Do Amazon Fire Sticks Slow Down Wi-Fi? (We Checked)

So you bought the Amazon Fire Stick for your old HD TV, only to find out that your Internet connection became slower after installing it.

Now, this throttling can be a problem if other people depend on the Internet connection in your house.

As bandwidth can be limited, some people may not appreciate that another device is hogging the Wi-Fi network.

Here’s If Fire Stick Slow Down Wi-Fi:

According to Amazon’s website, the Fire Stick uses about 0.7GB per hour of streaming. This is higher than most other devices because it has an integrated antenna that allows for better reception in areas where there are spotty networks or dead zones (like basements).

The Fire Stick is a streaming device that plugs into your TV. It connects to your Wi-Fi network, so it can stream content from the internet to your TV. And like all other streaming devices, it will use up some of your data plan when using it.

The Fire Stick connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi to stream video content, as it does not have an offline streaming function.

If your Internet subscription does not have enough bandwidth, the Fire Stick can slow down your Wi-Fi network.

How Come My Wi-Fi Is Slower When Using a Fire Stick?

The Amazon Fire Stick consumes Internet bandwidth every time you use it. Depending on the content you watch, the Fire Stick will need anywhere between 5 – 25 Mbps of Internet speed.

The Fire Stick requires a connection to the internet, and it does this by connecting to your Wi-Fi router (or modem/router combo).

The more devices connected to your network, the more traffic that will be generated by them. If you have many devices connected at once — such as multiple smartphones, laptops, tablets and gaming systems — this can cause your network to slow down significantly.

It might also be a sign that you need to replace your Firestick.

Can Amazon Fire Stick Directly Affect My Wi-Fi Speed?

As a device that connects primarily through Wi-Fi, the Fire Stick will affect your Wi-Fi speed.

The Fire Stick is powered by the Wi-Fi connection in your home. Wi-Fi is a shared connection with other devices, so if you have an older router or one that isn’t working well, you might have buffering issues or slow load times.

To improve your Fire Stick experience, try these tips:

• Switch to a new router. If you have an older router that doesn’t support 802.11ac or dual band technology, it might be time for an upgrade. You can find 802.11ac routers for less than $50 at stores like Best Buy and Walmart.
• Upgrade your internet speed. If you want to use things like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube without buffering or laggy video, your internet speed needs to be at least 10 Mbps (megabits per second). The average internet speed in the U.S. is about 22 Mbps, but speeds vary widely among providers and regions of the country. Check out this list of providers offering 10 Mbps or more across the U.S.

Check also whether Eero can affect Wi-Fi speed.

How Do I Check If It Interferes With My Wi-Fi connection?

You can check other devices if they can connect to the Internet without any hiccups while the Fire Stick is connected. If you disconnect the Fire Stick and the Internet connection improves for other devices, the Fire Stick is likely hogging the Wi-Fi connection.  

Also you can check the speeds of your wi-fi by visiting a speedtest site and doing a test with the Fire Stick and without the Fire Stick.

How Much Bandwidth Does a Fire Stick Use?

A Fire Stick’s streaming quality depends on the bandwidth. To give you an idea, if the video resolution is set to good, or around 720p, you are likely to consume around 900 MB of data per hour.

You’ll need approximately 3.5GB of data each hour for resolutions set to 1080p and about 6GB of data for videos set to 4k.

If you are looking to save on bandwidth, you should adjust the video quality in the settings of the Fire Stick. You would not want to set it to 4k streaming when your TV isn’t 4k-compatible. That would be an awful waste of bandwidth.

Have a look at this blog about do video games slow down wi-fi?

Does a Fire Stick Use Bandwidth When Not Playing Any Video? 

A Fire Stick uses bandwidth, even when not streaming. While it does consume bandwidth, it won’t be as intensive as video streaming. Often, the bandwidth is used to display the latest video or content available on the Fire Stick.

Can You Stop Fire Sticks From Interfering With Your Wi-Fi? 

• Interference from Fire Sticks with respect to Wi-Fi is often a result of the Fire Stick taking too much bandwidth. This interference results in other devices not being able to connect smoothly.
• As the Fire Stick has the exact Internet needs of a smart TV, it needs sufficient bandwidth. Now, if you’re running other Internet-heavy apps or devices, you also need to have enough bandwidth.
• You can disconnect the Fire Stick when not in use or lower its resolution, but there will be limits that you can only resolve with an upgrade from your Internet service provider.

Can The Fire Stick Remote Interfere With Wi-Fi? 

It’s unlikely that the Fire Stick remote will interfere with your Wi-Fi connection. First of all, your Fire Stick remote connects to the receiver, similar to Wi-Fi. It does not directly relate to the same Wi-Fi network the Fire Stick uses.

The second thing to remember is that signals are only emitted when you press a button on the remote of the Fire Stick.

The same observations can be said when using the Fire TV remote app on your smartphone, except that your phone and Fire Stick should be on the same network. If there is any possibility of interference, it’s likely with the smart TV app.

Can I use a LAN connection for the Fire Stick? 

If you’re worried about the Fire Stick hogging the Wi-Fi airwaves, you can opt to use an Ethernet adapter to take it off Wi-Fi dependence and provide a more stable connection.

The Ethernet adapter plugs into the micro USB port of the Fire Stick. From the attachment, you can plug in the LAN cable and the power supply of the Fire Stick.

How can I make my Fire Stick stream better? 

The Fire Stick is an excellent way to make any old HD TV a smart TV without buying a new TV. The Fire Stick breathes new life into older TVs as it only plugs into the HDMI port.

That said, you’d want to make the most out of it so you can enjoy watching content from it.

Turn off Data Monitoring 

Deactivating Data Monitoring allows you to have better streaming quality, as Data Monitoring restricts your use of Internet data.

If your subscription has a monthly fixed data cap, you may want to exercise caution on turning off the data function, as streaming in the best video quality will quickly use up your data credits.

To turn off Data Monitoring:

• Go to Settings, select Preferences, and click on Data Monitoring on the Fire Stick.
• Select Data Monitoring to toggle between on and off.
• You’ll be asked to select video quality. Choose between Good, Better and Best.
• After choosing the video quality, press the Home button on the remote to return to the main interface.

Improve Picture Quality 

If you are still not satisfied with the video quality after setting it to best, you can still improve the Picture quality with the following tips:

• Uninstall any apps you’re not using on the Fire Stick. These apps only take up space and use processing power that the Fire Stick could use to process better picture quality.
• Restart your Fire Stick by either unplugging it from the power source or going to Settings, clicking on My Fire TV, and selecting Restart. Restarting the Fire TV clears out any unnecessary memory usage.
• Reset your Fire Stick to give it a clean slate. Wiping out the contents of your Fire Stick should be the last resort to improve its performance, as it can delete any problematic files inside. Just remember that you need to reinstall everything once more.

Update The Firmware 

Checking for firmware updates for the Fire Stick ensures smooth operations. This firmware update is also designed to fix any bugs in the system that may affect performance, whether display-related.

To check for firmware updates:

• In the Settings Menu, go to Device or System
• Select About, then click on Check System Update
• Should a firmware update be available, the Fire Stick will download and install it automatically. You can also defer installation to install when the TV is idle or when it restarts.

Adjust the video resolution 

Unless you use the 4K Fire Stick and a 4K TV, it’s best to set the Fire Stick to 1080p resolution. You can set it to Auto so that it adapts to your TV’s settings.

To set the resolution:

• Go to Settings and click on Display and Sound
• Select Display and look for Video Resolution
• Under Video Resolution, you can set it to Auto or a screen resolution and refresh rate that matches your TV.

Use The Appropriate Frequency. 

Modern Wi-Fi routers now have two frequencies that users can connect to. For your Fire Stick, it’s highly recommended to use the 5GHz frequency since it’s faster and more stable. You can reserve the 2.4GHz for less intensive Wi-Fi-dependent devices, such as smart home hubs and speakers.

Does Interference Cause Buffering On The Fire Stick? 

Buffering can result from interference that disrupts the connection between the Fire Stick and your Wi-Fi router. Remember that devices such as baby monitors, microwave ovens, and cordless phones use the same frequency as Wi-Fi. Thus the high probability of interference with the Fire Stick.

The best solution here is to stay clear from these devices. If it’s unavoidable, an excellent alternative would be to use the 5GHz frequency.

If buffering still occurs, you may want to try other solutions, such as restarting the Fire Stick, removing other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Fire TV, or updating the firmware.

If removing other devices is not an option, it might be time to upgrade your Internet subscription.

Read this blog about does Google Nest slow down wi-fi?

Can you assign how much bandwidth a Fire Stick can use? 

You can assign your Fire Stick to have a lower priority with regard to its connection to your network. You can toggle these settings in your router’s control panel.

The steps to assign a particular bandwidth varies for each router brand, so it’s best to consult the manual on how to do this.

Remember that adjusting the allowed bandwidth may affect the video quality, so keep this in mind should you decide to lower its allowable speed.

Final Thoughts 

It’s normal for the Fire Stick to take up resources from your Wi-Fi connection, just like any other smart TV or computer. If you think it’s causing any problems with your Wi-Fi, the simplest solution would be to turn it off when not in use.

Source:

• LifeWire: How Do I Improve Fire Stick Streaming Quality?
• Digi Help Desk: How many Gigabytes does a Firestick use? Reduce your data usage