Default "Force landscape" or add option to change the orientation

Currently, those apps that do not support landscape are stuck in portrait and rotated.
There are apps that can force orientations. Perhaps the setting that such apps change can be forced by default to landscape. Or even better, an option to change the orientation.

I don’t think there’s a way to force an app that has screenOrientation="portrait" set in the manifest to display in landscape mode, short of simulating a portrait display on a system level.

The apps I know just change the way the orientation is reported to the os, so you can rotate the display without actually rotating the device. And they won’t rotate such apps.

I’ve tried one app on my phone and the one portrait app I have was rotated so I assume it’s possible on PPM. Still trying to find a working app on PPM. If something works, then I guess it’s technically possible.

What application did you try?

This one worked on my phone but the control is in the notification area which PPM doesn’t have.

This one also worked on my phone and the control is via an app but it won’t open in PPM.

I just tried both on my phones (that unfortunately are all very similar so I don’t have a huge sample)
The first indeed rotates some applications, but on neither of my phones managed to rotate the ones I suspected it wouldn’t.
The second is curious. I can see it actually rotates the screen, but it appears to be doing so by displaying a rotated and scaled copy above the normal application that’s still showing in portrait (with additional ads everywhere). Not sure how it’s done, but it’s sluggy as hell, and manages to crash in seconds.

Yup. I just installed an app : youku to watch Chinese tv shows and it’s home screen defaulted to portrait mode. It’s such a hassle to navigate! Fortunately once I have chosen the show to watch, it automatically changed to landscape. I have to pre-select the show on my mobile in order to retrieve it at history in ppm app!

Have a look here…

Good news!
I think I found a working workaround.
This app works and so far worked well on 2 of the apps I use.

So with this, it’s technically possible for PPM to force landscape or even support portrait :slight_smile:
@Philips_Support_P What do you think? You can perhaps check what this app does. You can even add an option to use PPM in portrait mode although that might be too much work since you’ll need to support portrait on all Philips custom UI like the launcher :sweat_smile:
But anyway, I think this app is the key. A working workaround and a possible source for a permanent fix :smiley:

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Thanks for the heads-up, I’ll check it out!

Hi, did you use this app? I try, but I can’t find the way to activate the service. And, if I want to pay, I have to use the unreachable Google Store from the PPX.
How did you do?
Best regards.
Emmanuel

You don’t need to pay and it’s working with the free version. I can’t remember exactly but I think the permissions you need cannot be triggered within the app. You need to go to the android hidden menu and look for the special permissions and allow the app with it. There’s also an option in the app to enable the selected orientation at boot.

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I install Set Orientation (Aptoide) and it works like a charm.
I consider the problem is solved for me.

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Since I upgraded to 1.0.27, some of my personal Apps (Eurosport Player, Proximus Pickx, VOOmotion) stopped working properly. Either they don’t start anymore or they start in ‘Smartphone’ phone mode iso TV mode (the UX is turned in Portrait and not in Landscape) which makes them very very difficult to use…
Did someone experience the same and/or find a fix to this.?

Install and run ‘Set Orientation’. Set landscape and presto!

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Looks like this is an unintended effect of changing the scaling of the UI. Sadly, this will differ app by app so the best workaround for now is to use the orientation apps. Hopefully, Philips will find a way to force landscape by default.

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Yes, changing the dpi from 160 to 320 misleads apps into believing they’re running on a phone with a high-res display rather than a tablet or a TV. This is a problem within the apps. We’re looking into a workaround, but I don’t have a timeline for it yet.

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Have the same problem with “Magenta Sport” (German Sports App)

Try this:

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Hi @Guy, which version of Proximus Pickx are you running ? My PPM arrived yesterday, but when i launch Pickx found on Aptoide, i only get a black screen, which disappears after 15 seconds.