raspbmc internet browser- a simple guide to aurora browser on the raspbmc

Internet browsing with raspbmc media center 

raspbmc internet browser

Finally there is a web browser in Raspbmc which is accessible from the menu. November update of raspbmc has a new web browser in addition to the xbmc. This is useful for those who want to quickly browse some webpages on a big screen, without turning an other computer on. This browser called aurora seems to be an experimental version. You should keep in mind that, many of the browser plugins like flash are not available. So if your aim is to watch streaming videos, you need not have to use this. Get corresponding video plugins from the xbmc repository, which will solve the problem in a more elegant way. If you want to remove the browser and its component, see my other post here.

This browser is almost like a different operating system installation. So when you need to run the browser, the raspberry pi reboots to the browser kernel and vice versa. So often people faces issues like reboot loops with raspbmc web browser and this can be solved by modifying the config.txt as described here.

To launch the web browser, choose the Raspbmc settings menu and there will be a launcher. you can also see it in programs menu. When you launch for the first time you need to wait for the download. Once installed the pi reboots to load the browser. to exit, choose file-exit as it replaces the config file back, so that the pi boots back to its original kernel for xbmc.

Before jumping to use this new browser, please keep in mind that, this browser is supported in wired network! so if you use WiFi, you are out of luck. You are out of luck if you assign a fixed IP address to the pi! So you need to use a dynamic ip address with DHCP and keep the Ethernet cable plugged. This is a first attempt and the effort by the developers needs to be appreciated. So don't complain! If you like to try, just try it. If you want to remove it, it can always be removed.

So if you get trouble in connecting to the internet with aurora web browser on raspbmc, make sure

1. Enable dhcp for the raspberry pi (if you have fixed the ip adress on router)
2. Use Ethernet cable to connect the Pi to internet (not wifi)
3. Go to programs menu and launch the browser and wait for the raspbmc to reboot 

If you want to get rid of the browser, here is my post on Remove Raspbmc web browser- getting rid of Arora Web Browser and removing it from Program shortcuts in raspbmc


Here is a nice YouTube video from Michael Rieger describing the usage of the browser: