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How to Fix a Fire TV Stick That's Not Working


So your Amazon Fire TV Stick is not working as it should. Maybe you have buffered video, maybe the remote has stopped working, or maybe it won't turn on at all.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can try to restart it. Let's take a look at what to do when your Fire Stick isn't working.

1. Check that your Fire Stick is configured correctly

First, make sure your Fire TV Stick is set up correctly. It may seem obvious, but cables can easily come loose over time. If the device seems unresponsive, also try another HDMI port on your TV.

Also, make sure your Stick is properly powered, connected to a wall outlet or power strip, and that you're using the original power adapter if you still have it.

Do not use any of your TV's spare USB ports for power. While it might be tempting to have one less cable behind your TV, they don't always produce enough juice for the Fire Stick to work reliably.

Even if it works fully from time to time, random reboots or even boot loops are likely.

2. Restart the Fire Stick

The Fire TV Stick is designed to be left plugged in and connected at all times. But you can fix many problems with the occasional restart, including connection issues or failed updates.

There are three different ways to restart a Fire Stick.

  1. Go to Settings>My Fire TV>Restart then confirm when prompted. This is the best option, as it will properly close all software before restarting.
  2. If the Fire Stick is frozen and you can't navigate the menus to access settings, hold the Select button and Play Pause buttons on your remote for about five seconds. This should force an instant reboot with no confirmation screen.
  3. The last option, if none of the above solutions work, is to remove the plug. Removing and replacing the PSU will force a reboot. Don't do this while your device is updating.

3. Check your network connection

When you have generally slow performance, buffering video, or the main interface not loading at all, your network connection may be to blame.

Go to Settings>Network to verify that you have a Wi-Fi connection. You can also check the signal strength here. If it's bad, you'll experience slower speeds, regardless of the speed of your internet connection itself. This can cause things like buffering or a reduction in your image quality.

The only way to fix this is to move the Fire Stick or your router so they are closer together and have fewer objects blocking the signal between the two.

For dropped connections or other Wi-Fi issues, quickly restarting your router can often help as well.

4. Install all available updates for your Fire Stick

Not all Fire Stick issues are unique to your device. There may be bugs in the software that affect its performance. As a workaround, make sure your device software is up to date.

Amazon recommends that you leave your Fire TV Stick plugged in and connected at all times. This allows updates to happen in the background and you won't risk unplugging the stick while it's in progress.

Updates should happen automatically, but you can check to see if any are available and start the process manually if needed. Go to Settings>My Fire TV>About>Check for updates to start.

5. Reset your Fire Stick apps

There are many great apps that you should install on your Fire Stick. But sometimes they may stop working properly or keep crashing unexpectedly. When this happens, there are three ways to fix this problem.

First, make sure your apps are up to date. As with the Fire Stick software itself, this should happen automatically, but you can do it manually. Go to Settings>Apps>Manage installed apps . Select the faulty app and you can install an update if there is one available.

Failing that, you can reset the app. In the same menu option, choose the app you want to repair and select Clear Cache . This will delete all files and data that the app has temporarily saved which can sometimes cause problems.

If that still doesn't fix the problem, go to the same menu again and select Clear Data . This completely resets the app. You have to configure again from scratch, including login information.

Also, keep in mind that uninstalling apps you don't use can help speed up your Fire TV Stick.

6. Repair Your Fire Stick Remote

If your Fire Stick remote stopped working, there are a few things you can try to restart it. Often, restarting the Fire Stick itself will suffice.

Alternatively, you can reset and repair a Fire TV Stick remote by holding the Home for up to 20 seconds.

Also try removing the batteries and reinserting them — or replacing them with a fresh pair. Quickly wipe the battery connectors clean while you're at it.

If these things don't work, the remote may be broken. Don't worry, there are plenty of replacement Fire Stick remotes you can buy, and while you wait for it to arrive, you can use your phone as a controller instead.

See our guide on how to pair the Fire Stick remote for more details on how to set it up.

7. Reset the Fire Stick

Finally, the nuclear option. When you've tried everything and your Fire Stick still isn't working properly, you can restore it to factory settings and set it up again like new.

Go to Settings>My Fire TV>Restore Factory Defaults , then confirm when prompted.

Once this is done, you will need to start the whole setup process again. This includes entering your Amazon account details and reinstalling all your apps. Any other changes you've made to your settings will be lost, but things like your watchlist will survive the process.

Fixing a non-working fire-stick

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is pretty reliable, and when it stops working, it's usually pretty easy to fix. Power and connection issues are most likely to be to blame, and it's only once you've checked them out that you need to worry about resetting apps or digging too much into settings.

Of course, sometimes the device can be irreparable. If so, you'll need to replace it with a brand new Fire Stick, or you can consider an alternative like a Roku instead. How to Fix a Fire TV Stick That s Not Working