How to Pair the Amazon Fire TV Stick Remote

How to Pair a Fire TV Stick Remote

When you’re starting to set up a new Fire TV Stick, pairing the remote is one of the first steps you need to take. If all goes well, it should happen automatically:

1. Connect and power up your Fire Stick.
2. Insert the batteries into your remote.
3. Within a few seconds, the Fire Stick should connect and pair with your remote without you needing to do anything.
4. Click the Play/Pause button to continue the setup.

If that doesn’t work, remove and reinsert the batteries to try again. Alternatively, you can use a manual setup by holding down the Home button for 10 to 20 seconds until it is paired.

How to Pair a Replacement Fire TV Stick Remote

If you need to replace your Fire TV Stick remote, or want to add additional ones, the process is pretty straightforward.

You can connect up to seven remotes to your Fire Stick, so each member of the family can have one. You can add official Fire Stick remotes—including any you’ve got left over from an older model after an upgrade—as well as third party remotes.

Official Fire Stick Remotes

To pair an official replacement Amazon Fire TV Stick remote:

1. Make sure your Fire Stick is connected and powered on.
2. Hold down the Home button for around 10 to 20 seconds. On the latest generation remotes, the amber LED will begin blinking rapidly—you can release the Home key when this starts. On older versions without an LED, keep that button pressed.
3. When pairing is complete, you’ll see a message appear on screen in the bottom right-hand corner.

Alternatively, go to Settings > Controllers & Bluetooth Devices > Amazon Fire TV Remotes > Add New Remote. Your Fire Stick will now begin scanning for any available remotes within range.

Third-Party Fire Stick Remotes

If you’ve picked up one of the best third-party Fire TV Stick remotes instead, the remote replacement pairing process might be slightly different.

In most cases, third-party remotes pair in the same way as the official ones do, by holding down the Home button. However, you might need to hold it for a lot longer, perhaps up to 60 seconds. You might also need to reboot your Fire Stick first.

For other devices, you might need to switch the remote into pairing mode (check the user manual to see how to do that), then go to Settings > Controllers & Bluetooth Devices and either Game Controllers or Other Bluetooth Devices to begin scanning and pairing.

How to Use Your Smartphone as a Fire TV Stick Remote

One of the neat things about Fire Sticks is that you can control them with your phone or tablet as well as a dedicated remote. It’s a useful option for those times when your official remote slips down the back of your couch.

You need a special app to use your phone as a remote. Although there are a few options available, the official Amazon Fire TV app is the best one to go with. It’s available to download for free for Android and iOS.

The app connects over Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth, so you need to make sure your device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Fire Stick.

1. Turn on the Fire Stick, and open the app on your phone or tablet. Log into your account in the app.
2. After a short delay, the app will list all the Fire Sticks connected to your Wi-Fi network. Click the one you want to use.
3. You’ll now see a four-digit code displayed on your TV. Enter this code on your phone.
4. And now you’re connected. You’ll need to reconnect each time you use the app, although you won’t need to enter the four-digit code again.

By default, the app uses a directional pad as the control method. If you prefer, you can go into the settings and switch it to a swiping gesture instead.

To use Alexa within the app, hold the microphone icon and drag down. Tap the keyboard when you need to search—being able to type properly is one advantage the app has over a traditional remote.

How to Pair Your Fire TV Stick Remote With Your TV

With a recent generation Fire Stick remote (one with the volume buttons) and a TV that supports HDMI-CEC, you can pair the two together.

It allows you to turn your TV on or off and also control the volume—not a huge thing, but worth doing to save you having to juggle two remotes.

To get started you need to activate HDMI-CEC on your TV. You’ll find this in your TV’s settings, although some manufacturers call it by a different name. Then go to Settings > Display & Sounds on your Fire Stick to activate HDMI-CEC there, too.

Now, on your Fire Stick:

1. Go to Settings > Equipment Control > Manage Equipment.
2. Select TV, then Change TV.
3. The Fire Stick will then attempt to automatically detect your TV, and complete the setup. Follow the onscreen prompts to accept or reject what it suggests. If you reject it, you’ll be prompted to manually select your make of your TV.

How to Unpair a Fire TV Stick Remote

Finally, you’ve connected up all your remotes, but now you want to remove one. You can do this by unpairing the remote from your Fire Stick.

1. Go to Settings > Controllers & Bluetooth Devices and select either Amazon Fire TV Remotes, Game Controllers, or Other Bluetooth Devices, depending on what you want to remove.
2. Highlight the device you no longer need, then click the three-line menu button on your main remote.
3. Click OK to unpair the selected device.