Setting Up Paid Subscriptions for Your Fire TV App

How to create a subscription in Amazon Developer Console and add the SKU to your Strimm Fire TV app settings. Includes testing with Amazon App Tester and sandbox accounts.

Overview

To charge viewers for access to your Strimm Fire TV app, you need to create a subscription in the Amazon Developer Console and then enter the SKU (Product ID) in the Strimm dashboard. This guide covers the full setup and how to test purchases before going live.

Step 1 — Create a subscription in Amazon Developer Console

1.1 Sign in to Amazon Developer Console

Go to developer.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon developer account.

1.2 Open your Fire TV app

Click Developer Console in the top menu, then select your Fire TV app from the app list.

1.3 Go to In-App Items

In the app dashboard, click the In-App Items tab.

1.4 Create a new subscription

Click Add a Subscription. Fill in the following fields:

  • Title — the display name shown to buyers (e.g. "Monthly Premium Access")
  • SKU — a unique identifier you choose (e.g. com.yourbrand.firetv.monthly). Write this down — you will paste it into Strimm.
  • Description — a short description of what the subscription includes

1.5 Add a subscription period and price

Under Subscription Periods, click Add Period and set:

  • Period — e.g. Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually
  • Base Price — set the price in USD; other marketplace prices can be auto-calculated or set manually

Click Save.

1.6 Submit for approval

Once saved, submit the subscription item. Amazon reviews in-app items before they go live — this typically takes 1 to 3 business days.

1.7 Note your SKU

The SKU from step 1.4 is what you enter in the Strimm dashboard App Settings (see Step 2 below).

Step 2 — Add the SKU in the Strimm Dashboard

Once you have your Amazon SKU, add it to your Fire TV app in Strimm:

  1. In Strimm Studio, go to App Settings and open your Fire TV app (click the gear icon)
  2. Scroll to Paid Subscription and check Require subscription to watch
  3. Enter the SKU in the Amazon / Fire TV Product ID field
  4. Click Update to save

Step 3 — Testing before release

Amazon provides a sandbox environment so you can test purchases without real charges.

Method 1 — Amazon App Tester (recommended)

  1. Download the Amazon App Tester APK from the Amazon Developer Console (under Resources and Tools, App Testing Service) and sideload it onto your Fire TV device via ADB.
  2. In App Tester, set the IAP response to Purchase Successful.
  3. Install your Fire TV app build on the same device.
  4. Launch your app and trigger the subscription flow — App Tester intercepts the purchase call and simulates a successful subscription with no real charge.
  5. You can also test failure scenarios (e.g. Already Purchased, Purchase Failed) by changing the App Tester response setting.

Method 2 — Live App Testing with a sandbox account

  1. In the Developer Console, go to your app, then Test and Publish, and enable Live App Testing.
  2. Create a test account: Developer Console, Settings, Sandbox Accounts, Add a New Tester.
  3. On the Fire TV device, sign in with the sandbox account credentials.
  4. Install your app and trigger a subscription — sandbox purchases go through without charging a real card.

Important notes

  • The SKU in Strimm must exactly match what you set in the Amazon Developer Console, including capitalization.
  • Subscriptions only go live after your app is published and the in-app item is approved by Amazon.
  • Vega OS requirement: The Fire TV Vega platform requires Amazon IAP SDK v3.0 or higher. If rebuilding your app for Vega, make sure the developer uses the updated SDK — older versions are not supported.