What is a Jailbroken Amazon FireStick?

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a streaming media player that connects directly to your TV. In stock form, the Fire TV Stick is a great option for cord cutters or those who want to supplement their normal TV with streams. A jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Stick is something else entirely.

When you jailbreak something, you break out of a closed system by adding new software. This gives you root access to the device so you can modify it as you see fit. While the Fire TV Stick is based on Android, Amazon have modified it into a kind of closed system. Jailbreaking just means opening that system up to work with open source or more open programs.

Jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Stick

A jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Stick will have third-party applications installed on it and root permission so you can do what you want with your device. Jailbreaking is often against the device manufacturer’s terms of service but is not against the law whatever the media might want you to think. Jailbreaking is not illegal. Using a jailbroken device to access copyrighted content is illegal though so tread carefully.

You can buy jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Sticks online but they can carry quite a premium over the standard version. With some patience and the right tutorial, you can jailbreak your own Fire TV Stick for free. Be aware though that it getting it wrong can brick your device so read the instructions carefully before trying.

A favorite app for using on a jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Stick is Kodi so I’m going to use that for this tutorial.

First we need to gain permission to add new software.

1. Connect your Amazon Fire TV Stick to your TV and turn everything on.
2. Access the Settings menu on your Fire Stick and select Device.
3. Select Developer Options.
4. Enable ‘ADB debugging’ and ‘Allow apps from Unknown sources’.
5. Go back to the home screen and select Your Apps & Channels.
6. Select search and enter Downloader into the search box.
7. Select Downloader and select Get to install it.

These two settings will let you install third-party apps onto your Fire Stick. Installing Downloader allows you to access files and install programs on your Fire Stick. Now we can get to the jailbreaking by installing Kodi.

1. Open Downloader on your Fire TV Stick.
2. Enter ‘https://kodi.tv/download’ into the URL box and select Download.
3. Select the Android APK file and the 32-bit option.
4. Select Install once you see the prompt.

Don’t go anywhere yet. Let the installation complete and say yes when Downloader asks you if you want to delete the installer files for Kodi. Storage is limited on an Amazon Fire TV Stick so we want as much as possible for media.

Adding content to Kodi

While powerful, Kodi is nothing without its addons. It is these addons that will add channels, content, apps, features and all the things that make it such a powerful media player.

1. Select Your Apps & Channels on your Fire TV Stick.
2. Open Kodi and let it load.
3. Select Settings and Unknown Sources to toggle it on.
4. Select System and then File Manager in Kodi.
5. Select Add source.
6. Select where you see <None> and add ‘https://i-a-c.github.io’ and select OK.
7. Name it Redux and select OK.
8. Go back to the System menu and select Add-ons.
9. Select Install from zip file and select Redux from the menu.
10. Select the repository.exodusredux zip file.
11. Select Install From Repository and select Exodus Redux Repo.
12. Select Video add-ons, Exodus Redux and Install.
13. Select OK to install additional addons when prompted.
14. Navigate to the Kodi home screen and select Exodus Redux.

If Exodus Redux doesn’t load, reboot your Fire Stick and it should load fine. You can access all kinds of content from within Exodus Redux or you can add other repos using the same method.

For other Kodi addons, check this site or this site for current lists.

Using Kodi on an Amazon Fire TV Stick

Jailbreaking is not illegal. Using Kodi is not illegal. Most addons are not illegal. Using any of these to access copyrighted content is illegal. With the best will in the world, some addons don’t make it very clear that you will be accessing illegal streams. Even if you try to keep it completely legal, you may overstep, so always use a VPN when using Kodi.

TechJunkie has a ton of content around VPNs so check there for the latest offers, reviews and information on protecting yourself while on the web.