How to Manually Turn Off Your Amazon Fire TV Stick
Ever wonder how to turn your Firestick off properly? After all, an occasional reboot can have a positive impact on performance, reducing UI slowdown and buffering. We show you how to do it below, so stay tuned.
Much of today’s hardware is designed with a low power footprint and as few moving parts as possible. Devices with solid state storage such as Fire Sticks or Fire TV require little electricity and can run for weeks without any problems. Occasionally, though, you may run into app slowdown, networking issues, or other minor glitches. The best way to deal with them is to manually turn off your Fire TV so it can reboot and clear out all the errors.
Stay Safe and Anonymous with a VPN
Nothing is scarier than losing your private information to some hacker or third party government agency. Unfortunately, this is all to common in today’s digital world. Going online means divulging everything from your location to your identity and browsing habits. Even if you’re just streaming on Fire TV, it’s possible an ISP is recording your information and selling it to the highest bidder.
You don’t have to be a victim of these invasions of privacy. With a good VPN running in the background you can stay safe and hidden online. VPNs encrypt data before it leaves your device, locking down sensitive information so no one can monitor your activity. Your streams stay invisible, and your identity a secret, all thanks to VPNs.
NordVPN – Best VPN for Firestick
NordVPN is a must-install for Fire TV owners. In an age where our homes are filled with internet connected devices, it’s critical to eliminate all vectors for cyber-attacks, and that includes your Firestick. By protecting your connection with 256-bit AES encryption, you form an impenetrable wall that keeps hackers, government spies, and nosy ISPs away from your sensitive data.
But the main draw for Firestick is a lot more fun: spoofing! With NordVPN’s vast network spanning over 5,800 servers in 59 countries, you can digitally relocate abroad to access geoblocked content on the fly. It even works with international Netflix libraries, thanks to built-in smart DNS functionality.
Another benefit of hiding your activity is eliminating your ISP’s ability to throttle your streaming when they feel you’ve used up too much bandwidth. And because NordVPN’s network is thoroughly modernized, you won’t suffer any slowdown as a byproduct of encryption overhead. That means buffer-free streams to your heart’s content! Subscribe in confidence with NordVPN’s strict no-logging policy on your side.
Read our full NordVPN review.
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Always-On and Power-Down Settings for Fire TV
Most of us are used to switching devices off when they’re not in use. Fire TV was designed to take advantage of always-on mode so it can download updates in the background. There’s no harm in leaving it on for weeks or even months at a time. Rebooting or shutting it down can have some benefits, however.
Benefits of Turning Off Your Fire Stick
Most Fire TV users will do just fine leaving their device on forever. This gives the Fire TV a chance to perform maintenance duties, download app updates in the background, and both check for and install new operating system released.
Turning the device off and on again can prompt the Fire to check for updates faster than its automatic timer would allow, which can be extremely useful. It also clears out the cache and speeds up sluggish navigation and video streams. Most small errors will be cleared up by a quick reboot, as well, making it a fast fix to tackle deeper troubleshooting issues.
Power consumption while the Fire TV is in sleep mode is minimal. If you’re concerned about vampire devices or just want to be as environmentally friendly as possible, turning off the device does eliminate that slight drain.
What is Auto-Sleep Mode?
Amazon’s Fire TV devices are designed to go into sleep mode after a period of time has passed. This varies depending on which generation Fire Stick or Fire TV you own, but it’s usually between 20-30 minutes. If nothing is actively streaming, and if you don’t press any buttons on the remote for this long, the Fire TV will go into low-power sleep mode, consuming very little electricity. You can wake it up by pressing anything on your remote and it’s ready to go in less than a second.
What is Manual Standby?
You don’t have to leave the Fire Stick alone for half an hour in order to make use of sleep mode. By manually entering sleep mode you can reduce the device’s already small power footprint without having to sit through the boot process each time you watch a movie.
Is it Safe to Turn off the Fire TV?
It sure is! Countless users manually turn off their Fire TV on a regular basis without any adverse effects. Some people worry that long term, repeated use of power down features could cause firmware or hardware problems, but so far no one has reported anything reliable. It’s usually better to just leave your Fire TV on and in sleep mode, but when you do need to power down, have at it.
Do Android Shutdown Apps Work?
Fire TV and Fire Stick devices run a modified Android operating system. You can sideload a ton of apps developed for Android devices and run them without any problems, everything from games to utilities to movie streaming tools. It’s even possible to install Kodi on a Fire TV, even though it’s not available on Amazon’s appstore!
The limitations of using Android apps with Fire TV become apparent when you try loading shutdown software. These apps are designed to either turn off an Android device or reboot it within seconds. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them simply don’t work with Fire TV. Some users have even reported the apps mess up their remote pairings or alter other settings seemingly at random. Your best bet is to avoid Android-based shutdown apps and stick with the suggestions outlined below.
How to Manually Turn off Your Fire TV
Fire TV devices aren’t built with a power button. How can you shut them down, then? By using any of the tips below! We’ve divided the suggestions into two groups: one for shutdown methods, and the other for power-off alternatives.
Method 1 – Turn off Fire TV by Pulling the Plug
Believe it or not, it’s perfectly safe to pull the plug on a Fire TV device to manually cut power and turn the device off. You can either remove the plug from the wall outlet or take the cable out of the Fire device. It’s best if you don’t do this while streaming a movie, of course. Just go back to the Fire’s home menu, then turn it off by taking out the power plug by hand.
Method 2 – Use a Bluetooth Keyboard
A somewhat hidden method of manually turning off a Fire TV is to use a paired bluetooth keyboard accessory with a built-in power button. These are usually reserved for turning on PC-like devices or waking hardware from sleep, but on some models, if you press the power button they’ll actually cause the Fire Stick to shut down. A lot of times this command is tucked away under an alt-function, which means you’d need to press FN+Esc to shut down the Fire TV.
Alternative 1 – Reboot the Fire TV
Rebooting your device is often the best option for clearing out any small errors. Simply head to the Settings menu at the top of the main screen, scroll right and select Device. Move down until you see the option named Reboot. Confirm the restart and your Fire TV will automatically shut down and turn itself back on.
Alternative 2 – Put Fire TV to Sleep
There are three methods of putting your Fire Stick or Fire TV device to sleep. The first is probably the most familiar to users, as it simply requires you to stop any active streams and leave the Fire TV alone for 20-30 minutes. A screensaver will turn on midway through the process, then the device will hibernate afterwards, all on its own.
You can manually put the Fire TV to sleep by navigating to the Settings menu, selecting Device, then scrolling to the Sleep option. Confirm the action and your device will automatically go to sleep.
Finally, the fastest way to put your Fire to sleep is to hold the home button on your remote for a few seconds. A special menu overlay will open, with Sleep sitting in the center. Click it and the Fire TV will doze off instantly, no confirmation needed.
Alternative 3 – Factory Reset Fire TV
Does rebooting or manually powering down your Fire TV not resolve your errors? Don’t worry, a quick factory reset will do the trick. This option deletes everything on your Fire device to make it just like you took it out of the box a few minutes ago. Your apps, customizations, and other settings will disappear, and you’ll need to go through the initial setup process again before you can start streaming. Your purchases are tied to your Amazon account, though, which means as soon as you log back in, you can watch your favorite shows with ease.
There are two main methods for performing a factory reset on Fire TV. For the first, navigate to Settings, followed by Device. Scroll to the bottom and choose the Restore to Factory Defaults option. Confirm your selection and the Fire TV will automatically carry out the reset.
The second way to factory reset is to hold down both the back button and the right key on your Fire TV remote. Keep them pressed for 5-6 seconds, then a factory reset warning will pop up. A timer counts down before the process automatically begins, so if you change your mind, you only have about 20 seconds to cancel.
Extra Commands with adbLink
If you’re not using adbLink to install and manage apps on your Fire TV, you’re missing out. The free software works on any desktop operating system and gives you an impressive amount of control over your device. It requires just a little extra setup time, though, but it’s absolutely worth it in the end.
Install and Connect adbLink
adbLink is free, it’s a small download, and it works perfectly right out of the box. You may need to set your Fire TV to accept third party installations before you begin, however. Head to Settings and choose Developer Options. Make sure both ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources are set to “on”, then you’re set. Follow the remaining steps below to get adbLink and start managing your Fire TV with style.
- Turn on your Fire TV or Fire Stick device. Make sure it’s connected to your home network, the same one your PC uses to access the internet.
- On your Fire TV go to Settings > About – Network and write down the device’s IP address.
- On your PC or laptop, visit the adbLink website, download the program and install it.
- In adbLink click “new” next to the devices box and add your Fire TV Stick.
- In the next window, type a unique description and the IP address of your Fire TV.
- Make sure your Fire TV is selected in the dropdown box, then click connect.
- adbLink will now directly interface with your Fire TV.
Reboot with adbLink
Once your Fire TV is connected to adbLink, you can install apks, uninstall them, or even browse the file structure. A menu at the top gives you a couple of useful commands for restarting your device. In adbLink, look for the Reboot menu option, then click it and select Reboot Device. A confirmation prompt will appear. Choose Yes and your Fire TV will wirelessly reset itself.
Backup and Restore
If you’re having trouble with your Fire TV and a simple reboot or power off won’t fix it, fire up adbLink and create a quick backup. This command stores a fresh copy of your installed apps and settings and allows you to quickly get back to streaming after a factory reset.
Conclusion
Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick devices are incredibly low-powered but high entertainment pieces of hardware. With a minimal footprint and an attractive price tag, each one opens up a vast world of streaming content without being a drain on your electricity bill. Rebooting and turning off the devices isn’t difficult, either, and they’re the best way to solve any minor problems you happen to run into.
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