Amazon Fire TV Stick
The device most of our customers already have plugged into the television. The only awkward step is the very first one, and it is awkward on every service, not just this one.
Before you start
- A Fire Stick already on your Wi-Fi
- The login details from your account page
- The remote, and five uninterrupted minutes
Let the stick install outside the Amazon store
Go to Settings, then My Fire TV, then Developer Options, and switch on installs from unknown sources. If Developer Options is not there, open Settings, My Fire TV, About, and press the Fire TV Stick line seven times until it appears. Amazon hides it rather than removes it.
Install Downloader from the Amazon store
Search the store for Downloader and install it. It is a small free utility whose only job is to fetch a file from a web address, because the player app is not distributed through Amazon itself.
Fetch the player with the code from our Apps page
Open Downloader, type the numeric code shown on our Apps page and press Go. When the download finishes choose Install, and once it has installed you can delete the downloaded file to free up space on the stick.
Type in your details carefully
Open the app, choose the Xtream Codes option, and enter the server address, username and password exactly as they appear in your account. Capital letters matter. This is where nearly every failed setup goes wrong, and it is worth checking twice before you blame the line.
Let the first load finish, then test properly
The first launch pulls the whole channel list and the programme guide, which takes a couple of minutes and only happens once. When it is done, open channels from three or four different groups rather than just the first one, so you know the whole thing works and not only the top of the list.
Worth knowing before you start
- A Fire Stick that has been powered on for weeks gets slow. Unplug it at the wall for ten seconds before you start and a surprising number of odd faults never happen.
- If the app installs but refuses to open, the stick is usually out of storage. Deleting one app you never use is normally enough.
- If your model has an Ethernet adapter, use it. It is the cheapest improvement available to anybody.
No subscription yet?
The price list is one page and the cost per month is worked out for you. Activation takes about two minutes once your bank confirms the payment.
See the prices