Why root? - Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

What exactly does root do for a firestick? I root all my phones so I know what it is but just got a firestick and wondering what root will do

Well, there are many reasons to root the Fire Tv. The main reason would be to install the google play store but there are plenty of other reasons, for example
. expanding internal storage to a external drive
. installing root apps
. changing the launcher

James_Ward01 said:
Well, there are many reasons to root the Fire Tv. The main reason would be to install the google play store but there are plenty of other reasons, for example
. expanding internal storage to a external drive
. installing root apps
. changing the launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Is there a way to manually upgrade to 5.2.1.0? Mine is older and don't want to get 5.2.2 as it isn't rootable

You might want to take a look at this thread:http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/development/prerooted-stock-images-t2882337

- to get NTFS support using Paragon (no 4GB filesize limit)
- to get smb support using Samba (and Paragon to disable SELinux at boot)
- to use screen sharing kvm apps like webkey (control your Fire TV from a PC)
- to use DNS redirects to be able to use apps like Pandora from outside the US (using adaway)
- to get the google Play store installedo
- to block ads using adaway
- to get access to apps using the xposed framework (f.e. to use Bubble UPNP as a media server to its fullest extent)
- to stop Amazon from auto updating your Fire TV and take features away with every new firmware release
- to install an adb toggle thats more convenient to use that Amazons "hidden in the developer settings" one
- to use an unmentioned shady app to strip away DRM from paid applications that won't run, even though the play store infrastructure is in place.
- to be able to do your own bash automation scripts using Terminal Shortcut Pro
- to set and fixate screen orientation to always stay in landscape mode
- to be able to use SD Maid to manage storage efficiently
- to replace the launcher
- to change keybindings for third party controllers - system wide
- to effectively use retroarch that still stores important config files in the /data/ directory instead of on /sdcard/
...
.. basically for a whole bunch of things productblogs don't like to talk about, because they need to keep the myth up, that you really only need to watch a youtube video on ESFileExplorer (don't you EVER use this app and call yourself an XDA user - http://www.xda-developers.com/es-file-explorer-a-short-story-of-a-fallen-king/ ) and a Kodi Install Wizzard (because its the EAZIEST - although entirely unsupported way to enjoy content piracy - unsupported even by pirates - because just as with adb fire - its mostly people (dare I say youtubers) keen on striping out the whole learning part, and replacing it with dependency an a guy that does nothing but repackage the work of others and get ad-dollars for your attention - attained by shouting EAZIEST a couple of times...).
(edit: I'm adding a little art installation called "Why product bloggers s*ck - to this thread at this point, mostly as an elated comic relief, but also to make a point.
http://i.imgur.com/gxma9a7.png )
Its funny to see most new business models (product bloggers, youtubers, wizard creators (its EAZIEST, with 500 roms!), obscure plugin blogs, FireTV resellers, ...) all go after one thing and one thing only -
the average consumer that doesnt know his roots from his product options before a product purchase, that thinks every technical "hack" is just there so he/she can get piracy - and who , if things turn out not as easy as it was sold to them - if a question about the benefits of rooting doesnt successfully turn into a personal "request on how I should update, because I am on - that firmware and..." within five posts of a new thread, just goes with the paid subscription model of whatever pops up in bannerads first, instead. (Plex).
So here is the deal. Talking about, why ownership of a box sold to you by Amazon - where Amazon tries to pull away features in firmware releases after the fact is important, is something I gladly do - because its talked about far less than it should be...
Helping you find out "how to best update from x to y without loosing root" in the same thread, because - who cares about the title, "I have a new problem and I wan't it to be solved" - much less entertaining of a thing in general.
Again - this is the difference between a question regarding knowledge - and mere support solicitation.
Moderators tried to prevent the second one in here with the sticky that states, that your personal questions dont go into the general forum.
But no one cares to actually go by it - because, the pinned topic actually failed to mention, that its support solicitation for basic "setup and maintenance" stuff that you shouldn't bother people with in here, because we had enough of it.
Speaking of having enough of something... The notion that "you don't need root" comes from a "as long as I can haz piracy I don't care" point of view that is provided as an actionable stance by product bloggers and youtubers that also have a vested interest that you don't leave Amazons upgrade path (regardless of where it leads), because they are in the business of acting as conduits for pr messages from the company.
The last paragraph was an explanation for why the "you don't need root" myth is still so prevelant in the Fire TV community .
Another explanation would be, that people don't care to look it up, or learn things, as long as their base needs are met. You can pick one.

harlekinwashere said:
- to get NTFS support using Paragon (no 4GB filesize limit)
- to get smb support using Samba (and Paragon to disable SELinux at boot)
- to use screen sharing kvm apps like webkey (control your Fire TV from a PC)
- to use DNS redirects to be able to use apps like Pandora from outside the US (using adaway)
- to get the google Play store installedo
- to block ads using adaway
- to get access to apps using the xposed framework (f.e. to use Bubble UPNP as a media server to its fullest extent)
- to stop Amazon from auto updating your Fire TV and take features away with every new firmware release
- to install an adb toggle thats more convenient to use that Amazons "hidden in the developer settings" one
- to use an unmentioned shady app to strip away DRM from paid applications that won't run, even though the play store infrastructure is in place.
- to be able to do your own bash automation scripts using Terminal Shortcut Pro
- to set and fixate screen orientation to always stay in landscape mode
- to be able to use SD Maid to manage storage efficiently
- to replace the launcher
- to change keybindings for third party controllers - system wide
- to effectively use retroarch that still stores important config files in the /data/ directory instead of on /sdcard/
...
.. basically for a whole bunch of things productblogs don't like to talk about, because they need to keep the myth up, that you really only need to watch a youtube video on ESFileExplorer (don't you EVER use this app and call yourself an XDA user - http://www.xda-developers.com/es-file-explorer-a-short-story-of-a-fallen-king/ ) and a Kodi Install Wizzard (because its the EAZIEST - although entirely unsupported way to enjoy content piracy - unsupported even by pirates - because just as with adb fire - its mostly people (dare I say youtubers) keen on striping out the whole learning part, and replacing it with dependency an a guy that does nothing but repackage the work of others and get ad-dollars for your attention - attained by shouting EAZIEST a couple of times...).
Its funny to see most new business models (product bloggers, youtubers, wizard creators (its EAZIEST, with 500 roms!), obscure plugin blogs, FireTV resellers, ...) all go after one thing and one thing only -
the average consumer that doesnt know his roots from his product options before a product purchase, that thinks every technical "hack" is just there so he/she can get piracy - and who , if things turn out not as easy as it was sold to them - if a question about the benefits of rooting doesnt successfully turn into a personal "request on how I should update, because I am on - that firmware and..." within five posts of a new thread, just goes with the paid subscription model of whatever pops up in bannerads first, instead. (Plex).
So here is the deal. Talking about, why ownership of a box sold to you by Amazon - where Amazon tries to pull away features in firmware releases after the fact is important, is something I gladly do - because its talked about far less than it should be...
Helping you find out "how to best update from x to y without loosing root" in the same thread, because - who cares about the title, "I have a new problem and I wan't it to be solved" - much less entertaining of a thing in general.
Again - this is the difference between a question regarding knowledge - and mere support solicitation.
Moderators tried to prevent the second one in here with the sticky that states, that your personal questions dont go into the general forum.
But no one cares to actually go by it - because, the pinned topic actually failed to mention, that its support solicitation for basic "setup and maintenance" stuff that you shouldn't bother people with in here, because we had enough of it.
Speaking of having enough of something... The notion that "you don't need root" comes from a "as long as I can haz piracy I don't care" point of view that is provided as an actionable stance by product bloggers and youtubers that also have a vested interest that you don't leave Amazons upgrade path (regardless of where it leads), because they are in the business of acting as conduits for pr messages from the company.
The last paragraph was an explanation for why the "you don't need root" myth is still so prevelant in the Fire TV community .
Another explanation would be, that people don't care to look it up, or learn things, as long as their base needs are met. You can pick one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the information. I'm new to a firestick my grandpa had a bunch of them with the kodi app installed just now about to plug it in and see what it's about. Not even sure if it is rooted but about to find out

Well just found out my firestick is on current update so can't root it

James_Ward01 said:
Well, there are many reasons to root the Fire Tv. The main reason would be to install the google play store but there are plenty of other reasons, for example
. expanding internal storage to a external drive
. installing root apps
. changing the launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there an actual way to install a fully (Or all Hell), even a partially working PlayStote? On a FireTV / Stick 2? Having a FireTV2, and I can tell you that Rooting it WILL NOT net you either a partially working, much less a working PlayStore, with a working Play Services behind it.

You don't need google play services (unless you do).
Most Apps that depend on them only do so for single sign on or cloud features and work without play services regardless. With some apps you can patch the google play services dependency out of them (which is what apparently blackberry users have done for years).
For mostly Google Apps you'll need it, though.
The other issue is, that the play store on the Fire TV will convert to its Android TV state and layout - which only offers you a fraction of the Playstore Apps in store, available for direct install - because google seemingly only allows vetted apps in at this point.
Now - there are newer Play Store versions out there, than the one that presumably most of us have installed, when the old tutorials made their rounds, that are supposed to work - so you could update and see if something has changed - at the risk of bricking functionality and having to start over.
What IS possible though is, to update apps you already have installed on your Fire TV through the google play store - regardless of if the apps show up in the Android TV store or not. Once installed, Google Play Store will offer you updates.
That - and the ability to use Googles Play Store liceses (paid apps) on most apps with your Fire TV, should be sufficient for most people.
You just use app2fire and apkpure (dont blame me if the site turns around and starts distributing rootkits.. ) for the rest.
For Games - and because the FIre TV has so little storage available - I normally install them on my phone first, then copy over the /android/obb/ folders using smb (Samba on the Phone, Total Commander with the LAN plugin on the FIre TV) - then install the apk, and it works as well.
Its easy enough to do those things that I'm not willing to experiment with configurations that would allow "even better" play store integration.
Its good enough as is. Imho.

James_Ward01 said:
Well, there are many reasons to root the Fire Tv. The main reason would be to install the google play store but there are plenty of other reasons, for example
. expanding internal storage to a external drive
. installing root apps
. changing the launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any directions out there for changing the launcher. It seems not possible the newer roms. Im on pre-root 5.2.1.1_R1 and not sure how to do it.

Flash xposed and necessary apks. Guide is on here somewhere. Install Rbox's xposed fire tv mods module. Enable in xposed and reboot. Sideload or download from Playstore (if installed) alt launcher. I like tvlauncher it's super clean and has Amazon home page in app format. Plus use can easily customize or create icons for clean look.

Do I need root for openvpn? (I am asking because I've ordered a Stick on Friday and it'll be here tomorrow)

harlekinwashere said:
- to get NTFS support using Paragon (no 4GB filesize limit)
- to get smb support using Samba (and Paragon to disable SELinux at boot)
- to use screen sharing kvm apps like webkey (control your Fire TV from a PC)
- to use DNS redirects to be able to use apps like Pandora from outside the US (using adaway)
- to get the google Play store installedo
- to block ads using adaway
- to get access to apps using the xposed framework (f.e. to use Bubble UPNP as a media server to its fullest extent)
- to stop Amazon from auto updating your Fire TV and take features away with every new firmware release
- to install an adb toggle thats more convenient to use that Amazons "hidden in the developer settings" one
- to use an unmentioned shady app to strip away DRM from paid applications that won't run, even though the play store infrastructure is in place.
- to be able to do your own bash automation scripts using Terminal Shortcut Pro
- to set and fixate screen orientation to always stay in landscape mode
- to be able to use SD Maid to manage storage efficiently
- to replace the launcher
- to change keybindings for third party controllers - system wide
- to effectively use retroarch that still stores important config files in the /data/ directory instead of on /sdcard/
...
.. basically for a whole bunch of things productblogs don't like to talk about, because they need to keep the myth up, that you really only need to watch a youtube video on ESFileExplorer (don't you EVER use this app and call yourself an XDA user - http://www.xda-developers.com/es-file-explorer-a-short-story-of-a-fallen-king/ ) and a Kodi Install Wizzard (because its the EAZIEST - although entirely unsupported way to enjoy content piracy - unsupported even by pirates - because just as with adb fire - its mostly people (dare I say youtubers) keen on striping out the whole learning part, and replacing it with dependency an a guy that does nothing but repackage the work of others and get ad-dollars for your attention - attained by shouting EAZIEST a couple of times...).
(edit: I'm adding a little art installation called "Why product bloggers s*ck - to this thread at this point, mostly as an elated comic relief, but also to make a point.
http://i.imgur.com/gxma9a7.png )
Its funny to see most new business models (product bloggers, youtubers, wizard creators (its EAZIEST, with 500 roms!), obscure plugin blogs, FireTV resellers, ...) all go after one thing and one thing only -
the average consumer that doesnt know his roots from his product options before a product purchase, that thinks every technical "hack" is just there so he/she can get piracy - and who , if things turn out not as easy as it was sold to them - if a question about the benefits of rooting doesnt successfully turn into a personal "request on how I should update, because I am on - that firmware and..." within five posts of a new thread, just goes with the paid subscription model of whatever pops up in bannerads first, instead. (Plex).
So here is the deal. Talking about, why ownership of a box sold to you by Amazon - where Amazon tries to pull away features in firmware releases after the fact is important, is something I gladly do - because its talked about far less than it should be...
Helping you find out "how to best update from x to y without loosing root" in the same thread, because - who cares about the title, "I have a new problem and I wan't it to be solved" - much less entertaining of a thing in general.
Again - this is the difference between a question regarding knowledge - and mere support solicitation.
Moderators tried to prevent the second one in here with the sticky that states, that your personal questions dont go into the general forum.
But no one cares to actually go by it - because, the pinned topic actually failed to mention, that its support solicitation for basic "setup and maintenance" stuff that you shouldn't bother people with in here, because we had enough of it.
Speaking of having enough of something... The notion that "you don't need root" comes from a "as long as I can haz piracy I don't care" point of view that is provided as an actionable stance by product bloggers and youtubers that also have a vested interest that you don't leave Amazons upgrade path (regardless of where it leads), because they are in the business of acting as conduits for pr messages from the company.
The last paragraph was an explanation for why the "you don't need root" myth is still so prevelant in the Fire TV community .
Another explanation would be, that people don't care to look it up, or learn things, as long as their base needs are met. You can pick one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow.. I managed to order another firetv device, wait on it being delivered from the states, root, brick and unbrick my device by the time i even begun to understand what this rant was about?
Peoples base needs I would say vary from person to person. One might be interested in learning about their system and tweaking, another may want root simply to debloat their device whereas another may not have a clue what root is.
I still don't understand this post when all someone asked who was clearly a novice, why root? Obviously they didn't know what the benefits were but suddenly became engulfed in this rewriting of the bible.

Related

[Q] What Happens To Apps That Disappear From FireTV App Store?

I am quite positive I have posted to the wrong forum. My question has nothing to do with rooting nor side-loading or any of the other wonderful things you are doing here. The problem is, I don't know where else to ask my question and after reading the community guidelines:
XDA-Developers was founded on the simple principle that *sharing is good* and when many people share what they know, everyone benefits. We exist upon this ethos. We respect each other, we share with each other, we do not judge one another, and we help all who ask.
I figured this was probably the best place to ask.
I have created a tool that monitors which apps are officially available for the FireTV. It tells me as soon as something new lands, if something goes on sale, etc. The problem is - sometimes apps that were available disappear.
For instance - Redux TV (ASIN=B00H8X82AC) It was there for a couple of weeks and this morning, it appears to have disappeared completely from the app store (not just FireTV apps). Did anyone have this installed - does it still work - should I continue to list this as a compatible app?
Some of the items that have disappeared are still available on the app store but not Fire TV such as Twitch (ASIN=B007SOQBCM) and Infinite OverDrive (ASIN=B00K32M1TS). Others were flagged/banned such as VeneziaTestApp CIC Sayak June 14 DeviceLaunch Malware Flagged 001 (ASIN=B00L4VKLBM).
Here is one more for safe measure - TubeMusic - Play Billboard top songs on your TV (ASIN=B00KJW667A)
My problem is I don't know if I should continue to list the apps or remove them from my tool since I don't know what happens to them after they are no longer available from the app store (I didn't happen to install any of these apps). Has anyone here installed any of these apps through the app store (not side-loaded) and can tell me if they still function on the FireTV?
Thanks!

"Continue to Amazon Appstore" external market issue

Hi folks,
I've got a Fire Phone, with default Fire OS 4.6.1
I am not quite ready to get into rooting it and adding a new OS, as I don't have the time.
So in the interim I have the Google Play Store installed, along with a launcher that's more to my liking.
I have the issue that when I click on links in apps which, I assume, are intended to launch the Google Play Store, I get a message from Fire OS saying,
Continue to Amazon Appstore?
This app is trying to open a link with an external market that is not available on your device. Would you like to open this link with the Amazon Appstore instead?
[CANCEL] [CONTINUE]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I click cancel, then the link does not open. If I click continue it goes to the Amazon Appstore and can't find what the link relates to (obviously).
I saw someone else posting something about this, and they were advised to edit some settings in the Manage Applications settings, and also External Market settings. Since updating to 4.6.1 I don't seem to be able to find any Manage Applications settings, no External Market settings (not even sure if those existed on the pre-4.6.1 OS that was on here when I received it).
Is there a way to set this thing to allow Google Play to launch when Play links are clicked?
Cheers,
J
On an unrooted device:
- Go to "settings" and look for "manage applications", select "all", to see every app installed...
- Disable the "Appstore"
As long as the Amazon appstore is disabled, Play Store will intercept the links.
It's not very comfortable, I know. On a rooted device, I used a shortcut to dis-/enable the Amazon Appstore to get the job done faster.
As of now, there is no official way to set the "Play Store" as your default store (of course not, why would Amazon be interested in that option ^^).
Bingo Bronson said:
On an unrooted device:
- Go to "settings" and look for "manage applications", select "all", to see every app installed...
- Disable the "Appstore"
As long as the Amazon appstore is disabled, Play Store will intercept the links.
It's not very comfortable, I know. On a rooted device, I used a shortcut to dis-/enable the Amazon Appstore to get the job done faster.
As of now, there is no official way to set the "Play Store" as your default store (of course not, why would Amazon be interested in that option ^^).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Bingo,
Thanks for the help.
The thing is, since it updated to 4.6.1 (and I see that last night it updated itself to 4.6.3 on its own accord) the "Manage Applications" option that was there previously has gone. There is now just an "Applications" option. And that
Okay... at last I've figured out where "Manage Applications" went since 4.6.1 update. There is now just an "Applications" menu. Touching that expands it to show various options. One of those options is "Force quite or clear data for applications". This is now the way to access the "Manage Applications" screen. The first option on that expanded "Applications" menu is "Manage the settings for individual Amazon applications on your phone". The wording of this had me thinking that this had somehow replaced the Manage Applications option.
Cool. I've now disabled Amazon AppStore.
Thanks.
This Fixed My Issue
I fixed my issue by going to the Applications menu under Settings (little gear in dropdown menu) then going to Manage Applications, then selecting All Applications from the dropdown there. I found the Appstore, clicked on it, selected Force Stop and Clear Cache. That seemed to do the trick. I also have Allow 3rd Party Apps selected, which can also be found under Applications in settings.
I've been searching everywhere for this solution. Youtube and google, and yes finally someone who just needed google play apps to not be redirected to kindle appstore. It worked by disabling the appstore. <3 The ES File Explorer helped me to uninstall the updated version and now apps can be directed to google play. Thanks for saving me from having to root. I like the launcher option from google play. Don't have enough patience to root and then it possibly doesn't work. TOT! Ty for solution!
My 4.6.3 new phone seems to work well in this regard without any setting being made. Just disabled Amazon store auto update. At first I had that redirect to Amazon problem, but then some other Google store link just redirected to Google play app.
For me, clicking on Disable App Store doesn't seem to be doing anything. Unable to disable and blocking of external market link continues
Can someone please help, nothing in here worked.
I tried going to settings -> apps and games -> manage all applications -> All -> Appstore and pressed "clear cache", "clear data", and "force stop", and it didn't help.
I also tried going to settings -> Apps and Games -> Amazon Application Settings -> Appstore -> External Market Links -> Don't Open and now it says "External Market Links Disabled You can choose to open external market links with the bracketbracketAppstore_long_namebracketbracket. Update this option in the External Market Links section of the Appstore settings." (I had to type bracket instead of using [ because it said I was using BBcode and couldn't post)
I'm using a 5th generation fire running Fire OS 5.3.6.4
Fixed it
I just figured it out.
Settings, Applications & Parental Controls, Configure Amazon application settings, Appstore, External Market Links, Don’t Open
This will prevent the Appstore from trying to open links for external app markets. It doesn’t prevent the links from opening with the correct market, just makes that message stop popping up and click-jacking you into oblivion. So now when you click on a link, a little box will open with apps to choose from to open the link, like your browser or Google Play Store, for example.
I want to keep using this phone, because it’s potentially a good privacy phone, without all the tracking stuff installed. Sorry, that would mean no Google Apps...but I use some apps that apparently won’t get notifications unless GAPPS are installed. I heard MicroG can fix that but it doesn’t seem to work. Anyway if I could fix that and maybe upgrade the camera module to a better quality camera, it would be a better phone...almost perfect actually.
thanks for your helpful post
Ninja000 said:
I just figured it out.
......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for posting today!! So happy to see people still using this nice phone. I too want a simple "relatively" private phone, plus I actually preferred the Fire OS UI (which is much better version of Fire OS than we have on Fire tablets).
But I came here because I was fearful that Amazon has bricked my device. It suddenly became "de-registered" and the menus for registering to my Amazon account do not work -- I'm not able to register. And I'm not able to use ANY app that I got from the Amazon app store, and I lost ALL of my nice customizations (organizing my apps into folders, etc -- a huge amount of work because I have a ton of apps).
Probably I should start a new thread on this issue but I wanted to post here in gratitude that people still discuss this phone, plus it is an app store (and bigger...) issue, so it is not entirely unrelated. I will try some of the above advice because perhaps it allow me to launch apps without the Amazon App Store demanding log in.
dini77 said:
Thanks so much for posting today!! So happy to see people still using this nice phone. I too want a simple "relatively" private phone, plus I actually preferred the Fire OS UI (which is much better version of Fire OS than we have on Fire tablets).
But I came here because I was fearful that Amazon has bricked my device. It suddenly became "de-registered" and the menus for registering to my Amazon account do not work -- I'm not able to register. And I'm not able to use ANY app that I got from the Amazon app store, and I lost ALL of my nice customizations (organizing my apps into folders, etc -- a huge amount of work because I have a ton of apps).
Probably I should start a new thread on this issue but I wanted to post here in gratitude that people still discuss this phone, plus it is an app store (and bigger...) issue, so it is not entirely unrelated. I will try some of the above advice because perhaps it allow me to launch apps without the Amazon App Store demanding log in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! "Sharing is caring" :laugh:
Yeah I like it too! I wish it was still supported by Amazon, but the bad press killed it.
As for not being able to use your account...you might try a factory reset, BUT...
FIRST: backup your APKs and saved files via USB to PC (can use file browser in Windows)
or MAC (will need this --->android.com/filetransfer/<---), and make sure under Battery and Storage, USB Connection Type is listed as File Transfer.
This is important because once you regeister, it might restore your last cloud backup, which I assume is probably pretty old after reading your reply.
Next:
Perform the Factory Reset OR...
To reregister your phone go to Settings, My Accounts, either "Register your phone" if that is an option (mine says "Deregister"), or maybe Manage your Amazon account.
The later will probably redirect you to the Amazon website, because the Amazon Shopping App is no longer supported on this older OS.
*I haven't found a newer version of the Amazon Shopping App that works on the Android 4.4 based Fire OS 4.6.6.1.
The other thing is you might be able to do it via the Amazon website, you probably have it listed under your account still, just need to find it.
I'd contact Amazon help to learn about how to do it that way. They might not know off hand, since the phone is no longer technically supported,
but they will definitely still try to help you.
I would really love it if someone on this forum could pull the launcher and everything from this version of Fire OS to work on the newer Android Roms like Cyanogen Mod,
because then we could just replace the old unsupported apps with the new versions. That would be awesome! I realize 2gb Ram would be a little low for the latest Android,
but just having a little newer OS version that is still supported by Amazon would be great. I really enjoy the Kindle App on this, because it has text to speech and
that is really convenient.
BTW, do you have the Google APPS installed on yours? I have them installed on mine, and it drains the batter like crazy,
granted, it's the original battery from 2014, but still.
Side note: If anyone has an extra screw(s) for the bottom they're willing to part with, I'd be willing to buy one (or a handful).
Lost one in the carpet (I know *rolls eyes) when I had to replace the camera module due to some (I guess) scratches or something actually on the sensor itself.
Thanks for all of your advice!! Very much appreciated. I tried one of them right away, which is to check My Devices on the Amazon site, but the phone is no longer listed (it used to be). So that only lists registered devices. Once it is de-registered, it is not considered to be my device. But, you are correct that Amazon customer service may possibly help, because if you buy a device from Amazon, it usually automatically gets registered to you (unless you say it is a gift), and that automatic registration is probably done via some code on the device box probably its serial # (that is, they don't register it by messing with the actual device, I'm guessing). But to be honest I'm not too hopeful about this. But something to try.
Before you replied, I started a new thread on this, mostly to warn people not to de-register their devices, because I think it may not be possible to register again. And this could be a very recent development. Amazon usually sends an email warning when an older device will no longer work, but maybe this was not intentional. I never realized that so much of the function depended on the registration, as if it were an Echo device!
I do have a collection of APKs saved so at least I won't need to re-download, but because I have so many apps, it would still be a lot of work to set things up from scratch, especially since I don't think it will work. I don't think my system is corrupted. Just de-registered. A soft reset (long-press of power button) did not help. Again this just happened by itself -- I had not added anything new or did any updates. So it is not likely that my install got messed up.
I'm always confused when people mention "Google Apps" -- if that means the Play Store and its dependencies, then yes, I have that. But I did not install GMail or Docs or Drive, etc. I minimize using Google things on this phone.
About the screws, eBay may have them. eBay has almost everything.
Ninja000 said:
No problem! "Sharing is caring" :laugh:
Yeah I like it too! I wish it was still supported by Amazon, but the bad press killed it.
.
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I think it is just extremely difficult for "alternative" phone systems to survive, which is soooo sad, because I like interesting variety. I also love Meego, and Windows 10 Mobile. Meego had just one model (it was from Nokia, not released in the U.S.; it was planned to be the Nokia successor for their older Symbian OS). Well, maybe FireOS is not truly "variety" because it is after all essentially Android, but much less messy or annoying, in my opinion. I really like how the Settings are organized. And I like the Carousel, especialy how nicely it works with the built-in apps like weather and email. Being basically Android, it actually had the best chance of survival out of the "Alternatives." It could use most of the same apps as a "real" Android.
The reason for quick death are probably multi-faceted but my guess is the problems with the earliest version of the OS were the most serious thing. And that led to the bad press, so you are correct, that is what did it. I got mine after the "fire sale" and by then the system was much nicer, with the most annoying or serious issues all fixed, so I only read about the early issues. I feel terrible for the (former) Amazon employees who put a huge amount of effort into this thing. (Like Meego, too!) And the hardware is still very nice, better than my Fire Tablet that is much newer. I really thought it would last me for years, for the sorts of things I used it for. (Another thing I liked to do is control my Squeezbox music streaming devices. And listen to podcasts. Things like that.) There are so many uses for an older device. And I enjoyed this one.
Since at the very minimum this device is a Kindle book reader and Amazon music player, Amazon loses by not providing some bare-minimum support for it. My first Kindle e-Reader from 2011 still works great. But my guess is, the number of people still using this phone is super low. Which is why I was happy to see your post!
dini77 said:
Thanks for all of your advice!! Very much appreciated. I tried one of them right away, which is to check My Devices on the Amazon site, but the phone is no longer listed (it used to be). So that only lists registered devices. Once it is de-registered, it is not considered to be my device. But, you are correct that Amazon customer service may possibly help, because if you buy a device from Amazon, it usually automatically gets registered to you (unless you say it is a gift), and that automatic registration is probably done via some code on the device box probably its serial # (that is, they don't register it by messing with the actual device, I'm guessing). But to be honest I'm not too hopeful about this. But something to try.
Before you replied, I started a new thread on this, mostly to warn people not to de-register their devices, because I think it may not be possible to register again. And this could be a very recent development. Amazon usually sends an email warning when an older device will no longer work, but maybe this was not intentional. I never realized that so much of the function depended on the registration, as if it were an Echo device!
I do have a collection of APKs saved so at least I won't need to re-download, but because I have so many apps, it would still be a lot of work to set things up from scratch, especially since I don't think it will work. I don't think my system is corrupted. Just de-registered. A soft reset (long-press of power button) did not help. Again this just happened by itself -- I had not added anything new or did any updates. So it is not likely that my install got messed up.
I'm always confused when people mention "Google Apps" -- if that means the Play Store and its dependencies, then yes, I have that. But I did not install GMail or Docs or Drive, etc. I minimize using Google things on this phone.
About the screws, eBay may have them. eBay has almost everything.
I think it is just extremely difficult for "alternative" phone systems to survive, which is soooo sad, because I like interesting variety. I also love Meego, and Windows 10 Mobile. Meego had just one model (it was from Nokia, not released in the U.S.; it was planned to be the Nokia successor for their older Symbian OS). Well, maybe FireOS is not truly "variety" because it is after all essentially Android, but much less messy or annoying, in my opinion. I really like how the Settings are organized. And I like the Carousel, especialy how nicely it works with the built-in apps like weather and email. Being basically Android, it actually had the best chance of survival out of the "Alternatives." It could use most of the same apps as a "real" Android.
The reason for quick death are probably multi-faceted but my guess is the problems with the earliest version of the OS were the most serious thing. And that led to the bad press, so you are correct, that is what did it. I got mine after the "fire sale" and by then the system was much nicer, with the most annoying or serious issues all fixed, so I only read about the early issues. I feel terrible for the (former) Amazon employees who put a huge amount of effort into this thing. (Like Meego, too!) And the hardware is still very nice, better than my Fire Tablet that is much newer. I really thought it would last me for years, for the sorts of things I used it for. (Another thing I liked to do is control my Squeezbox music streaming devices. And listen to podcasts. Things like that.) There are so many uses for an older device. And I enjoyed this one.
Since at the very minimum this device is a Kindle book reader and Amazon music player, Amazon loses by not providing some bare-minimum support for it. My first Kindle e-Reader from 2011 still works great. But my guess is, the number of people still using this phone is super low. Which is why I was happy to see your post!
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Click to collapse
Yeah I completely agree. I got mine for $199 and a year of Amazon Prime included made the phone basically $99. ? I happened to think of one more possibility. Maybe there is an Amazon Fire ?services app (like Google services) or account manager app that got automatically updated by your Google Play store, or even replaced by a version off the Play store that led to this issue, because like I mentioned mine is actually still working aside from the Amazon Shopping app, and some apps that require a newer google services to get notifications.
I actually had flashed several different Roms on this phone and yeah the stock (but updated) Fire OS 4.6.6.1 is definitely the best. --Amazon account registration is part of the initial setup BTW, so factory reset might work.
I made the jump over to iOS after experiencing the Android 7&8 difficulties on a few other devices and battery gate with Samsung phones. Now I am experiencing a crapy battery life issue with my iPhones. My Fire Phone is from 2014, original battery and still has better battery life than even my iPhone XS Max. Wow ? So yeah, there is something to Fire OS being so light that makes it probably just about the best OS for a phone. The last time I flashed back to stock I used a ROM from this website, but I don’t remember what thread that’s on. I think it’s in the Cyanogen 11 Rom thread for this device. Maybe try flashing that. And you could actually (if you don’t mind losing the storage space) create a backup Rom from your current one, then make a new slot in twrp or whatever it’s called and have the other Rom installed on there. Then check to see if it’s possible to register on that version. If it doesn’t work, no big deal you will still have your backup rom with all your data. If it does work, then you could transfer your stuff over via usb. That would save you quite a bit of time incase it decides not to work. You can do a root and install the other rom right from your fire phone these days. That’s a bonus.
What happens when you open Amazon Instant Video? Does it ask you for a loggin? That would be awesome. BTW My Kindle Fire HX 7 is still working great too, just starting to slow down a bit. I also have a 6" Fire HD. I really agree Fire OS is super clean and alot of modern OS's are not that great and way too heavy for what most people need, especially on mobile devices.
Thanks again for your advice, especially since I will almost certainly end up flashing this thing. I have done a lot of "phone hacking" in the past -- even back in flip phone days -- but it is very time consuming and I'm super busy now. But it is kind of fun. So, maybe later.
I did not have Google Play (or any app store, on any of my devices) to be set to automatically update apps. Tho I think the store itself and its dependencies may still update, even if my apps don't, and I can't control that. And sometimes my setting to not automatically update is "reset" when a google component is updated. So it is conceivable that something got automatically updated and that caused my issue. I did have to reset the "do not update" setting.
I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue, because if no, then you are right, I should just re-flash. I downloaded the latest Fire OS a while ago -- I collect stuff like that because you never know when it will be no longer readily available. So the phone is definitely not dead -- and it is nice that I have options for how to set it up. I'm glad to have the community contributions for that -- I did read thru those hacking posts.
I bought a spare battery a little while ago because I was worried they would be hard to get once I need one. But my currently installed battery, the original, is very satisfactory. So definitely I'll keep using this nice phone for a while.
dini77 said:
Thanks again for your advice, especially since I will almost certainly end up flashing this thing. I have done a lot of "phone hacking" in the past -- even back in flip phone days -- but it is very time consuming and I'm super busy now. But it is kind of fun. So, maybe later.
I did not have Google Play (or any app store, on any of my devices) to be set to automatically update apps. Tho I think the store itself and its dependencies may still update, even if my apps don't, and I can't control that. And sometimes my setting to not automatically update is "reset" when a google component is updated. So it is conceivable that something got automatically updated and that caused my issue. I did have to reset the "do not update" setting.
I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue, because if no, then you are right, I should just re-flash. I downloaded the latest Fire OS a while ago -- I collect stuff like that because you never know when it will be no longer readily available. So the phone is definitely not dead -- and it is nice that I have options for how to set it up. I'm glad to have the community contributions for that -- I did read thru those hacking posts.
I bought a spare battery a little while ago because I was worried they would be hard to get once I need one. But my currently installed battery, the original, is very satisfactory. So definitely I'll keep using this nice phone for a while.
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Click to collapse
Was just thinking of going back to this phone as my primary phone. My problem is trying to get Micro G or something to work, for spoofing google services, because I want to use some apps that require google services, else they won't receive notifications. I also found on app I use, it's Korean, Kakaotalk is not receiving notifications when closed anymore. I haven't figured out why yet. Saw another thread about notifications on 3rd party apps not working, but didn't see a solution. I would also like to see a camera upgrade (4k video) and maybe a speaker upgrade and storage would be nice, but obviously that would require some soldering that I'm not willing to do, but maybe if I had a few doner phones would try it.:laugh: happy thanksgiving by the way!
I just went back to a Nokia N9 as my primary, at least for voice and weather and such basics (MeeGo OS, and battery lasts for days, good quality voice, nice small size, does not crash, etc). But I have my iPad and iPhone SE (the older model) always turned on so that covers all my needs. So, it is perfectly fine to use an old phone as primary so long as you have another device to supplement what the primary lacks. The Fire Phone would also make a primary. Tho in my experience it is not as stable. The "mishap" in this thread was not my first serious hiccup. See also the thread on all apps crashing if they require the address book (including the phone). That one is serious and reoccurs. (I think it is caused by having a very large number of apps on the phone. Usually fixed when I delete one of the larger apps.) So in other words at least with the original OS, stability is an issue. Maybe the custom firmware on this board is more stable.
Have a great thanksgiving!

MrMC now available

Aftvnews.com said MRMC is now available for the fire tv. Anyone have experience with this Kodi fork? I know it's stripped of add ons. What I want to know is what level of customization does it provide? My big need is a way to separate home vides from movies so that I can have a menu item that only goes to movies and a menu item only to home videos. Aeon nox works great for that in kodi, but mrmc is supported by amazon's App Store and thus will be auto updated. So there's benefits to switching to that if it has the features I need. Anyone worked with it before?
ouradu said:
Aftvnews.com said MRMC is now available for the fire tv. Anyone have experience with this Kodi fork? I know it's stripped of add ons. What I want to know is what level of customization does it provide? My big need is a way to separate home vides from movies so that I can have a menu item that only goes to movies and a menu item only to home videos. Aeon nox works great for that in kodi, but mrmc is supported by amazon's App Store and thus will be auto updated. So there's benefits to switching to that if it has the features I need. Anyone worked with it before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sure why anybody would pay for something that has been crippled & is already free. Might as well buy a car with only one axle then... But if you consider yourself a joke. Then go ahead & buy it.
Looking @ what the self proclaim "developer" posted as the products feature. MRMC is Kodi with less features. Not with more. So take what can be done with Kodi & subtract. That is your answer.
Product Features
supports many popular music/video container/formats. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
supports digital audio pass-through. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
supports MythTV, HDHomeRun and many other IPTV devices. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
internal sqlite or external mysql database for metadata storage. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
user addons/plugins are not supported. CRIPPLED ON THIS "BUILD"
Product Description
MrMC is based on an award-winning free and open source (GPLv2) software media center for playing videos, music, and pictures. MrMC, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most videos, music, and other digital media files from local storage media. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ouradu said:
Aftvnews.com said MRMC is now available for the fire tv. Anyone have experience with this Kodi fork? I know it's stripped of add ons. What I want to know is what level of customization does it provide? My big need is a way to separate home vides from movies so that I can have a menu item that only goes to movies and a menu item only to home videos. Aeon nox works great for that in kodi, but mrmc is supported by amazon's App Store and thus will be auto updated. So there's benefits to switching to that if it has the features I need. Anyone worked with it before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using it on an Appletv and just used went ahead and got it. Looks the same. Skins are limited: Amber, SiO2, MrMC(looks exactly like confluence) and PM3.HD. PVR clients seem to work. I use HDhomerun PVR client and Simple TV PVR. If all you need is a good external media player, PVR, m3u player and local playback this is fine.
It serves my basic needs. The $7 seems steep unless you figure the auto-update is worth your saved time after a while. But honestly just using adb is so simple.
Edit : PVR for HDhomerun not the official Kodi HDhomerun addon. Still can watch live if not using for recording
goodhur said:
I have been using it on an Appletv and just used went ahead and got it. Looks the same. Skins are limited: Amber, SiO2, MrMC(looks exactly like confluence) and PM3.HD. PVR clients seem to work. I use HDhomerun PVR client and Simple TV PVR. If all you need is a good external media player, PVR, m3u player and local playback this is fine.
It serves my basic needs. The $7 seems steep unless you figure the auto-update is worth your saved time after a while. But honestly just using adb is so simple.
Edit : PVR for HDhomerun not the official Kodi HDhomerun addon. Still can watch live if not using for recording
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Click to collapse
Auto-Update - For Kodi & SPMC FireStarter/FireStopper will give you that... Or you can just use ES File Explorer to download & install updates too.
On Apple products I understand the crazy prize & limited featured apps like this because of how close system their app store is. But for Android. It is not a good trend to bring or support such close system apps this way. SPMC took itself off the Amazon Market in solidarity with Kodi. MRMC went the other way. It's funny how MRMC is saying their code has branched for months but there is nothing different from Kodi. It just does less. It doesn't add anything different. Just subtracts. But they are not the same code. All they can say is it's different in the code or under the hood but when you ask for what specific. There is no specifics.
Y314K said:
Auto-Update - For Kodi & SPMC FireStarter/FireStopper will give you that... Or you can just use ES File Explorer to download & install updates too.
On Apple products I understand the crazy prize & limited featured apps like this because of how close system their app store is. But for Android. It is not a good trend to bring or support such close system apps this way. SPMC took itself off the Amazon Market in solidarity with Kodi. MRMC went the other way. It's funny how MRMC is saying their code has branched for months but there is nothing different from Kodi. It just does less. It doesn't add anything different. Just subtracts. But they are not the same code. All they can say is it's different in the code or under the hood but when you ask for what specific. There is no specifics.
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Click to collapse
koying voiced in to give his full support here as well. Not sure why you have your pitchforks out here and on AFTVnews with contempt for this app.
http://www.aftvnews.com/mrmcs-developers-do-not-deserve-the-hate-theyre-receving/
For the record, I totally agree with the content of this article.
FWIW, I considered making SPMC a paying app as well. It’s basically the anticipation of the ****storm Scott is into now that made me cave in (plus the realization that Kodi is just too big to properly support on my own with a day job).
Haters, please move on. Don’t forget Kodi on Android is on life support. Pissing off the couple of devs still supporting it is not a wise move…
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Click to collapse
And Nate Thomas gave some input as well:
Davilla is doing a really great job here, actually. He’s taking advantage of an error in the market. On Apple and Fire TV, there’s no way to get Kodi to auto-update and no way to install Kodi directly from the store. So he’s created a version of Kodi that meets the demands of those stores, so that it can be distributed that way. And in the process, he’s creating code that can theoretically make it back upstream to Kodi itself.
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Click to collapse
jpeg42 said:
koying voiced in to give his full support here as well. Not sure why you have your pitchforks out here and on AFTVnews with contempt for this app.
http://www.aftvnews.com/mrmcs-developers-do-not-deserve-the-hate-theyre-receving/
And Nate Thomas gave some input as well:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So no one address what I find to be the biggest fault with this app. So I'll just re-quote myself.
On Apple products I understand the crazy prize & limited featured apps like this because of how close system their app store is. But for Android. It is not a good trend to bring or support such close system apps this way. SPMC took itself off the Amazon Market in solidarity with Kodi. MRMC went the other way. It's funny how MRMC is saying their code has branched for months but there is nothing different from Kodi. It just does less. It doesn't add anything different. Just subtracts. But they are not the same code. All they can say is it's different in the code or under the hood but when you ask for what specific. There is no specifics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for SPMC. I would not mind paying one time $10 fee for SPMC AS LONG AS IT WAS FULL ON KODI or KODI+. SPMC adds KODI+ by including Launcher & other options. It adds to the free KODI code. MrMC is only including auto-updates by selling KODI down the river by kowtowing to Amazon's Stores demands. If you don't see how MrMC is doing exactly what Amazon wants & you believe it won't hurt being able to run KODI on AFTV's in the future. Then that's on you.
Developers will always stick up for developers. Hence you have Elias, koying & whoever wanting to get folks to just accept MrMC. They can do what they want & charge what they want. But If I think their choice can affect something I don't want to deteriorate any further, then I'll call them out on it.
MrMC = KODI Minus anything related to legal or illegal add-ons with promises to add some things in the future. It also perpetuates Apple's close apps restrictive system over to Amazon. It eliminates any sliver of a chance of getting KODI back on Amazon's apps echo system.
SPMC = FULL KODI Plus it adds launcher & other fixes & code that did not make it into KODI's current release. THIS IS WORTH paying for to purchase off the Amazon/AFTV Store..
I honestly have no idea what your rant is trying to say it is so all over the place. Bottom line is..... Kodi will NEVER be on the Amazon store. That is Amazon's choice. It is Amazon's device, it is their app store. The obvious business model is to create a platform for people to give them more money via subscription and media sales. They have no interest in selling you a box to do anything you like with. They lock it down for a reason. If you don't like that, buy something else.
In the meantime, you can always sideload Kodi. And even that is likely short lived as there are no developers left at Kodi for the Android port. So you have one team getting back to the heart of what they believe XBMC and Kodi were meant to be, and selling it via a means that allows them to update seamlessly and creates them create some income for their work. Good for them. That is the nature of software development, and open source code. All GPL states is that you give notices where required, and make your usage of the code open source as well. What you do with the product around that, what you charge for it, etc. that is totally up to the developer. This is the very nature of freedom and choice with the license. Amazon included whether you like it or not.
Directly from the license:
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
........................
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their
rights.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there is no demand for it, then it won't sell and development will likely stop (but they are currently #5 in TV/Movies). And if you don't like what Amazon is doing, don't buy their box and don't support them. Simple as that. This is worth far more than "calling them out" on internet forums.
jpeg42 said:
I honestly have no idea what your rant is trying to say it is so all over the place. Bottom line is..... Kodi will NEVER be on the Amazon store. That is Amazon's choice. It is Amazon's device, it is their app store. The obvious business model is to create a platform for people to give them more money via subscription and media sales. They have no interest in selling you a box to do anything you like with. They lock it down for a reason. If you don't like that, buy something else.
In the meantime, you can always sideload Kodi. And even that is likely short lived as there are no developers left at Kodi for the Android port. So you have one team getting back to the heart of what they believe XBMC and Kodi were meant to be, and selling it via a means that allows them to update seamlessly and creates them create some income for their work. Good for them. That is the nature of software development, and open source code. All GPL states is that you give notices where required, and make your usage of the code open source as well. What you do with the product around that, what you charge for it, etc. that is totally up to the developer. This is the very nature of freedom and choice with the license. Amazon included whether you like it or not.
Directly from the license:
If there is no demand for it, then it won't sell and development will likely stop (but they are currently #5 in TV/Movies). And if you don't like what Amazon is doing, don't buy their box and don't support them. Simple as that. This is worth far more than "calling them out" on internet forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I bought my AFTV's KODI was in the Amazon store. The icon would even appear in resents. Amazon decided to kick Kodi out of the store. I have not given up on trying to get it back in the store or to hold Amazon accountable for their choice. Until my FTV's become to old or die I will continue to use what I paid for. And will continue to try even if just by voicing my displeasure to influence it's echo system even if it's by posting in a forum. I have stop myself from buying anymore Amazon devices. I have stopped recommending FTV's & FTVS's too. So I'll do what I'll do.
Yes, anybody can mod/charge for KODI code. Last I checked. That was not part of my argument against MrMC. But thanks for posting something unrelated to my post. You make a great straw men argument. Posting the license was great. To bad I never mention MrMC was violating or doing anything wrong regarding licensing. Straw men up , straw men knocked down. Bravo.
I was very specific what my philosophy is regarding this. But since you don't seem able discern it. Then "que sera, sera".
.
What MrMC is doing is against my philosophy of what I want Android & specifically the FTV's app echo system to be. And I'll continue to "rant" or state what I think. Last I checked, that is how these innerwebs work. People rant & others post rants about the other rant and so forth. Two bad the second rant-ee won't read or understand any specific points for the first rant.
What MrMC is doing is against my philosophy of what I want Android........blah blah blah
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Click to collapse
Tuning out right there. It is open source. Feel free to code exactly what you want Android and Kodi to be and share with the rest of us. Oh wait......
jpeg42 said:
Tuning out right there. It is open source. Feel free to code exactly what you want Android and Kodi to be and share with the rest of us. Oh wait......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And once again you completely missed my point. Which is...
MrMC = KODI Minus anything related to legal or illegal add-ons with promises to add some things in the future. It also perpetuates Apple's close apps restrictive system over to Amazon. It eliminates any sliver of a chance of getting KODI back on Amazon's apps echo system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regardless if I code or not code. Regardless if it's within Kodi's licensing. I still see MrMC choice to bring this over to Amazon as detrimental on this side of the non-Apple pond. MrMC is made for a close system where users take what apples allows them. I don't want to see that expanded on Amazon or Android. This is a very basic philosophy.
Ohh, snap, I don't code. Guess I better not have/share an opinion/philosophy then...
Y314K said:
And once again you completely missed my point. Which is...
Regardless if I code or not code. Regardless if it's within Kodi's licensing. I still see MrMC choice to bring this over to Amazon as detrimental on this side of the non-Apple pond. MrMC is made for a close system where users take what apples allows them. I don't want to see that expanded on Amazon or Android. This is a very basic philosophy.
Ohh, snap, I don't code. Guess I better not have/share an opinion/philosophy then...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see your point because Amazon app store for FireTV has not changed since you purchased your device. So you are fighting for something that never existed.
Kodi was NEVER compatible for your FireTV. It might have been in the store for other devices, but you always had to sideload the initial install and updates. They never wanted Kodi (and its streaming feature specifically) to be installed from their official app store on your FireTV to take away from their profits. In fact all stores (amazon, apple and google) filter out whatever they choose. Nothing is open as you want to believe.
And now Amazon allows you to see your sideloaded apps, so it is even a better implementation than what you originally purchased. And if you want to have a version that comes from the store with updates, well, now we have MrMC. So you basically have you want, yet you still feel the need to rant.
jpeg42 said:
I don't see your point because Amazon app store for FireTV has not changed since you purchased your device. So you are fighting for something that never existed.
Kodi was NEVER compatible for your FireTV. It might have been in the store for other devices, but you always had to sideload the initial install and updates. They never wanted Kodi (and its streaming feature specifically) to be installed from their official app store on your FireTV to take away from their profits. In fact all stores (amazon, apple and google) filter out whatever they choose. Nothing is open as you want to believe.
And now Amazon allows you to see your sideloaded apps, so it is even a better implementation than what you originally purchased. And if you want to have a version that comes from the store with updates, well, now we have MrMC. So you basically have you want, yet you still feel the need to rant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So KODI from the Amazon Store was never compatible with the FTV's. It just worked & showed up in resents after sideloading. Then Amazon used some lame excuse to remove it from their store. And in the future when Amazon whitelists Kodi from FTV's or other Amazon devices they will just say. Get the crippled MrMC app if you want Kodi.
Compare to Apple's apps store. Google can be somewhat consider an open system. And Amazon is somewhere in between both. I have a philosophy of encouraging Amazon to aim towards Google's philosophy & farther away from Apple's philosophy. I just checked & Google still has Kodi & SPMC freely available in their store & Google sells media just like Amazon does. Yet what MrMC is expanding is from Apple's side with the removal of code for store approval. Which is legal & within MrMC's prerogative. But it dose not mean I should either support it or be quiet if I disagree.
So the whole reason Kodi was shown the door by Amazon is because of the 3rd party add ons which promote piracy. Kodi WON'T be back on the Amazon store until Kodi removes the piracy aspect. Yes?
MrMC fills this void by removing the piracy aspect and voila, Kodi aka MrMC is back in the app store. Problem solved. Now since Kodi has no Android developer and says it's becoming extinct, you have Android developers working on the MrMC program which may see future development that Kodi may not. As far as charging for it, would you work for free? Neither would I.
As a side benefit (to the tin foil hat wearing crowd) to the people who keep thinking Amazon is going to block side loading of Kodi, well now they have a legitimate solution to this "problem" and they don't have to "worry" about blocking updates.
This seems like a big win win to me.

If you have noticed apps going missing on Google Play in the updates list,read this!

For anyone that is reading this,I encourage you to get Google's attention for this utter nonsense and join together to show some backlash against these changes.
I found out about this because I was neglecting to update some listed apps because the changes of the apps weren't worth the update yet.
Recently I noticed a few of the apps I know had updates to them mysteriously vanished from the updates list on my Android Shield TV Pro (2015),which is still on Nougat OTA 6.3, and I couldn't figure out what was going on for a bit.
So when I found out they were suddenly listed as incompatible on Google Play via an already installed Opera for Android web browser that I commonly use,I had to message the app developers.
One of those apps I helped brainstorm a few features for ,so I am fairly acquainted with one of the devs more than the other app developers that I also notified via e-mails.
Turns out,they have to go through some new survey/review garbage now in order to pass a test designed for the most lax Shield TV users (users that never side-load anything and never use a keyboard on it,or users who only use a small number of apps).
Sorry if this offends any users that don't do a bunch of extra things on their Shield TV,its Google messing with Android TV again which causes more extensive users to suffer.
The attached image shows what stuff every app must do in order to become "eligible" to be accessible on a Shield TV.
That means,any abandoned old app that was previously listed more-or-less or any app that the developers don't want to update to make it compatible or "eligible" or any app that the developer is too lazy to even bother with making it compatible again will be locked away from proper updates if they were previously listed on Google Play as compatible for being possible to install/update directly.
The biggest problem in all of this mess is that anyone on the Oreo update is stuck with that stubborn and extra difficult untrusted app sources change that makes it basically impossible to install many apps due to them failing to show up in the list that comes up for allowing you to install each app that you wish to side-load.
I encourage anyone that reads this to help get Google's attention for this utter nonsense and give them some backlash.

Fire TV stick lite... any interesting things to add/change/patch?

I have just ordered the AFT lite. I understand that the stick hardware itself is virtually the same as for the AFT 3rd gen and that the differences are mostly to do with the included remote. I am an occasional Android dev (though I mostly work on the tablet side of things) and it seems that the stick is a fully fledged Android with developer options and ADB access etc.
I have already looked into some things I can do with that thing, for instance adding an OTG cable to access external HDs/sticks or installing the Amazon Fire TV app on a tablet to make using it much easier and quicker. I don't know yet which firmware version the stick will carry and whether or not it'll be possible to unlock the bootloader and root it (with a view to add TWRP and Magisk, if at all possible). So any hints in that direction are welcome.
As are all other tips and tricks and hacks that are feasible for that device (I am on Linux but could dual-boot into Windows if that's important).
THX for looking into that and a Happy New Year to all.
Firestick lite based on android 9 ..perhaps not so "fully fledged" as it is polluted by unneccessary amazon junk and telemetry as opposed to a crisp smooth android 9 firmware.
No root or unlock at this moment , like the other devices maybe in the future .
You can use adb to debloat or use techdoctor tool to debloat and block updates .
There is also the custom launcher and screensavers such as aerial views or aerial dreams that can be added to give a nice apple screensaver .
Other than that there is not much to do ...apart from debloat which disables apks rather than root# deleting/uninstalling them there is not really much to do on these devices .
Even with an unlocked bootloader development for Firetv devices is somewhat lacking as developers concentrate on other more popular devices the current Firetv devices seem to be overlooked , much due to unpopularity.
We can only hope the people with the knowledge and skills find the time and interest to turn their attention back to amazon devices , BUT with amazon striving to take apart each modification or exploit via OTA updates it may , just may, be in vain .
Regards
Thanks for that, appreciated. It seems there is no way to run the thing without it first (before anything else goes) doing its rounds of OTA updates. Whether it's worthwhile to block updates afterwards is a good question?!
As to fully fledged, I see what you mean but all that AZ crap is of course ON TOP of a full Android, so all the apps I use on my phones and tablets should work in principle (whether they make sense is a different story). I have installed MiXplorer and a few plugins for a start and also NetGuard as a non-root firewall, though I suppose that will not block certain AZ processes from accessing the internet. OTOH, I am actually not so much the streaming guy (streaming via WAN servers, LAN is a different story) so I may well block the stick's WAN access in my router for most of the time.
I also had the AZ Fire app for Android installed on a phone, to replace the remote but this doesn't work very well and was removed v quickly. I've found sth else which looks much better called Easy Fire Tools (see https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.agondev.easyfiretools&hl=en_US&gl=US).
Launcher... should they all work or is there one which is especially good (or bad )?
As to debloating, I'll probably try to find out what is safe to remove and create a sh script with the required adb commands.
Again thanks and looking forward to more interesting things!
OK, here's a little more about the things I've been playing with or stuff I've found out. This FTV Stick lite seems to be on OS version 7.2.4.2, and as it seems hard to impossible to root it all that follows should work with all lite sticks.
I have installed MiXplorer (as I always do on new devices) with various plugins and this works very well. I found out that the app will actually read from OTG USB sticks that are NTFS-formatted. Those are not recognised by other apps on the stick (eg Kodi or mpv) but MiXplorer is fine and can, with the images plugin, even play videos from the USB device.
I have added the NetGuard app and blocked all internet access save for the few apps I have installed. Whether this is watertight remains to be seen (all the Amazon apps I've tested are blocked but I am not sure about system stuff like the OTA updater).
For those I have debloated the stick with the com.wolf.fos7.debloater.apk which seems to have done its job. I also have added a few Amazon OTA URLs to my router's dnsmasq configuration. Again, not sure whether this'll work... when the next update is available we'll see :-/
I have also installed bash as the shell, nano (editor), rsync, rclone and a few other binaries from two sources I've been relying on for a while: Zackptg5/Cross-Compiled-Binaries-Android and [NATIVE][ARM]Linux binaries for Android. If there's interest I can explain how and where I installed these.
As launcher I'm using the 1.51 version of the com.amazon.tv.leanbacklauncher.apk and it took me a while to realise that I need the Launcher Manager as well for this launcher to stick. I also added the Mouse Toogle app (v1.06).
Last but not least I've installed ru.andr7e.deviceinfohw.apk for detailed system information about the stick.
So far so good. More to follow if I find more tidbits.

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