What you need to know
- A lawsuit was filed recently, alleging Amazon has engaged in “software tethering,” which causes a device’s core functions to diminish if support runs out.
- The plaintiff behind this lawsuit says they were forced to purchase an entirely new Fire TV Stick in 2024 after their first in 2018, stating Amazon can “shorten” a device’s lifespan at will.
- Further comments about this lawsuit have yet to be made.
Amazon is reportedly on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit in April regarding its older Fire TV Sticks and their performance.
Highlighted by Top Class Action, the lawsuit alleges Amazon has engaged in “software tethering,” meaning when software support is cut, so too will the Fire TV Stick first and second-gen products (via CNET). Adding to this, the lawsuit says that Amazon has it within its control to “limit or discontinue” features after purchase. It argues that this can diminish the Fire TV Stick’s overall functionality.
The driving force behind this lawsuit is plaintiff Bill Merewhuader. The plaintiff argues that not only did Amazon “limit” its product’s performance, but it failed to mention that its product’s functionality could “be eliminated” before the end of its “useful life.” As a result, Merewhuader states their device slowed dramatically and ultimately became “inoperable.” After purchasing a Fire TV Stick 2nd-Gen in 2018, Merewhuader says they were forced to purchase another iteration in 2024 after the previous “became unusable.”
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Android Central’s Take
I am curious to see where this goes. There’s a joke that family members have said, which is that when a device starts acting up, one that you’ve had for a long time, it’s because the company that made it wants you to upgrade. There’s a lot of moving parts in something like this. There are allegations, and then there’s what’s truly happened. If Amazon is found guilty of this, does that make us look at every device differently?
At this time, the lawsuit reportedly seeks to force Amazon to submit compensation to all consumers affected by the sudden downgrade in Fire TV Stick first and second-gen models. As CNET mentions, older (such as first-gen models) degrade/age over time, causing them to slow down or have lackluster functionality. It’s unclear how this lawsuit will shake out between the plaintiff and Amazon right now.
Android Central has reached out to Amazon about this lawsuit and will update this article if we hear back.
Where to go from here?
It is interesting to see where this goes, as the plaintiff suggests that the devices themselves didn’t fall apart, but rather something under the hood caused them to falter far sooner than one would expect.
While we wait to see what happens with this lawsuit, earlier this year, Amazon laid off 16,000 employees in another grueling wave. This came only a few months after the company let go of 14,000 people in October 2025. Shortly after, it was said by Amazon’s Beth Galetti that these layoffs would “not become a regular occurrence.” Despite Galetti’s words, Amazon has a history of large layoffs, such as the wave of 10,000 jobs lost in 2022 around the holidays and 18,000 roles cut back in 2018.
Also, late last year, Amazon started cracking down on piracy apps in Fire TV, even the ones users sideloaded. It said that it intends to “protect both media creators and users from malware and fraudulent apps.” Such restrictions had already started rolling out in France and Germany; however, it has since expanded globally.