Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, streaming media player - Previous Generation

Top reviews from the United States

• 

  P. Smith

  5 out of 5 stars

  This Non Tech 71 Year Old Lady Says BUY IT!!!!!!!!

  Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2016

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I am SO GLAD I bought this Fire TV Stick with Alexa. It has literally made my life happier. As I write this review I'm listening to "soft classic rock". All I had to do was say..."Play soft classic rock" and music started playing. For people like me who are elderly, tech illiterate, perhaps disabled, and who love music, movies, and TV shows, let me explain a few things. I've been looking at this stick for some time now but was scared to buy it. Then one day I said...the heck with it...I'm not stupid...I can read instructions...if it doesn't work for me I can send it back...I have nothing to lose and it's affordable. So I purchased a fire stick...yea me...lol.

  This is NOT complicated to hook up AT ALL and there are very clear instructions that anyone can understand. The box you get includes power adapter, a cable, and extender cable, the fire stick, 2 batteries for the remote, and an Alexa Voice Remote. It's as simple as can be. First of all the instructions say the extender cable is to improve WiFi and remote performance so I used it. Why not..better is always better..lol. So...I plugged one end of the power cable into the power adapter and the other end of the cable into the fire stick. Then I plugged the fire stick into the HDMI extender cable and then plugged that into the TV. I have a wide screen Sanyo. When you stick your head around the left side of our TV you see three places to plug "things" into. They're called ports...lol. Mine are marked HDMI 1, 2, and 3. I just plugged the stick into port HDMI 1. Last, I plugged the adapter into the wall socket and that was it. That's it. THAT'S IT!!!! That's ALL I had to do. Read the short instructions to connect this fire stick. Turn on your TV and then follow the instructions that appear on your screen. The Fire Stick does the rest.

  Obviously you can watch movies and TV shows as explained in the description but there's so much more. Ask Alexa what the weather is for the day in your home town or where your kids live across the country. I love music but somehow got away from listening to it over the years. Not anymore. There's always music in our house now. Just turn on the TV and tell Alexa what to play. This time I pressed the button and said..."play soft rock". Alexa said..."here's a station that plays soft rock". The first station didn't appeal to me so I pressed the button again and said "next". I got another soft classic rock station that's been playing for over an hour now. I've been listening to songs I used to love and haven't heard in a long time. How I love "Hotel California". They call them stations but it only plays music...no commercials or chatter...one song plays after the other. Also a box shows on the screen that gives you the name of the song playing and the artist. You can ask for any kind of music from classical, to rock, to alternative, to show tunes.

  I'm still learning. I know there's more I can do with this and it will get easier to find exactly what I'm looking for as I play around with it. I bought mine during the introductory promotion for the "All-New" version...think it was $29.95. Now it's $10 more but still worth every cent. Don't hesitate to buy it because you think it's too complicated. They really made a good little device here and it's very easy to use for anyone who has a TV and WiFi which you probably have if you have a computer.

  Read moreRead less

  5,938 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Darkbreeze

  5 out of 5 stars

  Almost nothing but smiles over my purchase

  Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2017

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  Just got on the streaming device bandwagon. I've been using my desktop PC to stream for years now, but sometimes I'd rather not be sitting at my PC battlestation and watching content on the TV in my study so I figured I'd give this a try in order to be able to easily access the same Prime video content on my living room television or even occasionally be able to watch on my study tv while somebody else watches different programming in the living room.

  Well, I already knew it wasn't going to work well with the router I had, which was a couple years old and was a single user in/out model and decided to go with a Phicomm K3C AC 1900 MU-MIMO Dual Band Wi-Fi Gigabit Router that has a multi core Intel SOC (System ON chip processor) which allows multiple in and out signals simultaneously without having to deal with the wait-go-wait-go signal technology used by most routers. Multiple user MU-MIMO is the key, especially if there are more than one device likely to be accessing internet content at the same time. SO I got a great deal on that router to go with the Fire TV stick and I'm very glad I did.

  Together, they work flawlessly. Just to verify that many of the complaints I've seen are here WERE due to those users not having capable enough wireless routers, I went ahead and hooked up my old router and although it DID work, I noticed that it would occasionally have to buffer or would drop the signal once in a while. It was ok, but was clearly not how this experienced was designed to work. That's cool though, it was just a test. Put my new router back and have been using it for several days now.

  Performance is flawless. There is zero lag, ever. There is no buffering BS, at all. I don't even have a top shelf internet connection so it's not because of that. I do have Xfinity (Comcast) cable but I am on one of the middle grade tiers, not one of the top shelf ones. I think I am on a 25Mbps service but usually my speeds are more like 50-60Mbps when I test at Speedtest.net.

  So anything over 25Mbps connection is probably fine if you are likely to only be connecting a single simultaneous stream at any given time. Something over 40Mbps is probably a good idea for multiple streams. Anyhow, back to the Fire Stick with Alexa voice, which works really well. I don't have any past experience with these kinds of devices even though I am a long time tech geek and enthusiast, but that doesn't matter because this device is totally intuitive. Within five minutes, and without bothering to even look at either of the two small booklets or any online instructions, I was able to get the remote to do pretty much whatever I wanted it to. Easy peasy.

  We couldn't be happier, at least so far. The only thing I'm not terribly happy about is the fact that it only comes with a 90 day warranty, unlike the first gen Fire stick which had a 1 year warranty. Why would you drop the warranty on your devices from a year to 90 days unless you know there are going to be issues with them. If Amazon had faith in the quality of these devices they would offer a standard one year warranty just like almost every other electronic component out there. Almost every single modern television comes with at least a one year warranty. Same goes for pretty much every DVD and Blue Ray player, home theater systems, computer components like motherboards and graphics cards usually have much longer warranties. Regardless, it bothers me a bit that Amazon reduced the warranty on these but what bothers me more is that THEY don't offer the option for extended warranty THROUGH Amazon.

  You have to go through Squaretrade for that and I've dealt with squaretrade before on other purchases and found them to be an impossible company to deal with. Squaretrade seems to me to be nothing more than a scam company that will try every possible angle to avoid fulfilling the terms of their warranty agreements. When I called them regarding this device, just to try and get information about whether they paid for shipping in the event that I needed to use the warranty for replacement, the customer service agent started spouting off all the reasons why they were not responsible for replacing my device AND I WASN'T EVEN A CUSTOMER YET. I was just looking for information in CASE I decided, against my better judgement, to invest in the warranty since Amazon doesn't offer one. Needless to say, I will forego that.

  The other thing I didn't like is that the replacement remotes for the Fire Stick TV with Alexa voice control cost nearly as much as simply buying a new one. So my suggestion would be to take very good care of the remote and receiver. Do not allow kids or pets near them unless replacing one at the rate of 35 bucks a pop is no big deal to you. So my opinion is that there are a few areas where some things could use improvement but that is really only in the area of warranty and replacement parts. As far as function goes, so long as you have a decent enough internet speed and either a good wireless router or a wired connection you can run with an adapter to the device, you should have no issues. Again, I don't know if it will hold up over the long term but I'll come back and update this review once enough time has passed that I can be fairly certain of making an accurate assessment in that area.

  Read moreRead less

  One person found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Amazon Customer

  5 out of 5 stars

  Highly recommended!

  Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  The Amazon Fire Stick is an amazing device. Television services are moving away from cable and satellite and are moving toward internet based streaming formats. These internet based services work from apps (software packets) and the AFS (Amazon Fire Stick) provides you with these apps. In fact, it provides you with every kind of app you can think of and the AFS does it at an affordable price.

  The AFS plugs into the HDMI jack on your television and also comes with a power adapter that plugs into the wall. The AFS is controlled by a remote control that comes with the device. In order to receive signals, the AFS requires WIFI or a local hot spot with speed requirements of around 5 Mbps for HD broadcasts. Movies and shows displayed by the device are typically in HD quality with good picture and sound quality. It is easy to set up and use and I was up and running in minutes.

  Many television channels you receive through cable or satellite services, like the History Channel for example, offer programming over the internet. In order to watch these shows on a television, you need a hardware device that converts these shows into a format the television can use (HDMI plug). It also has to be loaded with a software packet for the particular channel you want to watch. The AFS is a device that provides you with both the hardware and software needed to watch such shows and it bundles everything together nicely so it is extremely easy to use.

  Shows available to watch on the AFS vary how they can be accessed for viewing. Some apps (channels) are free and they offer limited programming on demand from shows they aired in the past. Others require monthly fees. Some apps like Sling, Hulu, PlayStation Vue, etc. offer multiple channels all on the same app. PlayStation Vue (the one I signed up with) offers bundled packages of channels just like cable or satellite services and they are live broadcasts! PS Vue displays a guide with many channels to choose from and comes with a DVR recorder so programs can be recorded and watched later. The amazing thing with Vue is you can go into the guide, pick a show that was aired, say, two hours ago that you missed and watch it in its entirety! The AFS gives you the tools you need to receive such programming.

  Another sweet thing about using the AFS for television viewing is no installer has to come to your house to set up your equipment and when you’re finished with their service nothing has to be returned. All you need is provided by the AFS. Also, no service contracts are required and services can be cancelled at any time with no penalties.

  I hope this was useful. Many of you took the time to write reviews and they were extremely helpful to me. I wanted to return the favor.

  Read moreRead less

  7,330 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Amazing Products

  4 out of 5 stars

  Not the best for international use (I live in Mexico)

  Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I bought this because I wanted to try it out. The device works as it should, no isses regarding its operation, it took about 15 minutes updating its software once it got online, and when it finished it was ready to go, no issues whatsoever.

  The problem here in Mexico, at least in the city I live is that a lot of channels and services are not available here which is a shame because it reduces its functionality dramatically. Not even some basic app downloads work, (such as Downloader!!) which made it difficult to do a simple task like installing Kodi. Apps like HBO GO, HISTORY, DISCOVERY, THE CW, are off the table

  I did manage to get Kodi installed, but non of the popular tutorials that rely on using Downloader helped me.

  I'll give you the exact instructions on how to do it if you are not in the US and are unable to download basic apps.

  You'll need an Android phone or tablet that uses a 32bit processor, otherwise it won't work. I first tried with my 64bit Android phone and I always got errors, until I figured out that the version of Kodi I was sending to the Firestick wasn't compatible because of this little detail. So then I tried my old Android tablet and it worked like a charm. Whatever device you use must be connected to the same network your FireTV is connected to.

  If you don't know if your device has a 32 or 64 bit processor, the easiest way it to download an app from the play store called AIDA64, that app will show you all the thecnical information about your phone, and under CPU you'll see if your device has a 32 or 64 bit processor.

  So here is the process for installing Kodi without using the Downloader app:

  1.- On your FireTV Go to Configuration > Device > Developer options > Enable both settings there

  2.- On your 32bit Android phone or Tablet, make sure you already have Kodi installed, if not, do it now, you'll find it on the Play Store

  3.- On Google Play Store search for and install the app named Apps2Fire

  4.- On Apps2Fire settings search for your FireTV device, if you can't find it automatically you'll need to input the FireTVs IP address, which you can find here: On your FireTV go to Configuration > Device > About > Network, The IP will be shown on the right of the screen

  5.- On your phone, go back to the apps list in Apps2Fire and select Kodi and then Install.

  If you get an error message saying something about Apps2Fire not being able to locate the FireTV device, reboot both devices and try again

  6.- You'll see a progress bar and once it's done, you'll have Kodi installed on your FireTV, which brings a whole other level of entertainment.

  7.- Repeat Step 1 and disable both settings

  Enjoy!

  Do I recommend this device? Yes I do. My last device was a WD TV Live. It still works but you can feel the years on it. It feels old and sluggish and this FireTV device is like a breath of fresh air. Its fast, good quality, and the setup couldn't be easier (aside from installing Kodi). I tried to install HBO GO the same way I did Kodi, but the app doesnt work on the FireTV.

  Spotify, Netflix, TuneIn Radio, work great. YouTube funnily works through a web browser of your choice and works good, I just wish there was a dedicated app, and not a web browser to use it. Since it has the Fire ecosystem on top of Android, it works pretty well and is compatible with most android apps. However those Android Apps that Require Google Play Services won't work on it, like Google Play Movies.

  Being able to install Kodi takes this device to a whole new level, so even if I can't enjoy the channels I wanted to, there are always options within kodi to get that sorted out, but I won't talk about them on this review.

  Alexa is awesome, however it doesn't understand spanish at all, and most recommendations it gives me, don't work here, so I'm like in the middle of the WD TV Live and a device built back in 2014. It has great functionality but I can't take advantage of it due to where I live and nothing else.

  I hope this review helps international customers. Feel free to ask your questions, I'll do my best to ander them.

  Read moreRead less

  6 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  copperzammer

  5 out of 5 stars

  Pros & Cons of the new Fire Stick (vs. Roku 3600R)

  Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I own both the new Fire and Roku stick (3600R), below is a short review and honest (personal) opinion on both products.

  User Interface: the Fire stick has essentially the same UI as Fire TV (which I also own), it is largely divided by content category (Home, Video, TV, Movie, Music, Games, Photo, Apps, etc.), and integrated seamlessly with Prime eco-system. If you are already a Prime member, you will have better experience with Fire stick than Roku. Roku’s UI has the advantage of integrating more contents (Google Store, My Feed, News, etc.). Roku also allows user to make certain changes in Home screen (add/remove/move tiles), unlike Fire stick. However, both UIs are well designed, smooth. It comes down to personal preference.

  Hardware/Streaming Quality: as far as I can tell, there isn’t much difference, both are powerful devices, almost no lags with either device. One of the attached pictures is a screenshot of streaming YouTube 4K content from Fire stick, the picture quality is stunning (output as 1080p).

  Remote: I personally like the Fire remote, it is simple (only 7 buttons with a navigation ring), but provides all the functions you will need. I find it is both slimmer and easier to use than the Roku remote. In addition, Fire remote has a voice function, which you won’t find on Roku, this is a big plus. Also note that the Fire stick remote will work with Fire TV but you will have to "unpair" it first (please see the comment made by RoadDog on this review).

  Voice Search/Alexa: Amazon has greatly improved the search function. One of the main complains of earlier versions of Fire TV/Stick is that Alexa only search Amazon contents, but not 3rd parties’ (Netflix, etc.). However, with the latest software update, the search results now show both Amazon and 3rd party. You can choose from multiple ways to watch a movie (and whether the option is free of charge is clearly indicated).

  Power Cord: the USB cable came with Fire stick is about 4 feet long, it also comes with an adapter. However, I am using a 3rd party wall charger (iClever BoostCube+ 30W Dual USB Wall Charger with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0), and it worked well. In one of the pictures you can see the Fire charger output = 5.0V + 1.0A, iClever output is sufficient. It is a benefit in case you travel a lot, so that you won’t need to bring two separate chargers. One charger with two output slots will be enough for both your phone and Fire stick.

  App Quality: one of the main reasons that I bought the Fire stick after I bought Roku is because the quality of Playstation Vue app on Fire system is MUCH better than Roku, from my experience there is simply no comparison. Vue app on Fire gives you much easier access to your recorded shows, live programming schedule and channel switching. Roku doesn’t have live programming schedule, and some of my recorded shows are missing. However, quality of other main apps (Netflix, YouTube, ESPN, etc.) are more or less on par between Fire and Roku.

  Price: Fire stick is ~$9 cheaper

  Hotel/Travel log-in: with Roku, you will need a separate mobile device (phone) to connect to a specific WiFi network established by the stick, then open up a browser and log in (normally with room# and last name). Often it took me several tries to establish the connection. With Fire stick, no need for a separate device, you will go to "Settings/System/Network" and press the "option" button on the remote, an on-screen cursor would appear, which allows you to log in as if you are using a laptop. I found the "Fire" way simpler and more intuitive.

  Physical Appearance: in fact, this is the only category I’d put Roku on top of Fire stick. The new Fire stick (1.2 x 3.4in) is much larger than Roku (you can see from the picture), it is even larger than the first generation Fire stick. This really surprised me as I thought the trend is to make them smaller. I also prefer that Roku put the power slot at the end of stick, while Fire stick put it right in the middle, which is really awkward.

  In short, if you are a Prime member and use Playstation Vue, I’d highly recommend the new Fire stick.

  Read moreRead less

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  copperzammer

  5 out of 5 stars

  Pros & Cons of the new Fire Stick (vs. Roku 3600R)

  Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  I own both the new Fire and Roku stick (3600R), below is a short review and honest (personal) opinion on both products.

  User Interface: the Fire stick has essentially the same UI as Fire TV (which I also own), it is largely divided by content category (Home, Video, TV, Movie, Music, Games, Photo, Apps, etc.), and integrated seamlessly with Prime eco-system. If you are already a Prime member, you will have better experience with Fire stick than Roku. Roku’s UI has the advantage of integrating more contents (Google Store, My Feed, News, etc.). Roku also allows user to make certain changes in Home screen (add/remove/move tiles), unlike Fire stick. However, both UIs are well designed, smooth. It comes down to personal preference.

  Hardware/Streaming Quality: as far as I can tell, there isn’t much difference, both are powerful devices, almost no lags with either device. One of the attached pictures is a screenshot of streaming YouTube 4K content from Fire stick, the picture quality is stunning (output as 1080p).

  Remote: I personally like the Fire remote, it is simple (only 7 buttons with a navigation ring), but provides all the functions you will need. I find it is both slimmer and easier to use than the Roku remote. In addition, Fire remote has a voice function, which you won’t find on Roku, this is a big plus. Also note that the Fire stick remote will work with Fire TV but you will have to "unpair" it first (please see the comment made by RoadDog on this review).

  Voice Search/Alexa: Amazon has greatly improved the search function. One of the main complains of earlier versions of Fire TV/Stick is that Alexa only search Amazon contents, but not 3rd parties’ (Netflix, etc.). However, with the latest software update, the search results now show both Amazon and 3rd party. You can choose from multiple ways to watch a movie (and whether the option is free of charge is clearly indicated).

  Power Cord: the USB cable came with Fire stick is about 4 feet long, it also comes with an adapter. However, I am using a 3rd party wall charger (iClever BoostCube+ 30W Dual USB Wall Charger with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0), and it worked well. In one of the pictures you can see the Fire charger output = 5.0V + 1.0A, iClever output is sufficient. It is a benefit in case you travel a lot, so that you won’t need to bring two separate chargers. One charger with two output slots will be enough for both your phone and Fire stick.

  App Quality: one of the main reasons that I bought the Fire stick after I bought Roku is because the quality of Playstation Vue app on Fire system is MUCH better than Roku, from my experience there is simply no comparison. Vue app on Fire gives you much easier access to your recorded shows, live programming schedule and channel switching. Roku doesn’t have live programming schedule, and some of my recorded shows are missing. However, quality of other main apps (Netflix, YouTube, ESPN, etc.) are more or less on par between Fire and Roku.

  Price: Fire stick is ~$9 cheaper

  Hotel/Travel log-in: with Roku, you will need a separate mobile device (phone) to connect to a specific WiFi network established by the stick, then open up a browser and log in (normally with room# and last name). Often it took me several tries to establish the connection. With Fire stick, no need for a separate device, you will go to "Settings/System/Network" and press the "option" button on the remote, an on-screen cursor would appear, which allows you to log in as if you are using a laptop. I found the "Fire" way simpler and more intuitive.

  Physical Appearance: in fact, this is the only category I’d put Roku on top of Fire stick. The new Fire stick (1.2 x 3.4in) is much larger than Roku (you can see from the picture), it is even larger than the first generation Fire stick. This really surprised me as I thought the trend is to make them smaller. I also prefer that Roku put the power slot at the end of stick, while Fire stick put it right in the middle, which is really awkward.

  In short, if you are a Prime member and use Playstation Vue, I’d highly recommend the new Fire stick.

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

  7,238 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Amazon Customer

  5 out of 5 stars

  This thing is great! + BEWARE: HDMI adapter caused Black screen

  Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2017

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  BEWARE: My hdmi adapter did not work. When using it the stick would boot, display the Amazon logo and then go to black screen. I took off the adapter and it works fine. Amazon customer service allowed me to purchase an hdmi extender cable and refunded the charge - Amazon is the best!!!------------------

  Pros:

  All the best apps, quick snappy response, great quality.

  Alexa is great, I imagine an Echo device would be even better.

  Rent/buy Prime videos right on the device!

  Has a SONOS (unofficial) app.

  No wireless buffers/dropouts.

  Cons:

  My hdmi adapter didn't work.

  Wish it had a volume button.

  Main screen content display is a little confusing.

  I have had many streamers, Roku 3, Dune smart series, KDLinks HD720, WDTV Live. I use my Dune player to stream my movies on my wired network. I purchased the Firestick to provide a quicker experience than my xbox360 primarily for HBO go, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and the CBS app.

  Main page layout

  The Firestick layout is similar to how Netflix and Amazon Prime app displays. It's a bit awkward since the Amazon Prime content is up on the main screen, there is no Amazon app to go into, since this is basically one big amazon app device. So it lists your apps, and the content Prime offers all on the main page. It's a little visually confusing at first. You can search for shows and it displays a "Ways to watch" button that will show the apps that you have installed that has the content, similar to the Roku. You can unlock it to download "unsupported" apps. Google "downloader". I found an awesome SONOS app for the firestick which pretty much acts as a SONOS device on your tv. You wouldn't want to control your SONOS this way, but it's nice to have your tv display the album art. It's something I've been looking for for a long time.

  Wireless performance

  I downloaded the Ookla speed test app on the firestick and my 5Ghz network got around 60-90mbps (I think I have 100Mbps internet). With the 2.4Ghz channel, I got around 25Mbps. I read that you need a steady 10Mbps for HD content. YMMV. Being a wired junkie, I was skeptical at first, but so far, after about a week, I have not seen any dips in quality or buffering. No need for the ethernet adapter, but nice to know it's available.

  Micro usb Attachments

  With the new "Alexa" firestick, the micro usb port can be used to attach peripherals like a wired ethernet cable, keyboards, etc. Amazon sells the ethernet adapter, or you can get this one: (amazon ASIN: B01N1X28F1). They also sell mirco usb hubs so you can connect more things like a keyboard to it.

  Alexa remote

  First off, the remote is RF and you don't have to point it at anything. Awesome. Bad news, it won't work with my Harmony 650 remote, so I need to use that for the receiver/tv volume. If they managed to squeeze in a learning volume button this thing would be seriously 100% legit and take over the world.

  You have to hit the mic button on the remote and say commands. Saying "pause, play" is nice. I haven't figured out how to get it to go to a specific show in a specific app. If I were to say "Play Stranger Things on Netflix", it just brings up the show. Then there is a "Ways to watch" button that will show the apps that you have installed that has the content. Saying "Play Sesame Street on HBO Go" is a bit dodgy since Amazon also has this content and wants you to play their Prime episodes. Overall it's great, and I imagine even better with the Echo dot (Which is on the way).

  Echo dot:

  I will let you know when I get it, but it will do all the voice commands but without having to hit the button on the Firestick remote. My house has a pretty open layout and I look forward to controlling the unit from the kitchen! My TV can turn on when it senses activity, so basically I will be able to turn everything on with just my voice from another room. Very cool!

  Amazon video purchases

  You guessed it. You can purchase/rent videos on Prime right from this device. Awsome! It always frustrated me that on the Amazon app I always had to go to another device, log into Amazon, rent the movie, then go back to the app on the Xbox360.

  Forget Roku! I had the Roku 3 for about 4 days and the thing crashed all the time. The Firestick is a no brainer, especially if you live in the Amazon universe (have Prime and Music, etc).

  Read moreRead less

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  M. Erb

  5 out of 5 stars

  The 1st Generation Fire TV Stick was good, but now with Alexa voice control, it's fantastic. And much faster.

  Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2016

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  This is a review of the All-New Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Streaming Media Player.

  If you're looking to cut the cord to cable TV, getting the Amazon Fire TV Stick is a no-brainer. You could get an Apple TV (at a significantly higher price,) a Chromecast or a Roku, but I think the Fire Stick is excellent and provides the best bang for the buck. If you're an Amazon Prime member, it really makes the most sense to get the Fire Stick over the other streaming devices out there. With the Fire Stick you'll be able to watch Amazon Prime TV shows, movies and listen to Amazon Music among all its other capabilities.

  The Fire TV Stick also allows you to install additional apps on it to further expand your TV watching abilities. One free app I have is CBS News which lets me watch Live News as well as the previous episodes of programs like 60 Minutes, Sunday Morning, and 48 Hours. I also subscribe to SlingTV and have the Sling app installed on the Fire TV Stick. This lets me watch HGTV, ESPN and a couple dozen other channels. I've got Netflix too and although it costs me another 9 bucks a month, it opens the door to more movies and TV shows than what I can get with Amazon Prime or SlingTV. But I could drop Netflix and still be quite happy.

  Get yourself a good quality indoor/outdoor antenna and you'll be able to view HD quality over the air broadcast TV stations... CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, Fox and probably at least a dozen or more other channels depending on the size of your metropolitan area.

  Yes, it is quite possible to cut the cord to cable and have a very fulfilling TV experience at a fraction of the cost of Cable TV.

  I own three Fire TV Sticks. The 2 oldest are 1st Generation devices and they had been working just fine for me. I installed Kodi on both of them recently and had no issues with Kodi. In case you don't know what Kodi (formerly XBMC) is, it's a full-featured, open-source media center that can handle music, video, games, pictures. Kodi can run on a variety of operating systems such as IOS, Linux, Windows, MacOS, and Android. Once installed, it can have add-ons installed that give it further functionality such as streaming movies, TV Shows, etc. It is not necessarily legal to do all the things it is capable of doing, but keep in mind that KODI is an app that accepts add-ons. What you do with it will determine whether you are on the right or wrong side of legal.

  So this "new" Fire TV Stick is a 2nd Generation device. It also works well with Kodi. It has significantly better performance than the 1st gen. For instance it has a Quad-core processor vs a dual-core in the 1st gen device. Not only is it faster, but it has better WiFi capabilities too. But the really big addition is voice control afforded by the Alexa enhanced remote. The slightly larger remote has a built-in microphone and an additional button to engage Alexa. This gives you some really powerful control over the Fire Stick. Now you can search for TV Shows, Movies, Music, etc using Alexa. It works across other apps that you have installed on your Fire Stick. For instance, I have SlingTV installed and I'm able to search for episodes of shows on HGTV using Alexa. It's really cool how this works.

  But the Fire Stick with Alexa lets you do lots of other things too. You can ask questions that deal with factual data and more than likely you'll get an answer. You can check your weather, you can ask Alexa to tell you a joke or sing Happy Birthday to you. You can even order pizza from Domino's as long as you have a Dominos pizza profile set up.

  Physically this new Fire TV Stick is a bit larger than the 1st Generation Fire TV Stick. It's slightly longer and thicker.

  It plugs into an available HDMI port on your HDTV (or LCD projector.) On the side is a microUSB port which is used for powering the Fire Stick. You can either use the provided aC adapter, or if you have another HDMI port available to you on your HDTV, you will probably be able to power it from that. It's what I do but apparently it doesn't work for everyone that way so if it doesn't you'll have to use the AC adapter.

  Setup is really quick and easy.

  What are the downsides? The Fire TV Stick does not support 4K, you'd have to get the Amazon Fire TV to do that. Also the Fire TV Stick is limited in the ports and capabilities that the Fire TV has. You won't get the Ethernet port, USB port, digital audio output or microSD storage that the Fire TV has. But if you travel and want to take your Fire TV Stick with you, that's a lot easier to do than the larger Fire TV box.

  I love my Fire TV Stick. I love that I can plug it into the back of my LCD Projector and had an awesome, portable, streaming TV system that I can take anywhere there is WiFi access. Not only that, the bluetooth capability means I can listen to music and movies in much higher quality than the speakers in my HDTV by connecting to one of my higher quality bluetooth speakers. This is awesome. I can also connect a bluetooth keyboard to make it much easier to enter text in search boxes and for submitting other textual information.

  Do not underestimate how helpful and fun it is to have Alexa voice control of the Fire TV Stick. It makes searching for what to watch or listen to, so much easier. I use my Fire TV Stick more than I used to simply because of the ease of picking music to play by easy voice commands. It’s a game changer.

  At the sale price of less than $30, it is almost pocket change. It works well and pays for itself in less than a month. Even if you miss the sale price, it's still a great piece of hardware at a low price. It has great value for what you pay for it.

  Highly recommended.

  Read moreRead less

  35 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Amber

  3 out of 5 stars

  Intuitive and easy to use -- but I am dinging it because of some of the problems with the music app...

  Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2016

  Configuration: Fire TV Stick

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I don't normally do reviews, but I figure we spend so much here on Amazon (especially on music) that it would be worthy of my time to do so. We ended up swapping out the Fire TV box for the Roku 3 because of some of the awful feedback we got (very loud static sound) when we left the Netflix app (we were afraid of blowing out our speaker) but we did truly miss some of the features that the Amazon Fire TV offered that we could not get on the Roku primarily having ready access to our pictures and videos -- both of which we upload to the Amazon cloud and the music. We are Prime members, we buy 99.99% of our music through Amazon, we are on the trial of Music Unlimited and also take advantage of the Prime Music so having access to this is nice, we upload all of our photos and videos to the cloud... yeah, we are pretty deeply entrenched in all things Amazon...

  Things that I like:

  Easy access to Prime TV and Movies and movies that we have purchased through Amazon

  Easy access to Netflix (very happy to not have the static feedback!!)

  Access to all of our photos and videos through the Amazon Cloud -- it is fun to sit and scroll through all of our pictures and watch videos that we have added/uploaded

  MUSIC! We can now access any and all music that we have through Amazon, including the Music Unlimited and the Prime Music

  Highly intuitive and easy to set up -- just plug it into an available HDMI port, plug it in and let technology do it's magic!

  The remote is small and easy to use (I get a small kick out of the Alexa feature and like to use that when I can)

  Things that I dislike:

  When I first unpacked the Fire TV Stick, it was running an old version of the music app. That was the first feature I wanted to play around with. It has no problem recognizing our uploaded music or any Prime music, but anytime I tried to play something that we added from the Music Unlimited I was getting a 'song unavailable' error message. I spent the better part of 3 hours of my life on hold with Amazon on their online chat. I was transferred several times and never got any resolve. I deauthorized, reauthorized, restarted, cleared the cache, stopped the music app to no avail. I was finally told that they would start a ticket to investigate -- now 2 days later I have yet to hear anything which is okay, when I woke up the next day the app was different and I was able to play the music just fine... I still have yet to hear anything back from Amazon...

  Music is number one for us. We listen to a LOT of music. Music is probably 90% of my day. I am happy that my music app is now up to date but I am VERY disappointed that getting to our own music is such a chore. Where did the alphabet search go? Say for instance I want to listen to The Pixies, no longer is the ability to select 'P' available -- nope, I have to scroll through ALL of my music (and there is a LOT of it) or go to the 'search' feature on the main music screen. The Alexa feature does not work for this. If I say "The Pixies" it pulls up options for Movies & TV but nothing for music. I have to the main music screen, go up to the search feature and type my life away. It is a small thing, but a thing none the less. I will say this, once I do the search the features are great -- it pulls up things that are available on Prime, Songs in Amazon Music, Artists in My Music, Songs in My Music -- this is a nice feature. This is also true for playlists, albums and songs -- if I want to listen to a certain playlist I have to scroll through them all . Long story short, PLEASE BRING BACK THE ALPHABET FEATURE -- it really makes it so much easier to navigate and it isn't such a chore to have to sit and input everything manually. Not that my life is THAT fast paced that I can't sit and type, but it was a nice improvement to the Fire TV Box when Amazon made that available.

  There are times I scroll through things when I am listening to music. I will add things to our Watchlist or see what is available and maybe even purchase a movie. There used to be a handy feature with the Menu button that would instantly bring me back to the 'now playing' for my music. That feature is gone. If I am on the main home page and I press the Menu Button I get... NADA. If I want to go to my 'now playing' I have to go to the music app first. Again, it is a small thing, but it was a nice feature that was available on the Fire TV Box.

  It doesn't always go to the screen saver. We don't like a static picture on our TVand have the screen saver feature set to 5 minutes but for some reason, it doesn't always seem to go to it. For instance, I just got home from dropping my son off to school (we were gone for about 20 minutes and I came home it yep, no screensaver it still had the Home Screen vividly displayed.

  The music app is now at the very bottom of the list -- below even the settings. A small thing, but an irritation none the less.

  When I go to a playlist and select a song, it seems to arbitrarily select something within the list. It is a small thing, but it still kind of sucks. When I select a song, I want to play THAT song, not a song the Fire TV wants me to listen to. It is a quirky thing that we've dealt with as long as we've been using the Fire TV but since I am reviewing it, I'll add it as a minor irritation.

  Overall, I do think I would recommend this to someone who is in deep with Amazon like we are. I would improve this rating to a 4 (maybe even a 5) star if you would improve some of the funky things with the music, the menu button and the screensaver. Again, music is such a big deal for us so that is why the lower rating. If you are using this more for apps like Netflix, the photos or the Prime movies and TV it is pretty flawless.

  Read moreRead less

  8 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again