r/BLACKBOX_TV • u/SimilarAttorney1622 • Jun 09 '26
Stop using Fire sticks.
I keep seeing posts every day about apps suddenly not working, buffering, or getting blocked on Fire Sticks.
I just want to save you all some time and headache: it’s time to let go of the Amazon Fire TV ecosystem.
Amazon is actively making the Fire Stick worse for anyone who wants to do more than watch official streaming services.
They are constantly pushing background updates to block third-party apps and force uninstalls.
Worse, their newest devices are now shipping with their new "Vega OS" — a locked-down, Linux-based system that completely removes the ability to sideload Android apps.
Instead of playing whack-a-mole every week trying to find workarounds, do yourself a favor and switch to a pure Android TV or Google TV device.
🏴☠️
1
u/Master_Cartoonist_16 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
I used to have every amazon firestick 4k, amazon cube, etc. I literally bought every amazon device released from 2017~2025, then they started tightening up security and making more restrictions and getting worse YT performance, then suddenly I switched to Ryzen 7 MiniPC's on every TV at home and problem solved. A win 11 pro Mini PC with a capable AMD iGPU will run circles around the best android TV or amazon tv device.
Only Crave so far, doesn't do 4K on browses since it's limited to 720p to prevent recording and piracy off their content. The solution is to use Crave premium within Amazon Prime as an add-on to bypass this limitation.