5 Amazon Fire TV Problems & Fixes

Amazon, long the king of online commerce, doesn’t just want you to shop with it. The company always has its collective eye on what’s next. It has determined that the future is digital content. The Amazon Fire TV is proof of that. That is when Amazon Fire TV problems aren’t giving users a hard time.

Fire TV is to subscription video services what the Amazon Kindle is to digital books. That is, it’s a piece of reasonably priced hardware that lets you get access to Amazon’s services. If you want to buy a television show, you can do so with a few button presses, for example. The Fire TV is also the best way to enjoy the unlimited streaming video content that comes as a part of the Amazon Prime subscriptions that the company sells.

Here are some fixes for common Amazon Fire TV problems.

To be clear, Fire TV problems occur because the device is ambitious. Amazon wants to deliver all kinds of entertainment options to your television set, whether that content be music, movies or television shows. The Fire TV has apps to download, a slot for loading your favorite photos and support for the latest 4K resolution television sets. Don’t discount the voice remote that lets you ask it questions or the X-Ray database that tells you which characters your favorite actors are playing.

Read: Amazon Fire TV vs Amazon Fire TV Stick: What’s the Difference?

Here’s a breakdown of Amazon Fire TV problems owners are facing. Armed with this breakdown, you’ll be able to fix the most common issues yourself.

Amazon Fire TV Problems & Fixes

• How to Reset an Amazon Fire TV
• Fixing Loading Fire TV Problems
• Replacing the Remote
• Checking for Updates
• Can’t Watch 4K Video on Fire TV

How to Reset an Amazon Fire TV

If you’re having a software issue that’s keeping you from enjoying your Fire TV, Amazon recommends that you do a soft reset. This won’t delete your account or apps, but it will give the device an opportunity to load its operating system again and start fresh.

There’s no button to reset the Amazon Fire TV. If yours is behaving badly or frozen, simply pull the power cable from the back of it. Leave it unpowered for forty seconds before plugging it back in.

Read: Amazon Alexa & 4K TVs Coming in 2017

Fixing Loading Fire TV Problems

Your Fire TV is an internet-centric device. That is, it needs a fast and reliable internet connection to load movies, music and TV shows from Amazon’s servers. You should have configured your Amazon Fire TV to use your Wi-Fi at home when you set it up. If you’re having trouble loading movies or television shows, it’s likely because something has gone wrong with your internet connection.

Before doing anything drastic, try using the internet on your phone or laptop. This will help you determine what’s gone wrong by the process of elimination. If these other devices work flawlessly on the same network, reset your Fire TV by unplugging it and leaving it unplugged for 40 seconds.

Remember, you don’t have to use your Wi-Fi network at all for the Fire TV to work. The Ethernet port on the back of the device lets it connect directly to your router for faster load times.

Replacing the Remote

No one likes losing something they’ve spent their hard-earned money on. That goes double for anyone that wanted to use their Amazon Fire TV but can’t find its remote. This is one of those Fire TV problems that’s easy to fix.

Luckily, you don’t have to purchase an entirely new Fire TV just to get a new remote. Amazon sells them for $29.99. There are cheaper, alternatives available on the site too. Note that you can skip buying a new remote and download the Amazon Fire TV Remote app instead. This solution is a bit clunky, but works fine, if you’re just waiting until your new remote arrives.

The Amazon Fire TV Remote.

Turn on Closed Captioning

To turn on Closed Captioning – what Amazon refers to as subtitles – press the Menu button on your Amazon remote after loading a movie or television show. This button has three horizontal lines stacked on top each other.

Open Subtitles and Audio.

Select the Off button on your screen so that it shows On.

Now press the Menu button to get rid of the Settings menu.

Can’t Watch 4K Video on Fire TV

This isn’t a bug or broken software. You’re likely not getting 4K quality video from your Amazon Fire TV because your model doesn’t support it.

Only the second-generation Amazon Fire TV offers 4K video support, meaning you’ll need to upgrade to get access to it. If you purchased your device before October of 2015, you’ve got the older model. Only the 4K model has an optical audio port like the one show between the HDMI port and Ethernet port in the picture below.

The rear of the first-generation Amazon Fire TV.

Read: 6 Common Amazon Prime Video Problems & Fixes

If you’re sure that you have the latest Amazon Fire TV, that is the model that offers 4K video, you’ll need to investigate your television set. Be sure that it supports 4K video. You’ll also want to make sure that the HDMI port you have the Fire TV connected to on your TV supports 4K. Some TVs only allow 4K on a single HDMI port.

Read: Amazon Fire TV vs Roku 3: Which Should I Buy?

Good luck with your Amazon Fire TV. Gotta Be Mobile will keep adding to this breakdown of Amazon Fire TV problems as we learn more about any issues owners are having.

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