Firestick

[Rgarner]

Somebody I know has just been given a firestick that somebody else was not using. I tend to be the go to guy for this sort of thing. Of course the instructions are missing. The box includes just the stick with its end cap, connected in a nonusb way, I guess, the remote, and the HDMI cable. Supposedly it's all set up and ready to roll. What kind of USB cable does it take, regular or c type? Is a plasma TV HDTV? This Panasonic TH-42PZ85U, though made in February 2008, has a couple of HDMI slots.

 

[ocnbrze]

Somebody I know has just been given a firestick that somebody else was not using. I tend to be the go to guy for this sort of thing. Of course the instructions are missing. The box includes just the stick with its end cap, connected in a nonusb way, I guess, the remote, and the HDMI cable. Supposedly it's all set up and ready to roll. What kind of USB cable does it take, regular or c type? Is a plasma TV HDTV? This Panasonic TH-42PZ85U, though made in February 2008, has a couple of HDMI slots.

it looks like a regular usb cable from the photos i have seen.

yes a plasma tv is a hdtv.

the hdmi slots is where you would put the fire stick in as it has a hdmi end.

here is a manual if you wanted to look at one:
https://manuals.plus/amazon/fire-tv-stick-manual#axzz7XAqpcxvl

 

[Rgarner]

I don't believe the power adapter is included either. Is that just a regular wall wart? They seem to be relatively difficult to find these days. The dollar store used to have them, but I guess not any more. Is the USB regular or c type?

 

[ocnbrze]

I don't believe the power adapter is included either. Is that just a regular wall wart? They seem to be relatively difficult to find these days. The dollar store used to have them, but I guess not any more. Is the USB regular or c type?

It's a regular USB. And I'm guessing a regular charging brick used for most phones should work as well.

 

[ozonetrooper]

I have a Firestick, (along with several other brands) and yes, the HDMI is the connection for the tv.

It is pretty self explanatory when you fire it up, it will walk you through set up steps.

Be sure to have your username and password for your wireless connection handy.

Amazon will try and push paid content at you, look around and try some of the free apps, lots of good viewing out there.


This is the user manual : https://manuals.plus/amazon/fire-tv-stick-manual

Here are some options for the power supply : https://www.amazon.com/fire-stick-power-adapter/s?k=fire+stick+power+adapter

 

[Rgarner]

Is it actually necessary to have an Amazon account in order to use the thing? I hate them and don't trust them. He probably wouldn't care. He is not at all techy and just wants to spend more time watching more channels, although he claims to be bored with it.

 

[Rgarner]

As it turns out, somebody also gave him this fire cube thing. I probably can't get it to work with the stick, although that does plug right into the cube, which lit up and made a sound when I plugged it into the wall. The HDMI cable, which has two such ends, fits fine into the first (and probably second) HDMI slot on the back of the TV. Where the heck does the other end go? None of the slots on either the stick or the cube appears to accept HDMI. Meanwhile, I switched the TV on and it's just a regular channel, no mention of setup or anything that way. I guess I'll look up the cube instructions but I don't know if that'll help much as it's the stick that has allegedly been programmed. Whatever happened to reading?

 

[Rgarner]

Apparently I was unnecessarily concerned. It's now working with the stick plugged into the cube. That does bring up what seems to be the original user's account. I'd still be really wary of letting Amazon into my digs...

 

[svim]

I wouldn't be so averse to a Firestick, there are in fact hundreds of thousands of people at this point who have and use them frequently.

 

[ozonetrooper]

Can you put up a pic of the cube and firestick hookup ?

Not sure what you mean by getting it to work by plugging them together.

The HDMI cable connects the firestick or cube to the tv set, there is a HDMI on each.

 

[ozonetrooper]

I have been through several media devices and have this one as my main one now, easy to set up, and works quite well. I am using a paid subscription to a streaming service as well as the "free" apps. Plan is to get one for my bedroom tv soon.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Andr...ith-Voice-Remote-Control-HDMI-Cable/636597403

 

[Rgarner]

As it turns out, the stick is supposedly the one that's been programmed to get the oddball channels or whatever. I thought that since the cube was working fine we were all good. Perhaps it's just an extraneous element offered up in good faith by someone clueless about the situation. Anyway, the part that seems to be lacking is that cord that plugs into the wall wart, and the wall wart itself (ok, two parts). This is probably what we get for using secondhand goods: missing pieces. I'm sure there's a way to remedy the situation.

 

[Rgarner]

Here are some pictures of the stick. The USB cord does not match the one shown in the drawing. Is the drawn one just a regular usb cord, regularly available?

 

[ozonetrooper]

My badd, I have a 2022 model, that is an earlier generation, should be the same hook up though.

This is the info on my charger and the kit and caboodle :

(Forgive my sloppy housekeeping, owner had a crew cut many holes in my walls and had Pex installed for my water lines, holes were repaired Friday and I now need to wipe down every friggin thing in my dwelling cause it all is covered with dust !)
(( I have 3 computers I work with, and they are all covered with it on the inside, one has a glass side so you can see in and it is full of the dust !))

 

[ozonetrooper]

Charger and cord :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124505390517

https://picclick.com/Amazon-Fire-TV-Stick-OEM-Power-Supply-Adapter-253903074464.html

https://picclick.com/Amazon-AC-Power-Adapter-Wall-FANA7R-5V-1A-163607286803.html

 

[ozonetrooper]

As I stated earlier, you do not need a paid script to watch tv, there are many good free apps to try.

I will recommend only using the ones from the Play Store or any suggested by one of the apps.



https://play.google.com/store/apps?device=tv&hl=en&gl=US


https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=free+tv+streaming+apps

 

[nickdalzell]

There is no Play Store on the Fire TV Sticks. Unless it's been modified that is. They normally use Amazon Apps. That said, it's possible to sideload APKs onto it via an app called 'Downloader'. You can also run Kodi on it.

 

[mcleanross]

There is no Play Store on the Fire TV Sticks. Unless it's been modified that is. They normally use Amazon Apps. That said, it's possible to sideload APKs onto it via an app called 'Downloader'. You can also run Kodi on it.

It's not available on my phone so I downloaded Kodi from the app store it works fine. cookie clicker

 

[Bearsyzf]

Kodi is your best option, i ran it on my Amazon Fire TV. you just have to keep upgrading Kodi though.

 

[nickdalzell]

Yeah that's what stopped me from using it. Anything requiring updates is promptly uninstalled on my stuff. Too many UI redesigns, broken plugins, and broken flows. I just want to click a show and watch.

I also do not believe in updates. That was in part due to iOS 7 which brought me over to Android to begin with. Then there's the latest Fire Stick UI that sucks!

Most of my TV is done via a 2010 Apple TV 2nd Generation that amazingly still works. Certainly a better UI. Anything requiring modern hardware I have a chromecast with Google TV (apps such as Peacock, Paramount+). That doesn't force updates on me, either. (Turned the Play Store off completely along with the download manager. It couldn't update if it wanted to)

 

[svim]

Yeah that's what stopped me from using it. Anything requiring updates is promptly uninstalled on my stuff. Too many UI redesigns, broken plugins, and broken flows. I just want to click a show and watch.

I also do not believe in updates. That was in part due to iOS 7 which brought me over to Android to begin with. Then there's the latest Fire Stick UI that sucks!

Most of my TV is done via a 2010 Apple TV 2nd Generation that amazingly still works. Certainly a better UI. Anything requiring modern hardware I have a chromecast with Google TV (apps such as Peacock, Paramount+). That doesn't force updates on me, either. (Turned the Play Store off completely along with the download manager. It couldn't update if it wanted to)

Well, just so you're aware Google does indeed update the firmware on its Chromecast devices, usually every few months of so. It's not done in the user interface at all, nor does it rely upon the Play Store app nor the Home app on your mobile device. Whenever there's an update it just happens seamlessly in the background through your home network's online connectivity. You may think your Chromecast isn't accessing the Internet by turning off all those other services but the plain fact is if it wasn't able to connect itself to the Internet you wouldn't be able to use those online streaming services either.

 

[ozonetrooper]

Along with app fixes, updates also bring the security level up to par, refusing updates leaves the door open for bugs and vermin.

 

[nickdalzell]

It's online but the Play Store is disabled. So is the Download Manager. That's how I stopped the home launcher from changing through an update (I hate it).

It's running Android 10 still, and fails checking for software updates (servers blocked at router) so it ain't changing. None of the apps have done the ol'e 'you must update to use this' crap just yet. However, I mainly rely on the 2010 Apple TV.

The 'you're gonna get hacked' argument is so tiresome and invalid. I got more breaches to my accounts running modern software that does more communication in the background than old software. Hey, here I am typing this in Windows XP! If you prefer re-learning your UI every update, or dealing with bugs, go ahead. I'm the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' type who prefers things that don't change and work the way I'm used to. Far more efficient to get work done that way.

If updates were ONLY about security and NOT UI redesigns as they too often are, then sure I'd update. But I've been burned too much by updates. From iOS 7, to Android 5, to Samsung Health's latest update that removed the splash screen with the people and the dog for a blank icon,and also removing the whimsy from the app itself (the little woman running across the step goal meter and holding an award when you beat a goal, for example) just no. No more updates. Heck, it took Netguard to stop Samsung Health from forcing the update on me. Samsung refused to listen to my complaints, so I took it upon myself to keep the whimsical version I like anyway by killing it's ability to connect.

I'm not into the flat UI look, the clinical boring look. The whitespace look. Until updates feel like improvements or leave UI alone just nope.

 

[Rgarner]

I hear that. The firestick just updated itself silently this morning. Maybe that will fix things. When that guy set it up, he put Kodi front and center. Then last Monday wifi went out multiple times and when that stopped Kodi wasn't working at all. Selecting it just sent the thing right back to the home screen. I hope I can find out how to take care of it without bothering him or anybody else (except you guys, of course).

 

[nickdalzell]

I always had issues with Kodi. Especially with video stopping but audio continuing about 30 minutes into a movie. I ended up just setting up a NAS with all my digital movies stored on it, which shows up on any smart platform or via Plex. Anything that forces me to update though gets promptly uninstalled if I cannot circumvent it. I'm simply done.