A Complete Guide to Fixing Fire TV Stick Remote Not Working Issue

When you buy a new Amazon Fire TV Stick, the streaming stick and the Fire TV remote are pretty much everything in the box—plus a power brick and USB cable. The remote is essential for setting up the Fire TV Stick and over 40 million people love the streaming stick. While using it, you might encounter some issues that renders the Fire TV Stick remote unusable. In this guide, we list a couple of solutions to fix the Fire TV Stick remote when it isn’t working or gives you trouble.

Read and follow the methods in this post meticulously and let us know which one worked the magic.

Note: The solutions in this post apply to the basic Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K models. Also, these solutions apply to the 1st and 2nd Generation Fire TV remotes.

1. Move Remote Closer

If your Fire TV Stick isn’t responding to the remote commands, ensure that the remote and streaming stick are not too far off from each other. Amazon recommends using the remote and Fire TV Stick within 10 feet (~ 3 meters) for glitch-free experience. If the Fire TV Stick still doesn’t respond to the remote, proceed to the next troubleshooting check.

2. Reactivate Remote Using Voice Button

If the Fire TV Stick remote is unresponsive, try holding the Alexa voice button on the remote for 3 – 5 seconds until the blue light flashes. That can help reinitiate the connection between the remote and Fire TV Stick. I’ve used this method a couple of times to fix my Fire TV Stick remote, and it has worked. You should try it too.

3. Replace Batteries

If your remote only respond/works occasionally, the problem is most likely battery-related. Interestingly, there’s a way to check your Fire TV Stick remote’s battery status in the Settings menu. If you can, check the condition of the remote’s battery before changing them. Here’s how.

Step 1: Launch the Fire TV Stick menu and select ’Controllers & Bluetooth Devices.’

Step 2: Select ‘Amazon Fire TV Remotes.’

Step 3: Check the Battery section to see the Fire TV Remote’s status. If the Battery is labeled OK, that means the batteries in the remote are functional.

However, if the Battery status reads Offline, your Fire TV Stick remote’s batteries aren’t properly fitted, low, or moribund.

You can take the batteries out, clean the remote’s battery contact/spring, and place them back in. If the remote still doesn’t work or occasionally malfunctions, you should replace the batteries with new units.

If the remote doesn’t work with new batteries, try the next solution below.

4. Reset/Unpair Fire TV Remote

This is another effective solution to fixing remote issues on the Fire TV Stick. For the 2nd generation Fire TV Stick remote (with dedicated volume buttons), tap and hold the left button, menu button, and back button for about 10 – 15 seconds (till the remote blinks blue light).

For the 1st generation Fire TV Remote (without dedicated volume buttons), tap and hold the left button and menu button simultaneously for 10 – 15 seconds to unpair the remote.

That will unpair the Fire TV remote from the Fire TV Stick. Wait for a couple of seconds and pair the remote back to the streaming device (see method #5 below).

5. Pair Remote to the Fire TV Stick

May be the Fire TV remote isn’t working because it isn’t paired to the Fire TV Stick. Odd but likely. You can initiate the pairing process to re-pair the remote to the Fire TV Stick and check if that solves the issue.

Tap the home button on the remote for about 20 seconds till a message that reads ‘Amazon Fire TV Remote now connected to your Fire TV Stick’ appears at the bottom-left corner of your TV screen.

Note: The Fire TV Stick can only pair a maximum of seven (7) remotes simultaneously. So, if a remote is not pairing to your Fire TV Stick, unpair one remote (see method #4) and retry the pairing process.

6. Hard Reboot Fire TV Stick

Sometimes, the problem isn’t the Fire TV remote. Rather, the Fire TV Stick itself. The device could be experiencing some system glitches or not respond to remote commands. To fix that, unplug the Fire TV Stick from its power source and plug it back in. If the remote still doesn’t work, you can use the Fire TV app to control the streaming stick.

7. Use the Fire TV App

The Fire TV app is available for both Android and iOS smartphones.

Download the Fire TV App (for Android)

Download the Fire TV App (for iOS)

Install the app on your device and sign in to the same Amazon account connected to your Fire TV Stick. Additionally, make sure your smartphone and the steaming stick are connected to the same Wi-Fi network with internet access.

Step 1: Launch the app, and you should see your Fire TV Stick on the homepage. Tap on it to begin the pairing process.

Step 2: You’d be asked to input a four-digit code that’s displayed on your screen to complete the app pairing process.

Last Resort

If you are unable to get your Fire TV remote to work or pair with the Fire TV Stick despite trying all of the above, the remote is most likely faulty or damaged. In that case, you might have to purchase a replacement remote. You can get that from Amazon; the 2nd Gen Fire TV remote costs $29.99 while the 1st Gen remote costs $27.99. Alternatively, you can stick to using the Fire TV app as your remote. You might miss the feel of the physical remote, but it is pretty convenient and easy to use.

Next up: Is Fire TV Stick remote not connecting to the Amazon Fire TV Stick after a factory reset? Try these solutions in the article linked below to pair the Alexa Voice Remote with your Fire TV Stick.