How to root the Amazon FireTV
- Thread starter roligov
- Start date
If you don't watch ESPN you wouldn't understand. It is a skit they do on tv when people make mistakes which is rather funny....
I just picked up a FTV, and it was running the 51.1.0.1 firmware. I was able to install towelroot, but when I installed SuperSU, and launched it, nothing happened. I then installed BusyBox, and it did ask me for permissions from SuperSU, so does that mean SuperSU installed properly? BusyBox says it's installed too.
When you opened busy box and tried to install it, did you get a prompt asking you to grant SuperUser access to BusyBox? If yes, then you are rooted. If no, then i'm not sure, but you SHOULD have gotten that prompt. Another test you can do, is connect via ADB and type adb shell then once you're in the shell, type "su" enter. Once you type that, you should get a prompt on the screen asking you to grant access to adb. As long as you see SuperSU asking you about access, and you're able to grant it, you're rooted. If you've already granted access, then instead of a prompt, you should see a toast notification stating that access has been granted.
Good luck.
Yeah, I think I'm good. I love this thing. I have it in my living room, and it's connected wirelessly, and I'm streaming 30gb BluRay rips from my PC, with zero issues.
How are you doing this wirelessly? What are you using to stream such large video wirelessly, without buffering issues?
if you don't mind me asking
My router is an ASUS AC1900 Dual Band Router, and the signal is very strong.The AFTV is connected to the router using 5Ghz. I also have Comcast Blast, which is 105Mbps.
---------- Post added at 11:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 AM ----------
The method will work, but all the newer AFTV's are shipped with the newest firmware, which can't be rooted.Best Buy and Staples are supposedly the best places to find one that can still be rooted. They are on sale for $84 at both places right now, until the 21st. Use this when you go to buy one, and it will tell you if it is still rootable.
http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire-tv-serial-number-decoder/
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That's great because as much as I dislike going to best buy that's where i intended on getting mine.
Thanks for that link buddy! I actually saw that the other day and didn't bookmark it like a dummy.
I haven't had the opportunity of reading through many threads yet but is there an app similar to titanium that allows you to uninstall bloat?
Thanks for that link buddy! I actually saw that the other day and didn't bookmark it like a dummy.
I haven't had the opportunity of reading through many threads yet but is there an app similar to titanium that allows you to uninstall bloat?
OK. I'm only familiar with rooting my galaxy 1 and s3.
Don't want annoy by asking many questions because I haven't read much but is it similar to rooting a phone?
CWM,kernels and things of that nature?
I'm wondering if I'll be and to uninstall apps that come with as is without root or if I can only do that by rooting?
I'm not to concerned with changing the ui and using exposed mods.
With that being said and what little info I've given you would you assume that I'd be happy with as is out of the box or is rooting this device really help with much other that the ui and such?
Most apps that I want to use can be side loaded.
Sorry for derailing this thread but your help is greatly appreciated.
I'm sick and tired of my roku 3.
They aren't like rooting a phone. No CWM or kernels to deal with. As far as root, I don't know what they are like when they aren't rooted, because mine is rooted. I know you need to be rooted to have the AFTV go directly to Kodi when you boot it up, instead of going to the Amazon home menu. You would also need to be rooted to manually update to the latest firmware if you wanted to. I haven't felt the need to update my firmware though.
Sounds like I probably won't root. Thanks for the info and help though. Is the devil good with live sports and is navi-x still around?
How hard is it to add add ons?
I'd imagine you would put the .zip on a flash drive and add them they way. That sound about right. If not don't worry about supplying a link. Google is your friend after all
You mind pm'ing me your must have add ons of you don't mind?
I've dabbled with xbmc but it was on my phone and that was about 2 years ago. It was laggy and I only did it to check it out, not to really benefit from it.
Thanks again
How hard is it to add add ons?
I'd imagine you would put the .zip on a flash drive and add them they way. That sound about right. If not don't worry about supplying a link. Google is your friend after all
You mind pm'ing me your must have add ons of you don't mind?
I've dabbled with xbmc but it was on my phone and that was about 2 years ago. It was laggy and I only did it to check it out, not to really benefit from it.
Thanks again
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Install the addon installer. All of the good addons are in there.
https://seo-michael.co.uk/how-to-manually-install-the-addon-installer-for-xbmc/
Yes, I've seen that launcher, but never tried it. Install this on your PC to sideload apps to the AFTV. That program let's you do all sorts of other things too.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786505
I got a new Fire TV and it has the newest firmware built on it.
Is there anyway at all to root now?
Thanks!
Is there anyway at all to root now?
Thanks!
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23-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 02/03/2015
This guide I posted is well out of date, there are other methods to follow now days.
Please use http://www.aftvnews.com/tag/guide/ as it is up to date and current.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Geohot, we now have root access
1. A) Go to: http://towelroot.com/ and click the red button to download the APK:
or
1. B) Download from this MediaFire mirror I made: http://goo.gl/DQ6xXF
2. Download the Chainfire SU APK from the Playstore: http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/?id=eu.chainfire.supersu
3. Sideload both APKs.
4. Run Towelroot, hit "Make it Ra1n" and then your FTV will reboot.
5. After reboot install SU and set default access to "Grant" in it's settings.
Setup SSH after SU install:
1. Download Busybox APK: http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/?id=stericson.busybox
2. Download SSH Daemon APK: http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/?id=web.oss.sshsftpDaemon
3. Sideload both APKs.
4. Configure SSH Daemon to your liking and to start on boot
5. SSH with username root and password abc123 (configurable in SSH Daemon)
How to disable the FireTV Updater :
1. Connect via ADB and type "su" (without quotes)
2. pm disable com.amazon.dcp
3. If done correctly it should say "Package com.amazon.dcp new state: disabled".
OR
1. Just disable the OTA portion (Thanks JPDeckers)
Code:pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.OTAUpdateMessageHandler" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.OTAService" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.CheckForOTAUpdatesService" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.OTAStatusActivity" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.ResetOTAMessageHandler" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.OTAService$OTAWakeupReceiver" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.OTAService$OTADedupeReceiver" pm disable "com.amazon.dcp/.ota.OTAService$OTAInstallNowReceiver"
2. If done correctly it should say "Package xxx.xxxxxx.xxx new state: disabled".
How to Enable installations from "Unknown Sources":
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2784173
Here are some guides with pictures and step by step instructions:
How to root the Amazon FireTV:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-root-the-amazon-fire-tv/
How to block OTA updates to keep root:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-block-ota-update-for-amazon-fire-tv-and-keep-root-access/
How to install the Google Play Store on the Amazon FireTV:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-install-the-google-play-store-on-the-amazon-fire-tv/
How to mount external usb storage devices:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-play-media-files-from-external-usb-storage-on-amazon-fire-tv/
How to run FireTV apps from an External USB Drive:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-move-and-run-amazon-fire-tv-apps-from-an-external-usb-storage-drive/
How to manually upgrade/downgrade your Amazon FireTV:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2796067
How to install ClockworkMod Custom Recovery on the Amazon Fire TV
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-insta...mazon-fire-tv/
How to install a Custom ROM Image on the Amazon Fire TV
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-insta...mazon-fire-tv/
How to update a Rooted Amazon Fire TV to the Latest Version Without Losing Root
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-updat...t-losing-root/
How to boot into recovery mode and fix a softbricked FireTV:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-unbr...ry-mode-and-factory-reset-the-amazon-fire-tv/
Fix PS4 DualShock 4 button mapping on the Fire TV:
http://www.aftvnews.com/fix-ps4-dualshock-4-button-mapping-on-the-fire-tv/
How to trick Google Play Store into allowing All Apps
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-trick-google-play-store-into-allowing-all-apps/
How to connect a Wii Remote (Wiimote) to the Fire TV:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-connect-a-wii-remote-wiimote-to-the-fire-tv/
How to setup a new Fire TV without blocking Root:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-setup-a-new-fire-tv-without-blocking-root/
How to remove unwanted Home Screen Menu Items:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-remove-unwanted-home-screen-menu-items/
How to setup Plex (and XBMC) for Surround Sound Audio:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-setup-plex-and-xbmc-for-surround-sound-audio/
More to come....
Changelog:
21-09-2014 - Added more links to guides including how to flash custom recovery and pre-rooted images
13-09-2014 - Added more links to guides added Towelroot v3 to mirror.
28-07-2014 - Added more links to guides.
23-07-2014 - Updated links to new http://www.aftvnews.com/ site.
30-06-2014 - Added link to guide on booting to recovery mode and fixing a softbrick
26-06-2014 - Added link to guide on manually upgrade/downgrade to different firmware versions
24-06-2014 - Added mediafire mirror for towelroot apks
24-06-2014 - Added link to guide for running apps from external drive
22-06-2014 - Added link to guide for installing playstore on the FireTV9
There's lots they can do. The good news is, I am working on a 2nd-init based recovery. Which if all things go well, will allow people to run recovery from a system with a locked bootloader. It would allow you to use unsigned recovery updates, so we can take the stock amazon update, strip out the bad stuff, preroot it, and call it day. Of course that requires being rooted in the first place.4They only charge $25 because phones cost $750. I don't see them charging more than $5 per device for a $99 Amazon FireTV. They use the money to buy new devices, replace devices they brick and to compensate for hours spent on the unlocks. They not doing it for profit.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app4For those concerned about being able to root a brand new Fire TV:
I just ordered a new Fire TV for testing the "fresh out of the box rooting" scenario. It will arrive Saturday. I plan to firewall the device and dissect every internet call it makes to try and determine the best way to get the device up and running while still being able to root the device. If all goes well, I'll have a post with instructions up on AFTVnews.com Saturday evening or Sunday morning.4
Awesome! Keep up the good work rbox
So I was able to get the Fire TV to boot straight in to custom recovery using 2nd-init. That was just a proof of concept and it's going to take a lot of work to go from that to something that people can use. Right now I have 3 different AOSP trees on my computer where I compile various things, so first I need to consolidate all of that, and then I need to figure out what to do about Safestrap. It's based off of TWRP, and I don't think TWRP can be used without a touch interface. Of course, someone releasing a bootloader unlock would greatly simplify things... haha.
