How do I connect a Fire TV Stick to my TV?
Once you’ve got everything out of the box you’ll have the Stick itself, plus a short HDMI extension cable.
Hopefully you’ve already checked that your TV has an HDMI input, as without one you won’t be able to use the Fire TV at all.
Depending on the location of the HDMI input you may or may not need the extension cable. If you end up having problems with Wi-Fi reception and you’re not using the cable, install it as it’s likely to fix the issue.
Once plugged in and powered up, you just need to select the correct input (or source) on your TV to see the picture from your Fire TV Stick. Usually that’s done with the ‘AV’ button on your TV’s remote, but it may be an icon: a square with an arrow pointing into it.
Note the name or number of the port into which you plugged the Fire TV Stick (usually something like HDMI 1 or HDMI 2) and select that in the list when you press the input button on your TV’s remote control.
How to control the Fire TV Stick
Pop the two AAA batteries from the box into the back of the Voice remote: the whole back slides upwards and off.
Unlike most remotes where the batteries sit in opposite directions, this one requires both batteries to be put in with the + side facing the top. If the remote doesn’t automatically pair with your Fire TV Stick, press the home button (you’ll see this instruction on your TV screen as well).
Follow the instructions on your TV. One of the first things you’ll need to do is connect the Stick to your home Wi-Fi network. A list of networks should be shown on screen – use the direction controls on the remote to select your network and press the button in the middle to select it.
You can now use the on-screen keyboard to enter your password. If you don’t know it, you should find it on your router, and it’s crucial to enter it correctly with upper- and lowercase letters as needed: Wi-Fi passwords are case-sensitive.
Then you’ll see the welcome video which will explain the home screen and how to navigate around the interface: it’s simple and intuitive.
You’ll then be asked if you want to enable parental controls to restrict the content that can be used without a PIN.
If you have just the one Fire TV, you merely need to ask Alexa (on your Echo) a question involving the Fire TV, such as “Alexa, play the Grand Tour on my Fire TV”. All being well, it should pair automatically and you’ll have hands-free control over searching for shows, fast-forwarding and more.
If you run into problems, open the Alexa app on your phone or tablet and go to the settings to pair your Echo and Fire TV.
You may wonder why you’d want to do this if you have an Alexa remote for your Fire TV. Put simply, it’s much more convenient to ask Alexa to search for a programme or “rewind 20 seconds” without having to pick up a remote control and press a button.
How to use the Fire TV Voice remote
For the most part, using the remote is fairly obvious: you have play, pause, rewind and fast forward controls, plus back, home and menu buttons above them.
Tip: press and hold the home button to access a shortcut menu to get to settings, put the Stick to sleep and enable screen mirroring.
Press the menu button while watching a video to see options for subtitles and audio languages. And if you’re watching on Prime video, you can press pause to see information on actors which are in that scene, and even select one to get more information about them.
At the top is a microphone button: you press and hold this, wait for the tone on the Fire TV and then say what you want to say.
Mostly, this will be to search for films, TV shows and music, but as the Fire TV Stick also has Alexa, you can say quite a lot, such as “Find action movies”, “Launch BBC iPlayer”, “Next episode” and “Dim the lights”.
Obviously that last one will work only if you have Alexa-compatible smart light bulbs such as Philips Hue or LIFX, but you get the idea. In fact, it’s well worth reading our How to use Alexa guide , as there’s a lot on offer.
How do I install apps on the Fire TV Stick?
That’s very easy. Simply select Apps from the menu that runs across the top of the screen, then browse to find the one you want and select ‘Install’.
You can install apps such as Netflix, iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4 and Demand 5.
YouTube
Until the YouTube app appears on the Fire TV, a workaround is to install the Firefox web browser from the app store. This has a handy shortcut to YouTube on its homepage, and you can then search for videos, sign in and access your subscriptions and more.
Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor, Tech Advisor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
Recent stories by Jim Martin:
- Is Amazon Alexa down? It’s probably not just you
- Best Bluetooth trackers 2025
- The best ethernet cables to buy
