How to use the Amazon Fire TV Stick

Contents
- 1 How to replace the Fire TV Stick
- 2 How to clear the Fire TV Stick’s cache to make it run sooner
- 3 How to arrange the Fire TV Stick
- 4 How to arrange the Fire TV Stick’s apps on dwelling display
- 5 How to arrange the Fire TV Stick’s textual content banner characteristic
- 6 How to use the Fire TV Stick with Alexa
- 7 How to Install Apps on Fire TV Stick
Learning how to use the Fire TV Stick is not precisely simple, as its menus are a bit laborious and options can appear a bit hidden. But you are going to need to smarten up about how to use your model new Fire stick to stream dwell TV or binge-rewatch The Boys once more (when is season 3 getting right here?). Amazon’s reasonably priced household of streaming gadgets (that are nonetheless closely discounted at the second) pack most of their neatest options deep in its menus.
Plus, the Fire TV Stick has tons of Alexa integrations in-built, and relying on the distant you may have, some are accessible with the contact of a button. So, we have the whole lot you want to setup your new Fire TV machine (getting it prepared generally is a chore), so you’ll be able to grasp it at this time. The Fire TV OS interface additionally simply bought a contemporary coat of paint, and we have up to date this information for the new look.
The one factor we do not love about the Fire TV is how a lot of the dwelling display isn’t underneath your management. One of our beneath ideas exhibits you ways to rearrange the row of apps on the dwelling display.
And when you grasp the Fire TV Stick (and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is one among the finest streaming gadgets) you may use it for the whole lot from streaming exhibits and films to controlling your good dwelling. You may even get the climate with out turning on a channel.
• Fire TV Cube vs. Fire TV Stick vs. Fire TV Stick 4K
• Fire TV Stick Lite vs Fire TV Stick
This story applies to each the Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick Lite and the Fire TV Stick 4K compatriot. These streaming gadgets are largely related, with streaming high quality and distant management buttons being the main differentiating options.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max (our Amazon-made choose on the finest streaming gadgets listing) and the Fire TV Cube function in an analogous method as a result of they has the identical OS. The Cube, although, is bodily totally different, whereas the 4K Max is a mirror picture for the regular 4K Fire Stick.
There’s additionally the plethora of Fire TV units, together with the new Amazon Fire TV Omni, which have the identical working system, however lack the stick or dice you want to join. So, here is our information for the way to use the Fire TV Stick, which is one among the firm’s hottest and reasonably priced streaming gadgets.
Right now, we have discovered financial savings of up to $15 off Fire TV Sticks and $50 off the Fire TV Cube, examine them out right here:
How to replace the Fire TV Stick
In late 2020 and early 2021, Amazon started rolling out a brand new interface for the Fire TV Sticks and Cube. If your machine hasn’t up to date but, it is simple to get it there in 5 simple steps, listed beneath. The new interface is a bit slicker, however remains to be full of the way to maximize your Prime membership, in case you have one.
- Open Settings at the high of the dwelling display.
- Scroll proper to choose Device.
- Select About.
- Select Check for System Update.
- Follow the prompts to replace your Fire TV Stick.
How to clear the Fire TV Stick’s cache to make it run sooner
If you may have a Fire TV Stick app that’s simply not working proper? You can attempt clearing out its digital cobwebs by erasing the cache and (then) information.
Cache clearing is the safer of the two steps, as erasing information would require you to re-log in.
- Click the Settings gear on the dwelling display.
- Select Applications.
- Select Manage Installed Applications.
- Select the software that is transferring too gradual.
- Select Clear Cache and/or Clear Data.
How to arrange the Fire TV Stick
Yes, that USB Micro twine and energy adapter that got here with the Fire TV Stick won’t be vital for getting the Fire Stick up and working, however you may need it to guarantee sooner efficiency.
Here’s the whole lot you want to get the Fire TV Stick up and working and streaming your entire favourite content material.
1. Plug the USB Micro cable into the energy adapter.
2. Plug the different finish into into the Fire TV Stick.
3. Plug the Fire TV Stick into an HDMI port in your TV.
4. Press Home in your distant.
If you may have bother with this step, attempt utilizing the distant management nearer to the Fire TV Stick, holding Home for 10 seconds and altering out to contemporary batteries.
If these steps do not work (they did not for us), simply unplug the energy provide from the Fire TV Stick, wait a minute and plug that again in.
5. Press Play/Pause in your distant.
6. Select Your Language.
7. Select your Wi-Fi community.
8. Enter your password and choose Connect.
9. Select Sign In or Create an Account. Let’s assume that you’ve got an Amazon account, and the beneath steps comply with choosing Sign In.
10. On a cellphone, pill or laptop, open amazon.com/code, register and enter the distinctive activation code you get in step 2.
11. Select Continue, as a result of choosing Change account would indicate you simply signed in with the mistaken ID.
12. Select Yes or No to decide in or out of storing related community passwords with Amazon. I personally go for No.
13. Opt in or out of parental controls.
14. If you chose sure, enter your parental management PIN quantity, and make an observation of it someplace your child will not discover.
15. Select OK after noting the place Parental Controls are managed.
16. If your Fire TV Stick’s distant is TV controls appropriate, you may now hit Next to ensure that it really works proper
17. Adjust quantity after which click on Yes to affirm.
18. Click OK.
19. Sign up for Amazon Kids+ (it could present you a message for Prime if you do not have Prime) or opt-out. Wondering why you’d need Prime? Check out our information to the finest Prime Video films and exhibits to study extra.
20. Select Get Started to stroll by Amazon’s app downloads on-boarding, or click on No Thanks to skip previous. It’s at all times very bizarre to see what apps get urged and which do not.
21. Select the common companies you need, and click on proper to TV channels. The chosen apps beneath are the ones I’d really use.
22. Select the TV channel apps you need, and click on proper to sports activities apps.
23. Select the sports activities apps you need, and click on proper to the featured apps. If you’ll be able to’t watch the apps you need in your nation, you might have considered trying to try our Do you want a VPN on Fire Stick? explainer.
24. Select the featured companies you need, and click on Play to proceed.
25. Click Finish to obtain apps.
26. Click Got It to proceed.
27. Enter Parental Controls PIN (clearly, skip this step when you did not arrange a Parental Controls PIN).
28. Select a person profile (try our information for the way to add Fire TV profiles when you want this characteristic).
You’ve arrange your Fire TV Stick!
And when you’re interested by how the different massive streaming machine platform is, try our Roku vs. Amazon Fire TV Stick face-off.
How to arrange the Fire TV Stick’s apps on dwelling display
Here’s an annoying a part of the Fire TV: it is dwelling display is primarily out of your management. You get just a little sliver, and it defaults to a bunch of Amazon apps of various worth (certain, IMDb TV, proper).
Fortunately, we have a information to how to customise the Fire TV’s dwelling display app row. This method, you’ll be able to instantly rearrange the functions that seem in these six blocks at the high of your house display. In brief, click on that gray button with the sq. and the + image, after which tinker on the subsequent display.
Those with imaginative and prescient impairments will likely be blissful to hear that Amazon’s rolling out a brand new characteristic referred to as Text Banner. Once enabled, the Fire TV interface will make it a lot simpler to inform what part of your display is highlighted or chosen.
To allow it, open Settings and Accessibility and choose Text Banner. It might not be in your machine but, so look out for upcoming system updates.
How to use the Fire TV Stick with Alexa
The Fire TV Stick comes with an Alexa Remote that enables you to carry out voice-commands. Not solely does it allow you to pause, rewind and fast-forward content material with simply your voice, but it surely additionally offers bonus options, together with the Jeopardy recreation and assist with Weather forecasts.
Below is a grasp listing of the Alexa instructions that work with the Fire TV Stick, which we’ll be updating as extra abilities develop into accessible.
Watching content material
“Alexa, watch The Handmaid’s Tale.”
“Alexa, open Netflix.”
“Alexa, open PlayStation Vue.”
“Alexa, Pause.”
“Alexa, play.”
“Alexa, cease.”
“Alexa, fast-forward”
“Alexa-rewind”
“Alexa, forward 5 minutes”
“Alexa, skip 30 seconds”
“Alexa, play next”
“Alexa, subsequent episode”
Finding content material
“Alexa, present me close by eating places”
“Alexa, show me [show or movie title]”
“Alexa, show me [insert genre]”
“Alexa, show me Bruce Willis movies”
“Alexa, search for Westworld”
“Alexa, add this to my watchlist”
“Alexa, present my watchlist”
“Alexa, seek for the NPR app”
“Alexa, watch HGTV [or any show] on PlayStation Vue [or Hulu]”
“Alexa, watch [insert Prime Video Channel name]”
The News
“Alexa, play my flash briefing” [if enabled in Alexa app] or “Alexa, what’s the information?”
The Weather
“Alexa, what’s the climate?”
“Alexa, what’s the forecast?”
“Alexa, what’s the climate in [insert city]?”
“Alexa, what’s the climate like on [insert day]?”
Games
“Alexa, play Jeopardy” [enable in the Alexa app]
Music
“Alexa, play Beyoncé”
“Alexa, play All Star by Smash Mouth”
“Alexa, play [insert genre] music”
How to Install Apps on Fire TV Stick
Installing apps on the Fire TV Stick is fairly simple, thanks to Alexa. Sure, you would spend your time clicking round the interface, choosing the magnifying glass and typing in an app’s title, however you do not have to.
Instead of clicking round the on-screen keyboard (discovered by choosing the magnifying glass at the far left finish of the menu), you’ll be able to simply speak to Alexa, by holding down the Alexa/microphone button, and saying the title of an app.
Alternatively, you are able to do this the quaint method:
1. Select Find on the Fire TV dwelling display.
2. Select search (sure, skip the AppStore button, it is cluttered and would not have a search choice.
3. Here you would use Alexa, by urgent and holding the mic button and speaking for voice search, or you would kind out an app’s title and choose the related outcomes.
4. Select that app from the outcomes display.
5. Select Get.
6. Select Open.
You’ve downloaded and opened an app!