How To Use A Mouse And Keyboard On Stadia (Google Chromecast with Google TV)

by Long-Cap6202

How To Use A Mouse And Keyboard On Stadia (Google Chromecast with Google TV) S905X3 SoC - Not without it's flaws, any help appreciated.

Keyboard Working In Stadia, Chromecast with Google TV ESO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FluGDHGcUs

Essentially giving yourself the power of a super computer with wonderful graphics, for about $100, plus an extra $60 for the android tv bluetooth board, logitech k600 which is optional, you can use a regular usb keyboard or wireless. I like the andro board for debugging purposes.

Everything you need can be bought from most any major retailer, such as, Walmart, Target, Best Buy.. Keep in mind if you want to purchase these items same day in such establishments, you pay a "Convenience Fee", so if you are patient, you can order online and save yourself cash.

I went through some Boss Level Nerd videos (in a good way) to find this method and I'm going to share it for free to you! No sponsored links, but if you want to support the Bosses I am piggy backing off of, their links will be below and saved on a txt document for anyone interested to DL.

Through Trial and Error I was able to deduce a few things that were not pointed out in the original referenced videos, that may help those reluctant to try this.

And I Mean Trial and Error, I bricked my first CC by literally deleting the bootloader on accident lol and I soft bricked my latest copy by downloading a file too big for the CC.. It only has 4gb stock mem and that doesnt take into account the system's file size... anyway. A Factory Reset was able to remedy this.

Parts Needed to Use Keyboard on Stadia Chromecast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eu3qP-R4Yo

So the main component of this setup is what is called a "USB-C 8-IN-1 Hub", the second most important part is to have the chromecast with Google Tv (the one with a remote) as currently the chromecast ultra that came to stadia founders is not compatible with this method. (i suspect this is a firmware issue... i will investigate further another day)

The final most Important part is to get a proper USB C Power Adapter and an extra USBC cable if you need one. You need 35 watts or higher for your power adapter if you want to be able to run high end peripherals, like a razer mouse and keyboard, and or web cams, etc. I tried to boot this setup with a regular usbc adapter, it worked with a bare bones keyboard / mouse, but not with my higher end razer peripherals.

How to build the rig:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mx_TeM4Z5w

Plug your google chromecast into the tv, attach the usb-c end (which is the display adapter) of the "USB-C 8-IN-1 Hub" into the Chromecast.

Now plug a USBC cable into the "POWER"USB-C Port of the "USB-C 8-IN-1 Hub" an at the end of that USBC cable, attach your 35 watt or greater power adapter and plug it into the wall.

Next setup chromecast, I'm not going over that here, there's plenty of guides on this..

You will also need a browser on your Chromecast, I am using chrome, it is unstable, and should be used only for debugging purposes or with the presence of mind that you will have to reinstall it through file explorer upon each use until I build upon it further.

I chose to side load chrome bc i know nothing about the browsing apps natively on the CC and am skeptical, I have too much I want to share with y'all to research them.

DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS BUILD OF CHROME IF YOU DONT HAVE A MOUSE

Chrome, Latest Stable Build:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VHG0cLkiElTZqZXnaDNkZQ1egVznnn6p/view?usp=sharing

You can use the tv app browsers, you do not need to use chrome. Use at your own discretion.

Go to stadia.google.com

Connect your controller, it can be any controller

Load up your game, in this case ESO, and now the keyboard works to type, there are still problems but I'm working through them. Perhaps someone can build upon this faster than me and find the solution?

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That's it, nothing else to it.

Viva La Stadia!! xD

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All my videos on one playlist for your leisure:

How To Use Keyboard On Stadia Chromecast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eu3qP-R4Yo&list=PLErzGEIjyUlzkkdf-48GaEjV5oB34O9T3

Theorycrafting "The Stadia Box" Fair warning, there is cursing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0vXg0H46Nk&list=PLErzGEIjyUlyK17F2JZ3ZKjo-7WcK2xKG

All my refs, i.e., all the videos and links I read to get this far

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rgCdVvkMh8v9st2FYMoB08J7qYs9QpzY/view?usp=sharing

Where I'm at now...

I need to root either my CC or my Shield. I have one final idea for a MitM attack on the CC, as I feel like looking at the bootloader is the wrong path. We still have a working browser and are able to side load apps to the CC. Lets work with that.

Any help to make the keybindings work right would be appreciated esp if it could be done without Root.

Peace and Love,

Jen

Ok_Result_7089

Awesome work!

Long-Cap6202

Guys I read some more articles and it seems mobile is having the same issue, so I theorize that it would be far simpler to trouble shoot this on an emulator. Will update if I make any break throughs

Railtruth

Thank you for posting this information.

Few-Signature7131

If we can find out why the stock gtv GAPPS is remapping the keyboard keys to such terrible places, it would be possible to avoid using a USB hub entirely, and just purchasing Bluetooth equipment -Jen. Idk why it keeps putting me on different Reddit accounts. I only use Reddit to read and share o.o

bloodyhippo

Pardon me for being ignorant, but is the CCwGTV really worth it? I mean, cheaper by half USB sticks have multi device Bluetooth that you can pair a mouse + keyboard to (I use one). Plus, Bluetooth headphones - watch TV with headphones on without waking anyone else up.

What's the selling point of this device?

Few-Signature7131

https://imgur.com/a/m6YF7UU

Finally. Got the dang Nvidia shield tv pro rooted, the 2021 version. I bricked the hell out of it and developed some decent tools in the process, I'll release those soon.

I had to install lineage os since I couldn't get any dev os images to work for me. Now I have to rebuild Gapps and see if it recreate the same issue with the mouse and controller.

If it does I can slowly take pieces out of Gapps until we find the bad map or I can try to side load some rooted keymaps. Gonna try with Gapps first

Long-Cap6202

For anyone who is chasing the Keyboard and Mouse fix for Stadia, I'm another step closer https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/root-nvidia-shield-tv-pro-2021-custom-rom-jrom.4369707/ I would recommend the nvidia shield, it is SUPERIOR TO CHROMECAST IN EVERY WAY. You can use your keyboard and controller at the same time, mouse is not working yet. I have a theory about installing ubuntu touch and chrome, without gapps! I will test when I can