From Roku's line of budget devices to Apple's high-end Apple TV 4K, there's no shortage of options for adding streaming apps to your TV. Amazon's Fire TV devices find themselves leading the pack, with streaming options for as low as $29 for the Fire Stick Lite. From Amazon's Prime Video service to apps like Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube, Amazon makes it easy to stream almost anything you could want, while supporting your ecosystem of Amazon devices.
Of course, there's another reason to buy an Amazon Fire TV Stick, aside from price and features. Fire TV devices run Amazon's Fire operating system, which is derived from Android, making it easy to take advantage of the openness of the platform. Whether you're looking to add new content to your Fire TV Stick, or just want to make it easier to open the Fire OS to external sources, choosing to upgrade your device to a jailbroken Fire Stick can help you access more. of things you like on your TV.
Jailbreaking a Fire TV Stick is pretty easy, so let's dive into an explanation of what jailbreaking does, the legal status of jailbreaking, and of course, the step-by-step guide to jailbreaking your Fire TV Stick.
What is Jailbroken Fire TV Stick?
Let's start with the basics: the term "jailbroken," when applied to a Fire TV device, takes on a different meaning. For a decade, the term "jailbreak" has primarily applied to iOS devices, where jailbreaking unlocks Apple's walled garden operating system and allows the user to install third-party app stores, pirated content and modify the main files of the device. . Similarly, rooting Android also represents jailbreaking, albeit at a basic level. Both services usually require some technical know-how. Jailbreaking an iOS device almost always requires an older version of iOS, while rooting on Android is usually stopped at the carrier level, not by Google.
Although he calls it jailbreak, the term means something completely different when it comes to using the Fire TV Stick. Jailbreaking a Fire TV device doesn't require plugging the component into your PC, running lines of code, or even using software found on a random forum. Instead, people usually refer to jailbreaking a Fire TV device as the act of installing third-party apps not available on Amazon's Appstore in order to expand your content library, usually using piracy.
Most users turn to Kodi for their jailbreak software because Kodi is an open source platform that works well with the Amazon Fire TV remote. Although Kodi itself is not a hacking application, it allows thousands and thousands of add-ons to create instant movie streaming right in your device.
Is it legal to jailbreak my Fire TV Stick?
The process of jailbreaking your Fire TV Stick is like installing software on your device, so in that sense, jailbreaking your Fire TV Stick is completely legal. Even though jailbreaking iOS devices and rooting Android devices have sometimes come under legal scrutiny, both of these cases have also been found to have legal grounds in users changing the state of their devices. And of course, it's worth noting that, as we mentioned above, jailbreaking a Fire Stick is no different than installing Kodi on your computer.
Now, that said, it is of course important to remember that adding content to Kodi that pirates movies, TV shows, and other content is the part of jailbreaking your device that may be considered illegal. Although companies typically sue distributors of illegally hosted content online, there is always the possibility that your ISP may limit or terminate your internet usage due to illegal streaming. Using Kodi to stream hosted media online should be considered piracy by most users, and you'll need to make sure you understand the risks of streaming content online. Kodi itself is not an app designed for piracy, and the development team has spoken out against using the app for such media services.
As always, we do not encourage or condone any illegal behavior, including the illegal distribution of content online, and we should not be held responsible for any negative consequences resulting from the use of any services, applications or methods presented in this guide. . Refer to your country's position on copyright, as well as the terms of service for each Kodi add-on you use for more information.
How do I jailbreak my Fire TV stick?
To get jailbroken apps on your Fire TV Stick, you need to install Kodi first. For obvious reasons, Kodi is not listed in the Amazon Appstore as an app that you can easily download for regular use. Unlike Google, Amazon takes a more Apple-like approach with its App Marketplace, only allowing certain apps once they've been approved for use. Although you find Kodi readily available on the Google Play Store, it is nowhere to be found on Amazon's platform, having been removed in 2015 over piracy concerns.
But, as we've seen with most of Amazon's products, it's easy to use their Android base as a method against them. Since Android allows apps to be installed outside of the App Store, setting up Kodi on your Fire Stick doesn't take long. This method was tested on a current-gen Fire TV Stick 4K, running the latest version installed, although photos may show an older interface.
Allow your device to install sideloaded apps
- Start by opening your Fire TV screen by waking up your device and holding down the Home button on your Fire TV remote to open the quick actions menu. This menu contains a list of four different options for your Fire TV: your app list, sleep mode, mirroring, and settings. Select the settings menu to quickly load your list of preferences. Alternatively, you can head to your Fire TV's home screen and scroll right along the top list of your menu, selecting the Settings option.
- Press the down arrow on your remote to access your screen's settings menu. Fire OS has its settings menu laid out horizontally rather than vertically, so scroll through your settings menu from left to right until you find the options for My fire TV. (In older versions of Fire OS this is labeled as Device.) Press the center button on your remote to load device settings.
- Click on Developer options du Device settings; it is the second from the top, after Public chat.
Developer Options only has two settings on Fire OS: ADB debugging et Apps from unknown sources. ADB Debugging is used to enable ADB, or Android Debug Bridge, connections on your network. We won't need to use ADB for this (a tool included in the Android Studio SDK), so you can leave this setting alone for now.
Instead, scroll down to the setting under ADB and press the center button. This will allow your device to install apps from sources other than the Amazon Appstore, a necessary step if we are going to load Kodi on our device. A warning may appear informing you that downloading applications from external sources may be dangerous. Click on Okay when prompted and click the Home button on your remote to return to the Home screen.
Downloading Kodi to Your Device
With the ability to sideload apps to your device, we can finally download Kodi to your device. If you've ever used an Android device and had to sideload an app using an APK from a site like APKMirror or APKpure, you can probably see where this is heading. Yes, your Amazon Fire Stick can run a custom version of Android, with a custom app store and some limitations on what can and cannot be installed, but when the underlying operating system is still Android, we can take advantage of the ability to sideload apps and install Kodi on your device whether Amazon likes it or not.
Of course, to do that, we'll first need to add the ability to download apps to your Fire Stick. Amazon doesn't include a browser with your device, so you'll need to download a third-party app that lets you use URLs on your device like a normal phone or tablet. Although there is no specific browser app available for download in the App Store, there is an app that allows you to download content directly to your device.
Using the built-in search function or using Alexa on your Fire Stick remote, search Download, Downloader, or Navigator; all three will produce the exact same application we are looking for. This app is rightly called Downloader. The app has hundreds of thousands of users and is generally considered a great app for your device. Tap the download button on the Amazon Appstore listing for Downloader to add the app to your device. You won't need to keep the app on your Fire Stick after using it for this install process, so don't be afraid to uninstall the app if you'd rather not keep it.
After the app installation is complete, tap the Open button on the app list to open Downloader on your device. Click on the assorted pop-up messages and alerts detailing app updates until you reach the main screen. Downloader includes a bunch of utilities, all neatly described on the left side of the app, including a browser, file system, settings, and more. That said, the main aspect of the app that we need is the URL input field which takes up most of your display in the app.
Downloader will let you download content from a specific URL that you enter into the app, making it easy to get the APK straight to your device. Here you have two different options to download the Kodi APK: First, you can download Kodi using our shortcut link below, which will automatically download Kodi 18.9 Leia.
Alternatively, you can head to the Kodi Downloads site here, click on the Android option, right click ARMV7A (32-BIT) and copy and paste this link into the link shortener of your choice; we recommend bit.ly, for its custom link options that make it easy to create something that can be entered into your device. Without a link shortener, you'll have to enter a long URL using only your remote, so we recommend using one of these two options above.
Our new custom URL for Kodi 18.9 Leia is: https://bit.ly/tjkodi189
Entering this URL or creating one of your own from the downloads site linked above will ensure that your device can automatically start downloading Kodi directly through your downloads app. Click it Next button after entering the link in your device. Your Fire Stick will confirm the link you wish to download from; hurry Select to confirm the download option on your device and your download will start immediately from this URL.
Most Kodi APK files are around 80 or 90 MB, so expect the download to take 10-20 seconds in total, depending on your internet connection speed. Once the APK has finished downloading, it should automatically open on your device. If you get a prompt to open the Kodi installer, press Okay.
Installing Kodi on your device
With the APK now downloaded to your device, all you have to do is install Kodi directly on your device. When the Kodi installation screen appears on your screen, you will be greeted by a screen that notifies you of the information Kodi can access. For anyone who has installed APKs on Android devices…
