As I discovered earlier this week, Amazon is now officially guaranteeing 4 years of software security updates for all Fire TV models from the last date the devices were sold on Amazon. It turns out that this new policy isn’t limited to Fire TVs, as it also includes all Echos, Echos Shows, Fire Tablets, and Kindle devices. All of these devices will receive the same guaranteed 4 years of software security updates.
Information for each Amazon device type can be found on the following pages: Fire TV, Fire Tablet, Echo, and Kindle. All pages state that each device type will receive “guaranteed software security updates until at least four years after the device is last available for purchase on our websites.” Each device goes on to list the current models being sold of each device type and list 2025 as the earliest year that security updates may end.
Unfortunately, Amazon does not list when older models that aren’t currently being sold will lose support. For older devices, Amazon directs you to check your list of registered devices where the year when security updates may end will be listed in the details of each device you own. However, that doesn’t do any good to help anyone considering buying an older model know when it might stop receiving updates.
Since I own every Fire TV model, I’ve compiled a list of when each model may lose security updates, which you can find here. Liliputing has done the same for all Fire Tablet models, so I encourage you to check their list for those devices. For Echos and Kindles, you’ll need to track down when each model was replaced and add 4 years to determine its guaranteed support end date. For example, the original 1st-gen Echo released in 2014 will be losing its guaranteed security updates after this year because it was replaced in 2017 by the 2nd-gen Echo.
While it’s fairly straightforward to determine when most Amazon devices will lose guaranteed security updates by adding 4 years to when they were replaced by a newer model, there are some devices that don’t list the expected year for some reason. Take the 7th-gen Fire HD 10 tablet, for example, which was released in 2017. That model was sold as the main flagship Fire HD 10 tablet until it was replaced in late 2019 by a new model. So, you would expect the 7th-gen Fire HD 10 to lose support in 2023, since you could still buy it new for most of 2019. However, my registered device page says that tablet no longer gets guaranteed security updates. It’s unclear why that particular Fire HD 10 model is listed as no longer guaranteed for updates. It may just be a bug with the registered devices dashboard.
Ultimately, when buying a new Fire TV, Fire Tablet, Echo, or Kindle device, you can do so knowing that it will be guaranteed to receive security updates for at least 4 years from the date it was purchased. Most devices will continue to receive updates beyond that timeframe, but there is no way to know how far beyond. It would be best if Amazon simply listed every device model it has released along with the year that guaranteed support ends, but they haven’t done that.
Great update news. Six of my 7 firetv devices are getting updates through 2025!!!
Shame on you Samsung and Google
2025 here