Just received my amazon fire tv in canada and having issues with it right out of the box. Trying to connect to my wifi at home and it doesnt want to connect. I have 2 fire tv's and they both do the same thing - unable to connect to network. I knew that I'd ave to use a vpn to be able to use hulu plus etc as they are geo blocked content but id thought that id be able to at least side load xbmc and use my canadian netflix account. Are amazon fire tv's, the units themselves somehow geoblocked? Any insight would be greatly appreciated
Many thanks in advance to those that reply
Did you put in your Amazon account yet? FTV needs to connect thru your Amazon account & the country in account should be US (Google on how to do it if you havn't done this yet).
Is it just the Wi-Fi, did you try Ethernet connection?
I don't think there's any geoblocking in the device itself (till the time your Amazon account is set to US) as I am using mine in Canada w/o any issues.
Related
Hi!
I want to know if the Amazon Fire TV works outside US without VPN.
Can I buy an US Amazon Fire TV to use Netflix in Belgium (because now it's available)?
Can I add some application from Google Play?
Of course, for using Google Play I will root the device.
Thanks !
Belegkarnil said:
Hi!
I want to know if the Amazon Fire TV works outside US without VPN.
Can I buy an US Amazon Fire TV to use Netflix in Belgium (because now it's available)?
Can I add some application from Google Play?
Of course, for using Google Play I will root the device.
Thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in the Netherlands. Yes, you can use the FTV outside the US. Except that all the &*#&@*&# Amazon services
like Prime etc. don't work unless your IP is in either Germany, US or UK. Same thing for e.g. Hulu+. I didn't try VPN
yet. On my Fritzbox DSL modem it's a bit of a pain to configure VPN.
AFAIK, Netflix works ok. I tried one movie I think when I got the FTV last week. I'm mostly using my AppleTV for
Netflix, because I find the interface much easier to navigate. On the FTV, Netflix is using the same interface as e.g.
on SmartTV (e.g. Philips) or the PS3/PS4.
Firmware updates also arrive from Amazon. This week I got the latest and now I can't root the FTV. That was not
so much of a deal, because my main purpose was a good (cheap) Android/ARM based box to use XBMC/Kodi.
I think via eBay I paid ~80 euros for it.
In XBMC, 1080p MKVs with DD+/TrueHD/DTS work provided you use Kodi 14.0 (still in alpha). Bitstreaming to an
external receiver is ok. You can easily sideload XBMC via adb.
You're limited to the Amazon appstore. I think it's possible to download a apk from Google Play, then sideload it. Only issue
is that it (probably) won't show up in the launcher/homescreen of the FTV, so you have to start the app via the settings
menu.
I got Amazon prime to work just using a smart DNS provider (didn't change my IP). it was a while ago so can't remember exactly how I did it. I have a valid US account/credit card and address. Think I had to enable 1-click to buy an episode or even to watch the trailers/free episodes.
Yes, Fire TV, the device itself, works outside of the US; but many of the streaming services will not (Hulu plus, Pandora, Beats Music ...) because of the complicated copyright laws. If all you want is to watch Netflix in Belgium, Fire TV purchased from US will work for you with no problem. If later you decide to go through the hassle of rooting your Fire TV, you may consider installing the VPN on it as well. That way, you will have access to more apps and services such as: Spotify, A&E etc.
Belegkarnil said:
Hi!
I want to know if the Amazon Fire TV works outside US without VPN.
Can I buy an US Amazon Fire TV to use Netflix in Belgium (because now it's available)?
Can I add some application from Google Play?
Of course, for using Google Play I will root the device.
Thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you all !
Not only Netflix but for the Amazon application yes. I plan to install some applications on Google Play to watch local channels.
Works well down under
Works very well, as mentioned.
Can side load apps.
Easy to set up a DNS to view the world as you may require.
Cheers
First things first, I live in Canada. I did get the Roku, but a lot of the apps don't work. I would like to use the apps that are locked to the US region so I was gonna use services like Unblock-Us, but it turns out I am using an incompatible router and unable to do that. So, I though, "Oh, why don't I get the Amazon Fire TV, I mean, its android." I can root it, install a VPN service, and use all the US restricted services. Would it be worth it? I mean I was thinking of using Hotspot Shield, if it works on Amazon Fire TV (I don't really want to spend money on a vpn). Theirs also the problem of the main focus being amazon prime, which I wont be using, the terrible keyboard, and the fact I have to cross the border to get it. Anyway, would it be worth it?
P.S. Would a USB 4-port extender work on the Fire TV?
Quick answer is yes! you should buy it!
I'm in Ireland and all I use a Smart DNS provider All I have to do is change DNS. No messing around with VPNs or routers. HBO, Showtime, Amazon Price, NBCSports, etc all working fine.
I got one of those 4-port USB extenders and it works.
Mine is made by Targus.
I live in Canada and using unblock.us I have been able to use the Fire TV to its full capabilities. The only issues as of now being A&E, and History and a couple other native Fire TV apps won't load and just crash to the desktop. Other than that all apps I have downloaded and sideloaded work great, including XBMC of course. I have the DNS settings set up through my router (netgear) and then it works with all devices. If you can replace the router that would be the easiest as they are relatively inexpensive. I have had Boxee's, Roku's, and Apple TV's and find the Fire TV to far superior to all of them.
DaltonHeintz said:
First things first, I live in Canada. I did get the Roku, but a lot of the apps don't work. I would like to use the apps that are locked to the US region so I was gonna use services like Unblock-Us, but it turns out I am using an incompatible router and unable to do that. So, I though, "Oh, why don't I get the Amazon Fire TV, I mean, its android." I can root it, install a VPN service, and use all the US restricted services. Would it be worth it? I mean I was thinking of using Hotspot Shield, if it works on Amazon Fire TV (I don't really want to spend money on a vpn). Theirs also the problem of the main focus being amazon prime, which I wont be using, the terrible keyboard, and the fact I have to cross the border to get it. Anyway, would it be worth it?
P.S. Would a USB 4-port extender work on the Fire TV?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a WD Live Plus and then a Ouya....now got the AFTV...huge difference. Of all 3, this is by far the most responsive and with a few exceptions, easy to set up.
Ultimately you don't necessarily need root (save for USB attached drive usage) - so at the very least Netflix + XBMC should cover all your needs.
I will say that I was able to run OpenVPN client on Ouya and I cannot do that on AFTV - but Hola works fine, or the router OpenVPN client tweaked to tunnel only AFTV traffic.
in your case it seems that Hola would be the easy way out...the beauty is that it works per app.
Really? That's great! I guess I'm crossing the border for it
Just do it
Yes get one they just work.
Cheers
Hi,
I'm outside the UK. Using a smart VPN service, will apps like iPlayer, all4 etc show up or are Amazon too clever for that? Does anyone have any experience using the fire stick outside UK/US. Set up should be nor problem, I'm fairly technical.
Background: I already have a smart VPN service and have an new Android TV (Sony). The issue is that on the TV, apps like BBC iplayer don't show up - I have sideloaded the normal one but have to use a mouse.
Many thanks
:good: :fingers-crossed:
If you have an amazon account set to the region you want the apps from you'll be fine, I recently purchased a fire tv, for us over here in Korea and I used my UK account to download the UK apps I wanted, such as iPlayer, ITV Hub etc and then online I switched my UK account to US region setting, pretty easy to do, you don't need a VPN to download the apps, only when using them to watch content on. Hope this helps.
jupinkorea said:
If you have an amazon account set to the region you want the apps from you'll be fine, I recently purchased a fire tv, for us over here in Korea and I used my UK account to download the UK apps I wanted, such as iPlayer, ITV Hub etc and then online I switched my UK account to US region setting, pretty easy to do, you don't need a VPN to download the apps, only when using them to watch content on. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much! Gives me some hope. Currently using a Sony Android TV and I have no iPlayer etc working ..
The only way I got vpn working with kodi was to use vpn on my phone, have kodi on my phone, then mirracast it to your aftv then watch which ever addon from which ever region you like. I also tried putting a vpn on my fire stick but it just crashed everytime I loaded it, but it wasn't rooted. Will try again Once my aftv 2 it's rooted!
(Update)
No still no VPN even though I now have root, never mind
Hi folks not sure if this has been discussed or where I should put this, long story short I am trying to use the Nickalodeon apk on
my Amazon Fire TV as we canceled it from Comcast, but they have not notified Nick so via my phone or online we can still access it.
However, when I installed the apk on the Fire TV and go through the approval process via my phone, Comcast/Xfinity does not show
up as a provider since I guess, they know we are installing it on an Amazon device. So has anyone discuss this for other apps
where Comcast will not allow you to verify your account and is there any work around?
Thanks
Mike
Some countries like mine, Mexico, Just received Amazon Prime Video service a couple months back and with it they started selling what they called Fire TV basic, which is no other than a rebranded Fire stick V1, as far as i know. The problem is that it seems their Prime video on those countries, Mexico in my case but i believe is the same in any other country as far as i have read in the forums, doesnt work with any other Fire TV device but the basic they sell. I have a fire TV stick V1 and one V2 and I configure them on my Mexican Amazon Prime Video but every time I tried to start a video I get an error that this video is not configured to run in my country. I can see and play the video using their android app and a laptop.
I contacted my country amazon services and they told me that only the basic edition will run their service and that no other fire TV service will be able to do this. So they tell me to buy it instead than helping me with the devices I already have. The device they sell cost around 70 dlls even when is a simple Fire Stick that includes the old remote, not even the one with voice. I really find this weird they should care what device I use to see a service I am paying from but I guess they only cares about to make money.
I dont know if there will be any way to bypass whatever they are doing?
I had the same problem here in Brazil. My brother-in-law, who lives in the US, gifted me his old Fire Stick v1 when he came to visit us last month. As an Amazon Prime Video subscriber a I logged with my brazilian Amazon account. The device was added to my account without any problems. But when I turn it on, it still shows the US Prime Video on the main menu and I can't watch any movies or shows, even the ones that are available in Brazil.
Contacted the customer service and the guy (who was very nice and attentive) told me that the firmware on the brazilian Fire Stick (that is sold here too as Basic Edition ) is slightly different from the US device and this is why I can't use brazilian Prime Video with a US Fire Stick.
I find it amusing that Amazon makes it so hard to watch Prime Video, going to an opposite way they do with the Kindle device and service. Is easier to watch Netflix on the Amazon device, as I still can install apps and do everything else, than to watch Amazon's own service.
Because of this ability to install apps, I found a workaround using the native browser to access the Prime video web app. It's not the ideal solution and it's still annoying to see US content and ads on the main screen.
Iv no idea if this will work but you can try using a vpn but only the firestick v2 supports vpn apps - they will not work on the v1
TheFixItMan said:
Iv no idea if this will work but you can try using a vpn but only the firestick v2 supports vpn apps - they will not work on the v1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but it is not a problem a VPN can fix. We want to actually access our local Amazon Prime library so no need for the VPN. I can access the USA library with my USA prime account, which I pay as well, for this the VPN works perfectly. Some how Amazon is blocking any other fire tv version but the basic they sell locally at an exorbitant price. You can access the local library using a browser, an android device, xbox or psp, but not an American fire tv, thats crazy.