any app not installed from the Amazon Appstore — the same method every recommendation-redirect app depends on. Fire TV mode works around it using on-device text recognition instead, nothing recorded leaves the device.
Open the app — Fire TV is detected automatically and shows the right activation button.
Accept the one-time screen recording permission (the standard Android system dialog). Android keeps a persistent notification visible while it's active — a system requirement, not something the app adds.
If the app asks for Usage access: Settings → Apps → Special app access → Usage access → WatchBridge TV → enable it. Many Fire TVs (older sticks on Fire OS 6, for example) don't have that screen at all — the app detects it and skips this step.
Known limitations
By default, a recommendation opened by voice ("Ok Google, open <title>", or holding the remote's mic button) isn't picked up automatically the way a regular click is — it's opt-in.
Open the app and tap "Enable voice search (experimental)" — only shown on Google TV, since Fire TV mode already covers this on Fire TV.
Accept the one-time screen recording permission. Android shows a persistent notification while it's on, same as Fire TV mode.
Known limitations
A self-hosted library has no universal catalog to link to directly, so WatchBridge TV can check your own server first — if the recommendation is already there, it opens straight to that exact title instead of your regular player.
Settings → "Check my Jellyfin first" → enter your server URL and an API key from your Jellyfin admin dashboard.
Found in your library → opens directly there, in Jellyfin or Wholphin, whichever you've picked as your destination.
Not in your library → falls back to your regular app (Nuvio, Stremio, Wuplay, Plex...) as usual, no extra step needed.
The app's own "Having trouble? Get help" screen in Settings uses these same codes — jump straight to the matching one here, or mention the code if you ask for help elsewhere.
E01The toggle turns itself off immediately
On Android 13 and newer, the system blocks any sideloaded app from enabling Accessibility by default, as a security measure — the toggle flips back off right after you enable it, sometimes right away, sometimes a few seconds later.
On some devices you can lift this from Settings → Apps → WatchBridge TV — look for an option like "Allow restricted setting" (wording and location vary by manufacturer), enable it, then try Accessibility again. If you can't find any such option (e.g. the Google TV Streamer), see E02 below.
E02Google TV Streamer: no visible option to allow it
This specific device doesn't expose any "Allow restricted setting" option at all — you can accept the permission dialog and see the toggle turn on, but it flips back off shortly after. The fix needs ADB access, but it's one time only:
adb connect <tv-ip>:5555adb shell appops set com.tunombre.tvbridge ACCESS_RESTRICTED_SETTINGS allowadb shell pm grant com.tunombre.tvbridge android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
On Android 14 (confirmed on the Google TV Streamer) the first line is required, not optional. Then open the app and tap "Enable the service in Accessibility" again — it enables directly this time. No computer? The free atvTools app does the same thing from your phone: pair with the TV over the same Network debugging connection, open WatchBridge TV in its app list, and flip on WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS under Permissions.
E03Service is enabled, but tapping a recommendation doesn't open Nuvio/Stremio
Check Nuvio/Stremio is up to date first — an outdated or unofficial build (common since neither is on Google Play) sometimes doesn't register its deep link scheme correctly, so the app opens but nothing responds.
The top mixed recommendation row specifically ("Recommended for you" or whatever your launcher calls it): on some devices (confirmed on TCL) the accessibility APIs simply don't expose a title for cards in that row, no matter how long you wait — a platform limitation, not a bug in how the app reads it. Turning on voice search in Settings fixes this row too, even if you never use voice search, since it enables an on-device OCR fallback that reads the title directly off the screen.
E04TCL devices: service stops working after a while
Some TCL units lock down background auto-start permissions for third-party apps at the OS level, with no toggle exposed in Settings. If the service shows as enabled but silently stops detecting clicks after some time and there's no autostart/battery exception option to find, this is why.
adb connect <tv-ip>:5555adb shell appops set com.tunombre.tvbridge APP_AUTO_START allowadb shell appops set com.tunombre.tvbridge APP_ASSOC_START allow
May need repeating after reinstalling or updating the app, since that can reset these permissions.
E05Fire TV: nothing works at all
Fire TV needs its own separate activation — see Fire TV mode above. It isn't automatic like Google TV: standard Accessibility is blocked for sideloaded apps on Fire OS, so this app works around it with on-device text recognition instead.
E06Voice search doesn't work
It's opt-in, not on by default — see Voice search above to turn it on. Google TV only; Fire TV mode already covers this as part of its own activation.