The Amazon Firestick is a great device designed to play shows from pretty much any streaming platform directly onto your TV screen with ease.
However it is all fun and games until they stop working properly. If you are having trouble with your firestick not working, then this article comes equipped with all the answers to your questions.
Keep reading, keep learning!
Firestick not Working: Common Issues and Solutions
Blank Screen showing in Firestick
1. Blank Screen showing in Firestick:
If a blank screen is shown for a few minutes on the Firestick and no response is generated despite pressing a key, it might need some remedial techniques. The steps below clearly guide how to fix the problem:
- Find Fire Stick Remote by pressing the “select” and “play/pause” buttons at the same time on the remote for about ten seconds. When the Fire TV logo appears, release the buttons.
- Replace the remote batteries for your Fire Stick. Remember, Alexa enabled remote uses Bluetooth. This means it seriously needs perfect batteries to work perfectly.
- Then, secure the device to the HDMI port on your TV with the cables included. If needed, please try the different HDMI ports on your TV-set to see if that corrects the problem.
Device is not connecting to Your Wi-Fi Network
2. Your Device is not connecting to Your Wi-Fi Network:
In case your Fire Stick doesn’t connect to your Wi-Fi network, you can try the following tips:
- Access the Home screen on the Fire TV that you are on. Next, go to Settings and then select Network. Be sure to entet the right password.
- If your Wi-Fi network doesn’t show up at all, check whether your Fire TV Stick is in range, and other devices are not facing the same hassle.
- Reboot your modem or router to resolve that internet connection issue.
Remote Not Working Properly
3. Remote Not Working Properly:
If your remote is not working well, then apply the following fixes:
- Replace batteries and check whether the batteries are placed properly in the remote.
- First, you have to restart your current Fire TV device. You can do this from the Settings > My Fire TV > Restart option. Click OK to confirm.
- If it’s hanging and you cannot get to Settings, you may need to restart the device by long-pressing the Play/Pause button on the remote.
- As a final resort, plug out the power and replug to hard reboot the Firestick.
Firestick Buffering Issues
4. Firestick Buffering Issues:
If the video is buffering or slow in playing, then there might be poor internet connectivity. Amazon requires at least 5 Mbps for downloaded HD content. To improve buffering, do the following:
- Bring your Fire TV Stick closer to your Wi-Fi router. This will give a better signal.
- The router should be kept far away from other possible causes of interference like microwaves and baby monitors.
- If you have other devices accessing your Wi-Fi network then switch them off if they are not using it.
Application Crashes or Failure to Load
5. Application Crashes or Failure to Load:
In case applications continue to crash or refuse to load, do the following:
- Force stop the Application by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Install Applications and select the app giving the trouble and then tap Force Stop.
- When inside the application, click on settings then Clear Cache and Clear Data. It is to clear the application’s cache and data.
- Uninstall and then reinstall the application if the above action fails.
Audio/Sound Problems
6. Audio/Sound Problems:
Problems such as no sound at all or there is choppier audio. Fix them using either of the following:
- Check that the Fire TV Stick is not muted by pressing the Mute button on the remote.
- Close streaming app, then reboot and try starting the movie or episode again.
- Go to Settings > Display and Sounds > Dolby Digital Output and change to Off to Dolby Digital Plus.
- Don’t forget to check the audio settings and input on all associated AV receivers and/or sound bars to ensure their proper input as well as audio pass-through settings.
Firestick Not Updating
7. Firestick Not Updating:
If the software version on your Fire TV Stick is not updating to the latest, do the following:
- Restart your device by navigating to Settings > My Fire TV > Restart.
- Check if a pending update is available by navigating to Settings > My Fire TV > About > Check for System Update.
- If available, then let the device continue updating, post which it will restart.
- If the problem continues, you may have to perform a factory reset.
Performing a Factory Reset
8. Performing a Factory Reset:
The last solution is to perform a factory reset if none of the above solution works:
- Go to Settings > My Fire TV > Reset to Factory Defaults.
- Click Reset when prompted so that the process can be confirmed.
- The device will start to reset and erase all your personal information, settings, and installed applications.
- After resetting, you need to configure your Fire TV Stick again and go to the installation process of any apps you need.
Conclusion
The Amazon Fire TV Stick is one powerful streaming device, but then, just like any other technology, at times, it could be problematic. Following the troubleshooting steps provided in this article should be able to get most of these regular problems fixed and have your Fire TV Stick working smoothly in no time.
Some of the issues may persist even after performing these fixes, so you might want to contact Amazon customer support.
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