3 Fixes for Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Not Recognizing USB Drive

Basic Fixes

• Avoid using largely sized USB drives: You need to avoid using USB drives that are larger than 128GB in size.
• Check the USB Adapter: Amazon recommends using a USB 3.0 storage with the adapter for connecting to your Fire TV Stick 4K.
• Update and restart Fire TV Stick 4K: Install the latest software version on your Fire TV Stick 4K model to get rid of bugs or glitches that may be causing the issue.

Fix 1: Format USB to FAT32

The first solution we recommend is checking whether your USB drive is in FAT32 disk format. Every model of Amazon Fire TV Stick supports only the FAT32 disk format for USB drives or external hard drives. In this case, we suggest checking and formatting your USB to FAT32. Refer to the following posts to learn how to format a USB drive on your Windows PC.

On Mac, connect your UBS > Open Disk Utility > Select your USB Drive name > Click on Erase.

Fix 2: Disable USB Debugging

This solution was suggested on the official Amazon Community forum by a user. If you have USB Debugging enabled on your Fire TV Stick 4K, it might not recognize your USB device. Here’s how to check and disable the same.

Step 1: Open Settings > My Fire TV > About.

Step 2: Select the model name of your Fire TV and then keep pressing the Select button on your remote to enable Developer Options.

Step 3: Go back and then select Developer Options.

Step 4: Select ADB Debugging to turn off the feature.

Fix 3: Reset Your Fire TV Stick 4K

Do note that following this solution will erase all apps and preferences from your Fire TV Stick 4K. You should follow this only if none of the solutions mentioned above have worked so far.

Open Settings > My Fire TV > Reset to Factory Defaults.

Tip: You can also read our post if your Fire TV Stick 4K is not playing 4K content.