Amazon Fire TV Piracy Crackdown Reveals Bigger Problems

TROYPOINT.com Posts
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Originally published at: Amazon Fire TV Piracy Crackdown Reveals Bigger Problems

Amazon recently started blocking certain apps from being installed on Fire TV devices. While users can still bypass these restrictions with a simple “Launch Anyway” button, this move signals a troubling trend for Fire TV owners. Table of ContentsAmazon’s New App RestrictionsThe Real Security ThreatFire TV’s Uncertain FutureAmazon Silencing Customer ComplaintsGoogle TV/Android TV Offers More…

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Hopefully, it will be Amazon’s token response to ACE without actually doing anything drastic (much like ISPs warn of “potential” violations of their Terms of Service but don’t actually do anything beyond that).

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I have streamed tv content for more than fifteen years, this has happened with many apps and tv streamingservices, including kodi. There’s always has been a gray area that we’ve been able to skirt due to the definition of the law , which allows for streaming but not downloading copyrighted material. Truly , if amazon wants to keep selling fire sticks , what made them appealing was your ability to side load apps unike Roku. But It sounds like they’re going to stop your ability from side loading apps. So basically , there’s not gonna be a whole lot of people not buying anymore fire sticks. So if you want to continue streaming , you’re probably at some point going to have to upgrade to a Nvidia streaming box or another similar device.

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I suapect the percentage of people who use firesticks for pirate side-loaded apps is less than 1%.

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I have no idea of the percentage of people side loading apps, but it must be over 1 percent just due to the lack of sales of new Firesticks. Something is keeping people from buying them and only the operating system has changed. I still have a few Roku sticks I keep around for my wife and guests for the ease of use. I quit using Firesticks when they started to force so much advertising down our throats. Personally I have two ONN Pros and a Nvidia Shield Pro for my own use.

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It will be a lot more than 1%, given that it has become commonplace to sell firesticks with sideloaded programs to people who think its OK and don’t even use a VPN.

The Fire TV stick is fairly cheap, ok for running side loaded apps and often gets sold with everything on it.

This is why Amazon are cracking down and trying to get people to delete what Amazon says is not needed.

Personally, I use Prime and an Android box (with a tunnelling VPN), so that is not an issue for me now.

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The market has become saturated.

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I’ve moved completely away from Firesticks when I started noticing how Amazon was starting to move away from the Android OS. I suspect Amazon is going to lock down most products in the near future. Personally I have 7 ONN devices and prefer these over the Firesticks.

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So the question I have is…….Is this just new fire sticks or are they making changes to the old ones via updates? If the access is being changed via updates can we turn off up dates? I have a shield a few ONN devices and a few fire sticks but help many friends in “using” a TV service and most have Fire sticks. If turning off updates solves this I will have to do on my own Fire Sticks and walk my friends through doing it as well. Any responses will be helpful

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If you haven’t applied the exploit to your fire stick/cube’s you currently have and it has been connected to the internet then you won’t be able apply the exploit to block the updates. Your Fire TV devices have already received the update that blocks the exploit. If you buy a new Fire Stick/Cube you may be able to apply the exploit using Troy’s method. You will need a router where you can modify the Firewall settings. If your ISP provided the router/modem then most likely you can’t modify the firewall settings. I connected my old router to my router from ISP and was able to block the updates.

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Sounds like over my ability so if stuff gets blocked will move to ONN devices. I am using Verizon 5g over the air for internet so not sure what I can do with that anyway. I have a shield for my main TV just more of a pain for the friends I have that loive there fire sticks and have no idea what sideloading even is. I do all that for them. I know this will be ever cahnging and someone will find ways around what they are trying to block. Thanks for the update

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Just update the apps as described in Troy’s video. That should do the trick.

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You are correct Sir, but with all the upkeep for :fire: products it might be easier on you to start a slow weaning process towards the the Android Universe with your flock. Sounds like you already have a start with your Onn experience, and Onn would probably be the easiest transition IMHO…. Good Luck no matter your decision….

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What do I lose if I cancel my Prime membership? Well, consider what Amazon is charging for a subscription. And, no more normal two day shipping, no more free Prime TV (plenty of ads, subscriptions for other channels), where are the benefits? So IMO, maybe it’s time I cut Amazons cord. What say you?

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I’ll certainly keep my Amazon account active, although I’ve never had Prime. Being a senior without any vehicle, it’s nice having stuff delivered to my door for no extra charge. I personally gave up Firesticks about 2 yrs ago when @TROYPOINT introduced me to AndroidTV, AOSP, and more powerful devices. Thanks to all those who contribute advice and their experiences with us, so that we can learn from each other.

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Amazon control and advertising made it easy to decide to try one of the ONN devices. I set one up with ProjectIvy and now have a clean home screen to access all my favourite apps. My VPN stays connected even when the TV is turned off.

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Great idea! We can send a message to Amazon about their new rules. They are making it very hard to justify $170 annual for their weaker service. I cut them off last year, and today I noticed they charged me $16.00 for a month-to-month deal, which I did not authorize. This is the 2nd time within the last 12 months. Amazon is or was sued for this and lost big time, yet they are still doing the same thing. Go figure?

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I know that many have trashed their old, unused FireSticks. I’ve got an idea, why don’t we all collectively send our old Sticks back to Amazon? :grin:

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Might want ro check some of those apps..it appears the blocking policy has been extended a lot as of today