Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
Amazon has always held a tight grip over the software that runs on its devices, and the company’s Echo line of smart speakers and displays is no different. In fact, it’s much more locked down than the Kindle Fire tablets that allow you to sideload regular Android apps. The Echo line doesn’t enjoy that privilege. But thanks to a new open-source project, you can now jailbreak select Echo Show 5 and Show 8 models and replace Amazon’s locked-down Fire OS with full-fledged Android.
Under the hood, Amazon’s smart displays pack similar specifications as mainstream Android devices. For instance, the second-gen Show 5 relied on MediaTek’s MT8163 chip, which also powered the Kindle Fire HD 8 tablet and several budget phones like the Nokia 5.1. However, Amazon has never permitted unlocking the bootloader on its smart displays, keeping us locked to the Alexa-centric Fire OS ecosystem.
This new jailbreak for the Echo Show relies on a BootROM exploit found in older MediaTek-based devices, allowing us to unlock the bootloader and install a custom recovery. We can then install alternative operating systems like LineageOS. Of course, the latter means giving up access to Amazon’s tight software integration and Alexa, so is it worth doing? In my opinion, absolutely.
Android on the Echo Show: What can you do?
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
When I learned about the jailbreak’s existence, I immediately grabbed two second-gen Echo Show 5s off Facebook Marketplace. These devices can be found for relatively cheap these days since they first hit the market in 2021.
Since Amazon never intended for these smart displays to run third-party Android apps, they only include 1GB of RAM. This is the biggest limiting factor, but on the flip side, a fresh install of LineageOS is surprisingly lean. Without the bloat of Google Play Services and other background services, I’ve found the interface is surprisingly responsive. In fact, it felt faster zipping around here than it ever did on Amazon’s own Fire OS, which is a heavily skinned variant of Android too.
The LineageOS build developed for the Echo Show 5 has all hardware components functional out of the box, except the front-facing camera. This means you can use the touchscreen, connect to Wi-Fi, play audio through the built-in speakers, and perhaps even install alternative voice assistants, but more on that later.
My Echo Show 5 now behaves like a docked Android tablet with excellent speakers.
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