Fire Stick Hacks Every thing you need to know about Fire Stick Hacks, Tips and Tricks
This detailed guide is about some of the hidden FireStick settings you should change right away for a better streaming experience and general performance of your device.
Most FireStick users are usually aware of some basic settings and functions of the device. They are clueless about various hidden settings which can take their streaming session to a whole new level.
From annoying ads popping up every now and then to sluggish connection, several minor issues of the device could be overcome with just a few clicks and changes.
The settings of your FireStick are the default when you use it for the first time. However, you can change them anytime according to your need. I will be showing you some of the useful FireStick settings which you might be not aware of.
16 Hidden FireStick Settings to Change OR Avoid
So here are some hidden FireStick settings you should be aware of and change to get the most out of your FireStick device.
1. Change the Device Name
Like every other device, FireStick has a default name assigned when you purchase It. However, it is not less than a hassle to keep track of and navigate all the devices if you have multiple devices at home.
That’s why; FireStick allows you to change the name of the device. It helps you to customize your device’s name and identify the particular device to make navigation easy yet smooth.
Open your FireStick and go to the Manage Your Content and Devices page. Then select your device from the Devices menu and click Edit. Now enter the name you want to set for your device and click Save. Your device is renamed successfully.
2. Change the Notification Settings
Constantly popping notifications while you are streaming your favorite movie or show is quite frustrating most of the time. These pop-ups are enough to ruin your streaming session.
A simple way to get rid of them is to turn the notifications off. You can turn off the notifications of all the apps on your device and disable notifications of some specific apps too.
To get rid of those annoying notifications, go to Settings and then select Preferences. Now select the option Notification Settings and hit Do Not Interrupt if you want to disable notification of all the apps.
However, if you want to allow some specific apps to send notifications, the App Notification option is for you. Click it and select the apps you want to receive notifications from.
3. Turn Off the Targeted Advertising
In this modern era, most apps and services gather your information from the internet and then show you advertisements based on those ads. This is what it is but a majority of the users consider it unethical.
The same is the case with FireStick. Thus, most FireStick users have no idea that they can control the ads being shown to them and turn the targeted advertisement off.
To do this, go to Settings and click Preferences. Then select Privacy Settings and click Advertising ID. After that, hit the option Internet-based ads and turn it off.
You will not get rid of ads completely by doing all this and have to bear with the ads, but those ads will not be based on the tracking of your online activities. So that will be a relief that your every single moment is not being tracked.
4. Expand Your FireStick Storage
I am going to tell you about the most useful hidden setting or hack, whatever you say. All the FireStick users are often seen complaining about the low storage of the device.
You can’t install all of your favorite apps, download movies, and perform various such actions just because you are running low on storage. But the good news is you can expand the storage of your FireStick just by investing in an OTG cable.
Since FireStick doesn’t have a USB port, the cable will allow you to attach a USB Flash Drive to your device and install all the apps directly on the USB.
You have to do some basic changes to your FireStick and then set the app installation location to your USB Drive. This will install the apps on your USB instead of the internal storage of FireStick.
If your storage is already full, you can also move the existing files to the USB Flash Drive. Expanding your storage can take your experience of using FireStick to a whole new level.
5. Connect Your Bluetooth Headphones
Headphones are essential for most of the streamers out there but all the tangled wires around are quite frustrating at times. But do you know that your FireStick allows connecting Bluetooth headphones along with various other Bluetooth devices?
To pair your Bluetooth headphones to the FireStick, make sure your headphones are ready to pair. Then go to Settings and click Controllers and Bluetooth Devices.
Now click Other Bluetooth Devices and pair up your headphones to FireStick by following the instructions to enjoy smooth streaming without disturbing anyone in the house.
Besides Bluetooth headphones, you can connect Bluetooth keyboards, Mouse, and even a gaming controller to your FireStick. All of these devices work flawlessly and your FireStick remembers them for later use.
6. Use Your Phone as FireStick Remote
Broke your FireStick remote or are unable to find it? Nothing to worry about. The remote app which you can install on your phone works best and turns your phone into a FireStick remote.
The app is compatible with iOS as well as Android devices. All you have to do is to install the Fire TV app from the Amazon App Store and navigate your FireStick.
An additional perk of using the Fire TV app is better navigation when it comes to the on-screen keyboard of FireStick. Typing using your phone’s keyboard is way easier and more convenient than the on-screen keyboard.
After you install the remote app on your device, access the app and sync it with your FireStick by following the instructions appearing on your screen. You are now good to go.
7. Change the Appstore Settings
You can install numerous apps on FireStick from the Amazon Appstore. You might not know that you can change the settings of Appstore for a better user experience with the device.
To change or modify Appstore settings, click the Settings option and then select Applications. Now click Appstore from the dropdown menu and explore several options that appeared related to the Appstore settings.
Some of the options you can customize are Automatic Updates, External Market Links, In-App Purchases, Manage My Subscriptions, Notifications, and Hide Cloud Apps.
8. Screen Mirroring
Another less-known FireStick feature is Screen Mirroring. It enables you to mirror anything on your FireStick from any other device such as your phone or tablet.
This feature works best for those who want to watch whatever they are watching on their phone on the big TV screen. Before mirroring the screen, make sure you are on the latest version of FireOS.
You can update it to the latest available version by selecting the Software Update option from the Settings menu. Then follow the instructions to update your software.
To mirror the content from your other device to FireStick, long-press the home key on your FireStick remote and look for the option Screen Mirroring, Smart Link, or something similar on your other device.
These words can vary according to your device so don’t worry if the words are slightly different. Select the option and then click Fire TV to mirror your content on the FireStick.
9. Increase Internet Speed by Changing VPN Protocols
Using a VPN is always recommended before installing and streaming anything on FireStick. But the thing is most of the users complain about the low internet speed and sluggish connection while using a VPN.
Well, this is right to some extent but a majority of users are unaware that they can improve the streaming experience with a VPN connection and enjoy fast internet speed just by changing some VPN protocols.
As we consider ExpressVPN as the best choice, some of the protocols available are OpenVPN (UDP), OpenVPN (TCP), IKEv2, Shadowsocks, and WireGuard.
However, WireGuard is considered to be the fastest protocol currently. So, it is recommended to use the WireGuard protocol while using ExpressVPN for a better internet speed.
10. Manage Your Privacy Settings
Everything on the internet is not safe today. We all know that we have been tracked by the services and apps but a few people know that Amazon’s streaming devices including FireStick are collecting your data too.
This is alarming and should be turned off as soon as possible. This is not like you want to “hide” something on your device. Users have a right to maintain their privacy and it should be respected.
To manage your privacy settings on the Amazon FireStick device, open the Settings menu and click Preferences. Then select Privacy Settings from the menu that appeared and turn off all the settings including Device Usage Data, Collect App Usage Data, and Interest-based Ads.
Besides these settings, turn off the Data Monitoring also. With these few simple steps, you can maintain your privacy while using FireStick and avoid being tracked.
11. Boost the Speed by Closing Apps in the Background
We use various apps while streaming anything on FireStick and keep on moving from one app to another without closing the former app properly.
It means several apps are running in the background and making your FireStick slow. Close the apps one by one can be hectic so here comes a quick solution.
You can close all the background apps with just a single click. How? With the help of an app called Background Apps and Process List.
It is available on the Amazon app store, all you have to do is to install the app on your device.
It will show you the list of all the apps running currently in the background, making your device sluggish and eating up your memory. You can easily close the tasks which are not important at the moment with only a click.
12. Sleep Mode
There is no method to turn your FireStick off besides unplugging it from the power source. The Power button on your FireStick remote is actually to power on or off the TV itself. It has nothing to do with the FireStick.
Now the question is how to shut down your FireStick then? Well, there is a Sleep feature on your device that automatically turns it off after some time if you are not using it. You don’t have to do anything.
However, if you want to enable the Seep feature manually, hold the Home button on your FireStick remote for a while and click the Sleep option. Your device will go into power-saving mode by doing so.
You can also access the Sleep option from the settings menu of your FireStick. This simple feature is quite useful, especially for the new FireStick users.
13. Disable the Auto Play Feature
When you are searching for something to play on your FireStick, the featured content on your device starts playing meanwhile. This is a little annoying, for me at least.
Well, you can turn this auto playoff so this doesn’t bother you while scrolling next time. For that, go to Settings and click the Preferences option.
After that, click Featured Content and hit Allow Video Autoplay, and then turn it off. Similarly, click Allow Audio Autoplay and turn it off too to prevent the audio from playing in the background.
With these simple steps, the featured content won’t start playing suddenly in the background with full volume to bother you again.
14. Parental Control Settings
Having kids at home means they will have access to streaming devices also. They might end up visiting inappropriate sites or making purchases you don’t even need.
The best solution is to give them access in your supervision and if it’s not possible at times, set up parental controls. This will help you to set a PIN Code to access such content or make purchases.
To prevent your children from accessing such content, click Settings and then the Preferences menu. Click Parental Controls and turn it on. It will ask you to enter a PIN Code (twice if you are setting it up for the first time).
However, you have to keep in mind that these parental controls only work for Amazon apps and services. Other apps such as Netflix have their restrictions and you have to explore their settings for this purpose.
15. Change the Display and Sound Settings
The quality of streaming with FireStick majorly depends on the display settings of your device. Better video and sound quality can enhance your streaming experience while the low-quality display is enough to ruin it.
You can open the Settings menu and select the Display and Sounds option to customize your display setting. There are various options in the menu such as Video Resolution, Match Original Frame Rate, Color Depth, Color Format, Calibrate Display, and Dynamic Range Settings.
You can adjust all these settings according to your choice to have a better display quality. This will make your streaming experience on FireStick way better.
Similarly, you can change the audio settings of your device as well. Options like Navigation Sounds, Surround Sounds, and Advanced Audio can be explored and adjusted.
16. Change the Device Interface
Firestick has a simple interface with black or grey background which sometimes gets boring. But if I tell you that there is one hidden feature by which you can change your entire interface or you can add Slideshow Screensaver photos.
There is an app called Wolf Launcher that entirely changes your device interface. The way of icon display, menu settings, and everything will be new on your Firestick device.
FAQs – FireStick Settings
How to improve FireStick streaming quality?
To get the best streaming quality on your FireStick device, close all the apps running in the background, update it regularly, expand your internal storage, and many other similar simple yet effective tips.
How to turn off Amazon FireStick?
Well, you can’t really turn off your FireStick. It goes to sleep mode when left idle for a while. You can manually put it on sleep from the Sleep option in the Settings menu.
How to stop buffering on FireStick?
Buffering is so annoying while watching your favorite video on any device. You can stop buffering on FireStick by clearing the cache, cleaning the apps running in the background, updating your FireOS, restarting your device, and various similar small steps.
Wrapping Up
So these were some of the best-hidden FireSticks you should be aware of and change. From managing privacy settings to setting up the device on sleep mode, many settings with practical tips and tricks are mentioned in the guide.
It is recommended to you change these settings on your device and customize them according to your needs. Apart from that, some of your privacy concerns can be overcome with these settings and modifications.
Whatever app you are using on FireStick, it is always recommended to use a VPN for an encrypted connection and to protect your online presence. It hides your IP and helps you maintain your anonymity over the internet. Our top pick is ExpressVPN.
