The Fire TV Stick are, for the moment, the only alternative we have to enjoy the ecosystem that Amazon puts in our hands to make an old smart TV smart without apps or anything else since, for the moment, its range of televisions is still reserved for other markets, and not precisely Spanish. So while we wait, we are going to solve those incidents that occur from time to time due to the Fire TV Stick remote control.
If your controller has been unlinked from your dongle, in this post we will show you everything you can do to reconnect it and keep it working without problems. We will also address other situations, such as what to do in case our remote stops working and how you can get a replacement.
Problems with the remote control?
Although it is not a device that fails too much, from time to time serious errors can occur while using the Fire TV Stick. For example, that the command does not respond to us and that it is impossible to revive it. A first measure that we can do is to turn off the HDMI key to see if it comes to its senses, but if it persists, then we have to do something much more aggressive.
Those two big incidents can be either that the remote control has become unpaired, that is, it has lost its link with the Fire TV Stick that we bought, or the hang only affects the remote, so a restart is required to bring it back to a fully active state. So we are going to explain how to carry out any of the two processes that begin with a lesson that we cannot miss: learning which are the critical buttons to carry out the tasks that we are going to explain.
Remote button map
Before starting the tutorial on what you should do to reset your remote, we are going to explain the buttons on the remote that you must have located to carry out the process. Of all the buttons that you can see on the remote control of your Fire TV Stick, we are going to keep only four, which are the ones that you have indicated right below with numbers that go from 1 to 4:
- Home (or Home): It is the one that you can see in the central part and that has a little icon of a house.
- Left cursor: Of the wheel that contains the buttons for the four possible directions, we are only interested in the one that points to the left.
- Return: For those of you who have an Android mobile it will ring a bell, because it is the little arrow that seems to go back where it came from. Pay attention to her.
- Options: with several horizontal white lines, that button will be essential to perform certain actions.
Reset or re-pair your Fire TV remote
With all of the above learned, all that remains is for us to take control and complete the tasks according to the problem that we are experiencing in the remote control. It is important to say that sometimes the symptoms of the two failures will seem identical to you, so it does not hurt to proceed with any of them to verify which one works for you. It sounds convoluted, but it is so. So go completing what we tell you below. Behold.
How to reset the Fire TV Stick remote
Before we decide to take more expeditious special measures such as performing a new pairing of the remote control with the Fire TV Stick, it is best to first try something faster and that affects only the remote itself. So we are going to explain how to do a reset to try to fix that temporary hang in which it is plunged.
To carry it out, you just have to do the following on the Fire TV Stick remote with Alexa integrated:
- Disconnect the Fire TV Stick from your TV and wait a minute. We will do this so as not to turn it on when touching the remote.
- Then hold down the left cursor, the Menu cursor and and Back all at the same time. It is important that you do not press them in stages, or that some of them come loose during the reset process. So before you do it, try to see how safely you can place your fingers so that there are no mistakes.
In the case of the 4K model of the same Fire TV Stick, the procedure is significantly different:
- We repeat the same process as before, only that the three buttons are hold down at the same time for 12 seconds.
- We release them and wait another five seconds.
- Now we remove the batteries from the remote control.
- We turn on the Fire TV Stick 4K and wait another minute.
- We put the batteries back in the command and click on the Home button. The LED indicator that it brings should flash blue to confirm that the entire process has worked and the control is communicating with the HDMI dongle.
It is important to say that the model with Alexa Voice Remote Lite does not have that LED light, so identifying that everything works will be a matter of seeing that we can now navigate correctly through the menus.
Re-pair the remote with your Fire TV Stick
Now, the other problem that we may have is that, for unknown reasons, the remote seems to work when pressing the buttons (the LED lights up) but the menus of the Fire TV Stick do not respond. Then, the remote may have lost the link with the HDMI key, so it's time to redo the pairing process of the two devices. To achieve this you must:
- Turn on the television with the Fire TV Stick's HDMI input selected.
- Stand within three meters of the dongle to be able to connect the controller again.
- Press the Home button on the controller for 10 seconds without interruption.
- From then on the LED light on the remote should flash, which will cause a message on the TV screen that the whole process went smoothly.
- The remote is now paired with your original Fire TV Stick.
What if this method doesn't work?
At this point, your controller should be connected to your Fire TV Stick and working properly again. It is not the case? So, it's time to check these points:
- Batteries: The Fire TV Stick remote is battery operated. And it may be the case that they are running low and have no power to maintain the minimum functions of the remote. It can also happen that the battery has leaked and is preventing the current from passing to the control, regardless of whether we have connected a new battery in good condition. Simply remove the battery compartment cover and check for rust and corrosion. Also take the opportunity to try other new batteries, just in case.
- control broken: Remote controls often fall to the ground, and this can end up taking its toll. If after doing all this process, you have not been able to reconnect your remote to the Fire TV Stick, it may have broken. In this case, we will explain in the next section how you can get a replacement for the Fire TV Stick remote control.
What if I lose the remote or it has broken?
If you lose the remote for your Fire TV Stick, or if it simply stops working, you can control the device directly from the Fire TV app, available for both Android and iPhone. Of course, you will also be able to use alexa commands to control the TV, although if you've done this before, you'll know that this isn't optimal.
And well, although there are software alternatives, surely you do not want to buy another Fire TV just to recover the remote. It could be that a bad fall has rendered your controller completely out of action, that it has simply stopped working from one day to the next, or that the device has simply disappeared from home —or that it has been swallowed up by the sofa, which you will discover in no time. a few months.
For these cases, there are generic controls that can do the trick. However, on Amazon you will also be able to find the original Fire TV Stick remote control in case you need it. Before getting a replacement, confirm that the model you are going to buy is compatible with your device. Then, you will simply have to pair the new remote with your Fire TV as we have explained in the previous lines.
Original replacement remote for Fire TV
This remote will only be worth it if you have a Fire TV 4K, because its price is quite high —for practically its price, you can buy another Fire TV Lite or standard. However, it is the model that will guarantee you the maximum compatibility with your Amazon device. Despite the price, if you don't want to complicate your life, this is the best option you'll find.
See offer on Amazongeneric commands
There are also generic controls compatible with Fire TV. In these cases, it may happen that they are associated with the dongle differently from the original model. In general, we recommend that you get a hand with microphone so as not to lose the possibility of dictating text and doing Alexa commands. A very interesting model is the L5B83H, which has a good price and will allow you to regain control of your Fire TV. In general, this model is more worthwhile if you have a basic Fire TV Stick. However, in some cases it will be more worth your while to buy a dongle new.
See offer on AmazonOf course, with generic controls you have to be a little more careful. We recommend that you take a good look at the specifications to ensure that the generic remote is compatible with your Fire TV. If you don't remember which model you have connected to your TV, you can watch it from settings using the Fire TV app for mobile. However, you can also check your Amazon purchase history to see exactly which unit you have.
The links to Amazon in this article are part of our agreement with their Affiliate Program and may earn us a small commission on their sale (without affecting the price you pay). Even so, the decision to publish and add them has been made, as always, freely and under editorial criteria, without attending to requests from the brands involved.