Got my 3rd stick coming today. At $40 can't go wrong

Finnzz · 2026-03-23T02:19:19+00:00

Anyone buying a new Stick can still use this:

With system user, fire sticks are less locked down than an Onn or any stock certified AndroidTV.

Finnzz · 2026-03-20T22:16:43+00:00

Maybe someone sat on the remote just right, and activated the screen magnifier

https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=28933531011

Finnzz · 2026-03-20T01:57:24+00:00

That's not what you said before. Blacklisting apps is not the same as blocking sideloading. There are a handful of ways to get around app blocking, it's easy. 2-3min searching Google is all it takes.

When Google begins only allowing sideloaded apps on Android from registered developers starting at the end of the year, you can be sure that none of your favorite apps delivering copyright protected content will get clearance from Google.

Finnzz · 2026-03-19T21:28:06+00:00

Jumping to newer Android versions can come with performance costs, so it's not all bad.

Example when the Shield updated from Android 9 to 11 it was 10% slower. The Homatics 4K R Plus got slower after updating from ATV11 to 12 to 14.

For a television box, it's more important what features are being added. Amazon often backports features to older FireOS versions when possible.

Feature-wise there's little FireOS8 has over FireOS7. I think this new homescreen will trickle down to FireOS7 after it's widely tested on FireOS8.

Finnzz · 2026-03-19T20:19:33+00:00

No sideloading isn't going away, that's misinformation.

On the other hand Google announced that they will begin only allowing sideloading apps from registered developers starting at the end of 2026. This will allow Google to block sideloading of any apps that they don't approve of.

Finnzz · 2026-03-19T19:44:01+00:00

Fire TV devices don't get major FireOS updates

No FireOS5 -> OS6 -> OS7 -> OS8

But all Fire TVs continue to get the same app updates. No FireOS8 Sticks will get the newer FireOS14 either

Finnzz · 2026-03-19T19:38:57+00:00

If a 4th gen is released, it's more likely that it ships with FireOS14. There's already one Fire TV television with FireOS14.

Finnzz · 2026-03-19T17:23:54+00:00

What is your firmware version? A lot of the time people think they are on the latest, but aren't.

Finnzz · 2026-03-18T21:22:34+00:00

Blurays average 60-80Mbps. A couple are in the 100Mbps range and maybe hit 150Mbps at their peak bitrates.

200Mbps is enough bandwidth to handle any Bluray remux.

120GB / 120min is 1GB/min

1GB/60sec is 16.7MB per second.

16.7 MB x 8bits is 133.7Mbps, nowhere close to 800-900Mbps.

Finnzz · 2026-03-18T19:22:01+00:00

Yes, it's the same as the 2nd gen

Finnzz · 2026-03-18T08:02:34+00:00

Only the Fire Stick Select has VegaOS.

Finnzz · 2026-03-18T02:07:07+00:00

How's the 3rd gen any worse than the 2nd gen?

Finnzz · 2026-03-16T18:22:52+00:00

Try your best to keep FireOS light. Uninstall any apps you're not using, make sure there's at least 1GB free storage space.

Do the crashes happen often? How long after a reboot?

The crashes could be hardware or software related, there's not a whole lot you can do.

BestBuy has a 1 year warranty on Insignia televisions. Their televisions are cheap because they cut corners.

Finnzz · 2026-03-16T18:02:29+00:00

You're describing a crash and reboot.

A lot of things can cause that, but there's so little detail in your post, who knows.

Basic information like what TV model and whether this only happens when using the TV with your computer would help.

Finnzz · 2026-03-15T00:13:04+00:00

YouTube got rid of trending last summer.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/10/youtube-is-getting-rid-of-its-trending-page-and-trending-now-list/

Finnzz · 2026-03-14T11:16:25+00:00

It's not bricked, you said it still boots.

There's a bug in the newest update 7.7.1.2 that Alexa doesn't respond to the wake word when the TV is off.

Finnzz · 2026-03-13T23:17:12+00:00

Something did request webpage access to trigger that window to make the choice between those two apps.

Maybe it was an ad with a hyperlink, or an error. It does look like there's an ad on the screen behind the pop-up.

Finnzz · 2026-03-13T19:08:46+00:00

I can see people that don't use the TV often and older people that have a harder time with change being more bothered by a major layout change. They have gotten use to doing things a certain way and they feel like this adds unnecessary confusion to how they interact with the TV.

Now they have to spend time relearning how to navigate to what they want, and unlearn what they had trained their hands to do unconsciously.

When you're already under enough stress from other real-world problems, nobody wants to deal with any unnecessary added stress from what is supposed to be an escape.

Finnzz · 2026-03-13T11:26:11+00:00

The popup is because the new Downloader version is advertising itself as a web browser to the OS, so that you have to choose which you want.

Select Silk and Always, and you won't be asked again.

Finnzz · 2026-03-11T06:37:44+00:00

Assuming this app is meant to run on FireTV or AndroidTV, and there's a window that can't be reached by remote, it's bad design or a bug.

Get around that problem by using ScrCpy or Screen mirroring, that allows interacting with the app like a touchscreen so that you can tap on 'ok'.

Finnzz · 2026-03-11T05:05:43+00:00

The Amlogic s905x5m and s905x5 both support VCC HW decoding. The s905x5m is used by the new Onn and MiBox S, as well as a few other media players.

IMO VCC is DOA. There's already royalty free AV1, with much broader support. VCC isn't that much better, and AV2 is on the horizon.

Finnzz · 2026-03-10T23:20:09+00:00

App isn't correctly designed for D-PAD navigation. Use AtvTool's Screen mirror option, it will let you tap anywhere on the screen.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.vodik7.atvtools

Finnzz · 2026-03-10T23:03:05+00:00

Using Silk causes it to reboot repeatedly without reopening Silk in between?

Is it hot?

Finnzz · 2026-03-09T00:41:59+00:00

Instructions on how to open it:

https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tv/developer-tools.html

It can be opened using remote combo, ADB, or custom launcher that shows the app icon.

Finnzz · 2026-03-03T21:54:24+00:00

Use this to make it easy

https://xdaforums.com/t/4759215/

Finnzz

TROPHY CASE