Yesterday morning, all of my Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks, except for my one new Fire TV Stick 2, were spontaneously deregistered and removed from my Amazon account. Since then, I’ve been contact by several others who experienced the same thing with their devices. It’s unclear why this is happening, but based on those who have experienced this, my guess is it’s related to having an unusually high number of devices associated with a single Amazon account.
I personally have 12 Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks registered with my Amazon account. They’re not all actively used, but I keep them around for testing purposes because I like to have devices in various states, whether it be rooted vs. unrooted or latest OS version vs. older OS. The 11 oldest devices were deregistered all at once. None of the installed apps or their data were removed. They were just dissociated with my Amazon account, so they needed to be sign into again.
A Fire TV owner with 14 devices registered to his Amazon account, which were distributed among various family members, also reported all of his devices becoming deregistered. A Fire TV reseller, who had 3 “dummy” Amazon accounts with 8-10 devices each, told me all of his devices became deregistered, but more so, his 3 Amazon accounts were closed.
Since everyone I’ve heard from with this problem has had an unusualy high number of devices registered to their account, and at least one person had their Amazon accounts closed, I suspect the spontaneous deregistering is a deliberate attempt by Amazon to thwart resellers of Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks. Fire TV resellers, who load these devices with apps capable of streaming pirated content and resell them for a profit, leave the devices registered with a dummy Amazon account so their buyers can start using them immediately.
The Fire TV has developed a reputation for being a good piracy device, thanks to its inexpensive price and relative ease of running Android piracy apps. Amazon has been trying to avoid this reputation and it seems like this latest wave of deregistering devices is another step in that effort.
I was able to get all of my devices re-registered with my Amazon account all at once by contacting Amazon’s customer support. I’ve reached out to Amazon’s PR department about this and was told they’d look into it and get back to me. I’ll be sure to update this article if I hear back from them.
Update
4/27/17 See a followup to this article here.
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
I have four activations, so far no problems.
I wonder if this is also to prevent account sharing, after all linking accounts could allow people to access prime content and purchases they otherwise couldn’t.
yep, same deal with my amazon divices… all got deregistered, thank you for the info.
devices*
Same experience here with all 15 of my Fire TV registrations for extended family.
Everyone was able to get back, but some reported that although they were on the latest Fire TV firmware, they were unable to get the KODI icon launcher to re-appear in apps or next to RECENT.
Anyone else experience this…. and is there a solution short of re-installing KODI?
Once you hit a certain number of registrations apps won’t appear under recent. Maybe they dropped that number.. Id bet it’s for the same reason firestarter got blocked because it would hurt people buying their content .. Amazon I believe takes a loss on their fire products
Just launch it a few times via the applications menu and it’ll reappear in recent.
And I mean settings -) manage applications
The whole thing is stupid if you ask me… If I want to let my dad watch my account in Indiana while I’m at work in Arizona, why should it matter. That’s like saying you can’t watch my TV because you don’t have uverse at home… No, bullshit… If I pay for the ability to stream. 3 devices simultaneously then it shouldn’t matter if those devices are in the same state much less the same house or same family… It my service I paid for it, I can let it be used however I wish…. If Amazon doesn’t limit simultaneous login then that is their own stupidity… Netflix got hip to it ..
Or even more to the point, you live in Arizona, you go on vacation to visit your dad in Indiana and you log in to your account there on the fire tv in your dad’s house.
Go into setting from your home screen, click on applications, page down to manage installed apps, click on and page down til you see Kodi click and select launch. It will then show back up on your home screen.
I’m stuck on setting my fire tv up. My stuff got reregistered. And I am so lost. Can you help. Let me know my address is dolphinfans44@gmail.com
I have dm’d u about this, this morning. Since then I did an online chat with amazon about this. I told them this is a joke, the person then went on and added all the device back to my account and gave me a case number saying this won’t happen again and he was sorry about it. So not sure why this is happening just wanted to give u a follow up.
Hmmmmmmmmm…..
Superb Customer service As Usual – Yes, Really, I Really Mean It – When I read your first post, I was about to reply to tell you to contact Amazon. They have superb customer service, the best, and I know of no other huge company that does, except American Express. I knew they would fix it immediately.
But, I’m surprised they do allow the same account to be used simultaneously at two locations. It is a great way to loose money. I wonder if Netflix, Hula, and others are so charitable?
My daughter and her two kids all use the same account to watch Amazon Prime Movies simultaneously at three locations, which really helps when you have kids in college.
Thanks Amazon
NetFlix doesn’t care that customers are sharing their accounts. The company has stated this publicly.
I am a reseller, I have over 100 sticks out there on 4 accounts, been fielding calls all day, registering sticks by giving the registration info, just about causes me to add Amazon to the same list I have cable companies on. Kodi has the right libertarian idea, live and let live.
Why on earth do you sell them pre-registered to your/an account?!
I suppose he doesn’t know any better. I remember my first resell.
Ugh… Shady! Cracka!
What ru sellin them for
You are stupid. Have them create a account and load it at the customers home .
this might be a temp fix for some.
you can enter the details that have been wiped, they will work again.
I find it also wipes stored wifi passwords. when reconnected go to settings, applications, manage applications, go down to kodi, press ok then launch application. It should now be back in your apps section.
Hi Do I just set up a fake account with amazon to correct this problem ?
you can or use the same one.
Boo to anyone who wants to complain because you resell or give usage of your account to others, attempting to make a profit or cheat the system by allowing non-payers to use Amazon resources. You are the cause of limits beeing created for members who pay for services received.
And then you actually feel you have a position to complain from? As a stock holder, I hope they take all illegal use down in a way that doesn’t cause limits on families who pay and responsible use their account. I sense the pain of those who have 100 devices on one account or give 15 of them out to “extended family”, and I love it.
I am not a stock holder but I agree with the sentiments of this post by DChameleon. Amazon must be losing a fair bit of Revenue from much wider family members using a single account. Such continued abuse will cause prices to be increased, when otherwise there would be no need, and/or a reduction in quality program material. It would not surprise me if this action of de-registering multiple devices is Amazon’s first line of attack against such abuse.
Amazon is making a killing. They can’t keep the sticks in stock. Stores sell out as soon as they come in. The firestick is the poor person’s answer to the outrageous cable bills. There is no competition with the cable companies. The only reason people buy the stick is so it can be reprogrammed. Amazon is about to put a lot of people out of work. Mr.greedy stockholder is just that. GREEDY!!!
All Power To The People!!!!
I’m not a reseller per se, but I do have around 150 devices I’ve sold to friends. They’ve been getting deregistered and I’ve either asked them to sign in with their regular Amazon account if they have one, or to use my dummy account if they don’t have a regular Amazon account.
“I’m not a reseller per se, but I do have around 150 devices I’ve sold to friends.”
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! Yeah, you are the epitome of a reseller!
Wow…so glad I came here today. Several of my FTV2s were deregistered and I blamed my poor daughter! :-o
I have several sticks, several FTV1s, and 5 FTV2s, all registered to me legitimately for my home TVs and for testing purposes. I haven’t checked them all yet, but the ones that I have checked are all de-registered.
A simple re-registration fixed them all so far.
Those who stuck with the modified FireStarter as an app launcher might not even notice, as it’ll kick in with a menu even if the box/stick is unregistered.
I don’t see the benefit in having dozens of AFTVs under your own account anyway, unless you don’t mind some random buying stuff from the Amazon app store on your tab.
If each amazon stick is registered to its own account, then what’s the reason for deregistration? And it’s as simple as registering it again?
Seems that this affected folks with large numbers registered to a single account. Even the person with 3 dummy accounts had large numbers registered to each of those.
If this is a move toward reducing theft/piracy, it makes no sense that in most cases people were able to immediately re-register the devices to the same accounts.
So far what I see here in the article and in these comments are resellers making profit off of their prime account, giving away free streaming to paying customers or family members who aren’t paying for Prime.
Absolutely no platform to complain about, theft is theft.
Notice there is not one person who has a reasonable number of FireTv devices being deactivated.
What do you call reasonable? I have 11 devices, all used in my own home, all were deactivated. Do you consider that an unreasonable number? Amazon were happy enough to sell them to me.
The resellers aren’t giving away Prime streaming, they’re selling Fire TVs/TV Sticks with Kodi & pirate streaming addons installed. The dummy accounts are simply so the user doesn’t have to sign in with an Amazon account. The dummy accounts won’t have Prime, or any credit card saved to them.
I guess the reasoning is it makes it quicker for the buyer to use the device. But they’re still going to have to enter network info, so I’m not sure it really saves any time.
No the dummy accounts have no credit card associated with it and no Amazon prime just a plane Jane free amazon account created at Amazon.com just to make it easy for customers to start using kodi without worrying about having to create one themselves.
I have 1 fire tv 2, registered to my amazon account, i paid £79.99 for my prime membership, i have had absolutly no issues at all.
I think the problem is cost, if amazon were to say open a family play say 5 devices for £100 a yr, that might stop some people.
I should also say that my dad and my sister both have fire tvs, one i live with the other is 175miles away, we ALL have seperate accounts.
As for resellers you guys are just asking for trouble, i get selling old equiptment on, i do it with my old android tablets, but these are reverted to stock with zero account details.
You guys are the ones hurting peoples like me who do things the right way.
I say fair play to amazon for kicking people into touch, unless you have a genuine reason (like reviewing or testing) then you should only have 1 account registered per 1 device.
It would be useful to know how many devices and of what type (consoles, tablets, phones & Fire TV’s) are actually allowed without issue. The music service has a clear 10 devices, you have a clear idea about capacity, but I am not advocating limits for the video service! I have two Fire TV’s and two Fire tablets and have not been impacted. But my kids have consoles in their bedrooms, so sign in on 5 consoles and a whole raft of tablets and phones. My youngest daughter wanted a bigger Amazon tablet for Christmas, but I might go for a different brand if there are going to be issues with just Amazon devices. Having a Prime account makes you want to get the most from your account. Like many families, we have multiple TV’s, one in each bedroom, in the kitchen, in an office and in a living room. You could quite innocently assume you could get a Fire TV to go with each TV and have a Fire tablet each, multiple consoles & phones and end up with a double digit number of devices logging in without even giving it a second thought. I do sympathise with impacted people who do research on the Fire TV or using it instead of cable or satellite TV in multiple rooms. However, I have to profess complete ignorance as to why someone would want their account on a Fire TV they sell or give to someone else and I am a bit lost as to why anyone would buy one from anyone other than Amazon? Excuse my naievity, as there must be a reason I am missing.
I use 70 AFTV for Digital Signage, all are deregistered, this happened to me twice this year.
Is there an app you would recommend for Digital Signage using the Fire Stick?
Oh boy! Haven’t even checked any of my devices. I have well over 15 of them. The only people this will hurt is “legitimate” users. As we all know “criminals” always find a way. It’s just like USA gun laws. You restrict the guns to everybody. Then only criminals can get them. As they also do….legal or not! Same goes for a “pirate”!
Amazon is pissed that people buy their boxes and resell them with Kodi installed. This does NOT affect stocks. If anything it’s increasing amazons revenue. For if kodi could not be installed…many people wouldn’t purchase these devices. Any android tv box can run kodi. WE JUST LIKE AMAZON’S BOX! The only reason these boxes stay registered is not to share “prime video or music” but to actually use the damn thing. Amazon requires it to be registered in order to use it at all! I assure you, if resellers could make the box usuable without registering. They surely would!
Amazon doesn’t make much on the Sticks themselves. By some reports, they don’t make anything at all. The Sticks are meant to induce you to buy Prime which is where Amazon makes the profit. Prime members spend twice as much annually with Amazon as customers who aren’t members.
Tech savvy folks will find ways around anti-piracy measures, yes. I still don’t see how deregistering devices from accounts with unusually high numbers of them impede or prevent piracy or reselling if most of the devices can be immediately re-registered to the same accounts. Head-scratcher, that.
Yeah thats what I dont get. If its for piracy, hows this help? Deregistering doesnt factory reset. Kodi’s still there.
Btw–Im honestly not selling boxes, nor do I have an unusual amount (2 boxes 1stick) and mine got deregistered a few weeks back.
I have 3 year old who sometimes wakes up before me, and is known to try and put on his shows by pushing the buttons. So I assumed it was him but guess not…Find it way more aggitating that a box I paid for was accessed and modded in a way I didn’t consent to.
Thank you. You took the words right out of my mouth.
I usually do about 40 sticks before I switch accounts. I had 2 customers tell me it got deregisterd. I just tell them to make a free account online. Pretty simple.
What a simply wonderful human being you are, DChameleon.
It’s so nice to know that you “feel” the pain of my 15 seniors and disabled shut-ins whose “lifeline” Fire TV’s were all deregistered last week, leaving them confused, frustrated, and distraught.
And that you LOVE it!
You would be rolling with joy, I’m sure, knowing that one of my 83 year old uncles fell and broke his hip while trying to navigate to his Fire TV to figure out why it no longer worked after being deregistered.
I’m troubled and embarrassed to call you a fellow stockholder. Happy Holidays.
Can you tell by going to a webpage on Amazon? The devices list? Or do you need to turn on all of your Fire TV devices to check? I.e. If I go to the Amazon App Store and all 4 of my Fire TVs show up as available devices to “push” an App to, that means they aren’t de-registered?
You could go to Your Account->Manage Your Content and Devices-> Your Devices and see if they’re there. They should be if they are registered.
Thanks. All 4 of my devices show up. Though this worries me if I ever decide to upgrade my first gen Fire TV Sticks or buy more in the future. :\
My account no longer works and I am unable to reset my password using the temporary password provided
This seems to be happening again. The one I use daily has de-registered itself twice in less than a week. Two others have done it once. Seriously irritating.
same here and I’ve got 2 devices in use, but the fire TV has deregistered twice in the last week
Same here… 4 devices in 1 houshold…hapoened twice
I have 4 Fire tv and all were deregistered twice during a weeks time.
What the Hell is Amazon doing and why?
I have 2 Fire TV boxes and 2 sticks. All have been deregistered two or three times over the last month or so. Only happened for me since the Alexa software upgrade but looking at older posts it can’t be anything to do with this.
To me Amazon must know why this is happening and should fix it or have the honesty to update users if it’s intentional.
If I have 4 firesticks on the same Amazon acc. And log into Netflix on one, will it automatically sign in on all devices, or do I have tpl sign in each one
This happened to me just now, I have 6 fire tv firesticks on my account and this morning all were deregistered. I tried to reregister and had to sign into my account and change the password before I could do it. Amazon support have said they don’t know what happened, they are going investigate and get back to me.