How to identify a device you own and recognize the public update URLs that are useful to FTVDB. Everything here applies to devices in your possession and to links that are already public.
Good records start with good identification. A URL is far more valuable when it arrives with the device family, the exact model, and the software version it relates to, because two devices that share a marketing name can run completely different builds. The sections below cover how to read that information off each kind of device, followed by how to recognize an update URL and what to include when you submit one.
A note on safety: FTVDB is about documenting public update history, not about modifying devices or getting around their protections. None of the steps here require unlocking, rooting, or altering a device. Work only with hardware you own, and never include personal data, account identifiers, or authentication tokens in anything you share.
On the device, open Settings → My Fire TV → About. That screen shows the device name and generation along with the installed Fire OS version. The same screen usually offers Check for Updates, which is the safe, device-initiated way to see whether a newer build is offered.
The small print on the back of a stick or the box also lists a model code. If the About screen is unclear, that code is a reliable fallback for telling generations apart.
Open Settings → Device Options. The exact wording varies by Fire OS generation, and on newer releases this area may be labelled Device & System.
If you are unsure which tablet you have at all, the model line resolves it more reliably than screen size or color, both of which are reused across generations.
From the home screen, open Settings (tap the menu — often three dots — if you do not see it), then Device Options → Device Info (called About Your Kindle on some firmware). That screen lists the firmware version, the serial number, and available storage.
You can also confirm which model is registered to your account at amazon.com/mydevices, which is handy when a device is older or the label has worn off. Please do not share serial numbers when you submit — they identify a specific unit and are not needed for a URL record.
Most Echo devices have no screen, so identification happens in the Alexa app. Open Devices, choose the Echo, then open its settings (the gear icon) and look at About for the software version. The device type shown there, together with the model on the original packaging, identifies the generation.
Echo update URLs generally surface through diagnostics or logs gathered during normal operation rather than from an on-device menu, so the device family, build number, and capture date are what make a submission easy to place correctly.
A useful submission is a link that an Amazon device actually requested during a real update check.
On Android-based Fire TV hardware, contributors commonly observe these by enabling ADB debugging
on a device they own, connecting with adb connect [device IP], and watching
adb logcat while triggering a check from the About screen. The update location appears
in the log as an ordinary public URL.
For Kindle and Echo, links typically come from update metadata that existing community tooling already collects during a normal check. Whatever the source, a good URL is:
Include the device family, model name, current software version, the target update version, and whether the link appeared during a device-initiated check or a manual one from settings. The more context, the faster a record can be placed correctly.
FTVDB indexes links and metadata. Do not upload firmware, app packages, private logs, authentication tokens, or account-specific data. If a log contains personal information, remove it before sharing any context.
FTVDB does not bypass update systems, host update files, provide downgrade or rooting instructions, or publish private device data. The goal is to preserve public update history in a searchable form.
Once you have a public URL and a few details about the device, head to the submission page to send it for review, or automate it with the API if you collect links regularly. New to the project? The FAQ covers the common questions, and Contact is open for anything else.
