The following guide shows you how to restart your Amazon Firestick or Fire TV quickly to refresh your device.
Restarting or “rebooting” your Firestick is a great way to enhance device performance if you are facing issues. Rebooting can help minimize buffering, clear cache, force close apps running in the background, and fix your Firestick if it’s frozen or unresponsive.
There are three ways to restart your Amazon Firestick or Fire TV:
- Unplugging the power cord
- Fire TV remote shortcut
- Restarting the device manually from the Fire TV settings
We offer step-by-step screenshot guides for all three of these methods below.
It’s essential to note that restarting/rebooting your Firestick is different from performing a factory reset. Resetting your Firestick to default settings will remove all installed applications and require you to set up your device from the beginning.
How to Restart Your Firestick or Fire TV
The three methods below for restarting/rebooting your Firestick will function on any Amazon Fire TV device. In this case, we are using our Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
Method One: Unplugging the Power Cord
The quickest way to restart your Firestick is by simply unplugging the power cord from your electrical outlet. This method works well if your device is frozen or if you cannot access anything with the remote.
You can also unplug the Firestick’s USB-C connection if you prefer not to touch your electrical outlets. Once unplugged, wait 20-30 seconds before plugging it back in.
Your device should now go through the restart process. Make sure to give it a minute or so to load menus and applications. Once complete, your device will be operable again.
Method Two: Fire TV Remote Shortcut
If you cannot easily access the power outlet your Fire TV is connected to or want to reboot internally, we recommend using your Firestick remote. This restart process should take about 30 seconds by following the quick steps below.
1. Press the Pause/Play button and the Select button together for around 5-10 seconds.
2. Your device will then display the message “Your Fire TV Stick 4K is turning off.”
3. After powering off, the device will restart and be operational again shortly.
Method Three: Fire TV Settings
If the first two methods mentioned above do not work for you, you can manually restart your Firestick from the device settings. Refer to the steps below for more information.
1. From your Fire TV home screen, hover over the Settings icon
on the far right.
2. Scroll down and select My Fire TV.
3. Then scroll down and click Restart.
4. Click Restart again.
5. Your Firestick will start turning off.
6. Wait a minute or two for your Firestick/Fire TV to fully reboot.
7. That’s it! After successfully restarting your Amazon Firestick you should arrive back on the Fire TV Home screen.
For more details on the restart/reboot process, you can refer to Amazon’s support documentation.
Final Thoughts
If you own an Amazon Firestick or Fire TV and it’s running slow or unresponsive, we suggest restarting as the first solution. Rebooting your device is one of the most underrated fixes that can help improve speeds, user-experience, and overall performance.
For more Firestick troubleshooting resources, we suggest viewing our guides below:
Did rebooting your Amazon Firestick help fix your issues? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
FAQs
How do you Restart a Firestick?
There are three methods for restarting an Amazon Firestick or Fire TV. This includes unplugging the power cord, entering a shortcut on your remote, or rebooting our device manually from the Fire TV settings.
Can you Restart a Firestick with the Remote?
Yes. Press the Pause/Play button and the Select button together on your Firestick remote for approximately 5-10 seconds then wait for your device to reboot.
Is Restarting your Firestick Safe?
Yes. Restarting your device is not only safe but often recommended to improve performance.
Is Unplugging Your Firestick Bad?
While unplugging your Firestick is not the ideal solution, sometimes it is necessary if your device is frozen or unresponsive.
If I Restart my Firestick will I lose everything?
No. Restarting your Firestick/Fire TV will not delete any apps or files. Resetting your device to factory settings will remove everything.