Unlock Amazon Fire Stick | Add New Apps To Your Streaming Device

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Hunter Fenollol

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us?

Amazon’s Fire TV platform is one of the best interfaces found on modern streaming devices. Because it runs atop Android, it’s easy to sideload apps not found on the Amazon App Store onto your Fire Stick or Fire TV Cube. This greatly extends the usability of your Fire TV while gaining a leg on locked ecosystems like Roku.

Before we get into the specifics of the process, a disclaimer. Sideloading is often mistaken for jailbreaking. The difference is that sideloading simply installs apps to your device without escalating or changing software permissions. A jailbreak often overrides your system interface and voids warranties. If you don’t like an app, you can simply delete it, leaving your Fire Stick’s performance unaffected since it’s still in its stock state. While the process of sideloading is legal, we do not condone activities for stealing content or hacking and explicitly advise against any illegal activity.

You can do a lot with an unlocked Fire Stick, from downloading streaming apps to emulating retro game systems. And with the Fire TV Stick 4K Max often found on sale for just $40, it’s an excellent entry-point since it has Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, a 1.8-GHz Quad-Core CPU, and a strong 750-MHz GPU. This power helps the machine easily stream video and can smoothly emulate game systems up to the graphical demands of the PlayStation Portable. That means you can play your backed-up collection of games for the DreamCast, PS1, and every gaming system to come before them. I recommend using a Dualshock 4 controller as a gaming input and OTG cable for expanding your Fire Stick storage, accessory inputs, and overall usability. The Fire Stick is in many ways more than a simple streaming device—offering the power of a full-fledged computer in a lightweight body and interface that plugs into any screen. This makes it easy to lug your media collection between rooms or even states if you travel often.

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Hunter FenollolTest Editor

Hunter Fenollol, our resident expert of all things consumer tech, from smart home to VR gaming headsets, has years of knowledge creating product explainers, in-depth reviews, and buying guides to help you get the most from the latest electronics. Throughout college, he covered and reviewed the latest gadget releases for sites like Tom’s Guide, Laptop Magazine, and CNN Underscored. If he’s not elbow-deep in the latest hardware, you can find Hunter at one of Long Island’s many beaches, in Manhattan, or gambling away his paycheck.

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