Turn on a Fire TV without the remote
A Fire TV Stick has no power button, so there is nothing on it to press. What "off" means here is usually either that the stick is asleep or that the TV is on the wrong input. Both are quick to fix.
First, find out what is actually off
- A black screen with the TV on: the TV may be on the wrong HDMI input. Use the TV's own button or remote to choose the HDMI port the stick is in.
- The Fire TV logo or a screensaver: the stick is awake. You only need to move around.
- The stick shows nothing on the right input: it is asleep, or has lost power.
Wake it without the Fire TV remote
- Check the power. If the stick takes its power from the TV's USB port, it may switch off when the TV does, on many TVs. A stick on a wall adapter stays in standby and can be woken again.
- Use the TV's remote. With HDMI-CEC on, which many TVs and Fire TVs do by default, switching the TV to the Fire TV's input can wake it, and the TV's arrows and OK can then move around.
- Use the TV's button to switch the TV itself on and pick the input.
- On a Fire TV Edition TV (Fire TV built into the screen), the TV has its own power button.
Wake it from your phone
A sleeping Fire TV stays reachable on your network for one thing: Tuned asks it to start its remote service, and that wakes it. Once the stick is awake, the remote opens.
- This works if Tuned has paired with the Fire TV before, with the 4-digit code, and the stick still has power and is on your Wi‑Fi.
- Tuned wakes the stick. Whether the TV then switches to its input depends on HDMI-CEC. If it does not, switch the input with the TV's own button.
- Tuned's power button has separate sleep and wake actions for a Fire TV, so one press does what it says.
A first pairing needs the stick awake and the TV on its input, to read the code.
Questions about waking a Fire TV Stick
Does a Fire TV Stick have a power button?
No. It wakes from its remote, from HDMI-CEC, or from an app on your network.
Why is my Fire TV Stick screen black?
Most often the TV is on a different input, or the stick is asleep. Choose the right HDMI input on the TV first.
Does it matter how the stick is powered?
It can. A stick powered from the TV's USB port may lose power when the TV goes to standby, on many TVs. A wall adapter keeps it in standby, where it can be woken.
Do I need the Fire TV app to wake it?
No, though Amazon's app can do it too. Amazon's app needs you to sign in. Tuned does not.
Get Tuned
Free to download for iPhone and Android.