How to set up your Amazon Fire TV Stick

Vaughn Highfield January 18, 2016

Just bought an Amazon Fire TV Stick but don’t know how to get started, or really what you can do with it? Don’t worry, it’s not too complicated.

In simple terms, it’s Amazon‘s answer to Google’s Chromecast but it’s also a great way to add some new functionality to your non-smart TV. It’s so great, in fact, that it made our list of the best TV streamers you can buy right now.

If you’ve just bought one, read on to find out how to set it up. If you’re looking to buy one and are worried about how complicated they are, we’ve also got you covered.

Read our helpful step-by-step guide to discover how to set up your Amazon Fire TV stick.

Firstly, you should have the following in the box:

Fire TV Stick Device
Amazon Fire TV Remote: included with 1st-generation Fire TV Stick. If you’ve got a later model of the Fire TV Stick, this may, instead, come with an Alexa Voice Remote.
USB Cable and Power Adapter
HDMI Extender: This is included with the original Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote. The extender can help improve your device’s Wi-Fi connection.
HDMI Adapter: This is included with Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote models only. For other models, you’ll need to buy separately
2 AAA Batteries: For the remote

Buy the Fire TV Stick now from Amazon

Setting up Amazon Fire TV Stick hardware

Plug the micro-USB power cable into your Fire TV Stick and the other end into the plug adapter and into the wall.
Plug your Fire TV Stick into an HDMI port on your TV (a cable is included to extend the HDMI reach if you’ve got a particularly tricky TV).
Next, turn on your TV and switch the input to the right HDMI port
You won’t be able to interact with Fire TV Stick until you pair a remote. Thankfully, by just inserting the batteries into the included remote, it should pair automatically. If this fails, you can download and use the Amazon Fire TV remote app on your phone.
Now it’s time to set up your wireless network. Fire TV Stick should automatically detect your Wi-Fi. Select your network and enter any passwords.
Your Fire TV Stick will then check for updates and download anything it doesn’t have before letting you continue. Depending on how new your Stick is and the strength of your connection, this could take some time.
If you bought your Fire TV Stick from Amazon, it will have arrived already logged in and set up with your account, which is handy. If not, don’t worry, it’s very easy to set up a new account on Fire TV, requiring nothing more than your Amazon login details.
Once done, you’ll be treated to an unskippable introduction to your Fire TV Stick, taking you through the basics of what the system can do and how to make the most of its features.
From here, you can set up parental control settings before you start using your Fire TV Stick as intended.