Among all the devices to enhance Smart TV features, Fire TV Stick from Amazon is one of the most interesting and complete. It brings a wide arrange of characteristics and the price is very competitive. And there are different tricks for Fire TV Stick that makes the user experience smoother and powerful.
You can even use the tricks from this article to improve the performance of the Fire TV Stick and enjoy the best Smart TV experience. Take note and use the tricks you feel comfortable with and start enjoying multimedia content easily.
Fire TV Stick tricks: Alexa can search anything you need
All Fire TV Stick remote controllers include an integrated microphone for voice control commands. You can use Alexa intelligent assistant to search apps, movies and series, as well as other type of content. It’s very easy as you only need to voice your commands. Forget about navigating the menus, the search voice option is available on every single aspect of the Fire TV Stick experience, even Prime Video.
Use your mobile phone as a remote control
If you install the Amazon Fire TV app from the Google Play Store or App Store, you can turn your Smartphone into a remote control. You phone screen becomes the control interface to make any modification on settings and menus like a physical one.
Fire TV Stick tricks: go anywhere with it
One of the advantages of Amazon Fire TV Stick is the portable size. You can easily take it everywhere and use it in different houses or even hotels. You just need to connect via WiFi and confirm the complementary codes and start enjoying your multimedia content in one click.
Change your Fire TV name
Assigning a specific name to your Fire TV device is useful when you have different ones at home or assigned to your account. You can’t change the name from the Fire TV menus, instead you have to open your Amazon profile. Go to Manage content and devices in Accounts and lists.
There you have to open the Devices tab and change the name of the devices you have synched to Amazon. Select the Fire TV Stick and the Edit option to write the new name.
Erase apps for more storage space
In case your Fire TV device notifies that you are running out of storage space, it’s time to erase apps. One of the tricks for a better Fire TV Stick performance is to erase any app you don’t use. Every app saves information and you can eliminate it to get a better general performance.
- Go to Settings menu and open the Apps section.
- Select the Manage installed apps option.
- Navigate through the list of apps and erase the data from the ones you don’t use.
Change Fire TV resolution
If you want to enhance image quality for the Amazon Fire TV Stick you can do it with customized resolution. The default configuration uses automatic adaptation but you can change it to do it manually.
- Go to Settings and select Screen and Sound.
- You will find a list with different resolution options.
- Choose the one you want and activate it.
- The best solution is choosing the maximum resolution according to your TV panel.
Change subtitles size
Other tricks in the Fire TV Stick include the possibility of changing subtitles size. You can do it and adjust them to your likings in a very simple and fast way.
- Go to Settings and open the Accessibility section.
- Here you will find the option to customize subtitles size globally or individually for each file.
Disable AutoPlay feature on Fire TV
In the main Fire TV menu you can find a section with recommended content and several screen animations. If you don’t like this design and the data consumption it generates, or the idea of videos playing automatically, you can disable it.
- Open the Settings menu and go to Preferences and Highlight content.
- Turn off the switch for Allow AutoPlay feature.
- The videos will stop running automatically on the carrousel. You can still watch the highlight content but before starting to play, you have to select each file.
Parental control and tricks on Fire TV Stick
You can control your children content consumption on Fire TV Stick using a parental PIN. It’s a good idea to supervise and control the children access to your Fire TV device. The PIN restricts the video playing depending on the age you have introduced. Any content on Amazon Prime Video with the customized classification won’t be accessible if you don’t introduce the PIN.
- Go to the main Fire TV screen and open the Settings menu.
- Select Preferences and then go to Parental control to set the PIN.
Use your photos as screensaver
Among the customization layers of Fire TV Stick and tricks, there’s a possibility of using your own photos like screensaver. You can set them from the Settings menu.
- Open Settings – Audio screen – Screensaver.
By default the Fire TV device uses Amazon collection but you can choose any other folder from the memory where you have photos saved.
The feature is available thanks to Amazon Prime subscription as you have the capability of saving your photos from the phone on the cloud. Make sure you create a backup of your photos using the Amazon Photos app.
Connect devices to your Fire TV via Bluetooth
Fire TV Stick offers the possibility of connecting other devices through Bluetooth technology. You can synch a joystick or even headphones for a better sound quality.
- Open Settings menu and go to Joysticks and Bluetooth devices.
- There you will find the list of compatible devices with Bluetooth on to synch directly to Fire TV.
Tricks to restart the Fire TV Stick
The Fire TV Stick lacks physical buttons but in case of a problem, the remote control is a great tool. You can press simultaneously the buttons Select and Play/Pause for 5 seconds to restart the Fire TV. Another alternative is performing the restart command manually.
- Open Settings menu and select Device.
- Navigate the list of options to find Suspend and Restart.
Sync your remote control again
If you find a problem when using your remote control with the Fire TV Stick, you can try solving it with re-synch feature. Just hold the Home button for ten seconds.
Fire TV Stick trics: use the Appstore as your download center for apps
When setting any Fire TV device for the first time, you have the option to install highlighted apps. However, you can skip this step and go directly to the following section:
- Open Search section and press on Appstore.
- Download any game or app you want from the official store depending on your preferences.
Install third party apps in Fire TV
You may not find the app you are searching for in the Amazon store, then you have to look for it in third party services. The most common example is HBO Max. To download apps from other websites you have to do the following:
- Open Settings and select Device.
- Enable ADB Depuration and Unknown origin app in the Developers options menu.
If you haven’t activated the Developer mode, you have to open Fire TV menu and press seven times on Fire TV Stick on the About section of My Fire TV. Once you have done this, you can install APK files you download from third party websites.
Enable or disable HDR in Fire TV Stick
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max has the HDR feature and you can enable or disable it directly from the device. It’s a feature that changes the quality of any content played through Fire TV to SDR. In order to modify this function follow these steps:
- Open Settings menu and select Screen and sound.
- Choose Dynamic Range Settings and check the box Disable HDR.
Limit advertisement on Fire TV
Another of the great tricks for Fire TV Stick is the limitation of advertising content. You can make the app stop showing you advertisement related to your interests. In order to do so:
Go to Advertisment ID and uncheck the box for Advertisement based on your interests. You can also erase part of the information that Amazon stores about you and restart the advertising counter.
Set your Fire TV notifications
In case you want to avoid annoying notifications on your Fire TV, you can disable them from the device configuration menu.
- Go to Settings and then open Preferences.
- Choose Notification settings and activate the Don’t interrupt mode. All notifications will be turned off.
- You can also customize the settings and choose Apps notifications to select which ones to show and which to hide.
Watch live TV or streaming content
Amazon Appstore offers different categories for the apps and content you can play on your Fire TV Stick. For example you can download on demand content apps and streaming, or live TV apps to watch your favorite programs broadcasting live.
To easily explore the live TV apps go to Live TV and explore the different alternatives for Fire TV. You can download RTVE Play, Atresplayer and other apps like TDT Channels, Pluto TV or Tivify.
Customize Alexa
The intelligent assistant Alexa works for you. You can easily customize the assistant to be more precise when dealing with your order. It’s possible to change the voice command to start the assistant, and other features. Remember that you can select priority devices or new commands and voice recognision.
Navigate through Fire TV interface or use voice commands
In case you find it difficult or uncomfortable to navigate the Fire TV interface with your remote control, you can give voice commands to Alexa. The intelligent assistant receives instructions with daily life language and you can open specific content or navigate the screen.
You can ask Alexa to open Library or open a certain app like Netflix. It also understands orders like Go to home screen, slide down the menu and many more. Now you can directly control the Fire TV Sticks with easy setting tricks.
Use Mirror mode and watch your mobile phone screen on the Fire TV
You can use the Mirror mode in Fire TV to broadcast your mobile phone device in real time on your TV screen. In order to start this function:
- Go to Fire TV settings and open the Screen and Device section.
- In Mirror mode your Fire TV will show you the screen of another device through a Miracast connection.
- If you choose duplicate screen in other device, you should see your Fire TV on the available devices list. Remember to previously activate the function.
Control other devices connected to your TV with Fire TV and Alexa
Inside Fire TV settings you will find a section called Manage device. With this option, you can synch and use other audio and television devices with your Fire TV or with Alexa voice commands. You can synch different compatible devices and manage them according to your preferences.
Use Alexa routines and control your Fire TV
With your Fire TV you can make use of Alexa routines. They allow you to establish customized voice commands to perform several actions simultaneously. For example, a morning routine for Alexa to give you weather information, most important news and your daily schedule reminder.
To set up these routines you have to do it with Alexa mobile app. You can also generate integration with other compatible devices.
Connect your Smart Home with Fire TV Stick tricks
The Fire TV Stick gives you the opportunity to manage your smart home connected devices with Alexa and the remote control. You can indicate the assistant some simple commands like “Turn on the lights” or “Rise the temperature”. In order to activate this feature, you only have to press Alexa button on the remote control twice.
Use Fire TV for playing
Even though it’s not a game console, Fire TV Stick lets you download games from Appstore and you can synch a Bluetooth joystick to start playing videogames. You may use apps like Amazon Luna or Moonlight to stream your videogames from the PC onto the Fire TV.

Enhance audio in movies and series
Other of the Fire TV Stick tricks related to audio quality includes the enhancement of audio quality. Go to the Settings menu and from Screen and sound menu check the Audio menu. There you will find Advanced audio and the option Improve dialogs. This feature highlights the voices in the content you are playing. It helps you to listen more carefully to different series and movies.
Control data usage
If you are worried about Fire TV Stick mobile data consumption, you can control it from the settings menu. You just need to open Control data consumption on the Settings menu. There you can adjust different parameters to make sure you won’t waste your mobile data plan
Use HDMI CEC in Fire TV
Consumer Electronics Control or HDMI CEC is a feature to make connection and control of different electronic devices easier with just one remote control. It makes use of the HDMI cable to send commands from the control to HDMI CEC compatible devices. This function allows you to control different features from the same remote control.
You can activate it from Screen and sound menu by enabling HDMI CEC. Synch your TV correctly and you will be able to turn on and off the device with the Fire TV remote control, for example.
Make use of the Amazon Echo speakers and mount your own sound system for the Fire TV
If you use Bluetooth connectivy you can synch a Echo speaker to your Fire TV or more. Then you can enhance the sound quality and create a cinema experience on your house. You have to enable this feature from the Alexa app on the App Store or Google Play. When using Fire TV and Echo speaker simultaneously you must connect both of them on the same WiFi network.
Access the secret menu of Fire TV
Fire TV Stick has a secret menu that you can access with a combination of keys in the remote control. The menu allows to access an interesting list of advanced options like streaming quality, connection information, CPU usag data, screen, memory and others.
You can access this menu by pressing simultaneously the central button on the pad and the down arrow in the direction wheel. Then you press the Menu button with three horizontal lines.
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