sticks are no 1 target so all other devices get free range 
They are still useful for back up purposes when needed.
Morning @pirate77,
I still use both my 4K Max and 4K firesticks daily for all my streaming needs. I have begun to look at other devices in case I might need to make a change soon.
I am very comfortable with the firestick. Will continue to use until I can’t.
Have a great day
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Yea for how shall I put it (testing purposes) amazon devices aren’t the way to go anymore.But for the average everyday cut the cord family,they are still great.I have one in the br,one as a backup in the lr.Both work well for my family.But for experimental purposes lol,the shield and onn devices are my jam.
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Well I use both Onn and Firesticks, I do most of my streaming with the Onn devices but because I have a Recast I also use the Firesticks a lot.
I do have concerns about the Onn devices, because, like Amazon it looks like Google may move away from sideloading etc.
My concern isn’t right now but in the future and particularly after I upgraded to Android 12 on the first Onn devices I can see Google implementing more restrictions. They haven’t yet, so it may just be paranoia.
Fortunately it wasn’t a forsed upgrade but I have been looking at alternative stock Android devices anyway.
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yes i am the same always have used sticks its just incredible how they are singled out as public enemy no 1
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Perfect metaphor to live by…
Drive it until the wheels fall off.
Not the sticks, but the parent behind how they’re being currently raised.
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Of course, if you’re bored and not apprehensive about getting your hands a little dirty, you can root a stick and flash an android TV OS onto a firestick and force custody away from their Amazon parent.
There is a bad stygma going around with firesticks, but really only among us small group of users at are using them at more than a casual level. The vast user base of firestick fans will be just fine with praising and endorsing firesticks, both current and future iterations.
I’m raising sleeves in anticipation of immenent rooting adventures!!
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Yup - always fun if you have patience and willingness to learn and understand concepts.
…just like overclocking a PC for the first time and not using their presets or turbo modes.
enough people on here willing to help as always
Forget rooting a Firestick though. 9 times out of 10 you’ll brick it.
If the stick is disposable, the experience of walking down the road to root is sometimes worth the time alone, even if ending in failure.
This is contingent that you have a PC with the right resources and OS, willingness to learn ADB, and aware of possible consequences as this road can lead to multiple story endings.
Even if you come out of it with a better understanding of abd commands and what a bootloader is, it may be worth the time to try on an otherwise throwaway piece of silicon.
The firestick, when I investigated it, required physically dismantling the stick. Here is the quote. “The flathead screwdriver will be used to open up the Fire TV Stick to get access to the small capacitors on the board that we need to short circuit to unlock the bootloader. We’ll be connecting the points with a small piece of aluminum foil.” Now for a cheap Firestick and the failure rate, I decided the time investment wasn’t worth it. Now admittedly this was 4 years ago so not sure about the newer ones. I still have the link to the instructions for any brave souls.
think ile give that a miss 
I took one apart and got to the part where I folded up the foil and shorted the caps. You can guess what happened next. Poof. End of experiment 1. I found out I’m a hammer sorta guy. 
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same here but i find blowtorch has more finess
Wow, really?
I didn’t think it required hardware modification as the sole method for root access.
I thought there was a software method during the early generations of the stick, but I never revisited after the generations after that.
Not surprising that they would have broken root and updated firmware to prevent software methods to prevail.
In the case of needing dismantling and soldering in, then unless you were particularly bored and inspired with curiosity, the ends would not justify the means in this case.
LOL. 
Then the beggars installed electronic fuses they could remotely use with an update. Lol.