If your FireStick is slow, this guide will show you how to speed it up. The tips and tricks mentioned here also work on other Amazon Fire TV products, like the Fire TV Cube, FireStick 4K, New FireStick 4K, New FireStick 4K Max, and FireStick Lite.
Amazon Fire TV devices are undoubtedly among the best streaming devices available today. Some reasons for their popularity include affordability, huge content variety, compatibility with various devices, and high-quality audio and video.
Still, FireStick devices, like other streaming products, are susceptible to lags and malfunctions, especially after using them for several years.
Streaming with a slow FireStick can be incredibly frustrating. It may completely spoil the experience.
Thankfully, you can utilize a few quick fixes to speed up the FireStick streaming. We’ll dive into these fixes in the section below.
Attention, FireStick Users!
Governments and ISPs constantly monitor your online activity, and accessing copyrighted content on your Fire TV Stick could lead to serious trouble. Currently, your IP is visible to everyone. I strongly recommend getting the best FireStick VPN to mask your IP address and securely stream your favorites.
I personally use ExpressVPN, the fastest and most secure VPN available. Not only is it easy to install on any device, it comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Plus, if you're not 100% satisfied, you can always get a refund. ExpressVPN is currently also offering a whopping 3 extra months free on their annual plan!
Read: How to Install and Use Best VPN for FireStick
Why Is My FireStick So Slow?
There are several reasons why your FireStick may be unusually slow. Common causes include multiple apps running in the background, automatic app updates, old firmware, and accumulated cache.
If you suspect any of the above issues as the reason for your slow FireStick, then resolving the problem should be pretty straightforward.
The section below will explore various reasons for a lagging FireStick and the step-by-step instructions to fix it.
How to Speed Up a Slow FireStick
If your FireStick has slowed down over time, follow the steps below to make it run faster.
1. Restart/Reboot Your FireStick
One of the most common reasons for a slow FireStick is apps running in the background. Besides slowing down your device, apps running in the FireStick background can cause other performance issues like freezing and crushing.
If you suspect background apps are the reason your Fire TV is slow, restarting your device is an excellent solution.
You may also use services like Background Apps & Processes and Task Killer to close the background apps.
2. Remove Unwanted Apps
As you may know, having sufficient storage and memory space in your device is essential to the smooth running of any Fire TV device. The device requires bandwidth to open, run apps, and stream content.
Too many unnecessary apps occupy the storage space, leaving the device without enough bandwidth to operate optimally, leading to lag.
If you believe low storage is the reason why your FireStick is slow, try deleting some apps you don’t need.
3. Clear App Cache
It is best to clear the app cache regularly. App caches are the fragments of information that apps retain for various reasons.
If not deleted regularly, these data can accumulate and occupy space, causing the FireStick lag.
4. Keep Your FireStick Up to Date
It is crucial to keep your device updated to optimize its performance and avoid security loopholes, malware threats, and other bugs that can slow down your device.
Ensuring your FireStick runs on the latest software version can improve its speed.
5. Disable Automatic App Updates
FireStick and Fire TV devices allow you to update the official apps automatically so that you don’t have to update them manually one by one.
While this is a feature for convenience, it may cause your FireStick to slow down when the updates happen.
I don’t recommend disabling automatic updates. If it is the reason why your FireStick is slow, once the update is over, your device will resume normal speed. The updates usually take only a few minutes.
However, if you still want to disable automatic updates, here are the steps:
1. Launch your FireStick. From your home screen, locate and choose Settings on the far right.
2. Select the Applications tile.
3. Select Appstore.
4. Click Automatic Updates to turn the option OFF.
6. Turn Off Collect App Usage Data
This may not seem directly related to speeding up your FireStick, but anything your FireStick does will consume system resources. Therefore, disabling features that don’t benefit you can improve the functionality of your FireStick.
By default, Amazon collects data about your app usage, but you can turn it off to maintain privacy. According to Amazon, the company collects information to improve its apps and enhance the user experience.
If you’re uncomfortable with it and want to see if disabling it will speed up your device, follow the steps below.
1. From the FireStick home screen, go to Settings.
2. Select the Preferences tile.
3. Click on Privacy Settings.
4. If the Collect App Usage Data setting is ON, click on it to turn it off.
5. Click Turn Off.
6. Make sure the setting is now OFF.
7. Check your Internet Connection
An unstable or poor internet connection can also affect a FireStick’s speed and performance. Usually, if the internet connection is poor, apps take longer to load, and you may experience freezing when streaming.
One of the reasons why your internet connection may be unstable is because of too many connected devices. You can fix this by reducing the number of devices connected to your home network.
Another way to fix a poor internet connection is to quickly reset your router by turning it off and on again. After that, reconnect the FireStick and see if the speed improves.
If the Fire TV is still slow, you may be experiencing signal interference from having too many barriers between the FireStick device and the router.
Having your router in a central location with minimal distractions is crucial to ensuring the signal is distributed evenly within your house.
If no barriers interfere with the connection but it’s still unstable, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be throttling your speed and causing your FireStick to slow down. In such a case, your best bet is to use a VPN or change your ISP.
8. Check for Overheating
An overheated FireStick can also cause slower speeds. If the FireStick has been connected to your TV for a long time, check that it isn’t overheating.
If the Fire TV device is overheating, switch it off, then disconnect it from the TV. Please wait for a few minutes for it to cool off. After that, reconnect the Fire TV device and then switch it on.
9. The Last Resort — Factory Reset
If you’ve tried the methods above and your FireStick is still lagging, you may need to perform a factory reset. Factory resetting the device should help boost performance.
However, this will restore your device to the condition the manufacturer shipped it in. You’ll lose all your data in the process.
Ensure you know your Amazon account login and Wi-Fi password to re-enter them after the reset. Here’s how to reset your FireStick to factory defaults.
Wrapping Up
Buying a new FireStick every time it slows down isn’t reasonable. In this guide, I showed you how to speed up a slow FireStick device in various ways. These methods are easy to follow and don’t require any technical knowledge beyond the instructions I provided. If you have any other tips for speeding up a FireStick, do let us know in the comment section below.
Related:
- How to Set up Amazon Fire TV Stick for the First Time
- How to Jailbreak Amazon FireStick
- Best FireStick Ethernet Adapter & How to Set Up
- How to Stop Buffering on FireStick
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