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on January 11, 2017
Excellent product. With Bose speakers attached you get concert hall music. Also simplifies access to movies and other Apps. Would love more real time sports and a Facebook App.
Amazon could take the communications companies and the bought off Congressional Oversight Committee members out of the lucrative business of scamming the public. The Congressional FCC Oversight Committee members received about $40,000 per year for not processing consumer complaints, ignoring FCC documented consumer online complaints and ignoring FCC Annual Goals and Mission Statements.
Amazon could take the communications companies and the bought off Congressional Oversight Committee members out of the lucrative business of scamming the public. The Congressional FCC Oversight Committee members received about $40,000 per year for not processing consumer complaints, ignoring FCC documented consumer online complaints and ignoring FCC Annual Goals and Mission Statements.
on November 27, 2016
***Update 7/12/17***
Later, same day, after a few hours of not responding, the Fire TV has come back to life. I don't know if it's anything I did or not. I basically just went crazy with random remote button presses. That didn't appear to help (white LED still flashed slowly). Then after maybe half an hour at rest, the white LED stopped flashing. I pressed a remote control button and the white LED would only flash quickly in response to the remote. Still no picture, though. At this point, I connected to the Fire TV remote control app on my phone and paired with the device, switched HDMI inputs back and forth and bang - the picture was back. It was working again. 2nd time something like this has happened in the last few months. I know it wasn't an Amazon server issue as my Fire TV stick worked fine while the box didn't. These things desperately need a physical factory reset button. I'm changing my review to 3 stars.
***Update 7/12/17:***
Changing my review from 5 stars to 2 stars because in less than a year, it appears the device has stopped working. Went to turn it on today and it wasn't responding. The white LED light on the device was flashing slowly. Pressed buttons on the remote, power cycled several times, and each time, it would only flash the white Amazon logo, but not the yellow, animated Amazon Fire TV logo that would normally come up afterwards. Black screen. White LED flashing on unit. Contacted Amazon customer service and they are sending a refurbished replacement at no charge but with no additional warranty (warranty will expire 1 year from the purchase date of the original). Amazon provided prepaid return shipping label for me to send the defective unit back. I've since tried some crazy remote button combinations, and at some point the LED eventually stopped flashing and would only flash when I pressed a remote button. This told me that it was at least responding to remote commands, a good sign. So I tried factory reset using the remote (hold right and back buttons for 15 seconds, as suggested by the Amazon customer service rep I chatted with). That seemed to to do something, the LED started flashing yellow quickly for a while, but ultimately that didn't fix the issue either. Device is not showing any picture, and power cycling it again, puts it back into a state of white LED flashing slowly.
These units don't have a physical factory reset button on them. They should last more than a year, more like 3-5 years at least. I'm terribly disappointed. Great product when it worked, but apparently reliability is poor.
***Original review below***
I love this device. Love the small size and especially the feel of the remote in your hand. Remote is a perfect size and fit.
The device is fast and I read on Sony's site that the Playstation Vue app interface is much better on the Fire TV than on the Roku at this time. Love the native 4K support.
Also a huge bonus over Roku is that you can easily install apps outside of the Amazon app store. For example, you can easily install the Kodi platform, which you cannot do on a Roku (at least not without some serious hacking skills).
Overall, very happy with my purchase.
Later, same day, after a few hours of not responding, the Fire TV has come back to life. I don't know if it's anything I did or not. I basically just went crazy with random remote button presses. That didn't appear to help (white LED still flashed slowly). Then after maybe half an hour at rest, the white LED stopped flashing. I pressed a remote control button and the white LED would only flash quickly in response to the remote. Still no picture, though. At this point, I connected to the Fire TV remote control app on my phone and paired with the device, switched HDMI inputs back and forth and bang - the picture was back. It was working again. 2nd time something like this has happened in the last few months. I know it wasn't an Amazon server issue as my Fire TV stick worked fine while the box didn't. These things desperately need a physical factory reset button. I'm changing my review to 3 stars.
***Update 7/12/17:***
Changing my review from 5 stars to 2 stars because in less than a year, it appears the device has stopped working. Went to turn it on today and it wasn't responding. The white LED light on the device was flashing slowly. Pressed buttons on the remote, power cycled several times, and each time, it would only flash the white Amazon logo, but not the yellow, animated Amazon Fire TV logo that would normally come up afterwards. Black screen. White LED flashing on unit. Contacted Amazon customer service and they are sending a refurbished replacement at no charge but with no additional warranty (warranty will expire 1 year from the purchase date of the original). Amazon provided prepaid return shipping label for me to send the defective unit back. I've since tried some crazy remote button combinations, and at some point the LED eventually stopped flashing and would only flash when I pressed a remote button. This told me that it was at least responding to remote commands, a good sign. So I tried factory reset using the remote (hold right and back buttons for 15 seconds, as suggested by the Amazon customer service rep I chatted with). That seemed to to do something, the LED started flashing yellow quickly for a while, but ultimately that didn't fix the issue either. Device is not showing any picture, and power cycling it again, puts it back into a state of white LED flashing slowly.
These units don't have a physical factory reset button on them. They should last more than a year, more like 3-5 years at least. I'm terribly disappointed. Great product when it worked, but apparently reliability is poor.
***Original review below***
I love this device. Love the small size and especially the feel of the remote in your hand. Remote is a perfect size and fit.
The device is fast and I read on Sony's site that the Playstation Vue app interface is much better on the Fire TV than on the Roku at this time. Love the native 4K support.
Also a huge bonus over Roku is that you can easily install apps outside of the Amazon app store. For example, you can easily install the Kodi platform, which you cannot do on a Roku (at least not without some serious hacking skills).
Overall, very happy with my purchase.
on June 19, 2017
This thing is great. Having broken free from cable a few years ago I've tried several different streaming platforms. Roku 2 was the first one we had and it worked well (we've used this the longest). I absolutely hated the lack of guide though when streaming with PlayStation Vue. Next came Apple TV 4th gen. I loved the ability to use the guide with Vue but for some reason we always had connection issues with our wifi. Due to the continual buffering we didn't use this one long, which was a bit of a bummer due to both having iPhones. If hardwired it may have had less issues, but that wasn't an option for us.
Lastly I tried the fire tv. I went with the box vs the stick due to the ability to stream 4K (if we get to that point). The picture quality is great. No connection issues and Vue has a guide. Wife has no complaints either which is a bonus.
Having Amazon prime everything interfaces nicely. I can't say anything negative about the unit up to this point. The ability to spread the payments out vs lying at once was a nice bonus as well.
If you're on the fence about picking this up I highly recommend it. I'll update if any issues arise or my thoughts change on the unit
Lastly I tried the fire tv. I went with the box vs the stick due to the ability to stream 4K (if we get to that point). The picture quality is great. No connection issues and Vue has a guide. Wife has no complaints either which is a bonus.
Having Amazon prime everything interfaces nicely. I can't say anything negative about the unit up to this point. The ability to spread the payments out vs lying at once was a nice bonus as well.
If you're on the fence about picking this up I highly recommend it. I'll update if any issues arise or my thoughts change on the unit
on February 24, 2016
After a short period, box no longer responds. Lets see what amazon does.
on March 21, 2017
Edited 3/29/17 - now my new Fire Tv is having more problems. It will not wake up when I press the home button. I can see the little white light on the box blinking when I press the remote but it will not wake it up. The only way I can get it to us to get up, unplug the fire tv, plug it back in, then wait for it to start up. I do not recommend this junk to anyone. Buy the firestick instead.
I love this Fire Tv, but it has a major problem. I've had it about a month and the remote has stopped working twice. The batteries are brand new so that's not it. The only way I can get it to work again is to take out one of the batteries and put it back in again. This is a real pain in the butt and something amazon needs to fix. I've tried just holding down the home button anywhere from 5 seconds to 10 seconds and that doesn't work.
I love this Fire Tv, but it has a major problem. I've had it about a month and the remote has stopped working twice. The batteries are brand new so that's not it. The only way I can get it to work again is to take out one of the batteries and put it back in again. This is a real pain in the butt and something amazon needs to fix. I've tried just holding down the home button anywhere from 5 seconds to 10 seconds and that doesn't work.
on October 6, 2016
I love it, but am a bit disappointed. It DOES everything as advertised, and does it well. Voice control works great!, and here's my disappointment. It HAS Alexa, but CAN NOT be controlled by Echo!! I have Echo, and love it, so when the Smart hub On my Samsung started getting buggy, I thought here was my fix! Think about it. FIRETV has Alexa, Echo has Alexa, why shouldn't they work together. They don't.
Being a Prime member, I'm keeping it. Like I said, it's great. If you are a prime member, don't hesitate. But if you're buying it to work with echo, think again. Amazon messed this perfect opportunity up. It's stuff like this that will drive folks to Google
Being a Prime member, I'm keeping it. Like I said, it's great. If you are a prime member, don't hesitate. But if you're buying it to work with echo, think again. Amazon messed this perfect opportunity up. It's stuff like this that will drive folks to Google
on June 7, 2016
UPDATE: Friends, there's no doubt that Amazon.com is customer service focused. I spoke with tech support staff in an effort to resolve the issue and, when all efforts were exhausted, a replacement Fire TV is now shipping. Hats off to you, Amazon! 👍😉
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I need to express my 1st ever dissatisfaction with FireTV. I've got five FireTV devices so I was sure I'd be okay with another.
Problem: The remote began flaking out and finally stopped connecting to the box. I swapped remotes with my FireTV from another room and now the box itself is flaking out. The output drops its connection to the TV and resetting the unit is no longer providing any results. I'll keep you posted on how Amazon handles my defective box because I'm 30 days over on my return... When it worked, it worked nicely. Again, now it's more about how Amazon addresses the issue versus the issue itself.
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I need to express my 1st ever dissatisfaction with FireTV. I've got five FireTV devices so I was sure I'd be okay with another.
Problem: The remote began flaking out and finally stopped connecting to the box. I swapped remotes with my FireTV from another room and now the box itself is flaking out. The output drops its connection to the TV and resetting the unit is no longer providing any results. I'll keep you posted on how Amazon handles my defective box because I'm 30 days over on my return... When it worked, it worked nicely. Again, now it's more about how Amazon addresses the issue versus the issue itself.
on January 15, 2017
This is my third day with this Firebox thing and like I said it's ok.
I have a 15 MB Download with 1024 GB of bandwidth a month.
First you have no global way of controlling the download speeds. That seems to be controlled by the apps.
The apps I have enabled are set to the default and that is unlimited.
I set mine to 'Low' and I have to do that every time I start an app.
Some apps never give you that option so you might be using 5mb a second.
I'd like to be able to control that.
You can't turn this thing off but you can unplug it when you are not using it.
If you don't it will chat to Amazon and all the apps that you enabled and burn up a pant load of your bandwidth.
Second the remote is small and everything you need to do, you need to click the buttons on that little thing.
It ain't gonna last. If this remote lasts 6 months I will be celebrating with a dinner of king crab legs.
Like I said, it's ok but not great.
Oh and when the stream freezes, click the forward button and then hit play again. That will start it up again.
Your experience will depend on what your ISP can deliver.
I have a 15 MB Download with 1024 GB of bandwidth a month.
First you have no global way of controlling the download speeds. That seems to be controlled by the apps.
The apps I have enabled are set to the default and that is unlimited.
I set mine to 'Low' and I have to do that every time I start an app.
Some apps never give you that option so you might be using 5mb a second.
I'd like to be able to control that.
You can't turn this thing off but you can unplug it when you are not using it.
If you don't it will chat to Amazon and all the apps that you enabled and burn up a pant load of your bandwidth.
Second the remote is small and everything you need to do, you need to click the buttons on that little thing.
It ain't gonna last. If this remote lasts 6 months I will be celebrating with a dinner of king crab legs.
Like I said, it's ok but not great.
Oh and when the stream freezes, click the forward button and then hit play again. That will start it up again.
Your experience will depend on what your ISP can deliver.
on July 3, 2017
Very pleased- I eliminated cable and DVR on two TVs and went to the barest cable option on our one TV with cable. I am thinking of completely canceling cable once my contacts ends. We can get all the premium shows we want with small monthly subscription charges- Sling- with TCM, BBC, Acorn TV- very pleased with Amazon Fire TV
