I'm looking for real info on jailbreaking a firestick.. is it worth the hassle? What are the drawbacks? Is it illegal? I ask here because the general level of info here is usually pretty spot on and when it isn't it's called as bullshit pretty quick. I just got a firestick today and am very interested in more content but I don't want any sort of agency knocking on my door...
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Its worth the hassle if you can assume the risk, or take steps to protect yourself. Personally, its not worth the hassle for me. Plus, my wife and I don't like "stealing" media. I know, streaming is technically legal for now, but as was stated above, its a matter of time before they block Kodi plugins.
Here are some drawbacks:
You void the warranty on your Firestick. Matters to some others don't really care.
Jailbreaking it can be a little tedious, but its all good as long as you follow a guide. If you mess up during the process though, you could risk bricking the Firestick. Maybe thats changed now, but when I went to jailbreak an android tablet a few years ago, I had to stick to the steps. Not sure on your tech level, but the process wasn't too hard for me, but I work in IT.
You could get "cease and desist" letters from your ISP if they watch your traffic. This can be somewhat resolved by using a VPN on your internet connection (either from the computer, or on the router level but you need a specific one to accomplish that). The VPN encrypts your connection and basically hides all your traffic.
If you do use a VPN keep in mind that apps like Netflix may not work unless the VPN is off. They do that because they think people are trying to bypass the regional restrictions. Gotta love it..
I would go into the whole possible piracy speech but I'll save that BS lol.. you're and adult, make your own decision.. and I can't say I'm not guilty of the same thing every now and then. But yeah there's that.. and for now, streaming is technically legal.
Some apps on a jailbroken Firestick might not work either as they check to make sure they're on something "genuine".
Well, thats all I can really think of. I plan on getting one of those new Fire TV's with 4k support. But I'm going to keep it vanilla. I have an HDMI cable running to one of my PC's and use that for Kodi if I need to.
Hope this helps you in your decision! And if you need anymore info, just shoot me a PM.