Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices run a modified version of Android called Fire OS that allows you to stream music and video from Amazon, Netflix, and a wide range of other services. You can download and install third-party apps from the Amazon Appstore, and while Amazon doesn’t publicize this fact, it’s also possible to sideload third-party apps.
But Amazon also does its best to restrict what you can do with its Fire OS devices and in recent years the company has cracked down even further by doing things like preventing users from sideloading some applications. Now a new exploit has been discovered that makes it possible to bypass many of Amazon’s restrictions, giving you far more control over the software that runs on a Fire TV Stick, Cube, or tablet as well as Amazon Fire tablets.
Update: Amazon started rolling out a patch for Fire TV devices in October that prevents this exploit from working. Previously hacked Fire TV devices remain unaffected as long as users made sure to block over-the-air updates. And Fire tablets are unaffected so far, but it’s likely that Amazon will roll out an update for tablets running FireOS soon.
While there’s currently no known method for gaining full root access or unlocking the bootloader to install custom ROMs on devices running Fire OS 7 or Fire OS 8, members of the xda-developers forum recently introduced a method for gaining system user access to Fire OS 7 and Fire OS 8 devices.
That gives you permission to change system files that would otherwise not be accessible to a user account. Among other things, that means that you can:
- Install a custom launcher to replace the default Amazon Fire launcher
- Disable Amazon’s app blacklist to sideload apps that would otherwise be forbidden
- Disable over-the-air updates
That last one is important because it’s likely that Amazon will patch the vulnerability that makes this possible with a future software update. So while blocking updates could prevent your device from receiving feature updates or security patches, it could also block Amazon from undoing the changes you may make.
It’s also worth noting that this method for gaining system user access is temporary – it doesn’t survive a reboot. But any changes you make while you have system user status will remain. So if all you want to do is install a custom launcher or sideload a specific app, for example, you can do that, block OTA updates, and reboot your Fire OS device as much as you want. You’ll only need to run the software again if and when you want to make further changes.
Another thing to keep in mind: in order to do any of this, you’ll need to enable ADB debugging on your Fire device and connect to it using a USB cable (for Fire tablets) or network connection (for Fire TV devices) and then run a series of commands.
You’ll want to proceed with caution, because if you do something wrong there’s a chance your Fire OS device could get stuck in a bootloop (where it continues to reboot before fully loading the operating system), but there are some troubleshooting tips in the xda-developers forum thread in case that happens.
For folks that would prefer not to have to copy and paste all of the individual commands, there are download links for a special version of the Launcher Manager app that let you set a custom launcher, block OTA updates, and bypass Amazon’s app blacklist using a graphical user interface rather than a command line.
But this is a rapidly developing topic – the initial system user exploit was described on September 12th, a version of Launcher Manager was released on September 13th, and as of September 20th there have been several updates released with bug fixes and additional features, as well as a new LM Toolbox app that makes it easier to establish a connection between your computer and Fire OS devices on your network for wireless ADB access.
All of which is to say, there’s kind of a race against time happening here: it’s possible that the longer you wait, the more features and/or the easier to use these tools will become. But the longer you wait, the more time Amazon has to roll out software updates that will stop them from working in the first place.
via AFTVNews
Glad someone is working on freeing fireos a bit. The problem is it’s still fireos. Android TV, Google TV or whatever they are calling it now is lighter and faster. The Chinese and Walmart devices are just better for cheaper most of the time with a lot more freedom and a whole lot less bloat.
My Fire HD10 is so slow it’s not even worth the trouble to hack it anymore. 🙂
I feel you. My Max 11 is the last Amazon device I will buy.
Somehow two different Fire 10 tablets (2021 and 2023) both run slower than my 2020 8-Plus tablet does. The ’21 tablets are horribly sluggish even after factory resets.
My newest-generation “premium” Fire Stick only has enough storage for 3-4 apps. It is constantly having to reinstall apps when I launch them.
My 65″ Fire TV Edition (only two years old) now has noticeable stutter in almost every app, even though I have fantastic fiber internet (and no other device in the house stutters). When I use it as a dumb TV and plug an Android TV box into it, the exact same apps stream 4K flawlessly.
Amazon device quality has absolutely plummeted in the last few years, and they weren’t exactly offering premium devices in the first place.
It is so weird. My 2020 8 Plus with 3gb of RAM can have up to 30 browser tabs open with no reloads, which other tablets and even my 2024 Motorola Edge struggles with.