Amazon Started Blocking All Custom Loaders in its Fire TV Sticks

As third-party developers are cleverly customizing their default Fire TV OS to something as desired, Amazon now started blocking the ability to load custom loaders in Fire TV Sticks.

This change is reported by several users on various social media (1,2) platforms, who claim to have experienced blocking after updates to Fire TV Sticks. While Amazon didn’t make any official announcement regarding this, it’s expected to act at some point since custom loaders block the home screen ads placed by Amazon.

Blocking Custom Loaders in Fire TV Sticks 

Gone are those days when we have cables coming to our homes for TV connections.  The new-age entertainment is mostly coming from adding additional hardware – something like the Fire TV Stick set from Amazon.

Also Read- Best Live TV Apps for Firestick / Fire TV

And this isn’t disappointing, since this additional gear will enhance the viewing experience in terms of streaming quality and content. Amazon’s 4K streaming dongle, for example, supports streaming content in  HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos.

This led Google, Hulu, and other players to make their own streaming dongles. While this isn’t a bad idea, OEMs placing ads all over and promoting sponsored content aggressively isn’t liked by the users.

This led few developers to make custom launchers, that replace the existing OS to surf without any ads. Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks have a variety of custom loaders, made by developers and loaded through the Launch Manager.

As Amazon found out, it now started blocking all these custom loaders in its Fire TV Stick dongles, by supplying Fire TV software updates. Here’s what they’re specifically;

• Fire OS 7 (blocks custom launchers) software update version 7.2.7.3, build number PS7273/2622, rolling out to the 2nd-gen Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, 3rd-gen Fire TV Stick, and the Fire TV Stick Lite.
• Fire OS 6 (blocks custom launchers) software update version 6.2.8.7, build number PS6287/3768, rolling out to the Fire TV Stick 4K, 1st-gen Fire TV Cube, and the 3rd-gen Fire TV (Pendant).
• Fire OS 5 (might block custom launchers) software update version 5.2.8.7 is rolling out to the 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick, 1st-gen Fire TV Stick, and the 2nd-gen Fire TV.

Well, you can always configure settings to block Amazon’s updates coming in, and have fun with the custom loader you’re using now. Here’s how to do with/without root, through router and OpenDNS options.