So I bought myself a fire TV and naturally it turned up with 51.1.4.0 pre-installed, so I wanted to at least block updates, but I'm using dd-wrt on my router which creates lots of fun when trying to do that, it was easier to just block all internet access to the device. I figured this would block all of their tracking and auto login stuff too.
My thinking was that I only wanted to use it for kodi/xbmc anyway, it mostly plays local files, but I could set up my file server to act as a proxy as well, put those settings into kodi so that only it can access the internet.
What was of no surprise is that it didn't work, I could get other computers to talk easily through the proxy but kodi on the fire TV didn't want to know.
However at some point, without changing any settings kodi started talking through the proxy, I installed youtube etc. etc. But then I figured out the delay.
The fire TV was actually blocking kodi from having a separate proxy, had seen the proxy settings, including password, and was now happily connecting itself to the internet through the proxy, the light even went white and everything.
Tin foil hat time, I assume their software is monitoring everything else kodi is doing as well?
Has anyone else find this kind of behaviour with their fire TV?
I don't know the answer to your question but the easiest and probably best way to do this is thru a free account on opendns.com.
I blocked updates through DNSMasq in the end, for anyone else having trouble with dd-wrt the settings that took me a while to find and sort it out was under DHCP settings.
Setup - Basic Setup - Network Setup, and under Network Address Server Settings you want to make sure the Use DNSMasq options are selected, then the Additional DNSMasq Options will work.
Of course, fireTV can still look for proxy settings to get around it apparently, even though I'm pretty sure they don't let you set the options yourself?
Related
so I got a Linksys EA3500 wireless router to upgrade my home network. i am not currently unable to access the Facebook app or even log into Gmail or any other of my Google account related products. I called Amazon, they sent me a 2nd Kindle Fire and same behavior. I am now thinking it's a router issue but really have no idea where to start. The device has an active internet connection, ESPN, Amazon, Craigslist and other websites work just fine. I can download apps from the store and they all get the internet access they need.
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
For some reason your router is set to block certain connections by default. Logon to your router and start digging through the settings its probably your best bet to find a fix..
IMHO, a factory reset of your router is in order...
You could very well be right tedr but its new so might not quite do it
Hi
I seem to have hit a bit of bad luck.
I have ATT Uverse with their 3800HGV-B Gateway, and a Netgear WNDR4300 behind it. As Uverse gateway wouldn't block the amzdigitaldownloads.edgesuite.net, softwareupdates.amazon.com domains, I "blocked" them on the Netgear router, and AFTV is connected via Ethernet to the Netgear box.
I ordered AFTV from Staples and was lucky to get a rootable version (v620), the above blocking was not effective and v820 got downloaded but didn't autoinstall. I went ahead and Rooted it using AFTV Utility, and made a mistake!! of not disabling OTA updates on AFTV. I was make a mistake and clicked in the OTA menu and lost all root
I tried another AFTV box, and this installed OTA and went straight to v520. I have used AFTV Utlity to block further updates hoping it might be easier to get Root on this version than v820.
My "blocking" on Netgear router is clearly not working.
I MAY give this another try w/ a new AFTV order but need to know how to block the sites using Uverse Router. I would really like to get a Rootable AFTV, as I want to have XBMC assessable via the home page, pair my Wii Remotes, etc.
Is there anyway to determine the stock FW version based on AFTV DSN Number.
Any guidance would be most appreciated.
I really want the Root
Umm, ~200 views and no replies. I hope soem guru chimes in
First off, you should ask questions in the q&a forum. You get better results. But hold on, let me find my spoon...I don't use a netgear router so I can't tell u exactly what to do but you can probably Google it. On the router, you would need to look for parental controls or firewall areas. Use key word blocking or url blocking and block the required sites. They are listed around this forum somewhere. Then before you even power up your firetv, use your computer and try and download the software updates from Amazon. If you have your router set up correctly it should give you an error and not let you get them.
Edit: quick Google search turned up this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2760884
Thanks for taking the time to post a reply. The issue I have is wrt the interaction of UVerse Gateway and the 2nd Netgear Router behind it. As DNS is still handled by Uverse, (I think) Netgear router is not able to block it. I have that part configured. I will try and block the additional URL in the thread. Thanks again.
Legolas2 said:
Thanks for taking the time to post a reply. The issue I have is wrt the interaction of UVerse Gateway and the 2nd Netgear Router behind it. As DNS is still handled by Uverse, (I think) Netgear router is not able to block it. I have that part configured. I will try and block the additional URL in the thread. Thanks again.
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I don't use UVerse but I have a similar setup with a router behind a gateway. Can't you disable DNS on the gateway and configure the router to handle DNS?
I can't offer specifics on UVerse as I don't use it but on mine I just turn off DNS on the gateway and let my router handle it.
The easy way to do it is to open a free account on opendns.com and block from there. After root, follow this guide: http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-block-ota-update-for-amazon-fire-tv-and-keep-root-access/
Do you have DD-WRT installed on your Netgear? If so, I have the same setup (except I have a Time Warner cable in place of Uverse). Using the the DNSMasq on my Netgear does prevent DNS lookups. I can confirm that with my setup. The Netgear does not need to pass through the DNS look-up further upstream if you properly set up your Masq options in DD-WRT. I have used 2 routers with DD-WRT setup and both have worked as intended.
The reason I can say that it works is that my updates were blocked, but more importantly, any pings to the the blocked addresses from my laptop (hooked to the same Netgear router) results in the bogus IP I put (127.0.0.1). One thing you want to make sure to test your setup is to make sure that you ping it on a computer and make sure that you don't have any static DNS entries for your network adapter on your machine that you are testing with.
If you have DD-WRT installed or plan to install it, please update the thread and I can post some pictures of my setup.
jmerrilljr2 said:
The easy way to do it is to open a free account on opendns.com and block from there. After root, follow this guide: http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-block-ota-update-for-amazon-fire-tv-and-keep-root-access/
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Bingo. I had to do this when my router blocks were not working. Before I even plugged in my FTV, I tested the update web addresses in my browser. If I hadn't of done that, then I would've thought that my router block was working and lost root as soon as I plugged it in. Instead, I saw that my router blocks were eff'd, and signed up for OpenDNS. Confirmed the blocks in my browser...THEN, I plugged in the FTV for the first time.
Anytime you only get one shot at something, you really want to make sure that you get it right and don't miss.
Now that Staples has AFTV down to $84, I will try my luck again and use OpenDNS setup. Hopefully I can get a "rootable" FW version out of the box.
BTW, Uverse Gateway sucks
Legolas2 said:
Now that Staples has AFTV down to $84, I will try my luck again and use OpenDNS setup. Hopefully I can get a "rootable" FW version out of the box.
BTW, Uverse Gateway sucks
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I took a look at a pdf of your 3800HGV-B Gateway modem and it apparently does bridge mode.
Bridge mode will make it act like a modem only, and let your router take care of DNS & all the other settings. It's how I have my home set up (I have comcast though, different hardware), as in my experience the modem/routers you get from your ISP usually sucks.
Might want to take a look into that.
nyder said:
I took a look at a pdf of your 3800HGV-B Gateway modem and it apparently does bridge mode.
Bridge mode will make it act like a modem only, and let your router take care of DNS & all the other settings. It's how I have my home set up (I have comcast though, different hardware), as in my experience the modem/routers you get from your ISP usually sucks.
Might want to take a look into that.
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Thanks Nyder. I managed to get 3800HGV into bridge mode and was able to block the Amazon sites from my computer. Will get to installing the new Fire TV (hopefully, it is rootable).
I wish AT&T had made this easy, it was PITA to get it working, w/ multiple factory resets needed to get it done right.
Folks can someone help, im trying in use dns so i can watch a geo restricted service i subscribe to , i have this setup fine in all my other devices but wont work on FTV, i input all the details correctly, only thing i see wrong is when i look on about network settings it only shows DNS1 and not DNS3 i have tried constantly & on a few different ftvs but all the same, any ideas?
i meant does not show DNS2
folks surely some1 has an idea
ok clutching at straws here, but has anyone managed to setup dns on ftv, i have fully rooted device with latest firmware
The only thing I can think of is if you have Google Play Store installed to try to install an app that will allow you to change your DNS settings. I'm not sure if this will work as I haven't tried it myself but its something to try anyways. You could also sideload the settings .apk and try to set it up from there. Not sure if that will work either as selecting some items in the settings will crash the FTV back to the home menu. Hopefully you can get something to work. Best of luck.
Hi, yes you can do it very easily. You don't need route, settings.apk etc. Google Unotelly and Fire TV. Instructions will be the same for any DNS service.
Get US only services on FireTV.
paul.savo said:
Folks can someone help, im trying in use dns so i can watch a geo restricted service i subscribe to , i have this setup fine in all my other devices but wont work on FTV, i input all the details correctly, only thing i see wrong is when i look on about network settings it only shows DNS1 and not DNS3 i have tried constantly & on a few different ftvs but all the same, any ideas?
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Hi
I had the same problem. I had a US address and US credit card, an UnoTelly account, had set up the UnoTelly DNS on the FireTV and could stream Amazon and Netflix on the PC fine but the FireTV wouldn't let me open and use Netflix.
The solution is to change the country/region settings in your Amazon account. So go to Amazon in your browser on your PC, log in to your Amazon account, then click Your Account --> Digital Content --> Manage Your Content and Devices --> Settings --> Country Settings and then change your country to the United States.
After that it will work like a breeze.
I am using a smart DNS service (such as unblock-us / unlocator) on my Amazon Fire TV as well as on a Fire TV Stick, in order to watch shows in my home country language, as I am currently living in Germany.
The DNS setup was done directly on the Fire TV Box, not in my router due to limitations from my internet provider. When I started with the DNS service, everything worked like charme from the start. But yesterday evening my Fire TV got the update by Amazon onto OS version 5.0.5 (before it had an OS version called 51.1.6.3.) From this moment on, the DNS service stopped working on the Fire TV.
Everything is still set up correctly, but I just get the German content, no matter what region I have set in my DNS Service account. No error message though. I tried to restart the device, deleted and re-added the network with the DNS settings and restarted again, restarted the router, but nothing helped. I haven't done anything different than before. So I am quite sure, it has to do with the OS update by Amazon. The Fire TV Stick in the other room still has the former OS version (54.1.2.3.). There, everything still runs smooth as it used to be as well on the Fire TV box.
Is anyone here facing the same issues with the new Fire TV OS 5.0.5? Does anyone know how to solve this or what I can do different, to make it work again?
Thanks in advance for your help.
same !!!
I have same prob since update today.. I was using overp*ay
Any luck getting it sorted thx
One way around is to get your internet provider to bridge their modem (if it is build into router) and buy a good router you can set-up using a custom DNS/VPN
I talked to the u*locator support today (Smart DNS Service I use). They say it's because of IPv6 that seems to break their service. Under settings → system → about → network, the DNS is not in IPv4 but IPv6 format. Apparently Android 5.1 (Fire OS 5.0.5) and my cable provider plus the Fritz!Box Router I am forced to use by them don't go well together in this combination. Former OS version was based on Android 4.2.2. - no problems. I found several reported issues in other contexts (smartphone wifi, smartphone push notifications, etc.) with the keywords IPv6 in combination of Android Lollipop, my ISP and the router I gotta use. So it seems I am unlucky with this combination.
So does anyone have a hint, what workaround options I have?
- downgrade to the former OS? How can that be done?
- would rooting and disable IPv6 on the Fire TV be a possibility?
- (bridging the modem as bula1ca said is unfortunately no option with my ISP)
I heard wired connections on the firetv box doesnt have this problem but im curious to know the fix because I have a fire tv stick
So I got a solution! Inspired by bula1ca's post, I am additionally using an old TP-Link Router now (TL-WR841ND), which doesn't support IPv6. No rocket science. I just connected the WAN Port of that Router with a free LAN port of my original Fritz!Box, set up a wireless network on that old router and changed DNS to my smart DNS service in DHCP settings. So now I have an additional wireless network that I only use with the Fire TV and my Fire TV Stick. Result: The Fire TV doesn't get a IPv6 DNS anymore, but only Ipv4. Works like a charme.
Whizzkid78 said:
So I got a solution! Inspired by bula1ca's post, I am additionally using an old TP-Link Router now (TL-WR841ND), which doesn't support IPv6. No rocket science. I just connected the WAN Port of that Router with a free LAN port of my original Fritz!Box, set up a wireless network on that old router and changed DNS to my smart DNS service in DHCP settings. So now I have an additional wireless network that I only use with the Fire TV and my Fire TV Stick. Result: The Fire TV doesn't get a IPv6 DNS anymore, but only Ipv4. Works like a charme.
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Happy that worked for you however some modems need to be "bridged" before you can use your own router.
My router is a Fritzbox and I'm using it in bridge mode. I have simply disabled ipv6 support for the home network:
-DNSv6-Server in Home Network - DNSv6-Server through Router Advertisement (RFC 5006) - off
-DHCPv6-Server in Home network - deactivate
SmartDns is working again even over a Wlan connection. Other router brands might also have this possibility
I'm facing the same problem with IPv6/IPv4.
How do you connect WAN with LAN ports etc., and what else needs to be done how so that the FireTV can eventually work with an IPv4 address?
will2go said:
I'm facing the same problem with IPv6/IPv4.
How do you connect WAN with LAN ports etc., and what else needs to be done how so that the FireTV can eventually work with an IPv4 address?
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See my answer above. You have to find a way to disable IPV6 DNS in your home network.
-You might be able to do it in your router settings
-if your router doesn't allow switching it off attach another hardware (router) to your WAN cable modem's port where it is possible to do so/or the router is an old pre-ipv6 model where it is off anyway.
Just connecting the firetv to a lan port won't help unless you have a special router setup
uzi74 said:
See my answer above. You have to find a way to disable IPV6 DNS in your home network.
-You might be able to do it in your router settings
-if your router doesn't allow switching it off attach another hardware (router) to your WAN cable modem's port where it is possible to do so/or the router is an old pre-ipv6 model where it is off anyway.
Just connecting the firetv to a lan port won't help unless you have a special router setup
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I can't disable IPv6 since my ISP is just providing IPv6 addresses. If I disable that within my router, there's no internet connection.
How do I setup another router via WAN? That may actually work. Do you happen to have a step-by-step guide how to do that?
Thanks.
will2go said:
I can't disable IPv6 since my ISP is just providing IPv6 addresses. If I disable that within my router, there's no internet connection.
How do I setup another router via WAN? That may actually work. Do you happen to have a step-by-step guide how to do that?
Thanks.
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You don't have to disable IPV6 completely, just for your home network (if your router supports it). - in case you get a dual stack IPV6 (you get an IPV4 and IPV6 address assigned the same time)
How to do it exactly, how to use a different router and what is possible for you, you would better ask in forums of your internet provider. (I had to request my internet provider to switch the router/cable moden they gave me to bridge modus, than I was able to hook up a different router on the LAN1 port of my cable modem - I needed it before for different purposes)
Your options are very much dependent on your internet provider and hardware you own, but basicly your goal is the have IPV4-only DNS on your home network
Not an option, sorry.
My router won't allow full disabling of IPV6 unfortunately.
I have just heard from unblockr.net a SmartDNS provider, and they suggest that it would potentially help to disable this.
My traffic is definitely being routed via their servers as I can connect to the DNS servers fine, but it won't unblock geoblocked content for a certain country I'm aiming for which is a shame.
johnsmithtetley said:
My router won't allow full disabling of IPV6 unfortunately.
I have just heard from unblockr.net a SmartDNS provider, and they suggest that it would potentially help to disable this.
My traffic is definitely being routed via their servers as I can connect to the DNS servers fine, but it won't unblock geoblocked content for a certain country I'm aiming for which is a shame.
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What kind of router do you have that can't handle this simple setting?
So I have recently decided to cut the cord on cable and go with an online streaming service for my family. I went ahead and bought a number for FTV Gen 2 to act as our new streaming devices/Cable box. I would like to install Kodi on the boxes as well, but my issues start when I am looking to run a VPN. I have made it as far as learning what OpenVPN is and installing inside of kodi, and I am willing to purchase a monthly VPN like IPVanish, But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how I would make it so the VPN launches and connects as soon as kodi launches. I would rather not have the VPN on all the time when using playstation vue, and I hear a vpn can really mess with netflix. You might ask why I can't just take the extra steps to turn on and off the vpn within the fire tv, but I have a three year old who might utalize kodi and a wife who just would not fully understand ( wouldnt want to understand) how to make it work correctly everytime she wants to use kodi. Sorry if this is long winded.
tldr; Need a way to launch ipvanish when kodi launches for ease of access.
Why not use PIA? Install the app set it to start on boot and select per app settings select Kodi and your done. Don't expect lightning fast speeds running a VPN on firetv tho.
Spettro1337 said:
So I have recently decided to cut the cord on cable and go with an online streaming service for my family. I went ahead and bought a number for FTV Gen 2 to act as our new streaming devices/Cable box. I would like to install Kodi on the boxes as well, but my issues start when I am looking to run a VPN. I have made it as far as learning what OpenVPN is and installing inside of kodi, and I am willing to purchase a monthly VPN like IPVanish, But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how I would make it so the VPN launches and connects as soon as kodi launches. I would rather not have the VPN on all the time when using playstation vue, and I hear a vpn can really mess with netflix. You might ask why I can't just take the extra steps to turn on and off the vpn within the fire tv, but I have a three year old who might utalize kodi and a wife who just would not fully understand ( wouldnt want to understand) how to make it work correctly everytime she wants to use kodi. Sorry if this is long winded.
tldr; Need a way to launch ipvanish when kodi launches for ease of access.
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scoobysnack said:
Why not use PIA? Install the app set it to start on boot and select per app settings select Kodi and your done. Don't expect lightning fast speeds running a VPN on firetv tho.
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Thanks for bringing up the speed. I have a question about that. I pay for 60 down, but it slows when it has to bounce from server to server using a vpn. Is it viable to run at least 1080p on 2-3 devices on PIA at the same time. Does each connection count as some of the bandwidth I am allotted from PIA or does each device get its own portion of bandwidth per connection? And when you say use PIA and select start on boot, it wont use the VPN for everything on the FTV if I select the per app settings and select Kodi itself? Meaning it starts up when the FTV starts, but doesnt connect to a server unless you launch Kodi?
Correct it will not connect unless your using kodi or whatever apps you have selected. You can use ares wizard to conform the VPN is working. I use a dedicated router and get between 10-20mbps almost the same with the app running. You will need mouse toggle in order to access the settings in PIA. I have played 1080p with no issues.. Live streams stutter. I don't really use Kodi its just something I play around with just because. If you run the VPN on a router then u can connect whatever you want to it with no limits.
Spettro1337 said:
Thanks for bringing up the speed. I have a question about that. I pay for 60 down, but it slows when it has to bounce from server to server using a vpn. Is it viable to run at least 1080p on 2-3 devices on PIA at the same time. Does each connection count as some of the bandwidth I am allotted from PIA or does each device get its own portion of bandwidth per connection? And when you say use PIA and select start on boot, it wont use the VPN for everything on the FTV if I select the per app settings and select Kodi itself? Meaning it starts up when the FTV starts, but doesnt connect to a server unless you launch Kodi?
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scoobysnack said:
If you run the VPN on a router then u can connect whatever you want to it with no limits.
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Are you saying that if the vpn is on the router it does not slow streaming speed despite bouncing on several servers - or just that multiple connections are no slower than one connection?
Multiple connections show as only 1 device.
maybeme2 said:
Are you saying that if the vpn is on the router it does not slow streaming speed despite bouncing on several servers - or just that multiple connections are no slower than one connection?
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