Install OpenVPN on fireTV (no root required) for NORD (MAC, Windows, Linux)

DISCLAIMER: No copyright infringement intended. This article is for entertainment and educational purposes only,


Alright!! now that's out of the way I'm going to keep this short and simple 


Scope : - 

Install OpenVPN client
import profile with username and password
connect to your preferred VPN server


Use case : - 

• Secure your fireTV traffic using any OpenVPN supported VPN services=

• Connect to your home file server/NAS and stream files when traveling via your FireTV or Firestick using your own VPN server (not covered in this article)

• Watch Streaming services when traveling using your own VPN server (not covered in this article)

Guide :- 

Project Summary 

Hardware - FireTV 4K Latest firmware 

Platform - Windows 10 Enterprise

in this guide im using ADB to install OpenVPN client on my fireTV and use that to connect to the NORDVPN service

All Project files are located on C:\NoRDVPN


Files Needed (Please download these files to your workstation before proceeding)

OpenVPN client APK - http://plai.de/android/

NORDVPN OpenVPN configuration files - https://nordvpn.com/ovpn/

ADBLink - http://jocala.com




01. Enable Developer mode on Fire tv 

http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-enable-adb-debugging-on-an-amazon-fire-tv-or-fire-tv-stick/

1. From the Fire TV or Fire TV Stick’s home screen, scroll to “Settings”.
   
2. Next, scroll to the right and select “Device”.
   
3. Next, scroll down and select “Developer options”.
   
4. Then select “ADB debugging” to turn the option to “ON”.
   

02. Install OpenVPN client via the network using ADBLInk

Install the ADBlink program

Download URL - http://jocala.com

Create Device profile and connect 

Launch ADBLink and click on "New"

Fill out the information 

Notes - 

Address  - this is the IP assigned to your FireTV you can get this from the fireTV Network status page under 

“Settings”.> “System”.> “About” > “Network”

You can also get this information from your ARP table, DHCP leases on your DHCP server, etc 

Leave everything else with default values and save the profile

Install APK using ADBLINK

Browse to the location you download all files to and select the OpenVPN APk file 

In this guide the location is "C:\NoRDVPN\"

After a successful install, you will be greeted with the following dialog box 

02. Configure and copy(ADB Push) OVPN configuration files

this step is very important

02-01 Create Login configuration files

Under the same folder where you downloaded files Example - C:\NoRDVPN

create a text file with the following name - login.conf

Edit the file with your favorite text editor 

Enter your NORDVPN credentials in two separate lines (Email address and password)

Save Changes

02-02 Edit the VPN configuration file

Open the VPN configuration files in my case, I picked a US server so my filename is 

us226.nordvpn.com.udp1194.ovpn

File the line that reads "auth-user-pass" and replace it with "auth-user-pass login.conf"

Save Changes

02. Push configuration files to the FireTV

• Click on "File Manager" on adbLink

               Notes - By Default, it will connect to the root of the SDcard on your FireTV 

• Create a folder (I'm going to call it NORD_VPN)

Find the created "NORD_VPN" folder and double click on it via the left window pane 

Click on "Push"

Browse to the folder (C:/NoRDVPN) and select the two configuration files 

Note - 

Use Shift to select multiple files

Files will be pushed out to the FireTV as soon as you select Choose

Now we are done with the work from your workstation

By the time you reach this step you will have completed the following 

• Installed OpenVPN on the FireTV system

• Customized the VPN configuration files

• Copied the VPN configuration files to the Root of the SDcard on the FireTV system

Note - Next steps are really simple and you only need the fireTV remote to complete these

03. Import VPN profile on FireTV and connect

Browse to your Apps and Games > See All 

Select and launch OpenVPN Client

Use the + sign to add a profile 

Click Import

Browse and Select the ovpn configuration file using the browser 

Click on the imported VPN profile to initiate the connection 

Under the "Settings" Tab make sure "use System proxy" is enabled

Now your fireTV is routing traffic via the VPN 

This is the only outbound connection from the FireTV connecting to the NORDVPN server IP via openVPN port UDP 1194

You can find this IP in the configuration file or by going to the OpenVPN logs Tab

Until next time....Stay Awesome Internetz : )