On this page, you can get information about How Do You Use A Firestick. Learning how to use the Fire TV Stick isn’t exactly easy, as its menus are a bit laborious and features can seem a bit hidden. Amazon’s affordable family of streaming devices (which are still heavily discounted at the moment) pack most of their neatest features deep in its menus.
Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks are popular streaming sticks that bring app and media functionality to your TV. The one thing we don’t love about the Fire TV is how much of the home screen is not under your control. One of our below tips shows you how to rearrange the row of apps on the home screen.
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How to update the Fire TV Stick
In late 2020 and early 2021, Amazon began rolling out a new interface for the Fire TV Sticks and Cube. If your device hasn’t updated yet, it’s easy to get it there in 5 easy steps, listed below. The new interface is a bit slicker, but is still full of ways to maximize your Prime membership, if you have one.
- Open Settings at the top of the home screen.
- Scroll right to select Device.
- Select About.
- Select Check for System Update.
- Follow the prompts to update your Fire TV Stick.
How to set up the Fire TV Stick’s apps on home screen
Here’s an annoying part of the Fire TV: its home screen is primarily out of your control. You get a little sliver, and it defaults to a bunch of Amazon apps of varying value (sure, IMDb TV, right).
Fortunately, we’ve got a guide on how to customize the Fire TV’s home screen app row. This way, you can immediately rearrange the applications that appear in those six blocks at the top of your home screen. In short, click that grey button with the square and the + symbol, and then tinker on the next screen.
How to set up the Fire TV Stick’s text banner feature
Those with vision impairments will be happy to hear that Amazon’s rolling out a new feature called Text Banner. Once enabled, the Fire TV interface will make it much easier to tell what section of your screen highlighted or selected.
To enable it, open Settings and Accessibility and select Text Banner. It may not be on your device yet, so look out for upcoming system updates.
How to Use the Fire TV Stick Remote
There have been a number of different Fire TV Stick remotes released over the years, but they all generally function the same.
- Press the small circle button at the top of the remote with the microphone or white circle icon before saying a voice command—the large ring functions as arrow keys for navigating the Fire TV Stick operating system and apps. Press the large ring’s center to make a selection when you highlight an item on the TV.
- Use the button with the house icon to return to the Fire Stick Home screen. The button with three horizontal lines on it brings up an additional menu when pressed. It kind of works like a right-click on a mouse or a long press on a smartphone or tablet.
- The arrow button to the left of the Home button is the Back button. Press it to return to the previous screen in an app or menu.
- The media control buttons are pretty self-explanatory though it’s important to note that the Play button also wakes a Fire Stick from sleep.
What Fire Stick Do I Have?
It can be a bit hard to check what model Fire TV Stick you own, as the sticks themselves have almost no labeling on them.
The easiest way to work out what Fire Stick you have is to check the packaging if you still have it. If you threw away the box and manuals, you can still view your Fire Stick’s type within its operating system. To do this, turn it on and select Settings > My Fire TV > About.
The model type should be highlighted, while its serial number and other details should be visible to the right.
Does Fire Stick Work With Any TV?
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick devices can connect to any TV with an HDMI port. Fire Sticks work with traditional TVs and newer smart TV models with a built-in app and streaming features.
In addition to TVs, you can connect Amazon Fire TV Sticks to computer monitors and movie projectors. If they have an HDMI In port, it’s also possible to use a Fire Stick with video game consoles and other devices, such as the Xbox One.
Can I Play Video Games on Amazon Fire Stick?
Amazon Fire TV Stick devices support a variety of video games that you can download and play via its built-in app store, just like a regular app. You can play Fire Stick video games with the standard Fire Stick remote or connect a wireless video game controller to the streaming stick via Bluetooth.
Some video games worth trying on your Fire Stick are the Asphalt 8, Tetris, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame, and Sega Classics. You can also cast games to your Fire Stick from your smartphone, tablet, or computer to play them on your TV.