# Set up an Android display as a dedicated signage device

Android TVs and boxes can run Lumicast as a normal app, or as a **dedicated signage device**: Lumicast becomes the _device owner_, which lets it manage the display on its own. Use this for every display that runs unattended.

It takes about 15 minutes per display, plus a computer on the same network for one step.

## What a dedicated display does

- **Starts Lumicast when it powers on.** No **Launch on boot** setting needed.
- **Installs Lumicast updates by itself.** No prompts, whether at start-up, every night between 02:00 and 05:00, from the menu, or from **Upgrade** in the dashboard.
- **Stays on Lumicast.** Home, Recents, notifications and the remote's Settings and Apps buttons do nothing, so nobody can leave the player by accident. On purpose you still can: **Android settings** in the Lumicast menu opens the display's own Android settings, with everything in them, and **Back** returns to Lumicast.
- **Comes back by itself.** If Lumicast stops unexpectedly it's back within about a minute. If someone leaves the display in the Android settings, it's back after about 15 minutes.
- **Keeps the display awake.** It never drops into the screensaver, and the TV's energy saver can't switch it off after hours without remote use.
- **Installs Android system updates only between 02:00 and 05:00**, so a system update never restarts the display during the day.
- **Can be rebooted from the dashboard.**

## Before you start

- **An Android TV, Google TV or Android box.** This guide was written on a Sony BRAVIA FW-43BZ30L (Google TV, Android 12). Menu names differ a little per brand.
- **No Google account on the display.** Android only accepts a device owner on a device without accounts. On a display that's already in use, that usually means a factory reset.
- **The Lumicast APK, not the Play Store or Fire TV app.** Only the APK can become device owner.
- **A computer** (Windows, macOS or Linux) on the same network as the display.

::: warning
Undoing this takes a factory reset of the display. See [Android settings, unlocking and undoing](#android-settings-unlocking-and-undoing).
:::

## 1. Reset the display and skip the Google account

1. Go to **Settings > System > About > Reset > Factory reset** and confirm.
2. Go through the setup again and connect to your network:
   - **Google TV:** choose **Set up basic TV** instead of signing in with Google.
   - **Android TV:** choose **Skip** when asked to sign in.

Already set up without an account? Then you can skip the reset. Check that **Settings > Accounts and sign-in** says **No accounts**, and that there's only one profile on the display.

## 2. Install Lumicast

Install the Lumicast APK as described in [Sideload the Lumicast Player APK](/player/installation/android-sideload-apk), steps 1 to 3. You don't need to enable **Launch on boot**; a dedicated display starts Lumicast by itself.

## 3. Turn on ADB debugging

1. Go to **Settings > System > About**.
2. Select **Android TV OS build** seven times, until you see **You are now a developer**. On older Android TV models this is **Settings > Device Preferences > About > Build**.

   ![The About screen with Android TV OS build selected](/img/screenshots/android-device-owner-build.png)

3. Go back to **Settings > System**, open **Developer options** (at the bottom of the list) and turn on **ADB debugging**. Depending on the brand it may be called **USB debugging** or **Network debugging**.

   ![Developer options with ADB debugging turned on](/img/screenshots/android-device-owner-adb-debugging.png)

## 4. Note the display's IP address

Go to **Settings > System > About > Status**. Note the address that looks like `192.168.x.x` or `10.x.x.x`. The examples below use `192.168.1.50`; use your display's address instead.

![The Status screen showing the IP address](/img/screenshots/android-device-owner-ip-address.png)

## 5. Get ADB on your computer

ADB is Google's tool for talking to Android devices.

- **macOS:** with [Homebrew](https://brew.sh), run `brew install android-platform-tools` in Terminal. Or use the ZIP below.
- **Windows, macOS or Linux:** download **SDK Platform-Tools** for your system from [developer.android.com/tools/releases/platform-tools](https://developer.android.com/tools/releases/platform-tools) and unzip it.
  - **Windows:** open the unzipped `platform-tools` folder, right-click an empty spot and choose **Open in Terminal**.
  - **macOS:** right-click the `platform-tools` folder and choose **New Terminal at Folder**.

::: tip
When you run ADB from the `platform-tools` folder, type `.\adb` (Windows) or `./adb` (macOS and Linux) wherever the commands below say `adb`. With Homebrew, plain `adb` works.
:::

## 6. Make Lumicast the device owner

1. Connect to the display:

   ```bash
   adb connect 192.168.1.50
   ```

2. On the display, a prompt asks **Allow USB debugging?**. Tick **Always allow from this computer** and choose **Allow**, so this computer can reconnect later without the prompt.

3. Check the connection:

   ```bash
   adb devices
   ```

   The display is listed as `192.168.1.50:5555 device`. If it says `unauthorized`, accept the prompt on the display and run `adb devices` again.

4. Make Lumicast the device owner:

   ```bash
   adb shell dpm set-device-owner com.lumicast.player.direct/com.lumicast.player.DeviceOwnerReceiver
   ```

   It answers with `Active admin set to component com.lumicast.player.direct/com.lumicast.player.DeviceOwnerReceiver`. Anything else: see [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting).

5. Optional check: **Settings > Accounts and sign-in** now says **This device is managed by your organisation**.

You can leave **ADB debugging** on for remote support, or turn it off later under **Android settings** in the Lumicast menu.

## 7. Open Lumicast and connect the display

Open Lumicast, or restart the display. From now on the display stays on Lumicast: pressing **Home** does nothing.

[Connect the display to Lumicast](/features/displays) as usual.

## Troubleshooting

| Message | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| `failed to connect` or `Connection refused` | Check the IP address, that **ADB debugging** is on, and that the computer and display are on the same network. |
| `unauthorized` | Accept **Allow USB debugging?** on the display (step 6.2). |
| `Not allowed to set the device owner because there are already some accounts on the device` | A Google or other account is signed in. Remove it under **Settings > Accounts and sign-in**, or factory reset and choose **Set up basic TV** (step 1). |
| `Not allowed to set the device owner because there are already several users on the device` | Remove the extra profiles from the display, or factory reset. |
| `Unknown admin: ComponentInfo{com.lumicast.player.direct/…}` | The Lumicast APK isn't installed. The Play Store and Fire TV apps can't become device owner: uninstall them and install the APK (step 2). |
| `Trying to set the device owner, but device owner is already set` | This display is already set up. Nothing to do. |

## Android settings, unlocking and undoing

**Android settings.** Open the Lumicast menu (press **OK** on the remote) and choose **Android settings**. Everything is there, from Wi-Fi to **Developer options** and **Reset**. **Back** returns to Lumicast.

**Unlock completely.** To also get Home and the other apps back, for example for a longer maintenance session, unlock the display from a computer authorized in step 6:

```bash
adb connect 192.168.1.50
adb shell am broadcast -n com.lumicast.player.direct/com.lumicast.player.StopKioskReceiver
```

The display is then an ordinary Android display until Lumicast restarts, for example after a reboot.

**Stop using it as a dedicated display.** Factory reset it: Lumicast menu > **Android settings** > **System > About > Reset**. Removing device owner without a reset isn't possible.