Before you begin - protect yourself
I recommend Private Internet Access (PIA), a well-priced ($3.33 a month if you pay for a year) VPN to secure and encrypt your internet activity.
Full disclosure: I make a little money from your subscription. But Iâve been using PIA for years and wouldnât recommend them otherwise.
Link opens in a new tab so you can carry in with the tutorial :-)
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If youâre after a little more than just âout of the boxâ functionality, you could try giving yourself the ability to watch live TV from your Amazon Fire Stick using the TV Player app.
If thatâs not enough for you, itâs time to give Kodi a whirl. Itâll give you access to all of the amazing add ons that a world of awesome developers has created. Itâll also allow you to connect to your home network and stream your movies and TV shows directly through your Fire Stick.
Step 1 - on your Fire Stick
3rd party apps, USB debugging, IP address
- Navigate to Settings
- > System
- > Developer Options
- Enable USB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources
- Go back to System
- > About
- > Network
- Note your Fire Stickâs IP Address or leave it on this screen
Step 2 - on your PC or Mac
Download Kodi and install it to your Fire Stick
- Download and install adbLink from Jocala
- Tip: use the âMirrorâ links.
- Download Kodi 17.1 âKryptonâ ARM x86
- If that fails to install, try one of these older versions:
- Launch adbLink on your computer
- Click New
- Enter Description
Fire Stick
- In Address, enter the IP address displayed on your Fire Stick
- Press Save
- Choose Fire Stick under Current device if itâs not already selected
- Press Connect
- Once itâs connected, youâll see your deviceâs IP address under Connected devices
- Click Install APK, top left of the bottom buttons
- Locate and choose the Kodi file you downloaded in 2
- Choose Yes at the confirmation prompt
adbLink is now installing Kodi to your Fire Stick. Youâll see its progress in the bottom right of the window.
When itâs finished, youâll be able to launch Kodi from your Fire Stick by navigating to:
Home > Apps > Kodi
The icon looks like the one in the picture at the top of this post. After youâve used it, itâll show up in your Recent menu at the top.
Enjoy :-)
Trouble? Pop it in the comments and Iâll try to help.
Update 2017-04-26
- Added direct links to Kodi.
- Simplified adbLink instructions.