Download Amazon Fire TV Remote App for PC/Mac/Windows 7,8,10 and have the fun experience of using the smartphone Apps on Desktop or personal computers. Description and Features of Amazon Fire TV Remote App For PC: New and rising Tools App, Amazon Fire TV Remote App developed by Amazon Mobile LLC for Android is available for free in the Play Store.. Before we move toward the.
The Amazon Fire TV is one of the most popular TV boxes for Kodi. We’ve written about it on several occasions, and usually include it whenever we’re recommending a Kodi TV box for different reasons. But if you’re going to make the Amazon Fire TV your go-to streaming device, you’ll be doing a bit of sideloading.
You can sideload Amazon Fire TV apps, like Kodi, in a few simple ways. If you’re looking for more specific guides, like how to sideload Kodi or a VPN program onto your Amazon Fire TV, check out the following to links:. Below, you’ll find our ultimate Fire TV sideloading guide where we dig into a few simple ways you can easily sideload programs like Kodi onto the device, explain what sideloading means on Amazon Fire TV, and why the device requires sideloading for some apps. Table of Contents. Before We Proceed If you’re using your Amazon Fire TV for Kodi, we highly recommend sideloading a VPN app onto your Fire TV as well. At times, Kodi users have received copyright infringement notices from their ISPs after streaming through Kodi.
To protect your identity and keep your viewing habits private, we strongly recommend – a fully-featured VPN solution. Sideloading the Amazon Fire TV Explained Confused about what sideloading is and why you need to do it on your Amazon Fire TV?
The following explanations and definitions should help clear up your confusion! What is sideloading? “Sideloading” is what you do when you install new apps onto a device that are not available on the official App Store. This means you are installing apps onto a device from outside of that device’s operating system or using an alternative method to load new apps onto the device.
Sideloading can be done in a few different ways. The easiest method is simply to change a few system settings that are usually there for developers ( Apps from Unknown Sources and ADB Debugging) that give you more freedom with your Amazon Fire TV. The Apps from Unknown Sources setting simply tells your Amazon Fire TV to accept the installation of apps that aren’t found on the official Amazon App Store. The ADB Debugging option allows your Amazon Fire TV to connect to another device (like a computer) over Wifi or USB, where you can use special software to install new apps that way. You may not need ADB Debugging, but you will always need to allow Apps from Unknown Settings with any sideloading method you use. For all methods, you can sideload using just a few easy to download applications and a handy guide. Why Do I Need to Sideload on the Amazon Fire TV?
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Although Amazon uses the popular Android operating system, it uses a modified version. This is not uncommon with first-party TV devices. We also find this to be the case with the Chromecast device from Google.
The reason you need to sideload some popular apps like Kodi onto the Amazon Fire TV is that Amazon has decided to bar them from its app store. They’re simply more restrictive of the type of apps they allow to operate on their device.
This is not to say that adding Kodi or a VPN program through sideloading is wrong. In fact, doing so should not void any warranties. Amazon simply wants to place some restrictions on average users to discourage certain activities it doesn’t prefer. Will Sideloading Work with Amazon Fire Stick? The Amazon Fire TV and the Amazon Fire Stick both use the same modified Android operating system. That means that all of the sideloading options listed in this guide will work with both devices. With those definitions and explanations, let’s launch into the sideloading guide.
We’ve provided two methods that you can use to sideload. One is fairly simple, the other might be a bit more complicated for newcomers. You can use either one of these methods to sideload apps on your Amazon Fire TV. IMPORTANT NOTE: Regardless of which method you use, sideloading requires you to download “APK” files. “APK” is the file path (like.EXE or.JPG), that Android applications use. These files are usually harmless, but be sure to use good virus protection software to protect your computer. Ultimate Fire TV Sideloading Guide: The Easy Method Because we realize you may be coming to this article while conducting research before you purchase a Fire TV, we’ll try to make the guide understandable to both current and potential Amazon Fire TV owners.
First, we’ll define the terms you’ll need to understand in order to sideload apps on Amazon Fire TV. Start By Changing System Settings There are two system settings you’re going to want to change: ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources. To set both of these settings to ON, do the following:. Go to Settings.
Under Settings locate Developer Options. There, you will see both ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources. Separately click on both of these and turn them both ON ADB debugging allows you to connect to your Amazon Fire TV from a computer and install apps directly from that computer. Meanwhile, allowing Apps from Unknown Sources gives you the option to directly download those files onto your Fire TV device from the web, and then install them with a third-party app. This also brings us to our next step.
For the easy method, you won’t need ADB Debugging, but it won’t hurt to turn it on just in case you want to use it. Download a Third Party File Manager If you’re sideloading directly from downloaded APK files (the easiest method), you’re going to need to download and install a third-party file manager. There are more of these out there, but the easiest one to use that is also free is ES File Explorer. There are other file managers, including one called Total Commander. For our guide, we’re using ES File Explorer solely.
To download and install the ES File Explorer File Manager, do the following:. Go to your Amazon App Store.
Search ES File Explorer Source: IPVanish.com. Click to download and install ES File Explorer You will find this file in your apps section. What Does ES File Explorer File Manager Do? ES File Explorer allows you to manage files that are on your device and allows you to install unofficial apps directly from the program. For example, you can sideload Kodi or a VPN using ES File Explorer without having to use any external devices. What you’ll find when trying to sideload apps on the Amazon Fire TV is that the ES File Explorer makes the process much simpler.
As stated, directly downloading APK files onto your device and installing them with the ES File Explorer is the fastest way to sideload, but it’s not the only method. You can also load those APK files and install them onto your device using a computer connected to your Amazon Fire TV thanks to the ADB Debugging option. Here’s what ES File Explorer looks and how it operates. Let’s say you want to install Kodi onto your Amazon Fire TV. If you tried to go to the Amazon App Store, you wouldn’t find it. You would need the Kodi APK file.
On the Amazon Fire TV, you can directly download and install that APK file through ES File Explorer with the web address to the file. For example, let’s say you want to sideload the latest version of Kodi. You could grab the proper download link from the official Kodi website, and then add the new file in by click on the “+ New” button on the ES File Explorer home screen: Source: IPVanish.com You then add the link ( ), make sure to choose “Web” for the source, and click OK. ES File Explorer then begins the download process for the APK file. Once the download is complete, ES File Explorer walks you through the Kodi installation process as well. As long as you have Apps from Unknown Sources set to ON, the download process through ES File Explorer will install Kodi or any other APK file properly. Source: IPVanish.com Note that you cannot easily sideload an APK file without a file manager like ES File Explorer.
While you can download the APK file, just having the Apps from Unknown Sources setting activated does not immediately allow the Amazon Fire TV to start installing these unsigned apps. The device still won’t allow you to install them, as its built-in application installer will still not consider them legitimate. That developer setting simply prevents the system from disallowing their installation through other means. The Ultimate Fire TV Sideloading Guide: The Complicated Method If you’re a bit more of a tinkerer, you can also sideload apps onto your Amazon Fire TV over a shared Wifi connection or Bluetooth. This method is a bit more complicated and for the most part unnecessary. But if you’re looking to do it, it can be done. Start By Changing Settings As with the easy method, your first step is to activate two specific developer options: ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources.
Both are important, but you cannot do this without allowing the ADB Debugging. Download ADB for Mac or PC Your next step will be to download the ADB tool adbLink for Mac or PC so that you can connect to your ADB-enabled Android devices. For Mac users, to download the ADB tool. For Windows PC, to download the ADB tool.
The ADB tool (of which there are several, but adLink is one of the easier ones to use) allows you to connect to your Android devices and install the APK files on your computer directly onto your Android device. If you’re trying to sideload externally, this is an essential tool to have. Using An ADB Tool Using an ADB tool can be a bit confusing for a newcomer. Our guide on how to has a good explanation for how this works, but we’ll summarize it here as well.
Here’s the start-to-end guide to help you set up your, find out what you can do with it, and troubleshoot common Fire TV Stick issues. The device costs just $40 and is an excellent streaming device for first-timers. Check out to get acquainted first. What’s In the Box The Amazon Fire TV Stick ships with the following items:.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick. Alexa Voice Remote Control. Power adapter for Fire Stick.
2 AAA Amazon Basics batteries for the remote control. An HDMI Extender cable The HDMI extender cable is a nice touch, since the Fire TV Stick’s dongle is wider than the HDMI connector port.
Because of this, the Stick might block other ports. However, if you use the extender cable, there shouldn’t be any obstruction. What Else You Will Need. 1080p Screen: The Fire TV Stick works with any TV or screen that has an HDMI port, including computer monitors.
You’ll need one of those, and it’s best if you have a 1080p Full HD TV. The Fire TV Stick does not support 4K output.
10 Mbps Wireless internet: You will need an active internet connection of 8 Mbps to stream video in 1080p. You can stream 720p HD video in 4 Mbps, and 480p SD video in 2 Mbps. And it needs to be through Wi-Fi, since the Fire TV Stick does not have a wired Ethernet port. An Amazon Account (preferably with Amazon Prime): Since you bought the Fire TV Stick off Amazon, it’s safe to assume you have an Amazon account.
In case you don’t, you will need to make one before you set up and launch the device. The Fire TV Stick is also best used with You don't need Prime to benefit from Amazon. But Amazon Prime comes with a few lesser known benefits you may not have tried yet., like the full catalogs for movies, TV shows, and music. Set Up Your Amazon Fire TV Stick Once you have everything you need, the first step is pretty straightforward. Connect your Fire TV Stick to your TV, and to the power adapter. Switch it on, and navigate to the appropriate HDMI port with your TV’s remote. Note: If you don’t have enough spare HDMI ports, unplug a device you don’t use often or purchase an HDMI splitter.
Go Up or Down using the navigation trackpad to highlight your preferred language in yellow. Click Select to choose it. Connect To Your Network The next screen is all about connecting to your wireless network. Go Left or Right using the navigation trackpad to highlight your preferred network in grey.
Click Select to choose it. You will see an on-screen virtual keyboard, which you have to use to enter the password. Again, use the trackpad to go to a letter or character, and press Select to choose it. Repeat the process till you spell out your full password. Once you finish typing, press Play/Pause to connect. Pro Tip: The Rewind button acts as a Backspace, in case you need to use it. Register Your Fire TV Stick Remember when we asked you to keep an Amazon account ready?
Now is when it pays off. The next screen is about registering your Fire TV Stick with your Amazon account. When Register I already have an Amazon account is highlighted in grey, click Select. Key in the registered email for your Amazon account, and press Play/Pause. Then key in the password and press Play/Pause. The Fire TV Stick will recognize and register your account.
There is one final confirmation screen, showing your account name. If it’s right, press Select to continue.
Save Wi-Fi Passwords to Amazon? Next, a pop-up screen will ask you if you want to save the Wi-Fi password entered on the Fire TV Stick to your Amazon cloud. This way, any other Amazon device with your account will automatically connect to that Wi-Fi network. We recommend choosing No in this.
It’s not good security practice to store your Wi-Fi password online. Parental Controls or Password Protection (Optional) The next screen lets you apply parental controls to your Fire TV Stick.
This will let you set a 5-digit PIN password, which is required every time a user wants to play a video rated Teen or above, or purchase an item. If you don’t want parental controls or password protection, Select No Parental Controls and skip to the next point. If you want to control your kids’ access to the streaming device, Select Enable Parental Controls.
The Fire TV Stick will then ask you to set a PIN. It’s a cumbersome, confusing way to do it. The wheels of the trackpad are the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4, in clockwise formation from the top.
Press the three-line Options button on the Alexa Remote and they turn into 6, 7, 8, and 9. The Select button, similarly, is 0 or 5. Set your PIN and confirm it to enable parental protection. Press OK in the follow-up last screen that states Parental Controls Enabled.
Introduction Video The next screen will play a video, demonstrating how to use the Alexa Remote’s voice commands with the Fire TV Stick. You don’t need to do anything during this video, just sit back and watch.
Manage and Monitor Data Consumption The next screen lets you manage and monitor how much data the Fire TV Stick can use. This is especially useful for anyone using a limited data plan.
If you don’t care about how much data the Fire TV Stick uses, Select Set Up Later and skip to the next point. If you want to enforce limits on data consumption, Select Enable Data Monitoring. In the pop-up screen that follows, choose the quality of video that’s ideal for you. Next, set how many GB your Amazon Fire TV Stick can use in a month. And then set the date on which your ISP (internet service provider) starts counting your monthly data consumption.
Your choices will be displayed on screen, and the Fire TV Stick will give you an on-screen alert when you hit your data limit. Your Amazon Fire TV Stick Is Now Ready After a few seconds of setting everything up, the Fire TV Stick will be ready to use.
It will transport you to the Home screen, where all the action takes place. Pair the Fire TV Remote App With Fire TV Stick Before we begin using the Fire TV Stick, there’s one more thing to do.
We need to download and pair the Fire TV Remote app. As good as the Alexa Remote is, the setup procedure must have shown you how annoyingly difficult it is for typing. A better solution is Amazon’s Fire TV Remote app, available for Android and iOS. So download and install it on your smartphone. (And try some In this article, we'll introduce you to the best Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV remote apps and controls. If you don’t like the official one.). First, get the app.
Download: Amazon Fire TV Remote (Free) or (Free). Make sure your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Once you run the app, it will detect your Fire TV Stick. Tap to connect it. You will see a 4-digit code on the TV. Type it into your phone’s app.
Congratulations, you have successfully paired the app with the Fire TV Stick. How To Switch Off or Reboot the Amazon Fire Stick Amazon says that you don’t need to turn off the Fire TV Stick. It automatically goes into Sleep Mode after 30 minutes, conserving energy till you start it again. It also starts a screensaver after five minutes of inactivity, and you can change this time interval in the Settings. If you want to restart the Fire TV Stick, there’s a shortcut for that.
Hold down the Play/Pause button and the Select button simultaneously for five seconds. How to Use the Fire TV Stick Now that your Fire TV Stick is up and running, it’s time to enjoy all the entertainment it offers. The first stop is the Amazon Prime movies and TV shows that make it worth the money.
How to Navigate the Fire TV Stick Menu You might find the Home screen and the menu a little difficult to understand at first. But it’s pretty easy once you get used to it. It takes a day or two to learn it, then you’ll be fine. The most important thing to know: Any text or logo marked in Orange or Yellow is where your cursor is. If you press Select or Play/Pause, it will take action on the orange/yellow highlighted item.
For example, in the above screenshot, “Home” is the highlighted item. To see any item, use the navigational trackpad buttons to go to it and press Select.
The top of the Home screen looks like this: The first icon is for the Search function. The others (Movies, TV Shows, Apps, and Settings) are self-explanatory. Move Left or Right among these and press Select to go into that. The Home screen then has a marquee of five featured items. These will scroll automatically, or you can go to the first one and then press Left or Right to see them all. Go Down in Home to find your recently used apps, and recently watched items. You will also find plenty of other categories and suggestions for you.
If you want to watch any movie or TV show, go to it and press Play/Pause. If you want more details about the movie or TV show, press Select. How to Navigate a Movie or TV Show’s Menu Once you’re on a movie’s screen, you’ll find all the information you need. There will be the IMDb rating, the movie’s length, release date, MPAA rating, a short description, a list of the actors and director, and languages for audio and subtitles. Under that, you’ll usually find a few options:. Watch Now with Prime / Resume.
Watch Trailer. Add to Watchlist. Seasons and Episodes (For TV Shows only) Not all films have a trailer available through the Fire TV Stick. Any movie that you add to the watchlist will show up in your watchlist in the Home screen. For TV shows, if you press Select on Watch Now With Prime, it will start with the first episode of the first season.
If you have already started the show, it will resume at whichever episode you stopped at. You can select a particular episode by going to Seasons and Episodes, where you can browse through them all. Each episode comes with a short synopsis, and individual episodes can be added to the watchlist. Press Down in any movie or TV show’s page to find a list of related items. Here you will get what other customers also watched, and other titles featuring the same director or actors. How to Fast-Forward and Rewind on Fire TV Stick Naturally, the Play/Pause, Fast Forward, and Rewind buttons work as you’d expect. Press Rewind or Fast Forward once to skip 10 seconds back or ahead, respectively.
Hold the button for a few seconds to see different speeds to rewind or fast forward. How to Change Subtitles and Language on the Fire TV Stick Press Options to either restart the movie from the beginning, or to choose subtitle and audio languages.
You can also set the style and size of the subtitles, so that they are less distracting or more legible. How to Use X-Ray on Fire TV Stick The Alexa Remote and Amazon’s X-Ray combine to offer some cool things you can do with Prime Video.
Since Amazon owns IMDb, you can get a lot of information about the scene you are watching. Press Up at any point to activate basic X-Ray, while the video continues playing. This will show you the actors in the current scene. Press Up again to pause the video and bring up the full X-Ray menu.
Powered by IMDb, you’ll find actors in the scene, the full cast and characters of the movie, music from the soundtrack, and trivia. Some movies and shows will also have a short scene excerpts. All of these X-Ray options, as well as language and subtitle options, are only available on Prime Videos. Other apps on the Fire TV Stick, like Netflix or HBO GO, won’t show these.
There, you will have to use whatever menu each app maker has developed. How to Set Up and Download Apps on Fire TV Stick The Fire TV Stick isn’t limited to Amazon’s movies and TV shows alone.
You can also watch stuff from other apps like Netflix and Hulu, or subscribe to TV channels like Showtime. In the Apps Menu, you will find a large collection of popular apps, or you can search for them. To demonstrate, we’ll use Netflix as an example. Navigate to the Netflix app and press Select. Highlight Download and press Select. Wait for the Netflix app to finish downloading.
Once the button changes to Open, press Select. Navigate to the Sign In button and press Select. Key in your Netflix username and password, and log in to the service You can now use Netflix on your Amazon Fire TV Stick. The app can be launched from Home (in Recently Used), Apps, or through an Alexa voice command. You can follow this procedure to download and install any app you want. Again, we recommend creating an account for the service before you download it on the Fire TV Stick.
Press Home, go to Apps, and press Down once to see three options: Featured, Games, and Categories. The last one, Categories, has a neat grid of apps in all different genres for you to browse. The middle one is where the action lies.
How to Download and Play Games on Fire TV Stick There is a decent collection of There are a surprising number of free Amazon Fire TV games available to download. Here are the best we found., which work with the Alexa Remote. You can find them by pressing Home, going to Apps, pressing Down, and going to Games. For a demonstration, we’ll use the Flappy Birds Family game as an example.
Navigate to the Flappy Birds Family app and press Select. Highlight Download and press Select. Wait for the game to finish downloading. Once the button changes to Run, press Select Follow the game’s on-screen instructions on how to use the Alexa Remote to play.
The navigational trackpad buttons always work for directions. In the case of Flappy Birds Family, it’s just pressing Select, since it’s an entertaining one-button game. While other games might have a few more buttons, I haven’t yet come across any that requires more than the trackpad and Select. How to Use Alexa Remote’s Voice Commands for Fire TV Stick So far, we have ignored the microphone button on the Alexa Remote. That’s because it helps to first understand how the Fire TV Stick works, and then use voice commands to operate it. Press down the Microphone button to activate Alexa on Fire TV Stick.
The TV screen will go dark, with a blue line across it. The line modulates as you speak into the remote. Hold the Microphone button while you speak your entire command, and then let go.