- The latest Fire TV software update has deleted popular functionality
- You can no longer hide unwanted applications on your home screen
- It is possible to restore the functionality with an application called ATVTOOLS
Amazon is not a stranger to quietly remove the Fire television features or to break their functionality with software updates – and it is again struck in the last push of firmware for its popular streaming gadgets.
A new Fire TV update, which has been deployed on first generation and second generation Fire television sticks from other devices, has deleted the possibility of hiding applications on your home screen (as spotted by the AFTVNEWS). This means that you are now stuck with an application clutter grid that you probably do not want, without any option to make them disappear.
Previously, you could press the “Context” button on a Fire TV remote control (that with three horizontal lines) and see the option of “hide your applications”. Although it is possible to uninstall third -party applications, you cannot do it for the own Amazon applications like Freevee or Prime Video. Thank you, Amazon.
The bad news is that this also means that applications from other user profiles you have configured on your Fire TV device will be displayed on all user profiles. Unfortunately, there is evidence like Reddit that this demotion also struck other Fire television sticks, including the most recent 4K max.
The bypass solution
The owners of Fire TV sticks are increasingly unhappy with Amazon software updates, which sometimes feel hostile of users – such as last year’s firmware which broke a number of popular third -party applications.
Fortunately, there seems to be a bypass solution (for now) which allows you to hide the applications that you do not want to see on your home screen. As indicated by the YouTuber TechdoCToruk, the Tierce ATVTOOLS application (available for Android and iOS) restores your ability to delete unwanted home screen applications, although in a longer than before.
To do this with Atvtools, open the application and log into your Fire TV device. Now go the list of applications, search for the application you want to delete from your home screen, press the three points and choose the “Disable” option. Once you have updated the apps on your Fire TV, the application should have been hidden.
This will probably not be the last time we hear about Amazon’s features by deactivating the Fire TV stick, because Amazon previously defended certain updates in the name of improving TV Security on Fire. If you are embarking on these types of updates, it could be worth examining alternatives such as the Nvidia Shield TV Pro (see below), which has just received a rare discount on Amazon US.
