[Fire TV Original Android Development] emkorial:
You cannot enable USB debugging without getting to settings, and you can't get to settings without connecting to a Network, and when you connect to a Network, it automatically starts downloading the update. This is what I have been referencing all along, a lot of people seem to be telling me to do things via ADB, but you cannot connect to ADB without enabling USB debugging, and you cannot enable USB debugging without going through Setup, and you cannot get through Setup without connecting to the Internet, and when you connect to the internet it downloads the updates

But I cannot connect via ADB until I enable USB debugging, I cannot enable USB debugging until I get through Setup, and I cannot get through setup without installing the updates.

I would prefer not to have to unlock the stick if I don't have to, but so far, I cannot find any way to get to settings to enable USB debugging so I can connect via ADB without going through Setup, which installs the updates

Here is what I have tried and found so far

First thing I tried was just plugging the Fire Stick out of the box, figuring it would stop to ask me to connect to a network. I plugged the stick into a little TV and the USB cable into my PC. The Stick turned on, and, after pairing the remote, the Stick started downloading updates automatically, without asking for any Wifi information. I suspect it was somehow connecting to the other Fire Sticks in the home and getting the network credentials that way. Thankfully I was able to pull the power plug before the update downloaded.

Outcome #1: If there is a live internet connection the Stick will connect and download updates seemingly without needing any authentication information to connect to the network. How it does this is unknown.

I then turned off Internet at the house, but kept the wifi network up. I restarted the stick, and instead of auto downloading updates, it asked me to selected a wifi network. I picked my network, connected, but the stick would eventually go back to the network selection screen with a "The Fire Stick could not contact Amazon" message and told me to pick another network. It does not seem to stay connected to the network as after I get that message the device no longer appears on the network.

In essence, you cannot stay connected to a network without the updates downloading, preventing any network communication with the Stick.

Outcome #2: Without Internet, you cannot get past the Network Select Screen or stay connected to any network

I then re-enabled internet access and blocked the domains listed in https://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-blo...n-the-amazon-fire-tv-or-fire-tv-stick/#router. And tried again. This time the Fire stick connected to the network, and proceeded to begin downloading updates. I pulled the power from the stick before it completed

Outcome #3: The guide to block specific domains to prevent the OTA update from occurring is outdated and no longer works. The updates WILL download

I then killed the internet again, and booted the stick up. When it got to the network select screen, my PC had recognized the Fire Stick as a USB device. I launch ADB, and ran adb devices, but nothing was shown.

Outcome #4: You cannot access the Fire Stick via ADB during the setup process. The stick is not detected as a device

I then downloaded the Fire TV app, some people had reported that you can use that as a remote and get to the settings and bypass the updates. When you download the app, you see a list of existing sticks, but the new stick is not listed. This makes sense because you cannot register the stick because you cannot connect to Amazon without updates being delivered

Outcome #5: You cannot use the phone app as a remote to bypass the update screen, as you cannot register the device to your account without having the updates downloaded

I then looked at the "Open DNS" method listed at https://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-blo...-the-amazon-fire-tv-or-fire-tv-stick/#opendns. This is kinda silly, as it tells you to update DNS settings on the Stick, but you cannot get to the DNS settings on the stick without going though the setup and getting updated. I don't see how this method ever would have worked and I am baffled why aftv included it

Outcome #6: You cannot point the Stick to Open DNS since you cannot update your DNS settings without the stick updating

Now, just to be clear, every single one of those steps I tried I found advertised as ways that worked for other users. Maybe they are lying, maybe they worked at one point before, but currently, as far as I can tell, zero of these methods currently work

Any other ideas are very welcome. I realize that a rooted ROM would have USB debugging enabled by default, which would eliminate this issue. I am trying to see if this is possible without flashing a custom ROM.