HOW-TO:Install Kodi on Fire TV
Installing
General Steps
- Setup the ADB Utility via OS-specific instructions below, or install the Android SDK for your platform: https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
- Follow these instructions to connect ADB to your Amazon Fire TV: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/connect-adb.html
- Follow these instructions to install the XBMC app onto the Fire TV (using the ADB tool): https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/app-install.html
Setup ADB on Your Host
Note: Your host must be connected to the same network as your Fire TV.
Windows
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OS X
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Linux
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Note: Linux adb is a 32-bit dynamically linked program. In order to run under a 64-bit Linux, 32-bit support is required. You may need to install the lib6:i386 (the 32-bit base library support package) depending on your Linux. |
Android
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The ADB utility is built into Android. However, you will need to install a Terminal Emulator app.
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Enable USB Debugging on the Fire TV
- From the Fire TV Home screen, select Settings
- Go to System -> Developer Options
- Enable both the ADB Debugging and the Apps from Unknown Sources options.
- Go to System -> About -> Network, and take note of the Fire TV's IP address
Install Kodi to the Fire TV
Note: If your APK file name contains spaces, make sure you put quotes around it in the adb commands. On OS X and Linux, you may need to prepend ./
to the adb commands.
- On your host (PC or other Android device), download your desired Kodi APK
- Open a Command Prompt (Windows), Terminal (OS X/Linux), or Terminal Emulator app (Android)
- Navigate (CD) to the directory with your Kodi APK (In Terminal Emulator on Android you only need to run the adb commands)
- Run the following commands
>adb kill-server
>adb start-server
>adb connect <ip-address-of-fire-tv>
- ADB is connected when it reports the message "connected to <ip-address-of-fire-tv>:<port>"
- Run the following command
>adb install <apk-file-name>
- Installation is complete when it reports the message "success"
(Note: For Android you need to type in the full path. e.g. >adb install /sdcard/Download/apk-file-name.apk)
Launch Kodi on the Fire TV
- From the Fire TV Home screen, select Settings
- Select Applications
- Find and select your Kodi installation (it may be named "XBMC" or "SPMC")
- Select Launch Application
Note: Users have reported that you can autostart Kodi after boot using an Android automation apps such as Tasker, AutomateIt, or Llama. Alternately, you can use Autopilot to autoboot to Kodi.
Launching Kodi from Fire TV Homescreen: You can also have Llama (and probably others) launch Kodi when a native Fire TV app like Flixter is launched from the Fire TV homescreen. Some apps work better than others.
Upgrading Kodi
Kodi can be upgraded through ADB without losing your settings. To do this, you must use a newer version of the package already installed on the machine.
- Download the package to your machine
- Make sure ADB is connected to the Fire TV
- Run
adb install -r <apk-file-name>
- Installation is complete when it reports the message "Success"
Kodi will still go through the "first run" screen the first time it is launched but your settings will remain intact.
Downgrading Kodi
If you wish to downgrade your version of Kodi (because you installed a test version that didn't work properly, for example) and keep your settings, the following commands will allow you to do so.
adb uninstall -k org.xbmc.xbmc
adb install <apk-file-name>
If you are downgrading using an Android device, you will need to use the "shell" command.
adb shell pm uninstall -k org.xbmc.xbmc
adbFire (Win/Mac/Linux)
adbFire is a companion program for FireTV and Android XBMC & forks. It allows you to sideload XBMC (and other apps) without the bother of downloading the Android SDK and other tools. Additionally, it allows you to copy files to and from XBMC, backup XBMC, root the FireTV, mount USB drives and more.
Download website link: http://jocala.com/adbfire.html
Amazon FireTV Utility App (Windows)
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A Windows based GUI app to easily sideload your apks to the Amazon FTV. Most of the wiki has been automated into this app so anyone that doesn’t want to mess around with Shell commands will find this helpful. Download website link: http://goo.gl/woVu0s Backup website link: http://goo.gl/lUNWaT |