The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a boon for those who live with older TV sets. You can plug the small stick into your TV’s HDMI slot and turn your average TV into a smart one. It’s affordable, easy to set up, and works as advertised on all major video streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, and more. However, there may be times when you encounter frequent buffering or loading indicators while streaming on Amazon Fire TV Stick.
When things are going well, buffering happens constantly in the background while streaming video. We do not notice this. The stick downloads the data that the Fire TV Stick then plays for the user. When the video plays faster than it is buffered, the video may be paused until more videos are downloaded and ready to play.
The problem could be your internet, streaming, or the Fire TV Stick itself. This article will go over the top nine ways to diagnose and fix Fire TV Stick buffering issues.
1. Troubleshoot Internet Connection Issues
It is recommended to have at least 10 Mbps for 1080p and 20 Mbps for 4K streaming. If your internet connection is slow, you will have buffering issues. If the problem is not internet connection, the following reasons can cause buffering on Fire TV Stick.
- If other devices (connected to the same Wi-Fi network) are downloading large files, it may interfere with Fire TV Stick operations.
- Is there interference between your Wi-Fi router and Fire TV Stick? Thick walls, long distances, and wireless signals from other devices can interfere with the connection.
- Is your ISP throttling video streams? Some internet service providers intentionally slow down video streams to reduce bandwidth consumption.
2. Overheating Fire TV Stick
Your Fire TV Stick is constantly connected to its charger and streaming video while the TV is on. If you live in an area where the average temperature is higher and the climate is hot, it can overheat the stream stick. In such cases, you will notice buffering and glitches during general browsing in Fire OS.
You should unplug the Fire TV Stick and let it cool.
3. Use VPN
As mentioned above, Internet throttling is a common practice among ISPs. Your internet provider may slow down your internet connection when streaming activities above a certain level are detected. As a result, you may experience buffering on Fire TV Stick.
Fortunately, this can be easily avoided by using a VPN service for Fire Stick. A good VPN will not only prevent your ISP from throttling, but also protect personal information from hackers, Hulu, HBO, etc. It helps in various ways, such as unlocking other zone apps such as
4. Choose Lower Quality Video
Higher video qualities require more bandwidth and system resources for streaming and playback. Most video players automatically select a video quality for you, but many also give you the option to adjust the video quality manually. This is usually determined by the video resolution such as 4K, 1080p, 720p or 480p. A lower resolution usually requires less bandwidth and stops buffering issues.
5. Low Device Storage
Amazon’s most popular Fire TV Stick 4K comes with 8GB of internal storage. It’s not exactly a storage powerhouse, and filling up the space on the bar can be relatively easy. If your Fire TV Stick is running low on storage, it can cause buffering issues. You can free up storage space by removing irrelevant apps from the device.
6. Restart Fire TV Stick
The buffering issue might just be a minor glitch. Restarting the Fire TV Stick can fix this. Unplug the device from the power source and plug it back in after 10 – 30 seconds. Alternatively, you can restart the Fire TV Stick using the remote shortcut.
Press and hold the Select button (large round button) and Play/Pause button on your Fire TV Stick simultaneously for about 4-5 seconds until ‘Your Amazon Fire TV is Turning Off’ message appears on your TV Screen.
7. Update Fire TV Stick
A bug in Fire TV OS can cause buffering issue. Interestingly, updating the device and keeping it up to date can fix the problem. In fact, updating your Fire TV Stick helps fix most software-related problems you may encounter while using the streaming stick. Follow the steps below to update Fire TV Stick and fix menu issues.
Stage 1: Launch the Fire TV Stick Settings menu and select ‘My Fire TV’.
Step 2: Go to About > Check for updates.
Stage 3: Your Fire TV Stick will scan and download all available operating system updates.
The update process usually takes about 1 – 5 minutes, and your Fire TV Stick may reboot automatically several times during installation.
8. Check the Streaming Service’s Servers
From time to time, a new movie or new season of a hugely popular TV Series is streamed by millions of consumers the day it airs.
Unexpected traffic can clog servers on video streaming sites. It can cause anger and cause constant buffering on your part. In such cases, you can confirm the issue from the social media sites and wait for the streaming partner to fix the issue on their side.
9. Factory Reset
This is an extreme measure and should only be used when nothing from the above troubleshooting tweaks works. Follow the steps below to Factory Reset Fire TV Stick.
Stage 1: From the home screen go to Settings > My Fire TV
Step 2: Scroll down and select Reset to Factory Defaults
Stage 3: Select Reset
The action returns your Firestick to the way it was when it first left the factory. This means all your apps and files will be deleted.
Enjoy Smooth Video Streaming
No one likes the experience of constant loading or buffering on streaming devices. It spoils the whole experience and makes you regret the wireless setup. Using the above tricks, you can conveniently fix buffering issues on your Fire TV Stick. Which tweak worked for you? Mute the sound in the comments section below.
Next: Running out of storage space on your Fire TV Stick? Learn how to free up storage on Fire TV Stick by reading the post below.
