The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a popular device for streaming content to your TV. However, some users have been reporting that their Fire TV Stick has a black screen.
In this tutorial, I will outline the steps you need to take to troubleshoot and fix your Fire TV Stick’s black screen.
Black screen on Fire stick? Here’s how to fix it:
Have you ever turned on your Fire Stick and been greeted with nothing but a black screen? This is a common issue that can be fixed with a few simple steps. Keep reading to find out how to troubleshoot your Fire Stick and get it up and running again.
Restart
The first thing you should do is force restart your Fire TV Stick. As the Fire Stick doesn’t have a restart button, simply unplug the power lead from the Fire TV Stick, wait 10 seconds and then plug it back in. After the restart, try streaming content again.
HDMI Connection
If restarting your Fire TV Stick doesn’t resolve the black screen issue, the next step is to check your HDMI connection. Start by unplugging the HDMI cable from your TV and plugging it back in again.
If that doesn’t work, try using a different HDMI port on your TV. You might also want to try using a different HDMI cable altogether. Be sure to connect directly to your TV not via an HDMI cable extender, HDMI switch or hub.
Power Adapter
The next step is to check your power adapter. Start by unplugging the power lead from the Fire TV Stick and plugging it into a different outlet.
I have experienced this black screen issue when I didn’t use the power adapter that came with my Fire TV Stick. Swapping to the official Amazon power adapter resolved the problem.
HDCP Support
Your Fire TV Stick will only work with an HDCP-compatible TV. HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a form of digital copy protection that is required for certain types of content. If your TV doesn’t support HDCP, you won’t be able to stream anything on your Fire TV Stick.
To check if your TV has HDCP support, navigate to the HDMI or Picture settings within your TV. Alternatively, Google search your TV model followed by HDCP to determine whether or not your TV supports this feature.
Another TV
If you have another TV in your home, try connecting your Fire TV Stick to that TV to see if the black screen issue persists. This will help you discover whether the problem is with your Fire TV Stick or with your TV.
Soft Reset
The penultimate step is to try a soft reset. This can be done by holding down the Select and Play/Pause buttons on your Fire TV Stick’s remote for approx. 10 seconds.
A soft reset will clear any temporary data that may be causing problems and restore your Fire TV Stick without deleting any apps or settings.
Factory Reset
If you’re still seeing a black screen after trying all of the above troubleshooting steps, the final step is to factory reset your Fire TV Stick. This process will erase all apps, account data and settings.
To factory reset your Fire TV Stick, go to Settings > My Fire TV > Reset to Factory Defaults.
Or from your Fire TV Stick’s remote, press and hold the Right button on the directional pad and Back button for 15 seconds, or until you see a “Reset to Factory Defaults“ message appear.
Wrap-Up
A black screen on your Fire TV Stick is usually caused by a HDMI connection, power adapter or HDCP support issue. You can try each of our troubleshooting steps until you find the one that works for you.
After following my steps you can bid farewell to that pesky black screen on your Fire TV Stick and get back to watching your favourite shows and movies in no time. If none of our methods worked for you or if you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment below.
