Firestick general discussion thread

TheDriver

Following from the thread in Bargain Alerts, this is for discussion in general

FAQ
Which firestick should I buy?
4K is not just for 4K. The 4K firestick is a better purchase than non 4K stick
But it won't shop to Ireland?
Use parcel wizard/motel/addresspal etc etc
What can I do with the firestick?
Well the world is your oyster but it depends on what you want to do with it. There are many apps, many free and most are legit.
Do I use my amazon account on it?
Yes you can and if you have prime, you get the benefits of prime. However US customers seem to get a lot more free via IMDB TV etc. You could set up a new amazon account with a US address solely for this purpose. Couple this with a VPN, your stick can give you a lot more options. However your UK prime account is then not available.
Should I use a VPN?
It seems fairly common place to use one nowadays. You can get VPN unlimited on a stack social deal for a lifetime price of $15. It auto runs when you start your firestick. It also allows you to watch UK catchup channels. You can easily change between US and UK as necessary.
If you are getting an error, ensure it is the US streaming picked and not a random US city.
A VPN gets around geoblocking e.g. You take the firestick on holidays to Italy. RTE player won't work as you are not in Ireland. The VPN makes the firestick think it's in Ireland and then RTE player works.
What are the essential apps?
Sub required: Netflix, Disney+, HULU, HBO Now, Sling TV, DirecTv & FuboTv & HBOMAX, eurosport player
Free: Crackle, Pluto, Tubi, BBC, All4, RTE, Virgin Media, UKTV Play, ITV Hub, My5,
What other Apps?
You will need mouse toggle and also orientation for some apps. Mouse toggle allows your remote to act like a mouse.
Where can I get these apps?
Some can be found using the amazon search or using downloader (can be downloaded from the main page). However you’ll notice that if you are a UK account, you can’t download crackle. If you are a US account, you can’t download UK catchup. So you can find them using filelinked.
The best place is to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIPT30w39bA. Tanya is a great source of info for the firestick. Her videos are also great for showing you how to start with downloader, allowing apps to be installed outside of amazon store etc.
There are 3 main filelinked for firestick, Codes: Tanya 71607934, Average Ed 47713348 & Electrical MD 85810914
https://www.youtube.com/c/FireTVSticks
https://www.youtube.com/user/TechDoctorUK/
RTE Player
There are 2 APKs you can use. The newer version has live TV but you need the mouse toggle. It is available on downloader (v3.0.4: don’t use a newer one) or via one of the filelinked. The older version (v1) https://www.joujoujou.com/images/rte.apk doesn’t require mouse toggle but there’s no live TV option. You can put this URL into downloader which will download the apk to your firestick.
Whats the best price at moment?
It's probably easier looking up amazon or currys for a current price rather than asking it here.
Can I use my phone to install apps?
You can use easyfiretools. However start with filelinked and probably Tanya.

magicmoves

Has anyone tried hooking up their echo plus to the firestick to hear the audio on the TV. Is there any latency issues with the audio?

Mr Velo

TheDriver wrote: »

Following from the thread in Bargain Alerts, this is for discussion in general

Should I use a VPN?
It seems fairly common place to use one nowadays. You can get VPN unlimited on a stack social deal for a lifetime price of $15. It auto runs when you start your firestick. It also allows you to watch UK catchup channels. You can easily change between US and UK as necessary.
If you are getting an error, ensure it is the US streaming picked and not a random US city.
A VPN gets around geoblocking e.g. You take the firestick on holidays to Italy. RTE player won't work as you are not in Ireland. The VPN makes the firestick think it's in Ireland and then RTE player works.

Do you have a link for the $15 lifetime offer? I can only see it for $39.

loyatemu

Sorry, I know this was discussed before but if someone could give me a concise, definitive steps for getting Premiership matches I'd greatly appreciate it!

answering this question from the BA thread.

I signed up with NBC sports but it's a rigmarole.

You need a VPN service (which I already had). Set your VPN to the US, sign up with NBC sports, they're showing all the remaining PL matches for $10.

However - in order to watch the matches live, you have to link your NBC account to a cable TV service account (I don't know why, you just do). I signed up with Fubo.TV as they have a 7 day free trial, then I immediately cancelled it. How long it will take NBC to realise my Fubo account is inactive, we'll see.

You'll also need to sideload the NBC sports app onto your Firestick - I haven't tried this yet, I watched the City-Arsenal match on Wednesday on my laptop. Finally you need to have the VPN active when watching the matches so NBC think you're in the states.

funnyname

loyatemu wrote: »

answering this question from the BA thread.

I signed up with NBC sports but it's a rigmarole.

You need a VPN service (which I already had). Set your VPN to the US, sign up with NBC sports, they're showing all the remaining PL matches for $10.

However - in order to watch the matches live, you have to link your NBC account to a cable TV service account (I don't know why, you just do). I signed up with Fubo.TV as they have a 7 day free trial, then I immediately cancelled it. How long it will take NBC to realise my Fubo account is inactive, we'll see.

You'll also need to sideload the NBC sports app onto your Firestick - I haven't tried this yet, I watched the City-Arsenal match on Wednesday on my laptop. Finally you need to have the VPN active when watching the matches so NBC think you're in the states.

Did you use revolut for the sign up or did an Irish card work for you?

loyatemu

funnyname wrote: »

Did you use revolut for the sign up or did an Irish card work for you?

N26, German mastercard.

batistuta9

You only have to pay if you want to watch the matches on shown on gold or the replays.
Most game are on the broadcast channels which is why you need the TV provider.
https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/06/18/nbc-sports-premier-league-schedule/

Changing your Amazon account to the US will let you download the NBC sports app.

A great find by IrishHomer ðŸ‘

IPTV sub for Premier League matches sounds a lot less hassle than jumping through those hoops.

At the end of the day, Sky/BT etc have the rights for matches in the UK and Ireland. Using any other service isn't entirely legal, so if you're going down that road than you might as well just use an IPTV service.

TheDriver

Basil3 wrote: »

IPTV sub for Premier League matches sounds a lot less hassle than jumping through those hoops.

At the end of the day, Sky/BT etc have the rights for matches in the UK and Ireland. Using any other service isn't entirely legal, so if you're going down that road than you might as well just use an IPTV service.

There's a thin line between breaking T&Cs and stealing. Using a US provider who has paid for the rights is getting around T&Cs, similar to watching US netflix or the old days of getting sat feed from Africa with the games on it. But not illegal. Using a service that doesn't pay any rights is illegal and obviously can't be discussed on boards.

Ohmeha

loyatemu wrote: »

However - in order to watch the matches live, you have to link your NBC account to a cable TV service account (I don't know why, you just do). I signed up with Fubo.TV as they have a 7 day free trial, then I immediately cancelled it. How long it will take NBC to realise my Fubo account is inactive, we'll see.

Essentially the ability to watch NBCSN on a firestick app is dependent on you having a paid US cable TV subscription and the validation from a cable TV provider is part of their verification process that you are actually in the US

I have downloaded about 30 other US TV apps onto my firestick this week and it's all the same validation process. I'm cancelling my Fubo 7 day trial tonight so I'll see if I lose access to any of these other apps

TheDriver

TheDriver wrote: »

There's a thin line between breaking T&Cs and stealing. Using a US provider who has paid for the rights is getting around T&Cs, similar to watching US netflix or the old days of getting sat feed from Africa with the games on it. But not illegal. Using a service that doesn't pay any rights is illegal and obviously can't be discussed on boards.

I agree, there's a fine line. Sky will only bother chasing the big boys that are flouting the T's and C's. If their subs drastically dropped by people subscribing in other countries and using VPN's to access content they have paid for exclusive rights to, you can guarantee Sky would be doing something about it.

Anyhoo, this is dragging the thread off topic.

TheDriver

Ohmeha wrote: »

Essentially the ability to watch NBCSN on a firestick app is dependent on you having a paid US cable TV subscription and the validation from a cable TV provider is part of their verification process that you are actually in the US

I have downloaded about 30 other US TV apps onto my firestick this week and it's all the same validation process. I'm cancelling my Fubo 7 day trial tonight so I'll see if I lose access to any of these other apps

Tubi and Pluto don't require any verification. IMDB is just amazon prime for free in US with ads

Ohmeha

TheDriver wrote: »

Tubi and Pluto don't require any verification. IMDB is just amazon prime for free in US with ads

Yeah any non-TV channel app doesn't require validation, anything for the likes of NBC, ABC, Fox, Comedy Central, Discovery etc. have this process

Ohmeha

Ohmeha wrote: »

I have downloaded about 30 other US TV apps onto my firestick this week and it's all the same validation process. I'm cancelling my Fubo 7 day trial tonight so I'll see if I lose access to any of these other apps

So I have cancelled my Fubo TV 7 day trial and I have immediately lost access to a number of the 30 or so US TV apps I downloaded to my firestick, but thankfully NBC Sports Network is still one of the few working

applejunkie

I cant seem to sign up for the Fubo tv . It tells me I've been blocked straight away and tells me to turn my vpn off if I'm using one . Any way around it ?

One More Toy

Has anyone tried VPNsecure on the firestick by any chance?

One More Toy

Anyone used any vpn with their stick so far?

just put vpn on mine yesterday but havent used it yet tbh

One More Toy

[Deleted User] wrote: »

just put vpn on mine yesterday but havent used it yet tbh

Let us know how it goes please!

One More Toy

One More Toy wrote: »

Anyone used any vpn with their stick so far?

Have used VPN unlimited for years. 2 lifetime subs so 10 separate devices at any time. Use it on both my Firesticks without issue.

Abiya041

Hey would anyone be able to help me here. So I ordered a firestick off amazon and I want to know if I can connect it to my monitor via hdmi and get sound out through the monitor. The monitor has audio output (3.5mm jack). Would the sound from the fire stick come out through speakers that I connected to the monitor or would I have to use Bluetooth speakers to get sound out.

reddevilfan

Where is the cheapest ace to get the FS. I cant seem to find any in argos

I put my tv subs on them and they work like a dream especially now the footy is back

Lucas Hood

reddevilfan wrote: »

Where is the cheapest ace to get the FS. I cant seem to find any in argos

I put my tv subs on them and they work like a dream especially now the footy is back

Currys or Amazon.

Hoboo

reddevilfan wrote: »

Where is the cheapest ace to get the FS. I cant seem to find any in argos

I put my tv subs on them and they work like a dream especially now the footy is back

Amazon generally. They were on sale last week for a few days, no use I know but keep an eye out.

This is it

They're on sale intermittently. Keep an eye on Bargain Alerts, usually posted there

Haven't seen the 4K for a decent price for a good while. The standard one has been on sale constantly over the last few months, but I wouldn't bother with that.

IrlJidel

Basil3 wrote: »

Haven't seen the 4K for a decent price for a good while. The standard one has been on sale constantly over the last few months, but I wouldn't bother with that.

4K has 10stg off at the moment.

tipperaryboy

Netflix not remembering which episode previously playing , automatically plays first episode.
Thus occurs eg when give voice command

bladespin

Abiya041 wrote: »

Hey would anyone be able to help me here. So I ordered a firestick off amazon and I want to know if I can connect it to my monitor via hdmi and get sound out through the monitor. The monitor has audio output (3.5mm jack). Would the sound from the fire stick come out through speakers that I connected to the monitor or would I have to use Bluetooth speakers to get sound out.

Connects via HDMI so sound goes through that.

Abiya041

bladespin wrote: »

Connects via HDMI so sound goes through that.

But what if the monitor does not have speakers?

bladespin

Abiya041 wrote: »

But what if the monitor does not have speakers?

Ah, apols, though it was an input question, yes, the sound will come via the audio out to your speakers.

One More Toy

Am I just thick or is alexa voice control not working for me?

Trevord

Anyone finding that the older version of RTE player (the one that doesn't need mouse toggle) is throwing up an error in recent days

Getting a "Stream not found" message when you try to play something.

Tried clearing the cache and rebooting but no joy

ShatterProof

Anybody find a decent version of virgin tv anywhere app for fire stick?

Trevord

One More Toy wrote: »

Am I just thick or is alexa voice control not working for me?

Can't get it work either.

One More Toy

Trevord wrote: »

Can't get it work either.

Pull the sticker off the microphone, push and hold down mic button while talking

lertsnim

Alexa works for me

Trevord wrote: »

Anyone finding that the older version of RTE player (the one that doesn't need mouse toggle) is throwing up an error in recent days

Getting a "Stream not found" message when you try to play something.

Tried clearing the cache and rebooting but no joy

I've just checked and it works fine for me.

batistuta9

Trevord wrote: »

Anyone finding that the older version of RTE player (the one that doesn't need mouse toggle) is throwing up an error in recent days

Getting a "Stream not found" message when you try to play something.

Tried clearing the cache and rebooting but no joy

That happened me before, clearing data sorted it out

Trevord

batistuta9 wrote: »

That happened me before, clearing data sorted it out

Clearing data fixed it alright. Cheers for that!

Trevord

Any source for the Virgin Media player app. I haven't seen that on Filelinked.

Read elsewhere that it is clunky on the firestick. Is that correct?

johnfás

Anyone having trouble with livestream on bbc iplayer? Continues to work fine for all content except for live content. Strange.

Trevord

johnfás wrote: »

Anyone having trouble with livestream on bbc iplayer? Continues to work fine for all content except for live content. Strange.

Getting the 04002 error? That is a known issue. I couldn't get the firestick version of the BBC Iplayer app to work at all for ages (even for catch up) due to this.

I still have no livestream but catch up works. You could try the standard android Iplayer version, but that will need mouse toggle.

johnfás

Trevord wrote: »

Getting the 04002 error? That is a known issue. I couldn't get the firestick version of the BBC Iplayer app to work at all for ages (even for catch up) due to this.

I still have no livestream but catch up works. You could try the standard android Iplayer version, but that will need mouse toggle.

Yep, that’s the one. Strange as was working fine since I got it start of lockdown. Have mouse toggle so will download android version for livestream. Cheers.

johnfás

Trevord wrote: »

Getting the 04002 error? That is a known issue. I couldn't get the firestick version of the BBC Iplayer app to work at all for ages (even for catch up) due to this.

I still have no livestream but catch up works. You could try the standard android Iplayer version, but that will need mouse toggle.

Yep, that’s the one. Strange as was working fine since I got it start of lockdown. Have mouse toggle so will download android version for livestream. Cheers.

Trevord

johnfás wrote: »

Yep, that’s the one. Strange as was working fine since I got it start of lockdown. Have mouse toggle so will download android version for livestream. Cheers.

Out of interest is your Iplayer app sideloaded or downloaded direct from the amazon store?

Mine is sideloaded.

Lucas Hood

What vpns are people using to access iPlayer? I have Nord VPN & IP vanish and neither work

Trevord

Lucas Hood wrote: »

What vpns are people using to access iPlayer? I have Nord VPN & IP vanish and neither work

Are you talking about on demand or live or both? What is the error message you are getting?

I find Nord works very well with the Firestick BBC Iplayer apk for on demand. As mentioned in an earlier post, live does not work for me.

Have had occasional issues when using the generic android Iplayer apk. Usually resolved by clearing the cache and restarting the VPN.

joujoujou

Keepsolid VPN. Works flawlessly from day one.

loyatemu

SmartDNSProxy, but as mentioned before it will play one episode, then fail on the second one until you quit out of the app and go back in (or clear the app cache). Works fine on the Android and web versions, I'm not sure what's different about the Firestick app.

rafi bomb

Does anyone have my 5 working on the fire stick?

The file linked one doesnt work. When I down load it, it seems to be a touch version and with mouse toggle it still doesnt seem to work.

is there a fire stick version?

IrlJidel

rafi bomb wrote: »

Does anyone have my 5 working on the fire stick?

The file linked one doesnt work. When I down load it, it seems to be a touch version and with mouse toggle it still doesnt seem to work.

is there a fire stick version?

There's an official firestick version in amazon appstore and a version in the FireTVSticks[1] filelinked store (see FAQ in first post)

Unfortunately the side-loaded one in FireTVSticks is now closing and asking to update to latest version. I've asked FireTVSticks owner to update the version in her filelinked.

[1] https://tiny.cc/FireTVSticks