AiS and Disney+

[NVass]

Has anyone with a Samsung Smart TV (Which has the AIS Play app built in) managed to get Disney+ to work!

 

3hrs on the phone to AiS this morning and they don't seem to be able to tell me if this will work. We have signed up and it works on my phone (via a web browser but not the Disney+ app) and my laptop (again via the web page only, but thats it!

 

They won't admit it but I suspect the built in app won't work for some reason. Has anyone got this to work! Is it working for anyone on the AIS play box!

 

Only in Thailand would a company launch a new TV service that doesn't work on the TV!

[mtls2005]

Seen a bunch of workarounds.

 

Do you have an AIS Playbox? Seen reports that it is working on that.

 

Can you see "Hotstar" in the App store on your TV?

 

The Samsung native workaround requires a full factory reset, and choosing a different region (U.S.A.). Reset Smarthub, NOT RECOMMENDED unless you research the implicaitons.

 

Long Twitter thread @RichardBarrow

 

Quite a few Youtube videos.

 

 

I'm using it on my phone cast to my Chromecast-equipped TV. I cannot see Hotstar in my Samsung App store, and am reluctant to reset Smart Hub.

 

 

This video appears to show the App on a Samsung TV, so available in the Samsung store?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by mtls2005

[NVass]

Thanks for the info. Yes got it running in a browser on my TV eventually. (Not ideal)

 

Don't have a play box as I was told it would work on my Samsung TV with the AIS play app.

Obviously lost in translation somewhere. TiT

 

At least the kids can now watch Disney so I will wait and see what happens. The Mrs says lots of people are complaining about the fact it doesn't work natively on smart TV's.

[mtls2005]

You looked for the Hotstar app in the Samsung Apps store?

 

Hopefully it's just a matter of re-catgeorizing the Hotstar app.

 

You can also cast from an Apple device using Airplay to many TVs.

 

 

 

 

[Chongalulu]

22 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

You looked for the Hotstar app in the Samsung Apps store?

 

Hopefully it's just a matter of re-catgeorizing the Hotstar app.

 

You can also cast from an Apple device using Airplay to many TVs.

 

 

 

 

My daughter in uk just subscribed to Disney + and created a profile for me. I loaded the app on my iPad and it screen mirrored to my LG OLED tv perfectly using vpn for uk profile  on iPad. I don’t know if I can directly load it onto my TV like the existing Netflix and Prime built in apps,or even if the content is the same. ? Prime particularly has a much inferior range on the Thai version which I overcome by using uk account (vpn) and mirroring to tv. 

[theWTD]

Anyone have luck getting the iPhone or iPad app to work?  When i click login, the app just crashes.

[tomazbodner]

9 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

My daughter in uk just subscribed to Disney + and created a profile for me. I loaded the app on my iPad and it screen mirrored to my LG OLED tv perfectly using vpn for uk profile  on iPad. I don’t know if I can directly load it onto my TV like the existing Netflix and Prime built in apps,or even if the content is the same. ? Prime particularly has a much inferior range on the Thai version which I overcome by using uk account (vpn) and mirroring to tv. 

No app for LG and Samsung TVs yet. But you can use web browser in LG WebOS and login. https://www.disneyplushotstar.com, login with Thai account (if you don't have whole house on VPN or VPN loaded in TV), if AIS, you'd enter your phone number and then OTP you get by phone.

[tomazbodner]

1 minute ago, theWTD said:

Anyone have luck getting the iPhone or iPad app to work?  When i click login, the app just crashes.

Works in 12 Pro and on 8 Plus (both with last OS update) for me.

[dginoob]

Have downloaded the Hotstar app to a firestick and a firetv. The app is not working on either.

[RussellGee]

I gave up on the AIS play app for Samsung Tizen TV - I’m not holding out much hope for the Disney+ app - the TVs processor just couldn’t hack it, you are better off getting a decent android box or Apple TV. 

[Dmaxdan]

25 minutes ago, dginoob said:

Have downloaded the Hotstar app to a firestick and a firetv. The app is not working on either.

I have a Xiaomi Mi TV stick and the Disney + Hotstar app won't open that either.

All I get is a blue screen and then the Disney + logo.

Let's hope these are just teething problems....

 

[Chongalulu]

2 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

No app for LG and Samsung TVs yet. But you can use web browser in LG WebOS and login. https://www.disneyplushotstar.com, login with Thai account (if you don't have whole house on VPN or VPN loaded in TV), if AIS, you'd enter your phone number and then OTP you get by phone.

Thanks - think I’ll stick with my 'free' uk version and screen mirroring. I understand I can’t really install my Nord vpn onto my LG TV either? Separately,I want to install Bein sports Connect app (thailand) onto the tv. I go to LG Store (as per instructions I saw on internet) and do a search which brought up Bein connect but when I click on it it brings up You Tube 'version' ??. I can find it on Web os and appear to be able to log in and see usual menu which I guess would work but app would be more handy? 

[tomazbodner]

2 hours ago, dginoob said:

Have downloaded the Hotstar app to a firestick and a firetv. The app is not working on either.

Sony Android TV required OS upgrade to install DRM component first. Before that it gave an error when trying to play. So install latest update, stop Disney app, clear cache and data, start the app again.

 

If you get error starting with 4xxx, disable and re-enable the location services. Your box is likely sending wrong location data.

 

That was at least my experience.

 

Amazon Fire Stick is not listed as supported. But I know that it works OK in web browser of LG WebOS OLED TV, although it has no app, despite listed as unsupported.

 

https://www.ais.th/disney/en/qa.html

 

See supported devices on above link. All are assumed to have latest updates installed and no VPN.

[theWTD]

22 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Works in 12 Pro and on 8 Plus (both with last OS update) for me.

Is your App Store (apple account) in Thailand?  My App Store is USA based.  When I clicked on the link on the web page it took me to the app store and said "this application is not available in your region." I'd rather not setup a separate Apple Account in Thailand just for Disney+ but really want to check out the Spatial Audio!  

 

Anyone else had luck or non-luck with the Disney+ App on their iPhone/iPad?

[tomazbodner]

13 minutes ago, theWTD said:

Is your App Store (apple account) in Thailand?  My App Store is USA based.  When I clicked on the link on the web page it took me to the app store and said "this application is not available in your region." I'd rather not setup a separate Apple Account in Thailand just for Disney+ but really want to check out the Spatial Audio!  

 

Anyone else had luck or non-luck with the Disney+ App on their iPhone/iPad?

Yes, it is Thailand App Store.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 7/2/2021 at 3:07 PM, dginoob said:

Have downloaded the Hotstar app to a firestick and a firetv. The app is not working on either.

 

I'm confused about the variety of different apps involved here...

 

--there's a Disney+ app in the U.S. Google Play Store (which is not Hotstar), and I'm assuming that won't work with the AIS account.

 

--looking in my U.S. Playstore account and in my Fire TV app store, I see a plain Hotstar app for India (with no mention of Disney), which I again assume is the wrong app for AIS.

 

--in my U.S. Playstore account, I see nothing available as "Disney+ Hotstar."

 

Do you have to be using a Thai based Play Store account in order to download the correct Android app....  And do you need to be using a device that's showing a Thai IP address in order to use the service?

 

[theWTD]

43 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I'm confused about the variety of different apps involved here...

 

--there's a Disney+ app in the U.S. Google Play Store (which is not Hotstar), and I'm assuming that won't work with the AIS account.

 

--looking in my U.S. Playstore account and in my Fire TV app store, I see a plain Hotstar app for India (with no mention of Disney), which I again assume is the wrong app for AIS.

 

--in my U.S. Playstore account, I see nothing available as "Disney+ Hotstar."

 

Do you have to be using a Thai based Play Store account in order to download the correct Android app....  And do you need to be using a device that's showing a Thai IP address in order to use the service?

 

Sorry you're confused.  Did you try any? that's what we want to know.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, theWTD said:

Sorry you're confused.  Did you try any? that's what we want to know.

 

The Disney+ Hotstar TH website doesn't appear to work with a non-TH IP address, and in using a U.S. IP address, it automatically redirects to a different Hotstar service for the U.S. that has nothing to do with Thailand.

 

The Hotstar app in the U.S. Amazon Fire TV app store is for India content and is the wrong app for the Thailand/AIS service.

 

[theWTD]

32 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The Disney+ Hotstar TH website doesn't appear to work with a non-TH IP address, and in using a U.S. IP address, it automatically redirects to a different Hotstar service for the U.S. that has nothing to do with Thailand.

 

The Hotstar app in the U.S. Amazon Fire TV app store is for India content and is the wrong app for the Thailand/AIS service.

 

So looks like those of us with AIS accounts with non-THAI "Apple Accounts" can't actually use our Disney+ subscriptions.  

 

Had I paid full price I'd be of course quite angry.  

 

I also tried to sign up for Disney+ last yeqr using a VPN and it would never work.  It knew where I was.  Sad to see that even "knowing where I am in Thailand" it won't work.    Although I guess it does work on the browser and the "not working" is just the App I can't download with my particular store.  But if they can block you using the browser because of where you are (VPN or not) why limit the App? 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I signed up for the AIS-Disney promo offer with AIS a couple weeks ago when they first offered it and got confirmation via SMS. But I'd been too busy with other stuff the past few days and had not had a chance to activate/log-into the service since it went live. But I went ahead with it tonight.

 

Tried setting it up via the website with my normal U.S. VPN connection, but that wouldn't work and kept redirecting to a different, non-TH Hotstar version in the U.S.  So, I switched to my local Thai ISP service and its IP address, and the browser signup process and then playing video content in Firefox went fine.

 

From this webpage address highlighted below, you click the Log-In button at the top right and then enter your AIS mobile number in the pop-up window. That prompts them to send a 4 digit code to your AIS mobile, which you then enter into the website form to complete the log-in process. The website interface itself gives you a choice of TH or EN, and the video content via the player gives you the choice of subtitles on or off for EN and several other languages.

 

 

The AIS support page says the following re supported "living room" devices:

 

If their app really works with Android TVs OS 7.0 and above, then it ought to work via sideloading on at least some of the newer Fire TV devices. But to start, you'd probably want any such device to be connected to a Thai ISP IP address until we can see how their location issues in the app operate in the TV device world.

 

For me, though, all of my Android accounts are all set to the U.S., and the Disney+ Hotstar app for Thailand isn't showing up in any of my Play Store libraries. So the question becomes, if you wanna try sideloading the TH version of the app onto an Android or Fire TV device, where do you find the TH version of the app to download?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, theWTD said:

I also tried to sign up for Disney+ last yeqr using a VPN and it would never work. 

 

This recent Amazon Prime Day, Amazon had a special free promo offer for a combined Disney+ / Hulu VOD / ESPN+ multi-month that I took advantage of as part of a cheap Fire TV device purchase. You basically have to start with the Hulu account first, and then go on to log in separately with both the U.S. Disney+ and ESPN+ services...

 

My point of mentioning this is, I did that and installed the regular U.S. Disney+ app on my Fire TV devices here that are connected to a U.S. VPN IP address, and the Disney+ app installed from the Amazon FTV app store just fine and played just fine using the login ID and password I had to create as part of the signup process.

 

From a link at the bottom of the Hotstar TH website, I see the following is the link for their Android app in the Google Play Store...  But it shows that all of my Android devices (U.S. Playstore aligned) are not compatible with the TH app.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.startv.hotstar.dplus

 

The current description makes it sound like the app is intended for Indonesia. But now that I've seen the details of this app and its developer, I have seen this version available in some of the various 3rd party Android app stores, so I'll look to give those a try.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a quick update. I found the Indian version (not the TH-Indonesian version) of the Hotstar app on a third party app store site, and successfully installed it on one of my Fire TV devices. But when I went to launch the app, I got an error message saying the app requires Google Play services to run, which AFAIK would be a killer for trying to run the sideloaded app on Fire TVs.

Edited July 4, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[mtls2005]

While I keep one locally (THL) created Google account for any TH-geo linked purposes, my primary Google accounts are US-store based.

 

As of 1 July I was able to find and install the Hotstar app on three Android devices and two Apple devices.

 

For some TVs (3X) I stream from my phone to my Chromecast (all 3rd gen.)

 

And with the Apple devices I cast to Chromecast, or directly to a newer LG 4K TV (AirPlay-2) via Airplay.

 

https://www.apple.com/ios/home/accessories/#section-tv

 

 

Very easy set-up, I prefer using my phone as a remote, same as Netflix and Youtube.

 

For 35 Baht a month a no-brainer. Would/will pay 799/yr. 

 

 

 There are a lot of Thai-language websites, which with Google Translate, explain various workarounds for this new service.

 

 

[fondue zoo]

Can confirm working on the AIS Playbox and with Chrome on a PC. https://www.hotstar.com/th

 

Last week we were told it was not available on the AIS Playbox by their tech, no clue, rebooted the device and there it was, Disney+ Hotstar

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

 There are a lot of Thai-language websites, which with Google Translate, explain various workarounds for this new service.

 

I tried a bunch of those last night on my U.S.-based Fire TV Cube 1st gen and a U.S. based Android TV device (Tivo Stream 4K) -- using a Thai IP wifi connection in both cases -- and got stymied in one way or another with everything I tried....  And that included downloading and installing the India version of the Hotstar app that's linked at the bottom of the Hotstar TH website.

 

The one thing I didn't do as yet, however, was try using a TH-based Google Play Store account on my Android TV device. I have numerous Google accounts, and can't recall off the top of my head which, if any, of them are set as TH based.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

As of 1 July I was able to find and install the Hotstar app on three Android devices and two Apple devices.

 

For some TVs (3X) I stream from my phone to my Chromecast (all 3rd gen.)

 

Were the Android devices where you successfully installed the Hotstar app MOBILE or TV type devices?

 

In your comment above, you seem to focus on casting to TV devices as opposed to running the Hotstar app on the TVs themselves....

[mtls2005]

On 7/5/2021 at 7:23 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Were the Android devices where you successfully installed the Hotstar app MOBILE or TV type devices?

 

Phones and tablets. Then using the Disney + app, cast directly to Chromecast. 

 

I'm planning on getting a new Chromecast with Google TV, as it can run a VPN, and provide native support for streaming apps like Disney +/Hotstar.

 

 

[theWTD]

On 7/4/2021 at 11:45 PM, theWTD said:

So looks like those of us with AIS accounts with non-THAI "Apple Accounts" can't actually use our Disney+ subscriptions.  

 

 

I updated the app last week and can now log in using the Hotstar Disney App and my AIS. 

 

There is no Spatial Audio on my iPhone or iPad, however, which is what I really wanted to check out.  Disney+ apparently has it in other regions (as well as HBO+ which I haven't been able to get working in Thailand either.)

[Pib]

As FYI if using an AIS "Playbox" to access the free 12 months subscription to Disney-Hotstar you must have an AIS mobile number in your AIS internet acct.  If you don't have an AIS mobile number but have say DTAC or True instead, you will not be able to activate the free 12 months subscription.  

 

I found this out when i noticed just a few days ago in my AIS Fibre Internet acct that I was given a free 12 months subscription starting mid July 2021....but I got no notification of this freebie.  But every time I would tried to activate it on my AIS Playbox which involved receiving a OTP to your mobile number you have onfile with AIS Fiibre the last step of the activation process would redirect me to an DisneyHotstar pay website and say I needed to pay Bt799 via debit/credit card....also show some words I'm not authorized the freebie. 

 

OK, after 4 calls to AIS customer support (3 calls with one rep and a 4th call from another rep) the problem was resolved on the AIS end and I was able to activate my 12 free months of DisneyHotstar without being redirected to the site asking for Bt799.     

 

The resolution required AIS Fibre adding my AIS mobile number to my AIS Fibre Internet profile as a contact number versus only having my DTAC mobile number as my contact number because the free 12 months can only be activated if receiving the OTP to an "AIS mobile number on your AIS Fibre internet profile."   

 

The OTP will go to DTAC, True, etc., mobile numbers but the activation process also sees this is not an AIS mobile number and this ends up not allowing the free 12 months and instead asks you for Bt799 payment instead.   Summary: you must have an AIS mobile number in your AIS Fibre profile/acct to get the free 12 month DisneyHotstar subscription activated on your Playbox where you can use DisneyHotstar right from the AISPlay menus on your Playbox.

 

Once my AIS mobile number was added to my profile I was able to activate the free 12 months by having the OTP sent to that AIS number.    I have an AIS mobile number from my AIS Fibre combo package (i.e., internet/TV/mobile/Wifi)  but it's an AIS SIM I have installed in a tablet I rarely use.  I rarely use the AIS SIM since it was just part of my AIS Fibre combo package, the SIM provides 10GB data free each month but you pay extra to make calls or send texts

 

Now once I got the free subscription activated on both my Playboxes with the AIS mobile number now onfile as my primary contact number for my AIS Fibre acct the AIS rep added back in my DTAC mobile number as my primary contact number and my AIS mobile number as a secondary contact number.  Since your "primary" contract mobile number is the number AIS Fibre sends various important notices to like upcoming maintenance, freebies, renewals, etc.,  the AIS rep made my DTAC number the primary number again and my AIS number the secondary number since this AIS number rarely gets used....the tablet the SIM is in only get turned on a few times each month.

 

Bottomline to activate the free 12 moths of DisneyHotstar on your Playbox you need to have an AIS mobile number to accomplish that activation process and that AIS number must be onfile as your contact number in your AIS Fibre profile/acct.

 

 

 

[mtls2005]

Did AIS push the Hotstar app to the Playbox via a firmware update?

 

Does the AIS Playbox support 4K/UHD?

 

Don't bother sideloading the APK, unless you like the Tik-Tok look. There must be an internal APK for the Playbox, but I haven't found it yet. Evaluating some candidates.

 

FWIW, there is a website hotstar.com/th which works. You can cast from Chrome.

 

I continue to run the Android app on my phone and cast it to my Chromecast (newest rev, supports 4K).

 

I guess we have to wait 45 days (from 3-Sep) for Shang-Chi.