All you need to know about Amazon Firestick and its functionality

By Deepali Bhatia in FireStick Devices - December 20, 2021

Amazon Firestick device is essentially a media streaming device that allows you to stream innumerable movies, install apps that may or may not be the third party, play music and games, and lastly provide access to subscription services. It works like a magic wand, transmuting your ordinary TV into a Smart TV by plugging it into your TV HDMI port. The Fire TV stick is not at all cumbersome, so you may take the liberty of taking it anywhere, which is absolutely better than moving your smart TV around, isn’t it?

Firesticks essentially come under the category of Fire TV devices that consist of Fire TV stick Lite, Fire TV stick, Fire TV stick 4K, Fire TV stick 4k Max and Fire TV Cube. Each of these products caters to a specific budget, which is also one of the most bewitching features as you can get access to almost unlimited content without shelling out an unmitigated amount of money.

How the Amazon Firestick device actually functions

Amazon Firesticks basically circumvent the need for streaming content from your favorite television networks harnessed with cable. On the other hand, it saves you quite some bucks had you going to purchase a particular package. Now, the question that lingers in the mind of first-time users is that how the Firestick does actually works? Well, it works by

  1. Setting up your Firestick
  2. Installing and activating (if it is a cable network) different channels, applications, and more.

Setting up your Firestick

  • Plugging in your Firestick

This Fire TV device would first require you to plug it into your TV’s HDMI port.

  • Connect to your Wi-Fi

After the insertion of your Firestick, it would need an internet connection in the form of Wi-Fi, so make sure you have enabled it.

  • Setting up your Amazon account

Being a Fire TV device and an Amazon product, you will have to hinge it or connect it with an Amazon account. You can easily create one by visiting their website or by typing the keywords on your address bar to create an amazon account.

What about the Amazon Prime Membership?

Well, if you have a Prime membership then you have to link your Firestick to that account only. Furthermore, if you have bought your Firestick from amazon then the Fire TV device will already be connected to your Amazon account, only if during the sign-in process you have chosen the option ‘Link to my Amazon account to simplify setup’’.

Installation and Activation

In order for you to enjoy content via Firestick, you will have to install apps and if they are cable networks then activate them via a certain code. Moreover, any digital music or video that you happen to buy through Amazon, will be instantly available to you once you log in.

This is how you will be installing different apps on Firestick

Step1: Searching for the app

Go to the search menu from your home screen and type the name of the app you are looking for. This can be done through the on-screen keyboard that will be provided to you. You can also get the desired results by using the voice command. The voice command feature is available in all Fire TV devices and can be used for selection and scrolling processes.

Step 2: Get your app by clicking ‘Get’

For the purpose of installing the app, you have to now click the ‘Get’ button, lying next to the app icon

Step 3: Open the app

 Under the ‘ Your apps and channels’ section the desired app would be there, now simply launch or Open it.

App activation on Firestick (If it is a cable channel)

Cable channels like NBC Sports, Lifetime, Discovery go, etc. will need you to first install the app and then activate it. This is how the process will follow:

  • Launch the application
  • From the settings, click the ‘Sign In with TV Provider option from the settings’’
  • After you have signed in, the activation code will be generated that you may take note of.
  • The channel that you want to activate will have a specific activation page that you can simply find out by typing ‘name of the channel +activate’. After you have reached the page simply enter the activation code.
  • After you have entered the code, you will finally be able to access the content from your desired channel.

NOTE: This activation method is only for the channels that are free to download from the Amazon App store

Will you have to pay monthly for Firestick?

No, you don’t have to pay a monthly fee to use the Firestick. However, if you are streaming content from subscription-based services such as Prime, Netflix, Hulu, etc., you have to follow the regular course only by acquiring their subscription. Remember firestick is just a medium to enable you to watch different content, install apps, etc.

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Conclusion

I hope by now you have already known what exactly is Amazon Firestick device is and how it works. With the rapid technological advancement, cables have become redundant and the very place has been taken by devices such as Firestick.