Amazon Firesticks are an excellent tool for streaming, especially when your smart TV lacks features and apps to watch your favorite shows. It’s also cost-effective and can be used on any smart TV. However, you might experience that your Firestick keeps freezing.
This might happen due to various factors, including the age of your streaming device, Wi-Fi problems, memory issues, and much more. This guide will show you the most common reasons why your Firestick keeps freezing and how to fix Firestick keeps buffering.
Read on to know more.
Table of Contents
“Why Does My Firestick Keep Freezing?” – Most Common Reasons
Various reasons can cause your Amazon Firestick to buffer or slow down. Here are the most common reasons why your Firestick device freezes:
- Slow Internet Connection – Your Firestick might buffer due to a slow Wi-Fi connection. Fortunately, you can fix this by power cycling your Wi-Fi router or upgrading to a faster Wi-Fi plan.
- Outdated Apps – You might experience freezing when using an app when it’s outdated. Updating all installed apps to their latest version can help solve this issue.
- Corrupted Cache – While cache data optimizes all your apps, it can also cause problems when corrupted. You can try clearing the app’s cache and checking if it freezes.
- Outdated Firmware – Your Firestick needs the latest updates to work at its best. Try installing the newest firmware available for your Firestick device and see if its performance improves.
How to Fix When Firestick Keeps Freezing
It’s essential to keep your Firestick device working to stream your favorite shows continuously. Here are some workarounds to help fix your Amazon Firestick when it keeps freezing. Remember to review each fix and check which one works best for your Firestick:
Fix #1: Power Cycle Your Wi-Fi Router
When your Amazon Firestick keeps freezing due to a slow internet connection, you can try power cycling your Wi-Fi router. This re-initializes the router’s components and fixes bugs. To power cycle your Wi-Fi router, follow these steps:
- Turn off your router and unplug its power adapter from the socket.
- Wait for one minute to drain the power.
- Plug the power adapter back in and turn on your router.
- To check your internet connection, boot up your smart TV. Using the Fire Stick remote, go to Settings > Network and select your Wi-Fi network.
- Navigate to the Connection Status page and see if you’re currently connected. Also, check if you have a Very Good signal strength.
If this doesn’t fix the issue, you can proceed to power cycle your Firestick device. To do this, disconnect your Amazon Firestick from your smart TV and wait 30 seconds to drain the power. Then, plug your Firestick into your TV and check if it works normally.
Fix #2: Enable Automatic App Updates on the Amazon App Store
It’s critical to keep the apps on your Firestick up to date. Specific updates can fix bugs that might be causing it to freeze. To enable automatic updates on the Amazon App Store, follow the steps below:
- Turn on your smart TV and ensure that your Firestick device is plugged in.
- Using the Fire TV Stick remote, navigate to Settings > Applications and select Appstore.
- Set the Automatic Updates option to On. This will prompt your Firestick to update all installed apps via the Amazon App Store.
- To update sideloaded apps, uninstall the recent version of the app on your Firestick and install its updated version.
Fix #3: Force Stop and Clear Cache Data
Every app on your Firestick will store temporary app data, like cache data. While this helps optimize the app and improve its performance, it can consume your Firestick’s internal memory when left uncleared for a long time. Clearing it can help solve issues like freezing.
However, you must force stop an app first before clearing its app data, especially when it’s unresponsive. To force stop an app and clear its cache data on your Firestick, proceed to these steps:
- Go to Settings > Applications and choose Manage Installed Applications.
- Select the Firestick app that’s currently freezing and choose Force Stop. Next, choose Clear cache.
- Relaunch the app and check if it still freezes.
Clearing the cache date is one of the best ways How to Restart Firestick when it is Frozen.
Fix #4: Update Your Firestick
Besides updating all installed apps on your Firestick, you’ll also need to install the latest firmware update on your Firestick. This keeps your Firestick compatible with the latest apps and fixes bugs on the system.
To install the latest firmware update on your Firestick, do the following:
- Navigate to Settings > My Fire TV and choose About.
- Select Check for Updates. Once there’s a new Fire OS update, it will be automatically downloaded and installed on your Firestick.
Fix #5: Perform a Factory Reset
If the fixes above don’t work, the last resort that you can try is a factory reset. This resets all settings and configurations on your Firestick to their factory defaults. It will also uninstall all apps except for preinstalled apps.
However, this can potentially fix all problems on your device, like when it freezes or is unresponsive. To perform a factory reset on your Firestick, follow the steps below:
- Navigate to Settings > My Fire TV and choose Reset to Factory Defaults.
- Choose Reset. Wait for the reset process to finish.
- Once completed, set up your Firestick and connect it to your Wi-Fi network. Then, check if your Firestick keeps freezing.
Final Thoughts
Amazon Firesticks are great streaming devices when watching the latest TV shows, episodes, and movies. It’s also cost-effective compared to cable subscriptions and other streaming devices. However, you might experience freezing on your Firestick.
Hopefully, this guide helps you to fix your Firestick device when it keeps freezing. If these fixes are ineffective, contact Fire TV Support for further assistance.