How to Pair a Firestick Remote

With the growing popularity of video on demand, video streaming devices have become a common sight in many homes. But just because they’re commonplace doesn’t mean that people know all of the ins and outs of these gadgets. Take the Amazon Firestick, for example. A simple USB and remote doesn’t seem to be too complicated, but even the act of pairing the remote can leave some people scratching their heads.

In this article, we’ll not only show you how to pair the Firestick Remote, we’ll also teach you some of the other great features that the Amazon TV Firestick has. If you want to make the most of your streaming video player then this guide will help you do just that.

Brief Introduction to the Firestick

The Amazon Fire TV Stick, also known as the Firestick, as the name implies is Amazon’s entry into the digital video streaming market. The line was first released as the Fire TV in April 2014 as the company’s answer to the Apple TV and Roku. Even back then, the original Fire TV had extra features unrelated to video streaming, namely gaming capabilities and a free game called Sev Zero.

In November of that same year, Amazon released a more portable version of the device, the Fire TV Stick. It was designed to plug into the HDMI port of any modern TV and came with one of two versions of the remote – one with Alexa capability and a standard non-voice controlled remote.

The current Fire TV Stick products are the third-generation of the line, with the latest models being released in October of 2020. The second-generation was released in October of 2016, while a separate 4K version, aptly named the Fire TV Stick 4K, was released in October of 2018.

See the best offer on Amazon in your location for the Amazon Fire TV Stick

Setting Up Your Amazon Firestick

Before you go about pairing your Amazon Firestick remote, you’ll need to set up the Amazon Firestick itself. This can be easily done by following these steps:

First, what you’ll need:

• An HD or UHD TV with an HDMI port – You’ll be hard pressed to find any current TV set without HDMI. UHD has been standard since 2012. If you bought your TV within the last five years or so you should be fine.
•  AAA Batteries for your remote.
• A Wi-Fi internet connection – The Amazon Firestick has no port for Ethernet cables, so a Wi-Fi connection is a must.
• An Amazon Account – The Firestick requires you to register the product with an Amazon Account. You don’t need to be subscribed to any premium services, as a free account will do. If you currently don’t have an account, you can create one using Amazon’s sign up page.

To set up your Fire TV Stick, do the following:

1. Plug the Amazon Fire TV Stick into the HDMI port of your TV. Take note of the number of the port that you used.
2. If you don’t want to plug the Firestick in directly, or there isn’t enough space for the Firestick USB to fit, use the HDMI Extender cable included with the kit.
3. Get the USB power cable. Plug one end to the micro-USB port in the side of the Firestick USB.
4. Plug the other end of the USB power cable into the adapter, then attach the adapter onto an electric outlet.
5. Insert two AAA batteries on your Amazon Firestick Remote.
6. Your Firestick USB should automatically pair with the remote. If it doesn’t or you wish to pair a new remote, proceed to the appropriate section below.
7. Set the video input of your TV to the HDMI port that you plugged the Firestick into. For example, if the Firestick is on port HDMI1 then set input to HDMI1. This will be different depending on your TV model. Input controls will usually be in the main menu on your TV’s remote.
8. Connect your Firestick to your Wi-Fi. Step-by-step instructions can be found in the appropriate section below.
9. Register your Amazon Fire TV Stick. You can follow the instructions onscreen, or refer to the steps in the section below.
10. Your Amazon Firestick should now be ready to use.

Normally the Fire TV Stick remote should pair automatically with the Firestick USB. If this fails to happen you can try any of the following:

1. Retry Automatic Discovery

1. On your Fire TV Stick remote press and hold the Home button for at least ten seconds.
2. When the TV screen shows Press (Play/Pause) to start, discoverability should be reset.
3. Make sure you’re at least within 10 feet of the TV.
4. Remove the batteries on your Firestick remote.
5. Wait 30 seconds then insert the batteries again.
6. Hold the Home button for at least 10 seconds to re-initiate discovery.

2. Reset your Fire TV Stick Remote (Basic Remote)

1. Press and hold the Home button on your remote.
2. While holding the Home button, press the Menu button three times.
3. Let go of the Home button.
4. Press the Menu button again nine times.
5. Take out the batteries on your remote and unplug your Fire TV stick adapter.
6. Wait for one minute then insert the batteries again. Plug your Fire TV stick back.
7. When the Home screen appears on your TV, hold the Home button on your remote for about 40 seconds.
8. Wait for about a minute for setup to complete.

3. Reset your Fire TV Stick Remote (1^st Gen Alexa Remote)

1. Unplug your Fire TV Stick adapter and wait one minute.
2. Press and hold the Left button and the Menu button at the same time for 12 seconds.
3. Let go of both buttons and wait for five seconds.
4. Take off the batteries on the remote.
5. Plug the Fire TV Stick adapter back on and wait for one minute.
6. Place the batteries back in the remote.
7. Press the Home button. The remote should automatically pair.
8. If automatic pairing doesn’t happen, press and hold the Home button for ten seconds.

4. Reset your Fire TV Stick Remote (2^nd Gen Alexa Remote / Alexa Voice Remote Lite / Fire TV Edition Remote)

1. Remove your Fire TV Stick adapter from the outlet and wait for one minute.
2. Press and hold the Left button, the Menu button, and the Back button for 12 seconds.
3. Let go of the buttons and wait for five seconds.
4. Take off the batteries on your remote.
5. Plug your Fire TV Stick adapter back in and wait for one minute.
6. Reinsert the batteries back on your remote.
7. Press the Home button on the remote. Pairing should happen automatically. If it doesn’t, press and hold the Home button for ten seconds.

Pair an Additional Fire TV Stick Remote

If you’ve bought a second remote and want to pair it with your original Fire TV Stick, you can do so by following these steps:

1. Make sure that your new remote has the proper batteries and that you’re within 10 feet of the TV.
2. From the TV Home screen use your old remote to choose Settings.
3. From the menu choose Controllers & Bluetooth Devices.
4. Choose Amazon Fire TV Remotes.
5. Select Add New Remote.
6. On your new remote, press and hold the Home button for 10 seconds.
7. The remote should pair automatically. If it doesn’t use the old remote to select the new remote from the list of discovered devices.

Using a Non-Fire TV Stick Remote

The Amazon Fire TV Stick allows you to use a non-Amazon Firestick remote to control your TV. Do take note though that not all remotes support all of the Firestick’s various functions. Also, make sure that the remote itself is compatible or the Firestick won’t recognize the device.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick recognizes the following Bluetooth Profiles:

• A2DP – Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
• HID – Human Interface Device Profile
• SPP – Serial Port Profile

To find out your remote’s profile, check the manual included with your device. If you know that the non-Amazon remote is compatible, you can pair it with the Amazon Fire TV Stick by doing the following:

1. Make sure that your Bluetooth remote has batteries and is within 10 feet of the TV.
2. Open Settings on your Fire TV Stick menu.
3. Select Controllers & Bluetooth Devices.
4. Choose Other Bluetooth Devices.
5. From the menu choose Add Bluetooth Devices.
6. Amazon Fire TV Stick will now search for any nearby Bluetooth devices that it can pair with.
7. Choose the name of your remote from the list.
8. The Fire TV Stick will show a short notification once it has paired with the Bluetooth remote.

If you’ve lost your remote and don’t have a replacement ready, you can use your mobile to act as a remote via the app. It’s not as handy as an actual remote, but it does the job rather well. The app itself is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for iOS and Android devices respectively. The steps to connect your mobile to your Fire TV Stick is as follows:

1. Download the Amazon Fire TV App on your mobile device.
2. Make sure that both your mobile device and the Fire TV Stick are on the same Wi-Fi network.
3. Open the Fire TV App.
4. Enter your Amazon Account credentials.
5. On the app choose Fire TV Stick.
6. Turn on your TV. Make sure the current input is set to the HDMI port that the Fire TV Stick USB is plugged in.
7. The screen will display a connection request code.
8. Enter the code on your app.
9. Wait for the app to establish a connection with your Fire TV Stick device.
10. You can now use your mobile device as a Fire TV Stick remote control.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick requires a Wi-Fi connection to work. There are no ethernet ports on the USB like the Fire TV Cube, meaning wired connections won’t do. It’s best to make sure that the USB itself isn’t in an enclosed space so it gets a clear signal. You can use the HDMI extender included in the kit in order to place the Fire TV Stick USB in a more open area.

To connect the device to Wi-Fi, you can do the following:

1. From the Home screen, use your Fire TV Stick remote to open Settings on your TV.
2. Choose System from the menu.
3. Select Wi-Fi.
4. The Amazon Fire TV Stick will now detect all the available Wi-Fi networks in the area.
5. Choose your network from the list under Available Networks and enter the password if necessary.
6. If the name of your Wi-Fi network doesn’t appear, scroll down the menu and select Rescan or Join Other Network.
7. Once connected, press the Home button on your remote to return to the Home screen.

Amazon Fire TV Stick requires an Amazon Account in order to access all the features it has. To set up an account, follow these steps:

1. Use your Amazon Fire TV Stick remote to navigate to the Home screen.
2. From Home, navigate to Settings.
3. From the menu, move to and select My Account.
4. If no account has been entered yet select Register.
5. Enter your Amazon Account details.
6. If an account has already been registered and you wish to remove or replace it, select the current registered account.
7. Select Deregister.
8. The account will be removed and can now be replaced.

Other Firestick Basics

Most Firestick TV users aren’t familiar with what their device is capable of. Below are some of the Amazon Firestick TV’s features.

Editing Firestick Content

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is able to access a whole range of content, both from Amazon affiliated sites and third-party providers. To add or remove various content on your Fire TV, you can do the following:

1. To access Music

1. If you have an Amazon Music account, you can navigate to Music from the Home screen using the remote.
2. If you wish to use other music apps like Spotify, iHeartRadio, or YouTube Music, choose Apps on the menu on your Home screen. From there, you can locate your desired app from the list by using the navigation buttons on the remote.
3. If you wish to type in the name of an app, choose the magnifying glass in the upper left corner of the screen. Type in the name of the app then click on Get or Download.

2. To edit Watchlist

1. Navigate to your Firestick Home menu.
2. There should be a tab just below the Recent videos labeled as Watchlist.
3. If the Watchlist tab isn’t shown, choose Your Videos from the top menu.
4. Navigate to a video on the Watchlist using your remote’s direction buttons. Click on the video and choose Remove from Watchlist to delete it.

3. To delete Recently Viewed Videos

1. Navigate to your Fire TV’s Home menu.
2. The Recent tab should be shown on the screen.
3. Navigate to a video.
4. Select Remove from Recently Watched.

4. To Add or Delete Apps

1. To delete apps

1. On your Fire TV Home screen choose Settings from the top menu.
2. Choose Applications.
3. Navigate and click on Manage Installed Applications.
4. Find the app you want to remove and navigate to it.
5. Choose Uninstall.
6. Follow the instructions as shown on the screen.

2. To add apps

1. Choose the magnifying glass icon in the upper left corner of the Fire TV Home screen.
2. Type in the name of the app you wish to install.
3. Choose Get or Download and wait for the installation to finish.
4. Alternatively, you can choose Apps on the top menu on the Home screen and navigate the available apps shown.

Setting Up Parental Controls

You can prevent your children from accessing content, and making purchases by setting parental controls on your Amazon Firestick. This can be done by doing the following:

1. Navigate to the Fire TV Home screen.
2. From the top menu choose Settings.
3. Navigate and choose Parental Controls.
4. Press the Select button on your Fire TV Stick remote to toggle Parental Controls on or off.
5. Type in your Parental Controls PIN. This will be the same PIN you have for other Amazon services like Amazon Prime.
6. Click on Next.
7. You will be given the option to toggle several parental control settings on or off.
8. Once done, your PIN will be required whenever you wish to perform an action that you’ve managed with Parental Controls.

Note that if you forget your PIN, you can reset them by accessing your Prime Video Settings Page.

Games and Game Controls

You can use Amazon’s own Fire TV Game Controller or other Bluetooth game controllers to play any of the free games included with the Fire TV Stick. In addition, you can install game apps, both free and paid to your Fire TV menu. The steps to do so are as follows:

1. To connect a game controller

1. Make sure your controller is charged and turned on.
2. Open your Fire TV Home screen.
3. Choose Settings from the top menu.
4. Select Controllers & Bluetooth devices.
5. Select Game Controllers.
6. Turn on Bluetooth discovery on your controllers. Refer to your controller’s manual on how to turn Bluetooth on.
7. Choose Add New Game Controller.
8. The name of your controller should appear on the list. Use your remote to select it.
9. Wait until the Fire TV pairs with your controller.

2. To add new games

1. On the Home screen on your Fire TV, choose Apps.
2. Push down twice on your Fire TV Stick remote to navigate apps per category. Choose games.
3. Alternatively, on the Home screen, choose the magnifying glass then type in the name of the app you wish to install.
4. Click on Get or Download and wait for the installation to finish.

Firestick Remote Troubleshooting

If you’re having problems getting the Fire TV Stick remote to work, refer to these quick troubleshooting tips to see if you can fix it.

1. Remote Fails to work

1. Make sure there are no obstructions between the remote and your Fire TV remote receiver.
2. Remove the batteries, wait for one minute, then insert the batteries back in.
3. Replace the batteries with new ones.
4. Unplug your Fire TV Stick USB adapter and wait for one minute, then plug the adapter back in.
5. Reset your Fire TV Stick Remote.
6. If these steps fail you may want to get your remote serviced or replaced.

2. Remote fails to pair to Fire TV Stick

1. Make sure that you’re within 10 feet of the Fire TV stick during pairing.
2. Make sure that the Fire TV Stick remote has new batteries.
3. Unplug the Fire TV Stick adapter and the plug it back in after one minute.
4. Use the app to pair your remote.
5. If you have seven other peripherals such as game controllers and extra remotes already paired, remove one device before trying to pair again.
6. If these steps fail, you may want to service or replace your remote.

3. The Fire TV app won’t pair with the Fire TV Stick

1. Make sure that both the Fire TV Stick and your mobile device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Make sure that there isn’t another device that is currently mirroring your Fire TV Stick. This will prevent your current device from pairing with the Firestick.
3. If you use Advanced Settings on your Wi-Fi router, make sure that Multicast is enabled.
4. If you’ve manually assigned a static IP for your Amazon Fire TV Stick, change the setting to automatic IP.
5. Make sure that no more than seven peripherals are connected to your Fire TV Stick. If there are, remove one device then try to pair the app again.

Firestick Troubleshooting

If your Fire TV Stick itself is experiencing problems, then some of these troubleshooting tips may help you out:

1. Fire TV Stick won’t appear on my TV

1. The Fire Stick TV may not be connected properly to the HDMI port, check that the USB is inserted correctly.
2. The power adapter may be loose. Make sure that the micro-USB cable is properly inserted and secured to the Fire TV Stick USB.
3. The TV Input setting may not be properly set. Look at which port the Fire TV Stick is inserted into and choose the appropriate Input Setting.
4. The HDMI Extender may not be connected properly. If you’re using the HDMI Extender, ensure that it is properly connected on both ends.
5. If the steps fail to get results, your Fire TV Stick may have a hardware problem, you may want to consider having it repaired or replaced.

2. My Fire TV has pictures but no sound

1. Make sure that the TV itself isn’t muted. Check both your TV remote and Fire TV Stick remote to see if the TV has been muted.
2. Check the audio settings on your Fire TV Stick. Proceed to the Fire TV Home Screen, choose Settings on the top menu and choose Dolby Digital Output. Make sure Dolby Digital Output is off.
3. Your HDMI port may have an error. Try using your Fire TV Stick on another TV. If the device has pictures and still no sound then the Fire TV Stick itself may be faulty.
4. If the steps above fail to work, you may want to have your Fire TV Stick checked for either replacement or repair.

3. My Fire TV has sound but no picture

1. Check if your TV has the proper resolution. Check your TV’s resolution settings and try to cycle between resolution options.
2. Try to unplug the Fire TV Stick adapter. Wait for one minute before plugging it back in.
3. Try to use the Fire TV Stick on another TV, if it still plays sound but has no picture then your Fire TV Stick may have a problem.
4. If the steps above don’t solve the problem, you may want to have your Fire TV Stick repaired or replaced.

4. My Fire TV Stick can’t connect to Wi-Fi

1. Check if your Wi-Fi signal isn’t weak. Use another device to verify the strength of the Wi-Fi signal.
2. Make sure that the Wi-Fi password you entered during setup is correct.
3. Try to restart your Fire TV Stick by unplugging the device, then wait one minute before plugging it back in.
4. Try restarting your router.
5. Sometimes a VPN may interfere with your Wi-Fi network settings. Check your installed apps by going to the Home screen, choosing Settings, choosing Applications, then Manage Installed Applications to uninstall any VPN apps.

5. Fire TV won’t turn on

1. Make sure that your device is plugged in properly.
2. Make sure that the remote has charged batteries.
3. If you’re using a non-Amazon power cable for the adapter, replace it with a compatible Amazon USB power cable.
4. Try to unplug the device then wait for one minute before plugging it back in.
5. Check if your TV is set to the proper Input setting.
6. If you’re using an HDMI hub, unplug your Fire TV Stick from it and plug it directly to your TV’s HDMI port, or use the HDMI extender.

Amazon Firestick FAQ

Here are some common questions regarding the Amazon Fire TV Stick:

1. Is there a monthly fee for the Amazon Firestick?
   No. The Amazon Fire TV Stick doesn’t require a monthly fee. This does come with a caveat though. Many video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video do require monthly fees for you to enjoy their services.
   The Amazon App Store which you can access via the Fire TV menu has several apps that offer free shows that you may want to check out. Channels like Plex, Crackle, and Tubi offer free content for those who don’t want to pay for their entertainment. If you’re raring to watch the more popular shows, however, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to sign up for a paid streaming service.

2. Does an Amazon Fire TV Stick break over time?
   Yes. The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a sensitive electronic device that is susceptible to damage. Power surges, humidity, and overheating can just as easily break your Fire TV Stick as any other electronic gadget. It is best to place both your TV and the Firestick in a location that doesn’t have too much humidity. Using a surge protector for the power adapter is also advisable, for both the TV and the Fire TV Stick.
   Also remember that the Firestick itself shouldn’t be placed in an enclosed location, not only to allow the Wi-Fi signal to reach the device, but also to keep it from overheating.
3. How long does an Amazon Fire TV Stick last?
   Although there is no official statement on how long the Amazon Fire TV Stick can last, the consensus is that it ranges from three to five years. The frequency of use, the operating conditions, and how that particular Fire TV Stick was manufactured does affect its longevity.
4. Do I have to turn off an Amazon Fire TV Stick when not in use?
   Yes. The Amazon Fire TV Stick is programmed to turn off after twenty minutes of inactivity, but this only switches the Firestick to sleep mode. As long as the Firestick is plugged in, it is still technically on. It’s best to unplug the adapter if you’re not planning to use your Fire TV for an extended period of time. This not only cuts down on your power consumption, it will also extend the life of your Amazon Fire TV Stick.
5. Can I watch regular TV with an Amazon Fire TV Stick?
   Yes. A lot of TV channel providers offer apps that allow you to watch their programming on the Amazon App Store. If you want to watch a particular free TV channel, just take a peek into the App Store to see if they have an app that lets you tune in to their broadcast.

Choices Right on Your Fingertips

Entertainment has changed a lot since the early days when television networks dictated the scheduling. With Amazon Fire TV Stick’s VOD programming, the choice of what to watch is right at your fingertips. Provided that you know how to pair the Firestick remote and access the features that the device offers. Hopefully, this guide has given you the info you need to do so.

Do you know of other ways to pair the Firestick remote, or use any other features of the Fire TV Stick? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.