What is a dodgy Firestick? How to tell if your Firestick is illegal and what the punishment is

• Police forces have issued warnings about crackdowns on ‘dodgy’ Firesticks. 
• You could have bought a jailbroken device without realising. 
• It comes after a man was jailed for selling illegal streaming sticks. 

Amazon’s massive Black Friday sales are about to begin and you will undoubtedly be able to nab some incredible savings on the online giant’s own products. Including of course its Firesticks. 

But you may have heard about ‘dodgy’ and ‘illegal’ ones that can land you in real trouble. A man from Liverpool was recently jailed after being caught selling them. 

If you are planning to buy a Firestick in the Black Friday sales but want to make sure you aren’t ending up 

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What is a dodgy Firestick? 

You might have heard people in your lives mentioning dodgy Firesticks - or seen headlines about illegal streaming sticks - but you aren’t quite sure what it actually means. It basically refers to the Firestick being ‘jail broken’, which means it has been modified by someone to get around controls put in place by the developer - in this case Amazon. 

The purpose of this is to allow users to watch illegal streams of sports, usually - so one purpose could be to watch football at 3pm on a Saturday despite the blackout being in force. It can also let you add other apps that are not normally available on a Firestick. 

Is it illegal to jailbreak a Firestick? 

It is not against the law to jailbreak - or as it is also called sideloading - a Firestick but it is a crime to watch illegal content on it. So if you want to jailbreak a Firestick so you can add apps that aren’t available via the Amazon software and watch totally legal programmes, that is fine. 

However it becomes illegal if you watch dodgy streams of sporting events or pirated material. So while it is not against the law to jailbreak a Firestick per-say, jailbreaking it to watch illegal content can be a crime. 

How to tell if your Firestick is jailbroken 

If you’ve been sold a ‘fully loaded’ Firestick by someone on Facebook or in person, chances are that means it will be jailbroken. And if you are able to watch sporting streams - say for example the Premier League - that is also a sign it is a ‘dodgy’ one and you could be at risk of breaking the law. 

What are the punishments? 

FACT UK explains: “Streaming, downloading or sharing unauthorised TV content, film or sports content is a crime. Illegal streaming or downloading are extremely risky activities, which can leave you and your family at the mercy of malware, viruses, ransomware, scams and fraud.” 

Police could be tracking you watching illegal content, FACT UK adds. You could find yourself slapped with a fine - and if you don’t have a TV licence that could be as much as £1,000. 

For those who are selling or distributing illegal Firesticks, you could face prison time. A man in Liverpool was recently jailed for three years after he was caught selling dodgy streaming sticks.  

If you buy a Firestick from Amazon is it legal? 

The online giant is the best place to buy a Firestick from - especially around Black Friday or other sale events. You can likely pick up a streaming stick for a bargain once the sales kick off on November 21. 

If you are thinking of buying a Firestick from Amazon, you don’t have to worry about whether it is a legal or illegal one. The online retailer only sells legitimate versions - so you are in the clear. 

What are your thoughts on dodgy Firesticks? Share them by emailing me: [email protected].