Let’s say that you’ve recently been gifted a new Amazon Fire TV Stick by an adult child or another family member. You’re grateful for their generosity, but admittedly, you’re still learning how all these smart devices work. How do you recharge the Amazon Fire Stick?
The Amazon Fire Stick streaming device doesn’t come with batteries, so recharging it is unnecessary. By plugging it into a power source, it will always work.
The Amazon remote does use batteries that should be replaced when they run low so you can continue to enjoy the Fire Stick.
This guide to the Amazon Fire Stick will provide all the information you need to understand this device and make the most out of it. Keep reading!
How Does Amazon Fire Stick Work?
Streaming is a popular way to watch tv shows these days, and that’s a service the Amazon Fire Stick excels at.
With the Amazon Fire Stick, you’ll have easy access to watch programs on popular streaming services, like Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and Netflix without having to log into these different services. This service is collectively known as Fire TV.
You can also watch live sports and television (such as live news programs) for a zero monthly fee on several channels through Fire TV, even if you don’t have cable.
Once it learns your tastes, Fire TV will recommend movies and television shows for you to check out.
You can add up to six users on one account and switch between them, so your preferences don’t bleed into one another.
If you’re into voice searches, the Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV are compatible with Alexa if you have one of the Echo devices paired with your normal TV.
- Simply hold down the voice button (it looks like a microphone) and say, “Alexa,” and then whatever your request is, and you won’t have search for your show manually.
For example, if you wanted to watch Golden Girls, just say, “Alexa, play Golden Girls,” and voila, you’ll be watching those tv episodes in no time.
If you have other connected devices in your home, such as the Echo dot, webcams, and video doorbells, you can link them to the Amazon Fire TV device and use Alexa to command them all.
This is a great way to do something like review who’s at the front door without even having to get up off the couch – thanks to Alexa. If you want to find out what else you can do, we have a comprehensive guide to things you can do with Alexa.
If you weren’t gifted one, but now you’re intrigued, you should know that there is a regular Fire TV Stick and a cheaper model, called the Fire TV Stick Lite.
The regular Fire TV Stick has roughly a $10 additional cost, but for that little bit extra, you’re getting the 3rd gen model, which is about 50% faster than the original.
Setting Up The Amazon Fire Stick
The Amazon Fire Stick is quite easy to set up using the following steps, even if you’re older and not too up-to-date on the latest tech.
1.Your order of the Fire Stick comes with everything you need. You’ll receive the Alexa Voice remote control, your new Fire TV Stick, a power adapter, a USB cable, an HDMI extender, and two AAA batteries.
2. The USB cable connects to the AC power adapter, which then plugs into an power outlet near your television.
Alternatively, you can plug the USB cable straight into the television, which is handy if you don’t have a wall outlet available, or are using a power strip and don’t want to overload it.
3. As for plugging in the Fire Stick itself, you’ll need to locate your television’s HDMI ports for that. These are usually located on the sides or back of the TV, and they should be allocated as HDMI ports so you can’t confuse them with something else.
4. If your HDMI ports are too narrow and you’re worried about connecting the Fire Stick, don’t panic. Your purchase of the Amazon Fire Stick includes an HDMI extender for slotting the Fire Stick in comfortably.
5. Once you’ve done that, turn on your television and switch to the accompanying input according to the HDMI port.
6. Put the batteries in the remote if you haven’t already, then press the power button. When it comes on, press the home button and hold it.
Doing this will pair the television with the Fire Stick remote.
7. The TV screen should now display instructions for finishing the setup. You’ll continue to use the Amazon remote to go through the remaining instructions, which will include logging into your account on the Amazon website if you haven’t yet signed in.
From there, follow any remaining prompts and then connect the streaming services you wish to use.
TIP: To be able to sync any of the major streaming services with your Amazon Fire Stick, you must have a subscription to that service you want to connect with.
To command Alexa using the voice controls on the Amazon remote, you’ll need the built-in microphone. The button for this is the small one at the top of the remote.
The Alexa button can do things like adjust the television volume controls, tell you the weather, and change the channel.
Does Amazon Fire Stick Need To Be Recharged?
The Amazon Fire Stick plugs into your television’s HDMI port. It doesn’t run on any type of battery and thus doesn’t need to be recharged.
When your television has power, such as it should in everyday situations, you can use the Amazon Fire Stick anytime.
However, even if your home has power, if you remove the Fire Stick from the HDMI port, you won’t be able to use it. That’s also true if you unplug your television but keep the Fire Stick in the HDMI port.
If your home loses power, you also won’t be able to use the Amazon Fire Stick.
You could remove your Amazon Fire Stick from the HDMI port and move it to a different television in the house or even bring it over to someone else’s house. However, you may have to go through the setup steps again.
How Do I Recharge Amazon Fire Stick?
You don’t have to recharge the Amazon Fire Stick, which is why this is such an exemplary solution for seniors looking for more television options than basic cable.
You can consolidate all your subscription services onto one platform and watch live TV too.
You don’t even have to recharge the remote. You’ll recall that the Amazon remote uses two AAA batteries.
The first set of batteries is included with your purchase. After that, you must replace the AAA batteries each time they die.
A set of AAA batteries can last a few months to a few years depending on the power needs of the device and the frequency of use.
You’ll know your Amazon remote batteries are dead when your TV works just fine but you can’t access your Fire Stick.
If replacing the batteries still doesn’t fix the issue, unplug the Fire Stick from the television and wait one minute. Take the batteries out of the remote too.
Replace the batteries, plug the Fire Stick back into your TV, and turn everything on again.
Should I Unplug My Amazon Fire Stick When Not In Use?
You bought an Amazon Fire Stick, and so far, you’ve enjoyed using it. Consolidating all your streaming services onto one platform has been fantastic, and Alexa voice commands have saved you manual effort.
However, you wonder whether you should unplug the Fire Stick when you’re not using it or if all the unplugging and re-plugging is bad for it in the long run.
Whether you should unplug the Fire Stick depends on how long of an absence you plan.
If you know you’ll watch TV the next day or two days from now, you can safely leave the Fire Stick plugged into your television.
If you plan on going more than two or three days without using the Fire Stick, it’s wise to unplug it.
The Benefits Of Leaving The Fire Stick Plugged In
The Fire Stick enters sleep mode when not in use but plugged in. It’s not using as much power as it does when it’s active, so you don’t have to worry about a sudden spike in your electricity bill.
Further, the Fire Stick can automatically apply updates while it sleeps (and you do too), preventing any delay in you watching your favorite programs.
However, even if you don’t unplug the Fire Stick because you use it daily, you should still unplug it for a little while at least one day a week for a soft reboot.
The Risks Of Leaving The Fire Stick Plugged In
Keeping your Fire Stick plugged in all the time may be convenient, but it does carry risks.
For one, the Fire Stick is likelier to experience bugs, glitches, and connectivity issues the longer it stays plugged in.
That’s why we recommend the weekly unplug and reboot, as it’s a reliable means of warding off these issues.
Users have also reported that the Fire Stick can potentially overheat.
The back of the television can get quite warm, and when the Fire Stick continually contributes to that since you never unplug it, that just makes matters worse.
The Fire Stick components can fail if they’re exposed to high enough temperatures for long enough. You might have to replace your Fire Stick!
Conclusion
The Amazon Fire Stick is a handy device for watching streaming services on one platform and enjoying live TV without cable. It doesn’t use batteries, so there’s no need to recharge it, but it’s a good idea to unplug it during long absences.
Barring that, give the Fire Stick a rest once a week to reboot.
Note that the Amazon remote, which uses two AAA batteries, does need a battery replacement from time to time.
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