Avoid Buying These Fire TV Stick Models If You Want To Sideload Apps

The Amazon Fire TV Stick lineup is one of the most popular streaming device families on the market. For many years, these budget-friendly gadgets were also some of the easiest streamers to sideload apps onto. Sideloading is simply the process of adding third-party software that isn't listed on an official app store, giving users more freedom in choosing the apps and services that make up their streaming entertainment. Unfortunately, the future isn't looking bright for Fire Stick-powered sideloading, as Amazon's new Vega OS was designed to prevent you from onboarding third-party software.

Amazon isn't exactly being transparent about which products use Vega OS either. So we're just going to tell you: Both the 2026 Fire TV Stick HD and 2026 Fire TV Stick 4K Select run Vega OS, making them the models to avoid if you're looking to sideload. All other Fire TV products (including the Fire TV Cube and smart TVs with Fire TV built in) still use Fire OS, which should continue to support sideloading for the foreseeable future. This is because Fire OS is technically just a modified version of Android, a platform known for giving users and developers freedom to install unofficially supported apps and tools.

Unlike Fire OS, Vega OS is based on Linux, which prevents those two newer Fire TV products we mentioned from being able to sideload. Right now, there are actually two versions of the Fire TV Stick HD on the market right now, and only the older model supports Fire OS. Thankfully, it's easy to differentiate between the two, as only the Wi-Fi 5 edition of the Stick HD runs Fire OS.

Consumer tech is always evolving, and it's only a matter of time before Amazon starts releasing new versions of its other Fire TV Stick models, as well as the Fire TV Cube and any Amazon-licensed smart TVs — available from brands like Hisense, TCL, and Insignia. And while it doesn't seem like Amazon is going to update existing Fire OS products to Vega OS, that's always a possibility, too.

Fortunately, there are several other options when it comes to streaming platforms. Android is a popular one and is the underlying framework at the heart of Google TV, an operating system and user interface you'll find on numerous smart TVs. There's also the Google TV Streamer, Nvidia Shield TV, and Nvidia Shield TV Pro streaming devices, all of which run on Android (the Google TV Streamer uses Google TV) and can be configured for sideloading. You can even onboard third-party launchers like Projectivy Launcher and Arc Launcher, the latter of which will look familiar to anyone who's used an Apple TV before (Arc is essentially the Android-modded version of tvOS).

If you already own Fire TV products running Fire OS, or plan on picking up a compatible model from a third-party seller, the Downloader launcher — developed by AFTVnews — is a well-vetted tool that cuts through a bulk of the ads and other interface bloat inherent to Fire OS.