

The Amazon Fire TV 2 has been rooted for several months now, but the procedure has been difficult and risky for some to follow. Now that rbox has released custom recovery and a pre-rooted ROM for the Fire TV 2, rooting the device is much easier and safer. Here is my guide on how to root the Fire TV 2 using a Windows PC.

If you’ve already rooted using the old method, it is safe to fully follow this guide in order to install custom recovery. There are other quicker ways, discussed here, to install custom recovery on an already rooted Fire TV, but those won’t be in this guide.

Video Guide

Requirements

A Fire TV 2 running stock software version 5.0.5.1 or older . (It is okay to follow this guide with an already rooted Fire TV 2 that was rooted using the older method, if you’re looking to install TWRP and an updated ROM.)

. (It is okay to follow this guide with an already rooted Fire TV 2 that was rooted using the older method, if you’re looking to install TWRP and an updated ROM.) A USB Keyboard. The Logitech K400 or K400 Plus is suggested because it includes a touchpad while only needing 1 USB port.

A 1GB or greater USB drive or MicroSD card formatted with FAT32. If you decide to use a USB drive, it will be much easier if you also have a USB Hub so that you can connect both the USB Drive and USB Keyboard simultaneously to the Fire TV. If you don’t have a USB hub, you can still follow this guide, but first read the footnote titled “If you don’t have a USB hub and are using a USB drive” at the bottom of this page. Using a MicroSD card leaves the Fire TV’s USB port open for the USB Keyboard and therefore will not require a USB Hub.

An A-to-A USB Cable. Any length or version/speed will do. This is used to connect the Fire TV to a PC. It does not need to be long enough to reach your TV from your PC since the Fire TV 2 does not need to be connected to a TV when this cable is used.

Step 1: Prepare Files

Download the latest version of the FireTV 2 Recovery file firetv2_recovery_v#.zip from here.

Download the latest version of the FireTV 2 Recovery Installer file install_firetv2_recovery_v#.zip from here.

Download the latest Pre-Rooted Fire TV 2 ROM sloane-5.#.#-rooted_r#.zip from here.

Unzip the firetv2_recovery_v#.zip and install_firetv2_recovery_v#.zip files and place all the files in the same directory.

Copy the ramdisk-recovery.cpio.lzma file and the Pre-Rooted ROM sloane-5.#.#-rooted_r#.zip file to your FAT32 USB Drive or FAT32 MicroSD card. Be sure the files are in the top most root directory and do not unzip the ROM file.

OPTIONAL: Add a .md5 hash file to your FAT32 USB Drive or FAT32 MicroSD card by following this guide. This helps detect a corrupt ROM file.



Step 2: Prepare Computer and Fire TV

If you haven’t done so yet, setup ADB and Fastboot on your computer by following this guide. Install MTK65XX Preloader USB VCom drivers on your computer by following this guide. (Windows 8.1 & 10 users may need to first disable driver verification) Enable ADB debugging and USB debugging on your Fire TV by following this guide. Power off the Fire TV, then connect the A-to-A USB cable to the Fire TV and your computer, and then power the Fire TV on. It’s important to always connect the USB cable first and THEN power on the Fire TV whenever you’re asked to do so in this guide. Wait for Windows to detect the Fire TV and install drivers. It will probably do this twice: once when it first powers up and again when it reaches the HOME screen. It’s fine and expected for Windows to report that not all drivers were installed correctly. After Windows is done detecting the Fire TV, disconnect the A-to-A USB cable and power off your Fire TV. It’s important to always also disconnect the USB cable when asked to power off the Fire TV in this guide because the Fire TV can pull power through the USB cable and actually remain on without the power cable connected.

Step 3: Prepare Fire TV for TWRP Custom Recovery

Run the install_firetv2_recovery.bat file by double clicking it. While it says “Waiting for preloader…” connect the A-to-A USB cable to the Fire TV and then power up the Fire TV. The Fire TV does not need to be connected to a TV.

The script should automatically detect the Fire TV and immediately begin transferring data to it. If it does not, try closing the script, disconnecting the USB cable, powering off the Fire TV, and repeating the process.

The script will continue transferring files to the Fire TV for about 5 minutes. Be sure the computer does not turn off or go to sleep during this time. If anything goes wrong, it’s perfectly safe to repeat this process from the beginning no matter where things failed.

Once the script finishes, disconnect the USB cable and power off the Fire TV.

Step 4: Install a Pre-Rooted ROM (which includes TWRP Custom Recovery)

Connect the Fire TV to a TV but leave it powered off. If you’re using a MicroSD card:

Insert the MicroSD card (that you prepared in step 1) into the Fire TV, connect your USB keyboard to the Fire TV, and then power on the Fire TV. If you’re using a USB Drive:

Connect the USB Drive (that you prepared in step 1) and your USB keyboard to a USB hub, connect the USB hub to your Fire TV, and then power on the Fire TV. When you see the boot menu, press the RIGHT arrow on the USB keyboard to boot into recovery.

If you see a message asking you to allow modifications, go ahead and click the bottom right arrows to allow modifications. Once you are in Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP), if you don’t have a mouse/touchpad connected to the Fire TV, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor. Press enter to select buttons under the cursor.

Select the Install button in TWRP.

Select the Select Storage button.

Select either USB or Micro SDCard depending on which one has the Pre-Rooted ROM on it, and select OK.

Select the Pre-Rooted ROM you want to install.

Select the Swipe to confirm Flash button to start installing the Pre-Rooted ROM. You don’t actually have to drag the button. Just clicking it will work.

Wait for the Pre-Rooted ROM to install.

Once the Pre-Rooted ROM is finished installing, select the Reboot System button to restart the Fire TV.



Step 5: Verify Root & Block Updates

To verify that your Fire TV is rooted, connect to it via ADB.

Run the command: adb shell

Run the command: su

On the Fire TV, select the Grant button on the popup that appears. You only have a few seconds before the popup disappears. If you miss it, repeat step 5-3.

If you see root@sloane:/ # in your command window, then you know you have successfully rooted.

While you’re here, you should block software updates by running the command:

pm disable com.amazon.device.software.ota

Lastly, you probably want to disable USB debugging if you plan to use your USB port for something like external storage or peripherals.

Step 6: Show some love

If you appreciate the effort that has gone into rooting the Fire TV 2, you should consider donating to those that made it all possible

Donate to rbox for creating TWRP recovery, the installer, and the pre-rooted ROM. Donate to zeroepoch for discovering the rooting method. Donate to me for writing this guide.

Footnote

• If you don’t have a USB hub and are using a USB drive:

It’s possible to follow this guide, with a few modifications, if you do not have a USB hub or MicroSD card. First, at step 4-2, you need to connect the USB Drive, power on the Fire TV, then quickly switch to a USB keyboard when you see the Fire TV logo in order to select the recovery option when the boot menu appears. Then, while in TWRP, you need to remotely transfer the pre-rooted ROM to the Fire TV using ADB. Alternatively, you can transfer the pre-rooted ROM to the Fire TV’s internal /sdcard directory before following this guide and just install it from there when you’re in TWRP.

Troubleshooting

• If you get stuck in a loop and can’t boot normally:

Enter TWRP using the boot menu Select the Wipe button in the upper right. Select the Advanced Wipe button in the lower left. Check the Cache checkbox. Select the Swipe to Wipe button. The wipe can take anywhere from a few seconds to 10+ minutes, so be patient.



• If TWRP recovery is hung/frozen, do not reboot. Instead, restart TWRP recovery by:

Connect via ADB. (The IP is on the TWRP home screen) Run the command: adb shell Run the command: killall recovery

• If TWRP recovery has a blurry/double interface, try connecting the Fire TV to a different TV to complete the guide. Some TVs are having issues displaying TWRP correctly. Once you finish the guide on a compatible TV, the Fire TV will work with your incompatible TV just fine. There are also reports that TWRP is not compatible with interlace 1080i TVs. Try using a 1080p or 720p TV.

• If you don’t see a boot menu after Step 3, you can:

Be sure you’re using a FAT 32 drive or microsd card. Also be sure there are no hidden partitions on the drive/card. Try a different drive/card. Check the MD5 hash of the ZIP files you downloaded to ensure your files are intact. Lastly, try repeating the guide from the beginning.

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