A friend of mine just got one of these and is all pumped about it. I know what the fire stick is (basically like apple tv....keeps all your streaming sites in one spot), but what does it mean when a fire stick is "jail broken?" How does it make it better?
Unless things have changed, though, it's not really 'jailbreaking' or rooting anything, just loading up apps that aren't normally delivered with it.
In the case of Amazon Fire Sticks/TV...if you're talking about installing "Kodi" to watch media, then it's nothing more then installing an externally based Android app using already built in programs. Not any "hacking" involved.
Unless things have changed, though, it's not really 'jailbreaking' or rooting anything, just loading up apps that aren't normally delivered with it.
Like what? What can you do with them? Is there like content you wouldnt normally get with a normal fire stick? Is it legal? He said something about free movies and stuff.
Quote:
apps like Kodi to the FS in order to use the suite of plugins there.
Unless things have changed, though, it's not really 'jailbreaking' or rooting anything, just loading up apps that aren't normally delivered with it.
Like what? What can you do with them? Is there like content you wouldnt normally get with a normal fire stick? Is it legal? He said something about free movies and stuff.
With a fire stick, it is a stupid phrase since the fire stick literally comes with the options built in to allow you to add additional apps to the Fire Stick ... it is actually part of the options you set (called "developer mode" if I recall).
The bottom line is that it is generally used to sell a firestick preloaded with Kodi - and with Kodi addons that enable Kodi to download illegal streams) ...
It's dumb to pay for that because, ignoring the legality for a moment, if you are interested in using Kodi, then you will have to know how to load it onto the firestick yourself, because it is the nature of illegal streams that they need to be constantly reconfigured ... and if you don't know how to do that, you won't be using Kodi for long ... and if you learn how to do it, then you don't need someone to do it for you in the first place.
And you don't need to jailbreak a fire stick. You simply use the Downloader app on the firestick to download the Android Kodi version directly from the Kodi website.
And you don't need to jailbreak a fire stick. You simply use the Downloader app on the firestick to download the Android Kodi version directly from the Kodi website.
It is illegal to host the streams. It is illegal to create the apps that grab the illegal streams. That is why so many of them are constantly shut down. It is illegal to sell at a profit fire sticks preloaded with those file streaming apps.
Now, with all of that being illegal, if you want to try to argue that possessing those apps and watching illegal content isn't illegal, be my guest. I wouldn't want to be the test case for that.
Quote:
It is NOT illegal to watch a stream. It's illegal to HOST a stream.
And you don't need to jailbreak a fire stick. You simply use the Downloader app on the firestick to download the Android Kodi version directly from the Kodi website.
It is illegal to host the streams. It is illegal to create the apps that grab the illegal streams. That is why so many of them are constantly shut down. It is illegal to sell at a profit fire sticks preloaded with those file streaming apps.
Now, with all of that being illegal, if you want to try to argue that possessing those apps and watching illegal content isn't illegal, be my guest. I wouldn't want to be the test case for that.
Nobody has ever been arrested in the U.S. for watching a stream. Ever.
Worst that could happen is that you watch Star Wars and Disney sues you. Which has still never happened.
But that still doesn't make it illegal.
Quote:
It is NOT illegal to watch a stream. It's illegal to HOST a stream.
And you don't need to jailbreak a fire stick. You simply use the Downloader app on the firestick to download the Android Kodi version directly from the Kodi website.
It is illegal to host the streams. It is illegal to create the apps that grab the illegal streams. That is why so many of them are constantly shut down. It is illegal to sell at a profit fire sticks preloaded with those file streaming apps.
Now, with all of that being illegal, if you want to try to argue that possessing those apps and watching illegal content isn't illegal, be my guest. I wouldn't want to be the test case for that.
Correct. And your ISP can also boot you if caught which, if they are the only one in your area, can pose a huge problem for people.
Quote:
In comment 13963531 Bockman said:
Quote:
It is NOT illegal to watch a stream. It's illegal to HOST a stream.
And you don't need to jailbreak a fire stick. You simply use the Downloader app on the firestick to download the Android Kodi version directly from the Kodi website.
It is illegal to host the streams. It is illegal to create the apps that grab the illegal streams. That is why so many of them are constantly shut down. It is illegal to sell at a profit fire sticks preloaded with those file streaming apps.
Now, with all of that being illegal, if you want to try to argue that possessing those apps and watching illegal content isn't illegal, be my guest. I wouldn't want to be the test case for that.
Nobody has ever been arrested in the U.S. for watching a stream. Ever.
Worst that could happen is that you watch Star Wars and Disney sues you. Which has still never happened.
But that still doesn't make it illegal.
I think you're wrong. For very obvious reasons. It's like buying a $500 watch for $50 off the back of a truck. You can argue it isn't illegal, but you'd be wrong. It is illegal. Maybe you won't be prosecuted... maybe it would be difficult for the prosecutors to prove a case... but that doesn't make it legal. I don't know criminal law. I also don't know copyright law. Both are highly specialized.
People seem to think it is illegal to download the movie on your computer and watch it after it downloads, but that it is not illegal if you just watch the "stream".
That's just stupid. In both instances the movie is downloaded to the hard drive. The only difference is when you watch the movie. In the first instance, you download the entire movie and then watch it (let's say 30 seconds after it downloads). In the second (the "streaming"), you watch the movie while it is downloading (which causes "buffering" if the download speed isn't faster than the speed it takes to watch, so that enough file isn't on your computer and you have to wait for the download to "catch up").
They are both the same thing. I'd love to see you argue the difference to a judge in a courtroom.
Yeah. Boggles the mind.
Personally I'd rather do without them at that point, but I don't sit and wonder how people can sleep at night.
As for being somehow caught and brought to justice - you can forget about that if you're just talking about people viewing the streams. Hasn't happened, and there really isn't a good way for them to pin down the users to identify them to charge them with the activity.
Quote:
There are so many adults with jobs who can afford to watch a movie on demand for $5 but instead steal it. Makes no sense.
Yeah. Boggles the mind.
It's funny because I am a paying cable customer but some sites are set up so poorly for streaming, that I've actually watched other streaming sites to view their content. Biggest offender for me has been AMC when streaming The Walking Dead.
Now maybe you could retort and say, well don't watch such a shitty show, and you would probably be right.
I suspect everyone commits an illegal act at some point in their life (taxes probably being the easiest example ... but I also smoked a joint or two 50 years ago)...
I don't have much sympathy for cable providers like Comcast who spend millions of dollars in local elections every year trying to protect their monopoly. People wouldn't even think about streaming if the internet was provided as a service as part of your taxes (like garbage collection) and there was zero monopoly and the only competition was for "content".
I happen to believe it is likely illegal. But I think it is the Comcasts of the world that are immoral in "buying a monoply" so as to fuck the every day public. Fuck them. Big time.
I am going to have to look into this.
Are the same add ons what I would use with Terrarium charlito? I don't want Ereck Flowers, I want Taylor Lewan.
That way you get to see what you will get on your TV when you use the Amazon firestick (actually, I like the firebox better) ... but frankly, if I'm alone, I end up watching live tv or kodi on my laptop instead of my 60" 4k TV which I love - but it's just so much easier to use my laptop
Link - ( New Window )
Quote:
Can jailbreak it yourself. Kodi is Erick Flowers. Get Terrarium instead.
Are the same add ons what I would use with Terrarium charlito? I don't want Ereck Flowers, I want Taylor Lewan.
Lol. I hear u. This guy explains how to add terrarium. Modbro is also good because it has local channels (fox, NBC,CBS etc.)
Link - ( New Window )
As for your original question...
Rooting is not a requirement for sideloading. Very easy to do with ADB from a PC or Mac. Hell, there is an app you can get through Amazon that allows you to sideload by typing in the URL for the app. So things like Kodi, Terrarium, and the like do not require the device to be rooted.
Furthermore, it's not hard to run a VPN on your Fire Stick, unless it's a FirstGen Fire Stick (the system does not have the files and possibly the appropriate hardware to successfully use a VPN). Some VPNs apps you can download straight from Amazon. Others can be sideloaded.
The advantages of using a rooted Fire Stick to be make major changes to the file system. There is a guide to essentially turn your Fire Stick into an Android TV. You could conceivably install the Google Play Store. You can replace the launcher with a custom launcher.
For more information about what you can do with or without root, I would recommend the FireTV (includes the Fire Stick) forums at XDA (link below). Just don't install anything that says it's specifically for the FireTV, and make sure you know what generation Fire Stick you own.
FireTV at XDA - ( New Window )
I just did it and did install a vpn trial for 7 days. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the movie streaming show streaming side of it as it’s a bit clumsy but overall it’s pretty cool. I haven’t actually watched anything for long yet. I may only use it for sports content.
To me you’re better off using the nzb sites and newsleechers programs as you can pick and choose what you want. The kodi thing is a little clumsy, but it’s cool.
That is vastly different then torrenting or uploading content. In that case the user is also sharing the copyrighted work. That carries a $375000 fee (IIRC) for each instance. Those are worth pursuing by the copyright holders.
One thing to watch out for, is that while some apps do say they are "streaming", they are really using a torrent behind the scenes. So they may actually be sharing the content while streaming. Unless you know the details of the app you may not notice the difference as a user. But from a legal perspective the difference is huge.