It looks like the day all 2nd-gen Fire TV owners have been waiting for is upon us. The new Fire TV is starting to receive a software update taking it to version 5.0.3. This is the update that should bring bug fixes for many of the issues plaguing the device since launch. Amazon has updated their device software page to now list software version 5.0.3_user_532011220 as the latest version for the 2nd-gen Fire TV. As usually, they haven’t listed any specifics about what this update brings other than saying it contains “bug fixes and performance improvements.”
We’re expecting to see fixes for Dolby Digital surround sound support by the end of November, so those may be included in this update. Other fixes might include stabilizing the new wifi based remote and game controller’s connection issues. This may be just the first of several bug fixing updates we see in the next month. I haven’t received the update yet myself, but will do my usual analysis to try and determine what it changes once I receive the update. Let everyone know in the comments once you’ve received the update and what fixes you’ve noticed.
Update
10/24 8:50pm PT I’m seeing reports that 1st-gen Fire TVs running the Developer Preview are also receiving an update which is taking them to version 5.0.3_user_532008220
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
Elias, thanks for publishing this information so fast on the AFTVNEWS site!
Lets hope that this update will correct all the problems with the WIFI Remote and also with the Extremely LOW volume level that the FireTV currently have!
Since I noticed that you apparently have a more near comunication with Amazon than we all have, and as usually, Amazon has not mentioned any details about what this update brings, other than saying it contains:
“Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements.”
Please, if not too much to ask, could you contact Amazon, just to let them know that I think that they should at least give to the users a more detailed information about what have been fixed and what’s new on their updates released for the FireTV?
I want to thank you for offering us such an Excellent site, where we always find all the latest information and tips for the Amazon FireTV!!
Best Regards,
Ulises A. Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Just recieved the update. It took about 10 minutes for update and optimization after the install. Dolby fix was not included in this update. I’ve tested with other third party apps including Kodi. I’ve never had an Issue with the WiFi remote so nothing noticeable on there. Not sure what this update fixed yet but nothing that’s obvious on my end so far
@Chris I am assuming that you went into audio settings to see if an option was added to send Dolby digital over hdmi instead of DD+.
Yes. Same result as before. Just get white noise.
It don’t say “bug fixes and performance improvements.” its says “Minor bug fixes and performance improvements”
a minor bug fix patch is not going fix the gen 2
Maybe you are right, but as I already said, the problem is that, as usually Amazon has not mentioned any details about what this update brings, other than saying it contains:
“Minor Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements”
But at least Amazon is doing something, not as fast as we all would have liked, but something is better than nothing…!!
It’s normal not to provide the details of the patch because the patch may include unknown zero-day-exploit only know by the developers team of the product. If it’s not listed the known bugs then it’s more likely they fixed the bugs unknown to user.
Cheers!
Just got the update on my Devon preview stick as well
Devon? Auto correct is smart!
Got the update this morning.
Again dissapointing the Dolby patch isn´t there.
Kodi still not running with passthrough.
one can only hope this includes frame rate switching so we can watch movies in their native frame rate of 24 fps.
Hmmmmm I have just received the update and Kodi (V15.2) is now working flawlessly with both Dolby and DTS via passthru. The only thing that I had changed on my Kodi setup was instead of leaving it on default 2.0 speaker configuration was change it to my speaker config, which is 7.1.
My Onkyo amp is correctly showing either Dolby or DTS on the movie I choose to watch
Thanks. Still waiting for my update. Are you connecting first to the receiver?
My setup involves going to the TV and then Toslink to receiver. Please share your setup.
AFTV V2 connected to Onkyo 828 via HDMI on input 1. HDMI out from Onkyo to Vizio TV. Onkyo is basically handling all the audio, and since the update, recognising and handling it brilliantly, just as it did on the AFTV1
Awesome. So the receiver was previously sent stereo (instead of DD) because AFTV2 was recognizing it as incapable of deciding DD+.
And with this fix it is correctly being sent DD … Is that right ?
It would appear so
I have a new Onkyo 4k reciever and passthrough does not work on my kodi 15.2 tried every option and enabled/disabled dolby plus on fire tv and also set to dolby through hdmi in fire settings. So unless a miracle occurred for someone else, I don’t think the surround issue has been fixed yet…
I received the update today’s morning. I can confirm that the low volume issue is finally gone.
Thanks for confirming that at last the low volume issue is finally gone!!
As I said before, I do not know why but the Only APP that always worked flawlessly at a very High volume was “NHK WORLD”, but with all the others APPs, I always had an extremely Low volume level…
I was very worried with the issue with the Low volume on my 2nd Gen FireTV, because I always had have to raise the volume to the double, that I was using with my 1st Gen. FireTV!
I Would also like to know, if anyone that received the update, has noticed some improvements in the UI and functionality of the FireOS-5, if it now works faster and with less lags?
One last question…
Does anyone has noticed if all the connection problems with the WIFI Remote have been now corrected?
Do you connect via ethernet?
Its Monday morning and I have yet to receive the update. Any tricks to try to make it update? Thanks.
Chris,
I dont know if it has any bearing on what I have experienced, but on my Onkyo the setting for the audio in is set to Direct. I dont know if this is an option on your model.
However, reading your posting made me question my own sanity, somuchso before I left for work this morning I checked again, just to make sure (plus the fact my Son wanted to watch Dinotrux on Netflix) and sure enough, passthrough is definitely working on Kodi, its picking up stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 both DD and DTS,
Regards
I’ll give that a try. Mine too has direct…thanks for suggestion
Strange, but I checked manually and still no update for me :(
I do not know if anyone here has noticed the same strange behavior, but every time I check (refresh) manually the “Check for Systen Update” button on my 2nd Gen. FireTV, it always says to quickly and immediately that there is no new update for the system…
Unlike my 1st Gen. FireTV, which always took a little longer to see if there was any update available.
I’m a little worried, because as the 2nd Gen. FireTV checks for updates too fast, it seems that not looking well or might not find them!
Maybe the update system of the new 2nd Gen. FireTV has changed, or perhaps works much faster?
—
Cheers!
Is there a way to force the update? When I go to it only takes seconds to change to <Last checked <>>.
It just won’t download anything. There is no firewall or filter active.
Totally agree…
You have the same concerns that I expressed in my post further up…
That’s what I meant, that the new 2nd Gen. FireTV always looks too quickly if there are any updates or not!!
I finally received the 5.0.3 update. Before I share the results, would like to lay out my setup.
Fire TV 2 -> HDMI -> Samsung 4K (2014) -> TOSLINK -> Yamaha Receiver
I used Netflix movie FOCUS as a test. It has DD 5.1 audio.
Test 1: Fire TV 2 Set to Dolby Digital Plus (Automatic)
Result: Stereo at the Receiver (Samsung TV does not detect Dolby Digital signal)
Test 2: Fire TV 2 Set to Dolby Digital Plus over HDMI (i.e. force DD+)
Result: Stereo at the Receiver (Samsung TV does not detect Dolby Digital Signal)
Test 3: Fire TV Set to Dolby Digital Plus Off
Result: Stereo at the Receiver (Samsung TV does not detect Dolby Digital Signal)
Changed to Apple TV as the source (identical hook up … but to a different HDMI port on TV). Played the same Netflix movie.
Test Result: DD 5.1 at the Receiver (Samsung TV detects Dolby Digital Signal)
Final Result – Firmware 5.0.3 does not fix the problem for people who are using a setup that is similar to the above.
Vulcan,
Is there any reasonyou cant HDMI your AFTV to the reciever, then HDMI from receiver to the TV?
@Dragon – My receiver does not have HDMI. Its an older receiver with much richer audio signature compared to models being sold nowadays (sad, but true). It has never been a problem until now because both Apple TV and Roku 3 send Dolby Digital to the Samsung TV (instead of DD+). Moreover, both devices have a TOSLINK out – which I would have used if they were not sending the correct audio over HDMI.
On a separate note, I think the audio volume issue has been fixed.
I also want to add that I have color calibrated my TV on a per HDMI basis since each device tends to add its own signature to the various attributes that defines a video signal. Using a receiver as a HDMI switcher would defeat that ability.
Ok, I am so p**sed and frustrated right now. Turned on my tv, amp and ftv, loaded up Kodi, and what did I get? White bloody noise yet again!!!! How the hell can it go from working in the morning, to not working in the evening? I am soooo disappointed.
And just to clarify, all my previous posts hold true, yesterday after updating the o/s I was getting DD and DTS on kodi, now, for some godforsaken reason it has gone back to the dark ages
Just curious – What happens when you connect directly to TV and then use ARC or TOSLINK to receiver?
have had the same experience bevore the update.
In the beginning I have had normal behavior of passthrough for Kodi with the FTV2.
As I only tested it once and only seen one film via Kodi (worked fine!),I thought every thing was ok.
Then one day, only white noise came out of the box.. :(
This still is the fact with the last update.
Tried also diverse versions of Kodi incl. the experimental 16.
I bought a FireTV 2 today and went through the motions of installing kodi and was able to get Kodi to perform audio passthrough via DTS and DD but as soon as I restarted the device I got static for sound. I even performed a factory reset and installed Kodi from scratch and I continue to get static when I enable audio passthrough for DTS or DD. I dont know what to do at this point as the update really didnt fix anything.
I had same experience. When I first bought mine, before the first update, I had passthrough to my reciever using Kodi. Every kind of audio was detected by my reciever. After the update, I had lost the passthrough…just get static. With new update, no change still get static. I have a 4k Onkyo reciever and samsung 4k tv. I have aftv into reciever via hdmi and reciever to tv via hdmi. Tried every connection and setting on reciever, tv, and fire tv box including changing settings in kodi but still not working…makes me curious though to why it worked in the beginning before the first update.
Anyone with new 4k receiver who got the update. Did the channel mappings get fixed?
I can confirm at least for me that in 5.0.3 Dolby Digital its now working using passthrough on KODI.
I will test again tonight
My setup –
FTV(2ndgen KODI-15.2) -> TX-NR509 -> TV all via HDMI
KODI settings
PCM – 2.0
Output – Optimized
Passthrough – Enabled
DD – Enabled
DTS – Enabled
Amp is now displaying Dolby Digital correctly even after reboot and re-installation of KODI
@jvain: thank you!
I updated from 14 to 15 to 16 trying to understand why my gen 1 ftv with Kodi was doing such odd things with multichannel tracks. Since my system supports 5.1 over HDMI, I thought that setting “number of channels” to 5.1 (what you refer to as PCM – 2.0) and enabling passthrough was the correct approach.
And on some recordings – those with official DTS or DD encoding – the track was passed through.
However, on AAC 5.1, I was getting a mixdown in Kodi to two channels, and could not understand why.
Once I set number of channels to 2 (in system… settings… system… audio output… number of channels)
and scrolled down to the dolby/DTS capable receiver area, I had a new configuration option “enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding”
With that option selected (as well as DD/DTS) – my 5.1 tracks are presented as 5.1 to my system.
I haven’t listened to these transcodes yet, so I don’t know what I think of them, but I’m optimistic that what they’re primarily doing is telling the amp “this stuff is 5.1” and then passing it through. But it was so nice to just be able to get the 5.1 out, at least.