Amazon Fire TV Stick not working? Here's how to fix it

Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks are excellent streaming devices that help you turn any TV smart at a fraction of the price. All you have to do is plug one into a TV’s HDMI port to enjoy all the features Fire TV OS has to offer, along with easy access to your favorite streaming apps. If your Amazon Fire TV Stick is not working after an update, if you see a blank or black screen, or if apps don’t load or load slowly, here’s what you can do to fix it.

Restart the Fire TV Stick

Turning a device on and off again is a go-to troubleshooting step for any electronics, and it also applies to Fire TV Stick units. There are a few ways you can restart a Fire TV Stick. The simplest option is to unplug the power cord and remove the Stick from the TV’s HDMI port before connecting everything again.

If the screen is frozen or blank, you can restart the streaming device using the remote. Press and hold the Select (large circle button) and the Play/pause buttons simultaneously for at least five seconds to restart the Fire TV Stick. If Fire TV OS is loading but slow and sluggish, you can also restart the device through the Settings menu. Go to Settings > Device and software, and select Restart.

Check the TV’s HDMI port and input to fix the black screen issue

Any Fire TV Stick not working properly and showing a blank or black screen could be caused by problems with the TV’s HDMI port. Try using another HDMI port to see if it fixes the issue. Ensure that the streaming device is plugged in correctly, and remove it gently when trying to unplug it to ensure you don’t damage the port. Check the source input on your TV to see if the correct HDMI port is selected.

If you are using an HDMI extender, try plugging the Fire TV Stick directly into the TV to fix the problem with the device not working and showing a blank or black screen.

Check the network connection

Apps not loading, loading slowly, or buffering, could be caused by network connectivity issues or problems with the app itself. Streaming devices require an active internet connection, so check that you’ve set up Wi-Fi on the Fire TV Stick correctly. Just go to Settings > Network, and connect to your Wi-Fi. Ensure you aren’t having any network connectivity problems by checking the internet connection on other devices. Check out our guide on how to fix problems with Wi-Fi connections.

Check if the service is down

Streaming services aren’t perfect, and sometimes, these can be the culprits. Check a site like Down Detector to see if others are reporting problems with a particular streaming service. You can also check other apps to see if they’re working correctly and whether the issue seems to only be with a specific app.

Some services have their own status pages. One of them is Netflix. You might also want to do a search on Google to see if whatever app you’re trying to use also has an official status page.

Update or delete and reinstall apps

Ensure you update these apps, since software updates bring bug fixes that might solve your issues. If nothing works, you can also try to remove and reinstall apps on your Fire TV Stick. To uninstall apps on your Fire TV Stick, go to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, select the app, and hit Uninstall. Then, simply download the app and sign into it again.

Fix problems with the Fire TV Stick remote

Your Fire TV Stick might appear not to work if there are problems with the remote. Check out our guide on fixing issues with the Fire TV Stick remote to see if it solves the problem.

Clear the cache and update the Fire TV Stick

You can try to fix slow and sluggish performance by clearing the cache and data on the Fire TV Stick. And apart from keeping your apps updated, ensure that the streaming device is running the latest software by updating the Fire TV Stick.

Fix sound delays on the Fire TV Stick

If you notice a lag or delay between the sound and video, it’s a fixable sync issue. Go to Settings > Display and sounds > Audio > AV Sync tuning and follow the steps to fix the audio sync issue.

Factory reset the Fire TV Stick

You might have to factory reset the Fire TV Stick if nothing else works. This will reset everything to factory defaults, so you will have to set everything up again, from signing in to your Amazon account to downloading, installing, and signing into streaming apps. To factory reset the device, go to Settings > My Fire TV > Reset to factory defaults.