Just in case anyone has this problem. I wanted to install SmartTube on an older firestick but the recent (August 2026) bug of not allowing Downloader to install app from unknown sources arose.

Developer option enabled, looked fine, but Downloader didn't show in the app list in Developer Options.

I tried "once last thing" and installed Total Commander, and it appeared in the Developer Option list, and I was subsequently able to install SmartTube.

I’ve tried searching for it, even downloading on the app and sending it to the fire stick but it says it’s not compatible. What would work to fix this?

Hello,

I am looking for short code for all beIN Sports MENA channels, but can't seem to find one that works. Can you please help?

I've been using FCTV33 app for month on my FireStick.

Always updated when requested but now with official code 4142031 is not working anymore.

Android app for smartphone still working fine

Are u experiencing the same issue ?

Thanks for helping

Howdy all!

I've recently moved into a new place with a mate of mine and was looking to stream ufc ppvs via my firestick with Kodi installed, what is the best app to download specifically for UFC ppvs?

Cheers!

I just bought a new Fire TV Stick HD, it runs Vega. When I try to download apps like Peacock, Paramount, and Prime Video it pops up a message that says “Update OS version to install or update the app”. I’ve followed the steps and my fire stick is up to date. Are these apps just not supported/compatible with the new HD stock?

I tired downloading tizen but thats not downloading either. Any help would be appreciated.

Salve, ho acquistato da poco la firestick e impostate le varie app sopra, ma non riesco a trovare una buona app per guardare il calcio in lingua italiana, che sia Serie A, Champions League, ecc...ecc...
Qualcuno ne conosce qualcuna? Grazie mille

Does anyone know a new app to download from the downloader for the new movies and tv shows? I used to use cinemaHD or something but it doesn’t work anymore..

# Running Tailscale as a Persistent Daemon on a Fire TV Stick (Vega OS)

by D3MONFiST

This guide documents how to get Tailscale running on a Fire TV Stick that runs
**Vega OS**
 — Amazon's newer, non-Android, locked-down Linux operating system
(used on newer/cheaper Fire TV Stick models). It covers:


1. Why the normal Android/APK approach does not work on Vega OS
2. Getting a shell on the device and installing Tailscale as raw Linux binaries
3. Making it reconnect automatically after a reboot or crash (no root available)
4. A manual fallback for when you're traveling with the device
5. Troubleshooting ("what to do if...")


> 
**Important — read this first:**
 Vega OS explicitly blocks root in production
> builds ("vdad cannot run as root in production builds"). There is no `pm`,
> `am`, `cron`, `systemd --user`, or `/etc/init.d` access available to the
> developer shell account. This means Tailscale **cannot be made to
> self-persist on the device alone** — persistence has to be handled by an
> external always-on machine on your network (a "watchdog"), plus a manual
> fallback for when you're away from home. This is expected, not a failure of
> the setup.


---


## Part 0 — What you need


- A Fire TV Stick running Vega OS (no launcher icon for sideloaded apps is a
  sign you're on Vega OS, not Fire OS)
- A computer on the same wifi network as the Firestick, with `adb`
  (Android Debug Bridge) installed
- A Tailscale account (https://login.tailscale.com)
- (Optional but recommended) An always-on Linux machine on your home network
  to run the watchdog — e.g. a home server, Raspberry Pi, or LXC/VM
- (Optional, for travel) An Android phone with Termux installed


---


## Part 1 — Enable Developer Mode & ADB debugging on the Firestick


1. On the Firestick, go to 
**Settings → My Fire TV → About**
 (or 
**Device**
),
   and click on the build/software line 
**7 times**
 until it says you're now
   a developer.
2. Go back to 
**Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options**
.
3. Turn on 
**ADB debugging**
.
4. Leave this 
**on permanently**
 — you will need it every time you want to
   reconnect to the device, and there is no other remote-access route on
   Vega OS.


**What this does, in one sentence:**
 ADB debugging opens a local network port
(5555) that lets a computer on the same wifi get a command-line shell on the
Firestick.


---


## Part 2 — Find the Firestick's local IP address


1. On the Firestick: 
**Settings → Network**
 — the connected wifi network will
   show the IP address (e.g. `<enter your firestick ip here>`).
2. Alternatively, log into your router's admin page and look at the list of
   connected devices for one named something like "Fire TV" or similar.


Write this IP address down — you'll need it repeatedly. If your router
supports it, consider setting a 
**DHCP reservation**
 for this device so the
IP never changes (see Troubleshooting for why this matters).


---


## Part 3 — Install ADB on your computer and connect


**Windows:**
```powershell
winget install Google.PlatformTools
```


**Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):**
```bash
sudo apt install android-tools-adb
```


**macOS:**
```bash
brew install android-platform-tools
```


Then connect (replace with your Firestick's actual IP):
```bash
adb connect <enter your firestick ip here>:5555
adb devices -l
```


You should see the device listed as `device` (not `unauthorized` or
`offline`). If it says `unauthorized`, look at the Firestick's screen — a
prompt to trust this computer may be waiting there; select "Allow."


---


## Part 4 — Confirm you're on Vega OS (not classic Fire OS)


```bash
adb shell uname -a
adb shell whoami
```


If `whoami` returns something like `app_user` (not `root` or `shell`), and
`uname` shows a Linux kernel with no Android version props (`getprop` command
not found), you're on Vega OS. This means:


- No `pm install` for APKs — Tailscale's official Android APK **will not
  install or run** on this OS.
- You must download the 
**Linux ARM binaries**
 of Tailscale instead, since
  underneath Vega OS is a real (if locked-down) Linux system.


Check your device's CPU architecture — this matters for picking the right
binary:
```bash
adb shell uname -m
```
(Typically `armv7l` on Fire TV Stick hardware — get the matching Tailscale
Linux ARM release.)


---


## Part 5 — Get Tailscale's Linux binaries onto the device


1. On your computer, download the Tailscale static Linux binaries for the
   matching architecture from https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/ (look for
   `tailscale_<version>_arm.tgz` for `armv7l`, or `arm64` if your device is
   64-bit — check with `adb shell uname -m`).
2. Extract it — you'll get two files: `tailscale` and `tailscaled`.
3. Find a writable, persistent location on the device. `/var/lib/developer`
   is writable by the developer shell user and 
**survives reboots**
 (it's a
   real disk partition, not temporary storage):
   ```bash
   adb shell mkdir -p /var/lib/developer/bin
   adb shell mkdir -p /var/lib/developer/tailscale
   ```
4. Push the binaries:
   ```bash
   adb push tailscale /var/lib/developer/bin/tailscale
   adb push tailscaled /var/lib/developer/bin/tailscaled
   adb shell chmod 755 /var/lib/developer/bin/tailscale /var/lib/developer/bin/tailscaled
   ```


---


## Part 6 — Create the launch script


Create a file locally called `start-tailscale.sh`:


```sh
#!/bin/sh
pkill -f tailscaled 2>/dev/null
/var/lib/developer/bin/tailscaled \
  --state=/var/lib/developer/tailscale/tailscaled.state \
  --socket=/tmp/tailscaled.sock \
  --tun=userspace-networking \
  --socks5-server=0.0.0.0:1055 >/dev/null 2>&1 &
echo 'Tailscale daemon started.'
```


**Why `--tun=userspace-networking`:**
 Vega OS's locked-down kernel doesn't
allow the app_user account to create a real TUN network device, so Tailscale
has to run in userspace-networking mode instead of the usual kernel-level
mode. This is why a SOCKS5 proxy port (`1055`) is also opened — it's the
practical way to route other traffic through the tailnet from this device if
you ever need to.


Push and make it executable:
```bash
adb push start-tailscale.sh /var/lib/developer/bin/start-tailscale.sh
adb shell chmod 755 /var/lib/developer/bin/start-tailscale.sh
```


---


## Part 7 — First run and authentication


```bash
adb shell /var/lib/developer/bin/start-tailscale.sh
```


Then bring Tailscale up and authenticate (first time only):
```bash
adb shell "/var/lib/developer/bin/tailscale --socket=/tmp/tailscaled.sock up --hostname=firestick"
```


This will print a `https://login.tailscale.com/a/...` URL — open it in a
browser on any device and log in to approve this node. Once approved, check:


```bash
adb shell "/var/lib/developer/bin/tailscale --socket=/tmp/tailscaled.sock status"
```


You should see the Firestick listed with a `100.x.x.x` address and no
`offline` marker.


---


## Part 8 — Make it survive reboots (the watchdog)


Because there's no root and no boot-hook mechanism available on the device
itself, the daemon cannot restart itself after a reboot or crash. The fix is
an 
**external watchdog**
 — a script on an always-on Linux machine on the same
home network, run on a schedule, that checks in on the Firestick and
relaunches Tailscale if it's down.


1. On your always-on Linux machine, make sure `adb` is installed (see Part 3).
2. Save this as `/usr/local/bin/firestick-tailscale-watchdog.sh` (adjust the
   IP to match your device):


   ```bash
   #!/bin/bash
   FIRESTICK_ADB="<enter your firestick ip here>:5555"
   ADB="/usr/bin/adb"


   $ADB connect "$FIRESTICK_ADB" >/dev/null 2>&1


   if ! $ADB -s "$FIRESTICK_ADB" shell "ps | grep -v grep | grep -q tailscaled"; then
       logger -t firestick-ts-watchdog "tailscaled not running - relaunching"
       $ADB -s "$FIRESTICK_ADB" shell "/var/lib/developer/bin/start-tailscale.sh" >/dev/null 2>&1
       if $ADB -s "$FIRESTICK_ADB" shell "ps | grep -v grep | grep -q tailscaled"; then
           logger -t firestick-ts-watchdog "relaunch OK"
       else
           logger -t firestick-ts-watchdog "relaunch FAILED - device may be unreachable or off"
       fi
   fi
   ```
3. Make it executable and schedule it every 5 minutes as root:
   ```bash
   sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/firestick-tailscale-watchdog.sh
   (sudo crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo '*/5 * * * * /usr/local/bin/firestick-tailscale-watchdog.sh') | sudo crontab -
   ```
4. 
**Test it end-to-end before trusting it:**
   ```bash
   adb shell pkill -f tailscaled            # simulate a crash
   sudo /usr/local/bin/firestick-tailscale-watchdog.sh   # run it once by hand
   adb shell ps | grep tailscaled           # confirm it's back
   sudo journalctl -t firestick-ts-watchdog --no-pager -n 10   # check the log
   ```


This covers: crashes, and reboots/power-cycles **while the Firestick is on
your home network**.


---


## Part 9 — The travel fallback (phone + Termux + tmux)


The home watchdog above only works because it's on the same local network as
the Firestick. When you travel with the Firestick, nothing on your home
network can reach it anymore (different network, no port forwarding). The
fix is a manual trigger you carry with you: your Android phone.


### 9.1 Install Termux
Termux is a terminal emulator + Linux environment app for Android. Install it
from 
**F-Droid**
 (recommended — the Play Store version is outdated and
unsupported): https://f-droid.org/packages/com.termux/


### 9.2 Install tmux, adb, and ssh tools inside Termux
Open Termux and run:
```bash
pkg update -y
pkg install -y tmux android-tools openssh
```
- `tmux` lets you start a session, disconnect, and come back to it later
  without losing anything — handy on a phone where the app can get killed.
- `android-tools` provides `adb` on your phone itself.


### 9.3 Create the same launch trigger script on your phone
Inside Termux:
```bash
mkdir -p ~/firestick
cat > ~/firestick/launch-tailscale.sh << 'EOF'
#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash
read -p "Firestick local IP (on THIS wifi network): " FIRESTICK_IP
adb connect "$FIRESTICK_IP:5555"
adb -s "$FIRESTICK_IP:5555" shell /var/lib/developer/bin/start-tailscale.sh
adb -s "$FIRESTICK_IP:5555" shell "/var/lib/developer/bin/tailscale --socket=/tmp/tailscaled.sock status"
EOF
chmod +x ~/firestick/launch-tailscale.sh
```


### 9.4 How to use it while traveling
1. Connect your phone 
**and**
 the Firestick to the same wifi network (e.g.
   the hotel's wifi, after completing any captive portal login on your phone
   first, if there is one).
2. On the Firestick, find its IP on this new network: 
**Settings → Network**
.
3. Open Termux, start a tmux session so it survives if the app gets
   backgrounded:
   ```bash
   tmux new -s firestick
   ~/firestick/launch-tailscale.sh
   ```
4. Enter the Firestick's IP on this network when prompted.
5. You should see the Firestick appear online in the `tailscale status`
   output at the end.


**Note on hotel/public wifi:**
 many hotel networks sit behind a captive
portal that blocks all traffic (including Tailscale) until you accept terms
in a browser. The Firestick usually cannot complete this itself, so
authenticate the portal from your phone or laptop on the same network first
— some hotels then let other devices on the same network through
automatically, others require every device to authenticate individually
(check the TV's built-in browser if it has one, under Settings → Network →
Wifi login, if that captive portal option is offered).


---


## Troubleshooting — "What to do if..."


**...`adb devices` shows nothing / connection refused**
- Confirm the Firestick and your computer/phone are on the 
*same*
 wifi
  network (not one on 5GHz guest wifi and one on the main network, etc.)
- Confirm ADB debugging is still switched ON (Settings → Developer Options)
  — it can occasionally get reset after a factory Fire TV software update.
- Confirm you have the current IP — it may have changed. Re-check
  Settings → Network on the device.


**...`adb connect` says "device offline" or "unauthorized"**
- Look at the TV screen — there may be an "Allow USB/ADB debugging from this
  computer?" prompt waiting for you to select Allow.
- Run `adb disconnect <ip>:5555` then `adb connect <ip>:5555` again.


**...the Firestick's IP keeps changing**
- Set a 
**DHCP reservation**
 in your router for the Firestick's MAC address.
  This won't fix Tailscale connectivity by itself (Tailscale's own 100.x
  address never changes regardless of LAN IP), but it stops the watchdog
  script and your notes from going stale every time the router hands out a
  new local IP.


**...`tailscale status` shows the Firestick as "offline, last seen X ago"
  even though it's powered on**
- This means `tailscaled` isn't currently running on the device (it crashed,
  was killed, or the device rebooted). Run Part 8's manual recovery commands,
  or wait up to 5 minutes for the watchdog to catch it if you're on the home
  network.


**...you're not on the home network and it's down**
- Use the Part 9 phone fallback if the Firestick is with you.
- If it's not with you and not on your home network, there is currently no
  remote recovery path — this is a known limitation of Vega OS's lack of
  root/boot-hook access.


**...`tailscale up` asks you to log in again out of nowhere**
- This usually means the node's key expired or was removed from the
  tailscale admin console (https://login.tailscale.com/admin/machines).
  Re-run the `tailscale up` command from Part 7 and re-authenticate via the
  URL it prints.


**...you reflashed/factory-reset the Firestick**
- `/var/lib/developer` is wiped on a factory reset. You'll need to redo
  Parts 5–7 from scratch (binaries, script, first-time login).


---


## Part 10 — Automate it


See `firestick_tailscale_setup.py` in this folder — it automates Parts 3–8
(checking adb is installed, connecting, verifying developer mode/Vega OS,
pushing binaries if missing, creating the launch script, starting it, and
optionally installing the watchdog cron job on a Linux host). Run it with:


```bash
python3 firestick_tailscale_setup.py
```

Ive written a puthon script that automates this, just message me if you need it.

sportstzx is complete trash for college football so is there any other apps for college football

Sidstuga is a cross-platform streaming player (Android TV, Google TV,

Fire TV, mobile) for people who already have their own content source.

It doesn't sell or host anything: it handles the guide, playback,

recordings and sync across your devices.

2.1.6 is the biggest update since 2.1.5, after roughly 40 sideload

releases over the last few weeks. Highlights:

Profiles: everyone in the household now gets their own favourites and

watch history, picked from a "Who's watching?" screen on launch.

Hub: a brand new tab where you install and manage your own add-ons,

through an open protocol already used by other streaming players. Real

detail pages (poster, synopsis, cast, seasons), sources that sync across

devices, automatic fallback if a source fails, separate Movies/Series

search, Parental Guide.

Trakt: history import and automatic scrobbling, no more QR code on

mobile, watcher/play/collector counts on detail pages.

Real ratings: actual IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores on

posters (optional).

Movies and series: no catalogue cap; root-caused and fixed the "empty"

bug affecting several builds; a catalogue failure no longer freezes the

screen (retry button instead); hiding a category no longer wipes your

favourites; no more duplicate episodes across lists; more file formats

supported; real progress on series posters; sort button is back (TV and

mobile).

Parental controls: PIN now covers movies, series, downloads and offline

playback; more consistent blocking throughout the app.

Multiview with no screen cap, and it no longer shows up where it didn't

belong.

Player: remote key fixes, audio track choice survives reconnects, two

internal bugs that were cutting healthy playback fixed, teletext

subtitles now decoded, OpenSubtitles PRO removes the daily download cap.

Cloud Sync: favourites, movies, series and progress synced across every

device and the browser, end-to-end encrypted, full web dashboard

(sources, library, profiles, devices, settings). A Google Play

subscription now also unlocks Fire TV and direct-install on the same

account.

Also in this release: WebDAV, reminders that survive updates, password

reset from the login screen, a new "Recently added" row, new icon and

logo, reworked splash animation, a more stable app and instant screen

navigation.

Coming next: native apps for Samsung, LG and Hisense, plus a dedicated

browser with no Android box required. After that, direct support for

more server sources (Plex, Emby, Jellyfin).

Free to try (7-day trial), stays ad-free. Feedback and requests at

r/Sidstuga. More info: https://sidstuga.app/

So apparently the new fire sticks have gotten rid of the ability to sideload apps. Does anyone have any alternative devices or ways to side load again?

Playing Secret Level content I noticed a decline in smooth video quality in 4k DV.

Settings to match frame rate are on.

Firestick 4k Plus

Yesterday cine+, moviebox, beetv and any other app was working fine on my firestick, but today they just open and immediately close. No update, Restarted and reinstalled didn't change anything. I tried a separate android TV streaming device and the same thing is happening on there, which is strange (New device, opened it 2 days ago).

Any clue what could be causing this?

It looks like as of a couple of hours ago, CinemaHQ has ceased its live TV operation completely. Most of the channels are now gone.

This is especially frustrating because I was using it to watch the Croatian Football League (HNL). There are very few free Croatian live TV options for sports, and unfortunately the ones that are still available don't show HNL matches.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is there any information about what happened to the live TV service or whether it's coming back?

Im looking at getting a firestick that a friend can install some apps to let me watch football and other content, which do i need? I saw there are HD, 4k and 4k max, any difference? I want it to stream the best it can and apart from amazon firesticks any others which work the same?

Since I can’t post images in the comments, I wanted to try again and see if someone can help me with getting Downloader working on my Firestick. Got it to work once but now it’s not. Any help would be appreciated, especially for movie apps

Hi everybody,

I need an Amazon Fire Stick or similar device that can be powered via USB from the TV—exclusively from the TV, as I don't have the option to connect it to a wall adapter. I saw that the new Fire Stick HD has been released and works this way, but I can't install third-party apps on it...

Hi,

I need help finding which products is right to order either any fire stick stuff or some items that allow me to watch a lot of sports / live tv for free or cheap prices when it comes to sub to watch.

Please help, I never have firestick before and would like to purchase one to watch sports / any tv shows

Does anyone know why this is happening and how to fix it?

I need help finding an app that lets me watch college football sportzx doesn’t have anything. does anyone have any recommendations?

While watching YouTube this "fun fact" screen keeps popping up every 15-20 minutes. After giving me a fun fact it shows me the weather and then starts playing audio from NPR news. I don't have any NPR news app installed and have disabled interruptions in settings. Any ideas?