Jellyfin users on new Fire TV Stick get a lifeline thanks to a third-party app

Owners of the latest Amazon Fire TV Stick models running Vega OS have hit a wall: the official Jellyfin client and its best alternatives are either missing from the app store or cannot be sideloaded. Amazon has moved away from Android to a proprietary, locked-down Linux-based operating system, breaking the traditional method of installing APK files.

The company has tightened its security and anti-piracy guidelines, preventing installation of apps from unknown sources. For self-hosted media solutions like Jellyfin, which rely on volunteer developers, this means a complete rewrite of the client is required to support the new platform. The official Jellyfin client and other popular open-source alternatives are simply not available for Vega OS.

Larger companies with dedicated development teams have fared better, but not without issues. Plex, which has a long-standing relationship with Amazon, has released a limited client for the new Fire TV Stick. However, it lacks support for direct playback of 4K files, music and photo libraries, and playback speed controls — features that are common in the Fire OS version of the app. Emby, another streaming server, also has a client for Vega OS, but users report it is buggy and unreliable.

The situation seemed dire for Jellyfin users until an independent developer stepped in with an app called Astra. Created specifically for Jellyfin on Vega-powered Fire TV Sticks, Astra bypasses the compatibility issues and allows users to access their media libraries. While it may not offer all the features of a full-fledged client, it provides a functional solution for those who rely on Jellyfin for self-hosted streaming. The app is now available for installation, giving users a way to keep using their preferred media server on the latest Amazon hardware.