quickest way to load kodi/firestarter & backup? - Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

What's the fastest way to install KODI & Firestarter? I'm using abdfire for everything, however, the whole process takes too long.
Any ideas? Also, is there a way to bypass the Amazon login portion.

If you take the time to figure out how to connect to the device via ADB, and put the files you want to install (eg kodi.apk, starter.apk) in the same directory as adb.exe, installing both can be done in about a minute. First on the FireTV > Settings > System > Developer Options, enable ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources.
Next start a command prompt in the adb.exe directory (Shift+right-click in the directory and select "Open command window here"). Execute commands:
Code:
adb connect 192.168.1.2
adb install -r kodi.apk
adb install -r starter.apk
Skip the -r if this is a fresh install rather than a re-install or update. To get your device's local IP address, go to Settings > System > About > Network and look at the first line
I don't know whether you can bypass logging into Amazon. What happens if you boot the device without internet access?

Patrick_445 said:
If you take the time to figure out how to connect to the device via ADB, and put the files you want to install (eg kodi.apk, starter.apk) in the same directory as adb.exe, installing both can be done in about a minute. First on the FireTV > Settings > System > Developer Options, enable ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources.
Next start a command prompt in the adb.exe directory (Shift+right-click in the directory and select "Open command window here"). Execute commands:
Code:
adb connect 192.168.1.2
adb install -r kodi.apk
adb install -r starter.apk
Skip the -r if this is a fresh install rather than a re-install or update. To get your device's local IP address, go to Settings > System > About > Network and look at the first line
I don't know whether you can bypass logging into Amazon. What happens if you boot the device without internet access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks! If I were to drop my backup folder into the same directory as adb.exe and run
adb install backup.folder
Do you think that would work? I'm at work & cant test it myself just yet.
Also, about the logging into Amazon part, I don't think you can bypass it because you need to enable ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources.
UNLESS, you can enable it somehow without logging in or correcting to the interest...

The backup folder would have to be pushed to the correct directory
Android\data\org.xbmc.kodi\files\
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Agk fire is another good tool that you can use...
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The adbfire GUI does this perfectly. I've got it down to a 15 min process from stock to modified inc add-ons etc. I'd recommend hardwiring the computer you run adbfire on, and have the firestick as close to the router as possible (or hardwire if it's a FTV.) If the add-ons arnt a big deal, you can have Kodi and Firestarter done within 10mins using the GUI. Anyway, restore process that works best for me is:
-Connect Firestick to WiFi, log in, enable adb debugging and unknown apps.
-Get IP from Settings>About>Network
(The rest can be done from a PC now.)
-Load adbfire GUI, connect using IP found above.
-Install APK (select the Kodi apk.)
-Install Firestarter using the button provided.
-Click 'Restore' and select backup taken using 'Backup' from a previously modded Firestick (with all the add-ons/build you prefer.)
-This can take between 15min and 1 hour depending on your connections to router (what I mentioned above about hard wire etc) and also the size of the backup. My build is over 1GB, hardwired PC with Firestick 3 feet from the router, it takes me 13min to restore.
Personally this took my install time down from ~2 hours to 15minutes, mainly because the build I prefer is so large and takes a lot of tweaking to get going (however once I had it sorted, taking a backup means newly-restored devices are 100% ready when the backup process is done.)
I've spent more time on this than I'd like to admit but I got sick of spending 2hours and headaches each and every time!

Lol. said:
Personally this took my install time down from ~2 hours to 15minutes, mainly because the build I prefer is so large and takes a lot of tweaking to get going (however once I had it sorted, taking a backup means newly-restored devices are 100% ready when the backup process is done.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is your build so large? do you install other apps besides Kodi? Which addons do you use?
For those with a slow connection who are trying to build a FireTV (not the Stick), it might be faster to place the kodi backup on a microSD plugged into the device and move the directory from there to the Kodi userdata directory instead of trying to move it from a computer over Wifi.

The way i did it was...
1) Installed ES File Explorer
2) Installed Firestarter using ES File Explorer
3) Installed latest stable version of Kodi from FireStarter
4) Used Fusion/Wizard to install popular Add-ons (TVMC)
extremely easy

Patrick_445 said:
Why is your build so large? do you install other apps besides Kodi? Which addons do you use?
For those with a slow connection who are trying to build a FireTV (not the Stick), it might be faster to place the kodi backup on a microSD plugged into the device and move the directory from there to the Kodi userdata directory instead of trying to move it from a computer over Wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Andy's build v7 - it's impressive - but a pain in the ass to get working (i4atv updated last week causing major headaches.) The latter is what led me down the backup/restore route.

Lol. said:
The adbfire GUI does this perfectly. I've got it down to a 15 min process from stock to modified inc add-ons etc. I'd recommend hardwiring the computer you run adbfire on, and have the firestick as close to the router as possible (or hardwire if it's a FTV.) If the add-ons arnt a big deal, you can have Kodi and Firestarter done within 10mins using the GUI. Anyway, restore process that works best for me is:
-Connect Firestick to WiFi, log in, enable adb debugging and unknown apps.
-Get IP from Settings>About>Network
(The rest can be done from a PC now.)
-Load adbfire GUI, connect using IP found above.
-Install APK (select the Kodi apk.)
-Install Firestarter using the button provided.
-Click 'Restore' and select backup taken using 'Backup' from a previously modded Firestick (with all the add-ons/build you prefer.)
-This can take between 15min and 1 hour depending on your connections to router (what I mentioned above about hard wire etc) and also the size of the backup. My build is over 1GB, hardwired PC with Firestick 3 feet from the router, it takes me 13min to restore.
Personally this took my install time down from ~2 hours to 15minutes, mainly because the build I prefer is so large and takes a lot of tweaking to get going (however once I had it sorted, taking a backup means newly-restored devices are 100% ready when the backup process is done.)
I've spent more time on this than I'd like to admit but I got sick of spending 2hours and headaches each and every time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I start jailbreaking these and selling them on Craigslist, should I be worried about Amazon suspending my email / account for using the same IP or email too many times?

vurze said:
If I start jailbreaking these and selling them on Craigslist, should I be worried about Amazon suspending my email / account for using the same IP or email too many times?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for a start, jailbreaking is not the right term here, lets leave that to iOS
Secondly, I'm not in the best position to advise, I don't sell these, I simply have a few and didn't want to spend hours sorting them all out once an update or a different build is released. I would suggest you do NOT use your personal Amazon account if you plan to do this though, it's not worth the risk. Perhaps look into creating a different one...

vurze said:
If I start jailbreaking these and selling them on Craigslist, should I be worried about Amazon suspending my email / account for using the same IP or email too many times?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gee.. how did I know the OP question was for this reason....

As stated in a previous post, I avoid adb all together and use ES Explorer to download Kodi apk and FireStarter Apk and then use Fusion Config Wizard for most popular add-ons.. I can get this all done under 10 minutes a stick.. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday I purchased 100 Firesticks for $2500 ($25/piece sale) (purchased in Delaware to avoid sale tax) and have been selling them side loaded with Kodi for $80-$100. Let's just say it's going to be a good Christmas. The market is saturated with these (Craigslist, eBay) I usually sell by word of mouth and I even have a few store owners who bought 5 at a discount.

Related

[Q] How are you guys adding files to the external mount

Hi, sorry if this has been answered but I've done a search. So I have my USB drive mounted and allso good but whats the best way to add new movies to the drive. The device appears in windows but I can't see the drive. I 've tried to map a network drive to 192.168.1.3\sdcard\usbStorage\sda1 but it won't connect.
I've also tried snappea but it doesn't see any network on the fire tv.
Any thoughts?
videomilk said:
Hi, sorry if this has been answered but I've done a search. So I have my USB drive mounted and allso good but whats the best way to add new movies to the drive. The device appears in windows but I can't see the drive. I 've tried to map a network drive to 192.168.1.3\sdcard\usbStorage\sda1 but it won't connect.
I've also tried snappea but it doesn't see any network on the fire tv.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried this, but if you want to mount the drive or ftp files over, you could try one of the SMB or SSH server apps.
videomilk said:
Hi, sorry if this has been answered but I've done a search. So I have my USB drive mounted and allso good but whats the best way to add new movies to the drive. The device appears in windows but I can't see the drive. I 've tried to map a network drive to 192.168.1.3\sdcard\usbStorage\sda1 but it won't connect.
I've also tried snappea but it doesn't see any network on the fire tv.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tries using adb to push files to the drive?
So this worked a treat for me. Taken from another site
I just tested this: funkyfresh.samba (wasn't allowed to post the URL
First link, and it works fine once you set the screen to landscape.
Here a guide:
1. Download Samba Filesharing from above, sideload it, and launch it.
2. Press the button with the 3 horizontal lines on the remote and choose settings.
3. Set a password. Without a password the rest is greyed out. For test use 1234
4. Set screen orientation to Landscape, press back to exit and launch the app again.
5. Choose a username, default is SDCARD
6. Press back.
7. Press the button with the 3 horizontal lines on the remote and choose enable.
8. Wait a sec or 5. When asking for SU say YES, the app will exit to background.
On the windows computer:
1. Open windows explorer and choose connect to network drive.
2. Enter \\ipaddressofftv\SDCARD choose a drive letter, tick use different credentials and press OK.
3. In the username field enter: SDCARD in the password field: 1234
4. Press Ok.
You can choose to mount \\ipaddressofftv\usbStorage\<deviceid> in step #2 and thereby mount the harddrive directly if you don't care about having access to the rest on the box.
skrypj said:
Have you tries using adb to push files to the drive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the first thing that came to my mind, but I haven't tried it. I will when I get home.
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videomilk said:
You can choose to mount \\ipaddressofftv\usbStorage\<deviceid> in step #2 and thereby mount the harddrive directly if you don't care about having access to the rest on the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does this work even after reboot?
I haven't tried it yet but i'm very interested about it. Thanks for the guide.
KillerJoeBR said:
So does this work even after reboot?
I haven't tried it yet but i'm very interested about it. Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After a reboot you need to run the stickmount and samba again. You don't need to change anythign on your pc though.
I don't think there is a way to load programs on boot for the fire tv until there is a custom Rom. I think.
videomilk said:
After a reboot you need to run the stickmount and samba again. You don't need to change anythign on your pc though.
I don't think there is a way to load programs on boot for the fire tv until there is a custom Rom. I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is incorrect. I do have some apps, "Stickmount" included, which get executed automatically at boot time. It may be that "Samba Filesharing" just doesn't support this feature.
Try using "SambaDroid" instead of "Samba Filesharing". It is able to execute automatically at boot time.
wunderdrug said:
I think this is incorrect. I do have some apps, "Stickmount" included, which get executed automatically at boot time. It may be that "Samba Filesharing" just doesn't support this feature.
Try using "SambaDroid" instead of "Samba Filesharing". It is able to execute automatically at boot time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i can confirm stickmount works automatically after reboot on my FTV.
I would really like this setup to work without needing to manually set it up everytime after a reboot. This way i can set my downloads directly to my portable hd plugged on my KFTV and not worry that it will fail. It would work almost like a server/NAS :victory:
KillerJoeBR said:
Yeah i can confirm stickmount works automatically after reboot on my FTV.
I would really like this setup to work without needing to manually set it up everytime after a reboot. This way i can set my downloads directly to my portable hd plugged on my KFTV and not worry that it will fail. It would work almost like a server/NAS :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm trying to achieve. I'm going to start messing around with a usenet client on the fire tv and see if I can have it downloading to the external drive. It would be a great little setup .
videomilk said:
That's what I'm trying to achieve. I'm going to start messing around with a usenet client on the fire tv and see if I can have it downloading to the external drive. It would be a great little setup .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. That would be ideal. But i would be satisfied if i can access the portable hd from my network and then send my downloads to it from my main pc.
I think i will try the sambadroid and see if it works at boot. Anyway give us any update of your progress.
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Just want to give a status update. I tried sambadroid and it works ok even after reboot.
But my transfer speed over wifi is quite slow. Around 1.5mb/s. Maybe its my router but i could get better speed with my old htpc. Maybe it's sambadroid. The app says i can get better speeds with paid pro version. Or maybe i need to be wires to get better speed.
Anyway i want you guys to know my progress.
Enviado de meu GT-N7100 usando Tapatalk
KillerJoeBR said:
Just want to give a status update. I tried sambadroid and it works ok even after reboot.
But my transfer speed over wifi is quite slow. Around 1.5mb/s. Maybe its my router but i could get better speed with my old htpc. Maybe it's sambadroid. The app says i can get better speeds with paid pro version. Or maybe i need to be wires to get better speed.
Anyway i want you guys to know my progress.
Enviado de meu GT-N7100 usando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm getting about 1.6mb/s with funky fresh samba. Pretty slow.
videomilk said:
Yeah I'm getting about 1.6mb/s with funky fresh samba. Pretty slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, this way is quite impractical to use it as a NAS/Server.
Can anyone test this setup being wired and see what speed you can get?
videomilk said:
So this worked a treat for me. Taken from another site
I just tested this: funkyfresh.samba (wasn't allowed to post the URL
First link, and it works fine once you set the screen to landscape.
Here a guide:
1. Download Samba Filesharing from above, sideload it, and launch it.
2. Press the button with the 3 horizontal lines on the remote and choose settings.
3. Set a password. Without a password the rest is greyed out. For test use 1234
4. Set screen orientation to Landscape, press back to exit and launch the app again.
5. Choose a username, default is SDCARD
6. Press back.
7. Press the button with the 3 horizontal lines on the remote and choose enable.
8. Wait a sec or 5. When asking for SU say YES, the app will exit to background.
On the windows computer:
1. Open windows explorer and choose connect to network drive.
2. Enter \\ipaddressofftv\SDCARD choose a drive letter, tick use different credentials and press OK.
3. In the username field enter: SDCARD in the password field: 1234
4. Press Ok.
You can choose to mount \\ipaddressofftv\usbStorage\<deviceid> in step #2 and thereby mount the harddrive directly if you don't care about having access to the rest on the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My USB Drive is formatted as ex-fat. While I can mount the drive the Firetv only sees around 5gb of free space when actually there is 300+. Any suggestions? I'm on a Mac and cant use Windows NT formatting.
usb drive and ftp
Plugged in a 2TB USB drive to the FireTV, installed an ftp server on the FireTV, put cyberduck (ftp client) on my Windows 7 machine.
Now I can create directories on the USB drive on the FireTV from my Windows machine and ftp files into those directories. XBMC sees them fine and plays them.
I cannot ftp any file over 2GB it fails every time (no mater if ftp or ssh or different client on the Windows box.) I CAN add files over 2GB to the USB drive if it detach it and plug it direct into my Windows machine and transfer the files. Then the FireTV and XBMC can see those files and use them normally.

Happy Chick APK on Ouya Not Showing Up

So like the Google Play Store, if you install Happy Chick on the stock Ouya Rom it won't show up in the Apps or Software menu. Anyone know a work around, possibly be able to just rename it within the apk to get around it?
The same for me. Any solution?
Hi, don't know if anyone will read this, but here it is:
I suppose installing a custom ROM would also do the trick, but if you want to keep the Ouya ROM (keep in mind that this is not a pretty solution, and that it requires a PC running on the same network as the Ouya):
- Download the ADB tools and install them on your desktop PC
- Activate network ADB on the Ouya (development menu)
- On your PC, go to the ADB folder and type "adb shell am start -n com.xiaoji.emulator/.Entry"
If this does not work, try "adb connect <IP>" with the IP shown on your TV, and then the shell command.
You can create a .BAT file to launch it, which is a cheap hack but works.

5.0.5 breaks a lot???

Hi all
Sorry if this is a repeat but hope not.
My AFTV updated to 5.0.5. Claims an installed date of 21 Jan 16, but only recently have I noticed a number of issues, so not sure why they took so long to show up, unless 21 Jan is actually the 5.0.5 build date, rather than install. So here's what I've found (on Fire TV and stick - got both).
1. First Llama stopped working - I used LLama events with Condition/Action setup to start Kodi whenever I started Ikono (and switched logos). Testing the condition appeared to work, i.e. Kodi fired up but the difference was that in the test BEFORE you used to see Ikono fire up for a few seconds then switch to Kodi. After the 5.0.5 the test just fired up Kodi. And then when you start Ikono in the normal way, Kodi does not fire. Same for all my other "shortcuts".
2. Wukong: would not work for a while, the mouse pointer showed up by clicks did not fire off any action on AFTV side. A few reboots and messing around solved it but even now a bit flakey, compared to solid before.
3. Side-loading: cannot side-load apps now! Can connect via ADB, but running "adb install xxxxxx.apk" results in a:
error: device not found
- waiting for device -
4. Apps that update themselves, e.g. ShowBox, are failing (probably for the same reason as 3)
So is this common? I'm assuming Amazon have put in a range of changes to lock-down the device? Are there any workarounds / fixes?
Jed
JedSpink said:
Hi all
Sorry if this is a repeat but hope not.
My AFTV updated to 5.0.5. Claims an installed date of 21 Jan 16, but only recently have I noticed a number of issues, so not sure why they took so long to show up, unless 21 Jan is actually the 5.0.5 build date, rather than install. So here's what I've found (on Fire TV and stick - got both).
1. First Llama stopped working - I used LLama events with Condition/Action setup to start Kodi whenever I started Ikono (and switched logos). Testing the condition appeared to work, i.e. Kodi fired up but the difference was that in the test BEFORE you used to see Ikono fire up for a few seconds then switch to Kodi. After the 5.0.5 the test just fired up Kodi. And then when you start Ikono in the normal way, Kodi does not fire. Same for all my other "shortcuts".
2. Wukong: would not work for a while, the mouse pointer showed up by clicks did not fire off any action on AFTV side. A few reboots and messing around solved it but even now a bit flakey, compared to solid before.
3. Side-loading: cannot side-load apps now! Can connect via ADB, but running "adb install xxxxxx.apk" results in a:
error: device not found
- waiting for device -
4. Apps that update themselves, e.g. ShowBox, are failing (probably for the same reason as 3)
So is this common? I'm assuming Amazon have put in a range of changes to lock-down the device? Are there any workarounds / fixes?
Jed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Lama does not work under OS5
2) Sometimes I have to reboot as well
3) go in settings/ Developer Options/and turn off and on ADB debugging a three times ....
bula1ca said:
1) Lama does not work under OS5
2) Sometimes I have to reboot as well
3) go in settings/ Developer Options/and turn off and on ADB debugging a three times ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for confirming 1), I tried AutomateIt too and it seems to have the same problem, so I suppose it's some sort of OS-level blocking of the kind of hooks that Llama and others used in the past? Guess they could argue it was a security improvement as allowing one app to start another could be abused...
Re: Wukong and side-loading being blocked.... I played a bit more and similar results to you.... I don't think the OS is deliberately blocking / preventing but there may be a bug or issue. For example if I do a reboot of the box then, say, Wukong, will work fine but then tried:
adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb connect xx.xx..x.xx
and then quick test with: adb shell
and get the error: device not ready.
Do a reboot, don't connect Wukong and try the above commands and adb shell works (quick test) and then any commands like adb push / install work too. But then Wukong seems blocked, e.g. may connect as mouse pointer but using the click function does nothing, or may not connect at all.
I'll try your fix of the ADB debug off/on instead of reboot; and see how that goes.
Fun times!
Wukong seems working fine for me but the remote mouse for fire t.v. unable to click
did you carry on using your device as is with the same data from the old version?i.e. no factory reset after the update?
i ask because things often break after an OTA.
i factory reset my fire stick after the update and then again after kingroot(do not push super su on it yet if you want root-wait for a pre-rooted image if you want super su).
so after re-logging in, i enabled adb, sent kodi to the device and i can launch it from Apps on the left hand side, no need to go into settings anymore or even use llama. it's there. it won't be in the recent apps, i don't know why, but at least it shows up in apps.
i don't use wukong, but i have set up my rooted phone to be a bluetooth mouse, just encase or even use my ps4 touchpad.
El_Nino9 said:
did you carry on using your device as is with the same data from the old version?i.e. no factory reset after the update?
i ask because things often break after an OTA.
i factory reset my fire stick after the update and then again after kingroot(do not push super su on it yet if you want root-wait for a pre-rooted image if you want super su).
so after re-logging in, i enabled adb, sent kodi to the device and i can launch it from Apps on the left hand side, no need to go into settings anymore or even use llama. it's there. it won't be in the recent apps, i don't know why, but at least it shows up in apps.
i don't use wukong, but i have set up my rooted phone to be a bluetooth mouse, just encase or even use my ps4 touchpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lama is broken in OS5. Are you sure about it?
bula1ca said:
Lama is broken in OS5. Are you sure about it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i never said llama works under OS5.
all i said it's not needed anymore due to kodi being available to launch from the apps menu on the left hand side.
Zenroid said:
Wukong seems working fine for me but the remote mouse for fire t.v. unable to click
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My remote mouse for fire tv works fine on OS5 prerooted rom
Zenroid said:
Wukong seems working fine for me but the remote mouse for fire t.v. unable to click
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi that's what I get sometimes, shows mouse pointer but click does not work. I find a reboot of the fire box fixes... what i've noticed it that once you have got say Wukong working then adb will not do adb - install or push: gets the device not ready error. Again a reboot will fix but then, say, Wukong won't work properly.
So it seems like something is blocking the other process - hence why I was wondering if a bug.
Take on the point about doing a factory reset from @El_Nino9 but then I'll have to reinstall and setup Kodi and my other side-loaded apps from scratch?
Jed
JedSpink said:
Take on the point about doing a factory reset from @El_Nino9 but then I'll have to reinstall and setup Kodi and my other side-loaded apps from scratch?
Jed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as with all factory resets, you have to redo the setup. there are tools available to back up your setups and its easy enough to adb install apps. plus you might be able to push all the latest versions of the apps back on the fire if you haven't done so already.
it depends what you want to achieve and what you want to eliminate. it all involves doing some sort of work, however i understand the more little work you have to do the better it is. no need.
El_Nino9 said:
as with all factory resets, you have to redo the setup. there are tools available to back up your setups and its easy enough to adb install apps. plus you might be able to push all the latest versions of the apps back on the fire if you haven't done so already.
it depends what you want to achieve and what you want to eliminate. it all involves doing some sort of work, however i understand the more little work you have to do the better it is. no need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right of course. Just being a bit lazy. It's mainly Kodi I worry about as I have a lots of add-ons and takes time to setup correctly. I know you can backup your Kodi configuration but never done a backup / restore of Kodi. Will take a look into it and if I can preserve my add-ons then will do factory reset and adb -install them again.
JedSpink said:
You are right of course. Just being a bit lazy. It's mainly Kodi I worry about as I have a lots of add-ons and takes time to setup correctly. I know you can backup your Kodi configuration but never done a backup / restore of Kodi. Will take a look into it and if I can preserve my add-ons then will do factory reset and adb -install them again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i rooted my device and would use titanium back up. however kodi within itself has various tools.
they have an addon called back up and they also have other features.
however, on the stick, you can use storage easily unless you know how to adb well.
for simple use i would recommend titanium back up and then back up to a cloud service such as gdrive.
each user has different preferences.
if you aren't rooted just use the addon back up too or there is a 3rd party app that also does similar stuff which i've never used so can't help.
if you do decide to root, do not use supersume app after kingroot. stick to king root su until a rooted system image is released for the device. i used kingroot 4.1 from xda thread and despite it saying failed i had root.
if you're not comfortable don't do it
You can use Tasker instead of llama

Best way to allow 4k firestick to use kodi/iptv addons etc

I have an old Gen 1 firestick that has latest kodi on it and an iptv service as well as some other addons, and all works fine allbeit slow sometimes, so i upgraded to the latest and great 4k version with all it's audio spying gumf, however if i remember rightly there was a "fair" bit involved in getting to the stage to allow kodi to go on and run the add ons, is this still the case with the 4k version because all the links i have seen point to something called "Aptoide TV and this seem to allow you to run kodi and stuff like that but it also seems a gateway to other add ons and i don't want that i just to root/jailbreak the stick throw kodi on and install the addons i know i like or just instal kodi and away you go which in my simple mind means no jailbreaking is needed is it that simple nowadays?
Aptoide is just a 3rd party app store
There's two ways you can get any app onto a firestick that I use
1 - adb via pc
2 - adb via app on phone
If using option one download app to pc & also get adb set up (there's loads of guides about adb so Google that)
Enable adb on the firestick in dev options
Note down the ip address of the firestick from about device section
In a command prompt on pc type
adb connect ip_of_firestick
adb devices
adb install nameofapp.apk
For option two
Download app to phone
Download apps2fire from playstore
Enable adb on firestick in dev options
Note down firestick ip addres
Enter firestick ip address in apps2fire settings
Select arrow at top to install app
Navigate to where apk is
Note that apps2fire may fail on first connection - just connect again & it should work

2nd gen FireTV constantly our of memory

Hey guys. I have a 2nd gen fire TV. There are 518 megabytes of 5.6 GB of storage available. The software version is fire OS 5.2.9.3(684782320). I have a memory card in the back of the fire TV, and I have moved every single app to that memory card. The thing is still almost out of storage. I have no idea where I can check to see what actually makes up all of the items that are supposedly filling this storage. All we use this for is for watching TV. If you can put pictures or anything on a fire TV we certainly do not have any of that. This has been an ongoing issue for about 3 years. I usually clear the cache and I am able to get the warning messages to go away. Last week I move more apps over to the memory card so that every single app is located on it. I cleared the apps cache. Now the warning messages are coming up more and more frequently, the fire TV is rebooting more often, and it is notably slower. The issue is getting to a point where it needs to be fixed. Since I have no idea what is taking up all of the storage, I'm kind of at a loss except to factory reset the thing, and I certainly do not want to do that. How do I see what is making up all of the storage space and how do I clear it? Do I need to download a third party app?
EDIT: I finally got some hits on this issue when I started searching more and more with. "XDA" in the Google search. I also started to get some hits on Reddit. Here is a short summary of what I have read. The culprit is on Reddit
It's a file called mbcache.db that's the problem. It's located here /data/data/com.amazon.tv.launcher/ databases/mbcache.db
Do I need to root my fire TV to be able to access directories and delete files? That's a bunch of crap. Is there a work around to access this stuff today in 2022? Last mention of this issue on any forum is a few years old.
Edit #2: ES file explorer on Amazon is $9.99/month? Are they high? What could you possibly do with ES file explorer to get $9.99 /month value unless you are a developer?
You can't access that directory without root but you can clear it to delete any accumulation of data. It's completely safe (equivalent of clear storage), just run this ADB command:
Code:
pm clear com.amazon.tv.launcher
Check your available space before and after running this command to see if that's where your space has actually gone.
You might also want to download a file manager like Total Commander (free in app store) or MiXplorer and manually check the folders to make sure you don't have any junk in your Download folder, Downloader (if you use that app) folder, or any other folders left behind by old and uninstalled apps in your main storage area.
Finnzz said:
You can't access that directory without root but you can clear it to delete any accumulation of data. It's completely safe (equivalent of clear storage), just run this ADB command:
Code:
pm clear com.amazon.tv.launcher
Check your available space before and after running this command to see if that's where your space has actually gone.
You might also want to download a file manager like Total Commander (free in app store) or MiXplorer and manually check the folders to make sure you don't have any junk in your Download folder, Downloader (if you use that app) folder, or any other folders left behind by old and uninstalled apps in your main storage area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. So that command will clear the mbcache.db? Does mixplorer have to be adb pushed to the firetv? I'll have to look later if it's in the app store on Amazon.
Schroeder09 said:
Thanks for the reply. So that command will clear the mbcache.db? Does mixplorer have to be adb pushed to the firetv? I'll have to look later if it's in the app store on Amazon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the clear command deletes all the user data for the Amazon Launcher (com.amazon.tv.launcher), including any database files like mbcache.db. It's not harmful so feel free to clear whenever you like, the Launcher just rebuilds/reloads it over time.
Yes MiXplorer has to be sideloaded, it's not in the Amazon App store but Total Commander is.
Finnzz said:
Yes the clear command deletes all the user data for the Amazon Launcher (com.amazon.tv.launcher), including any database files like mbcache.db. It's not harmful so feel free to clear whenever you like, the Launcher just rebuilds/reloads it over time.
Yes MiXplorer has to be sideloaded, it's not in the Amazon App store but Total Commander is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to try these as commands later tonight. I'm sure I could just look this up on Google, but is issuing commands to a firetv just like issuing them to a phone?
1.) In platform tools folder issue .\adb devices, .\adb reboot bootloader, then issue your command?
Does having mixplorer help much with this particular issue or will clearing these things require root access?
Granted I haven't had time to do deep searches, the last rooting attempts I saw online for a gen 2 firetv were a couple years old with notes that the root access wouldn't persist through a reboot.
Yes the ADB command line is the same on FireTV and Android. The easiest way to run ADB commands is to install Remote ADB Shell on an Android phone/tablet, and connect to the FireTV over WiFi.
Remote ADB Shell - Apps on Google Play
Connect to ADB running on another Android device over the network
play.google.com
If you prefer you can use a computer to connect to the command line (ADB connect <IP of FireTV>)
Having a file manager app will let you see any files that user apps downloaded, or that you uploaded. You won't be able to see system app data without root, but you can still use the clear command to delete their data.
If it's the 2nd gen Stick (Tank), there's this:
[UNLOCK][ROOT][TWRP][UNBRICK] Fire TV Stick 2nd gen (tank)
Read this whole guide before starting. This is for the 2nd gen Fire TV Stick (tank) Current relase: amonet-tank-v1.2.2.zip NOTE: Recent reports indicate a change that disables brom DL-mode The change seems to have been introduced with devices...
forum.xda-developers.com
If it's the FireTV 2 box (Sloane):
[UNLOCK][ROOT][TWRP][UNBRICK] FireTV 2 (sloane)
Read this whole guide before starting. This is for the 2nd gen Fire TV (sloane) Current relase: amonet-sloane-v1.1 NOTE: This process does not require you to open your device if you're already rooted or you have TWRP. NOTE: If something goes...
forum.xda-developers.com
Finnzz said:
Yes the ADB command line is the same on FireTV and Android. The easiest way to run ADB commands is to install Remote ADB Shell on an Android phone/tablet, and connect to the FireTV over WiFi.
Remote ADB Shell - Apps on Google Play
Connect to ADB running on another Android device over the network
play.google.com
If you prefer you can use a computer to connect to the command line (ADB connect <IP of FireTV>)
Having a file manager app will let you see any files that user apps downloaded, or that you uploaded. You won't be able to see system app data without root, but you can still use the clear command to delete their data.
If it's the 2nd gen Stick (Tank), there's this:
[UNLOCK][ROOT][TWRP][UNBRICK] Fire TV Stick 2nd gen (tank)
Read this whole guide before starting. This is for the 2nd gen Fire TV Stick (tank) Current relase: amonet-tank-v1.2.2.zip NOTE: Recent reports indicate a change that disables brom DL-mode The change seems to have been introduced with devices...
forum.xda-developers.com
If it's the FireTV 2 box (Sloane):
[UNLOCK][ROOT][TWRP][UNBRICK] FireTV 2 (sloane)
Read this whole guide before starting. This is for the 2nd gen Fire TV (sloane) Current relase: amonet-sloane-v1.1 NOTE: This process does not require you to open your device if you're already rooted or you have TWRP. NOTE: If something goes...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the above advice and issued the commands from my PC. I didn't download the app to my phone. I was able to connect with ADB over wifi. Issuing your command ( with the addition of "adb PM" or something like that added to the front) gave me a message in the PowerShell that said "successful" almost immediately upon issuing the command. However, the storage didn't change by a single MB. I then downloaded file commander on the Amazon firetv and saw all the different apps' package names. I said the same command you listed for the launcher for each of these different apps. After doing 95% of the apps the storage dropped by about 100MB.
What is there left to do? File commander lets me see all the different file says even if I can't delete a lot of them, and none of them are that large. I'm at a loss on this? There are discussions about this topic all over the internet. The only thing to do is to factory reset or root and manually delete files? That seems absurd. What was Amazon thinking? Rotting kinda defeats the point of the whole investigation anyway. I didn't wanna have to wipe the fire TV and start all over. I don't have all that time. For $100-$130 I'll just get the Amazon cube TV thing. Are these gen 2 fire tvs really this unserviceable?
If you open a shell prompt you will get more output, in case there are any errors running a command. But it sounds like it ran fine.
Code:
ADB connect <fireTV IP address>
ADB shell
Now you should be at the FireTV's shell prompt.
Check your user storage
Code:
cd /sdcard
du -hs */ | sort -nr | head
This will list all your user folders and their size and give you an idea if there is any trash you can delete.
The other primary area that uses up space is /data/data where app data and cache is stored but you can't traverse that directory without root. So I'm not sure how you can see how much space is being used by system apps there.
Factory reset of course is an option.
It's getting harder to run a device on 8GB, as apps themselves grow in size as well as their cache and storage requirements.
My personal bias is that the 2nd gen Cube for $60 on sale is still the best bang for your buck. It comes with 12.9GB of usable space vs 5.6GB on the sticks. And is the fastest AndroidTV (FireOS) box you can get at that price and that can stream from all the major streaming apps.

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