Fire TV Sticks running software version 5.2.1.0 or older were rootable with a utility called Kingo Root. As is expected, the new 5.2.1.1 software update has blocked the available rooting method. There is currently no way to root a Fire TV 1, Fire TV 2, or Fire TV Stick running the latest 5.2.1.1 software version. There is a chance a new rooting method for the Fire TV 1 will emerge, because it is vulnerable to the QuadRooter exploit, but nothing has been developed yet.
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I guess hardware rooting would still work on fire stick?
It should, but I’ve never done it myself so can’t say for sure.
is rbox still planning on releasing pre-rooted roms for fire tv stick? or is that pretty much a dead project now
I haven’t heard that he has given up. It probably all depends on his free time.
Has anybody confirmed that Kingo Root method is safe to use? Being so close in name to King Root, I get a shady feel from it. If you google both, their website title and description looks nearly identical. No originality! I’d be skeptical of Burger Kingo too, if that existed. (Lame joke)
I’m pretty sure the advice was always to wait for rbox to release a pre-rooted rom. That way even if Kingo is sketchy (it probably is), you can wipe the Fire stick with the new rom, removing anything Kingo leaves on it. So you want to just keep updates blocked and wait.
Correct. That has always been my advice. Even if Kingo Root is safe, rooting without having custom recovery is always risky.
That said, custom recovery for the Stick may never come, so it depends on how badly one wants root and what they plan to do with it.
Did I mention my idea of Amazon selling a “Developer” model of the Fire TV with an unlockable bootloader (ala the Google Nexus) for say… I dunno, $150?” Each one would come with a EULA that specifically specifies that the device’s warranty is void upon the bootloader being unlocked.
No risk to Amazon, and they cater to the “cool” power user crowd that wants to root (Google WRT54gl if you don’t understand “cool” in this sense)
The Amazon Fire is a nice little box with some nice hardware. The people I’m talking about /are/ going to get the media they want regardless of how you try to steer/control/restrict them.
Why not give them what they want, make some extra money, and gain some hacker cachet?
Amazon doesn’t need hackers — they want to sell razor blades. I like your idea though… The lack of root or unlocked bootloader definitely directly influences my decision to buy or not for every device.
I’m staying away from any new FTVs until a new exploit is confirmed. Even then, the cat-and-mouse game continues, with Amazon rolling out incremental updates that serve no purpose except to cut off avenues of freedom and individual control under the guise of “security.”
The war against root may also be due to the demands of content holders so that they can feel warm and squishy that the bad hackers won’t capture their precious streams or play with WideVine, etc. But I’m sure it’s also to prevent anything but the FTV launcher from being used, to keep selling, selling, selling.
Oh, well. I continue to watch with interest and am holding steady at 5.0.5 on FTV1 and Stick.
Kingo Root worked fine for rooting my fire tv stick which I updated today over OTA :)
What Fire OS are you on?
Is there a way to downgrade?
I would like to know that as well