If you have recently purchased an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you would be a mug to not let it function at its fullest potential. While you might feel that a Fire TV Stick only streams, it is capable of achieving a lot more should you read further and get to know more about the strategies that could empower the gadget, in its entirety.
Therefore, without wasting any more of your time on verbose introductions and unrequired gibberish, I enlist 10 effective techniques that would only make your Fire TV Stick an all-inclusive streaming hub, packed with requisite resources, novel security standards, and of course vision.
#1 Start with Jailbreaking the Stick
For those who aren’t familiar with what Jailbreaking is, it is better to check this site out and delve deeper into this otherwise functional hack. Regardless, Jailbreaking a Fire TV Stick is all about making it legible enough to allow app side-loading. Therefore, once you jailbreak the streamer, you can easily get access to an entire garrison of top-rated applications, catering news, movies, sports, and whatnot.
#2 Your Phone as the Remote
Let’s not take anything away from the Alexa-powered remote controller that comes bundled with the streamer. But in case it fails or is misplaced, you can always turn back to your Smartphone and use the same as a remote control.
For this to work, your smartphone must have the Fire TV app installed and the controls can then be customized and made to align with the television via the persistent wireless connection.
#3 Mouse Toggle for better Response
Understandably, you would persist with a Fire TV stick to empower a traditional television further. However, the temptation to install some touch-intensive applications might be way too pronounced and often incompatible with the Fire UI itself. But then, having the Mouse Toggle installed can help you with touch-specific navigation as once this app is side-loaded, you can get a mouse pointer hovering on the Fire TV interface, to make steering easier.
#4 Calibrated Display
Fire TV Stick aims to offer the best content viewing experience provided you are willing to make a few adjustments and tweaks, on the way. The commonest of these tunings include calibrating the videos adhering to the Fire TV UI to match the screen size for a more consumable involvement.
However, if you aren’t aware of how the calibration works, you simply need to head over to the settings, reach for the display, and click ‘Calibrate Display’.
#5 Get a VPN
Besides Jailbreaking, a VPN is also an emboldening resource for a Fire TV Stick. With a VPN in place, you can easily bypass diverse country and region-specific regulations and enjoy movies, TV shows, and more without a care.
Plus, if your ISP has prying eyes, a VPN will help you save the blemishes of speed throttling. But then, you should focus on a VPN that offers a kill switch, split tunneling support, and exceptional speeds as at the end of the day, you would need to Fire TV Stick for streaming content.
#6 Leverage Alexa
You can always ensure that your Fire TV streamer responds well to a hands-free mode of usage, with the sweet-talking Alexa by your side. Besides answering some of the more common questions for you, Alexa also has the power to summon the applications without you having to incessantly press through the keys.
However, you must know that despite all the guile and insistence, Alexa isn’t expected to work with third-party applications but can only open the apps that are native to Amazon’s app store.
#7 View Content with Discretion
Believe it when I say that the Fire TV Stick allows you to connect Bluetooth headphones, for you to watch movies or TV shows without disturbing others. Similarly, you can always pair speakers in a similar way, simply to explore other opportunities to make the gadget even more productive.
#8 A Faster Firestick isn’t just a Vision
A good way to make the most of a Fire TV Stick is to concentrate more on the software itself. However, before you get into the nooks and crannies of cache and all, it is better to get the OS update, if you have already been stalling. The latest upgrade, if embraced, will help you rearrange applications better and further improve the entire user interface.
You can also consider speeding up the Fire TV Stick by either resetting the apps, clearing data, or clearing the cache memory, if and when required. However,
#9 Cast Videos, but on Firestick
Here is a nifty yet enterprising feature that allows you to mirror shows, movies, videos, and other pieces of content onto the Fire TV Stick from tablets, mirrors, and even computers. However, before you plan on making this feature commonplace, it is necessary to ensure that the app platform supports casting.
#10 Invest in IPTV
Harnessing the potential of the Fire TV Stick is all about emboldening it to handle something more, apart from OTT-specific content, movies, and more. If you play your cards right, you can make the Fire TV Stick replace the cable TV. But for that to happen, you must invest in a high-end IPTV service, which helps you gain an upper hand and a headstart when it comes to enjoying specific channels and more.
While these are some of the most underrated yet effective strategies to transform the Fire TV Stick into a holistic entertainment hub, you can always consider using the same for torrenting. However, regardless of the strategy you swear by, it is important to have a VPN installed, to ensure the highest possible levels of secrecy.
If you are a cord-cutter with a penchant for streaming, you might also be tempted to go for other devices like Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, and more. However, each of these attributes can be best explored only if you have the Fire TV Stick by your side.