This guide covers rooting (or rerooting in my case) using towelroot to gain super user and install BusyBox. Lastly, we’re going to disable the auto updates once again so Amazon can’t push a software update to the Fire TV. Because I downgraded my stock software I ended up loosing the root I previously had. Good thing for me all the files I used to originally root are still on my Fire TV!

The first guide from AFTVnews to follow was: How to Root the Amazon Fire TV. I recommend following this link to read even more details about the root process. The main prerequisite for rooting is having a good version number of the stock Fire OS that is low enough to allow rooting. Because Amazon started shipping newer versions of the Fire OS that prevented this method of rooting chances are are if you’ve got a newer Fire TV it cannot be rooted at this time and this guide will not help you at all. Check out AFTVnews’s Fire TV & Fire TV Stick Rooting Starters Guide for more information if you’re uncertain about your Fire TV’s eligibility.

This is the third part of Andrew’s guide to updating his Fire TV from the year old stock software with root to a custom ROM with root.

1. Download towelroot (tr.apk) by clicking the red icon at towelroot.com
2. Download SuperSU apk from evozi.com
2a. Download BusyBox using the evozi APK Downloader.

First download the three Android application packages (APK). These are essentially Android apps created specifically to give root to the Fire TV and give Super User (SU) to apps that require it as well as ADT when we request root in the shell. The first link to towelroot is a direct download but the others through evozi requires you to click “Generate Download Link” before you are able to download. This is because evozi is pulling actual app data from Google’s Play Store so you’re basically requesting to download the specific apps SuperSU and BusyBox .

3. Sideload all three APKs onto your Fire TV using any of the methods we’ve written about in the past.

Install all three apps to your Fire TV but you will need to use them in a specific order.

4. Launch towelroot from your Fire TV application menu.

5. Press the select button on your remote to click the “make it ra1n” button in the towelroot app and wait for it to complete, no reboot required.

Navigate to “towelroot” in System > Applications and launch the application. A simple app with “welcome to towelroot v3” at the top should open. You’re going to want to click the single button on the screen “make it ra1n”.

If it worked you should now see: “Thank you for using towelroot! You should have root, no reboot required.”

6. Launch “SuperSU” from System > Applications.
7. Update the SU binary if asked by selecting “Continue”. Select the “Normal” update method when asked.

Now super user should be installed and you’ll be able to allow apps and ADB root access.

8. Verify you have root access. This step is optional because if you don’t have have root access you won’t be able to install BusyBody in the next steps.
9. Launch “BusyBox” from System > Applications.
10. Click “Grant” in the Superuser request screen that should have popped up. This gives BusyBox root access.
11. “Welcome to BusyBox!” message pops up. Either hit the back button on your remote or if you’ve got a mouse click the red X in the top right.

Disabling OTA updates with root through ADB shell

The second guide from AFTVnews to follow was: How to block OTA update for Amazon Fire TV and keep Root Access. I recommend following this link to read even more details about disabling updates.

12. Open a command line type: adb shell and hit enter
13. Then type: su and hit enter
14. Then type: pm disable com.amazon.dcp and hit enter
15. You should see the message: “Package com.amazon.dcp new state: disabled”
(If you instead see the word “Killed”, it means you have not gained super user (su) and need to go back and repeat step 3.)
16. Then type: exit and hit enter
17. type: exit and hit enter again

Establish a shell connection with the Fire TV and then copy paste each or type each command.

That’s it, now you’ve got root and it will not get wiped out by updates.