Where would I find your post? And of course I want help! Why else would I be on here? Since 2014 I’ve been doing the cord cutter thing, although I must admit I’m still an amateur. I’m 60 years old and physically disabled, yet I still program my friends smart TVs and fire sticks phones etc. My 30 year old daughter comes to me for how to advice. I referred her to troypoint but she says the technical talk confuses her. I don’t reach out often for help so when I do ask for help on here I really do need it.
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My apologies if that post of mine was a bit harsh. I’m 68 and retired. I was unaware that you hadn’t read all the posts in this thread. As that’s the case I now understand why you keep saying the same thing over and over that is absolutely false. I honestly hadn’t considered that scenario. So please go to post +1 and start reading, as you will have to do, with any tutorial, to get it right. Having been a cord cutter as long as you have it surprises me that this isn’t known to you. If, after you reread it, I’m confident, 90% of what you’re looking for, will be found in those posts. If not then by all means PM me and I can either go into more details that you might be missing or teach you how to navigate the two Troy sites to find and use what you’re looking for. Welcome to Troypoint and as I like to say
Have fun and STREAM ON!!
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I did see this, but, forgive me, it seems geared to how I can use a 4k stick. Honestly, I just speed read through it because I was trying to figure out how to make my fire sticks work more efficiently without having to reset to default several times. I also saw that most fire sticks are only good for about 6 months and how this is by design. That sucks because honestly the first fire stick I bought in 2014 still works perfectly, and it has a bunch of side loaded apps I put on it still! But it looks as though I either have to go with a different streaming device or get a 4k stick again. If I have problems with the 4k stick, may I contact you personally? I’m not sure how to do that on this forum though. As I’ve said, I may be more technically knowledgeable than my children, friends and neighbors, but I’m far from being an expert.
I may have been a bit harsh on the 6 month stick timeline, but it is true that these things when not well maintained or cleaned out can run super hot. Any streaming stick is like a pc that has no cooling fans or vents to let the heat out, and electronics dont like heat. I’m having the same issue with my Tivo Stream4k, and I had to buy a darn cooler for it so it doesn’t restart continuously. If they just had a few breathing holes in these sticks I think it would help tremendously. Then again, some last seemingly forever, so my above statement was more just my opinion. (but I still believe the intent and hope from Amazon isn’t to have them last 10 years lol)
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Some of what has been said about the 4K firesticks is quite true. They have issues and honestly aren’t worth the effort to optimize. I convert everyone over to the 4K Max for a number of reasons, especially as they are on sale all the time for just $35. One of which you also refer to regarding heat. The 4K Max has built in coding to make sure it won’t overheat beyond a certain setting. Exactly what that temp setting is I don’t recall at this time. Once the Max reaches that point it actually reduces the CPU power so that the stick won’t overheat to the point of component damage. Here it gets over 40°celsius with the humidex in the summer. So you can imagine the overheating issues that arise. I have a small fan behind my TV to circulate air to help cooling. Now @BVARGA01 feel free to PM me anytime. Just click on my avitar and then click message. I’ll help you with a few settings to get more out of your sticks. Have a great day.
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To tell you the truth, I hadn’t even thought about overheating. Though I’m in Massachusetts USA and it’s been pretty cold even in my home the past 2 months or so, but, yeah, that makes loads of sense. Maybe I could unplug like once a day. Since I injured my back I pretty much watch TV all day and night, so I really shouldn’t be surprised that about every 6 months my fire sticks are junk. Thanks for reminding me of that!
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Firesticks are a gateway drug 
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Get you a usb powered fan from Amazon. Won’t have to worry again.
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Wow, I have a USB powered fan! What an excellent suggestion! I’m gonna try that right now and let you know if it helps with the freezing screen and crashes tomorrow, since my fire stick has been messing up almost daily. I wish they had something in settings that would let you know beforehand that the stick is starting to overheat. That would be helpful. Maybe Amazon, Defsquid or another app will add that function soon, since they have the function to test your internet speed.
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Talking box cooling really gets me hot 
…
pun intended.
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They do have but it’s a very advanced tool that requires time to learn, not only how to open it and close it, but how to understand the info given. It’s called “system x-ray”
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So, is it on the fire sticks, 4k max or is it an app? Not that I’ll understand it, since you said it’s advanced, but I’ve got nothing but time on my hands so… I couldn’t figure out what was safe to force stop/task kill using the task killer app, even though I watched the videos on it 3 times.
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I also have a FS from 2015 that still works. I don’t think they are engineered to break. More like engineered to become obsolete.
And at the risk of irritating Miki, like Troypoint is suggesting, I’ve been moving away from Amazon Firesticks. My Mecool is so much cleaner, faster, better memory, and more stable than any FS or Cube I’ve ever had. The latest FS update, in my humble opinion, is trying to mess with your ability to side-load and seems to also be messing somehow with your sideloaded apps (memory issues). And it seems pretty bad (my wife’s 4k is now wonky) with the possible exception of the Max. Only my opinion, but it sure seems like all the sudden, after the latest update, that people are having a lot of trouble with their pre-Max firesticks. I’ll be replacing my remaining FSs with the latest ONN box when it comes out from Walmart.
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I agree carlbs. I have been on the run constantly with older 4k sticks as there are definately issues. What bugs me is I can’t seem to settle on exactly what caused these glitches. The only fix I could find was replacing them with the 4k max. My Max is over a year and a half old and I’ve never done a reset. The gang got together and generously got a Nvidia Shield Pro for me so you may be correct, AndroidTV here I come. “WARNING” I am heavily contaminated with FireTV Amazon pixie dust. God help us all. 
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We can agree to disagree on this. Any electronics that have electricity flowing through a circuit board that are sealed up tight to hold that heat, aren’t designed to last. In a previous life my passion was building PCs and CPU/GPU coolers, so that is where I started to learn about heat dissipation, coolers, temps, etc. I do agree with the obsolete part, if you are lucky enough for them to last.
two things try a new power cube and wire
older firesticks are slow – buying the 4k and max are best option and as miki says you arent buying for 4k it will run what ever your tv can handle if you have poorer internet use 1080 p and 720 links even if you are running 4k stick
at the cost of firesticks i updated all mine to max they have them on sale as refurbed for 30 bucks at time
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Are you sure it’s “Pixie Dust”? lol But I know what you mean. Firesticks were a revelation when they first came out. Heck, I have an old $19 Dynalink box from Walmart (at least 6 years old) that I’ve never reset that is my second go-to box. No bloatware for starters and still runs things without a glitch – relatively speaking. Have fun with the Shield Pro. Let us know how that goes.
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You have a lot more experience than I do, so I’ll defer to you on the “breaking” part. I’ve always used dongle cords on my sticks, so maybe that has something to do with them (6 or 7 of them – most sitting in a drawer someplace) not breaking. The new-to-me Mecool KM1 deluxe has a large metal heat sink plate and holes (openings) on the bottom that I think all boxes should have.
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