Are you running out of storage on your Fire TV Stick, and not sure how to free up some space? Don’t worry!
In this tutorial, I’ll provide you with simple steps and tips so that you can make the most out of your Fire TV Stick’s file management capabilities and free up valuable storage space in no time.
Why do you need to free up storage on Fire TV Stick?
The Fire TV Stick generally comes with 8GB of internal storage. This is enough for most users, but there are some cases where it’s not enough.
If you plan on downloading a lot of content, or if you have multiple apps installed, then your device may start running low on space which can impact performance and user experience such as:
- There is lag, stuttering, and glitches during normal usage.
- You may experience long loading times while using apps due to a lack of storage.
- If you try to download new apps from the App Store, you will face app installation errors.
- Your Fire TV Stick will randomly reboot.
Check remaining storage on Fire TV Stick
It’s important to get an understanding of exactly how much storage your Fire TV Stick has and what’s taking up the most space.
From your Fire TV Stick home screen and navigate to the settings and select My Fire TV.
You can see how much storage space is left on your Fire TV Stick by scrolling down to the device name or Storage.
Internal space is also visible in the Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications menu.
How to free up storage on Fire TV Stick?
Now that you know how much storage is left on your Fire TV Stick, it’s time to free up some space.
Uninstall old and unused apps
If you have any apps that you no longer use, it’s a good idea to uninstall them in order to free up some space.
Clear your app data
App data can take up a significant amount of storage space. You can clear the data of each app by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications.
Delete cached data
Apps often store cache and other temporary files on your device in order to improve their performance. You can soft reset to clear your your Fire TV Stick’s cache.
Or head to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications to clear your apps cache individually.
Move content to the Cloud
If you have any large files that you don’t need on your Fire TV Stick all the time, consider moving them to and accessing them from the cloud such as Google Drive.
This will free up storage space without deleting your important files.
External Storage
If you find that your Fire TV Stick is still running low on space after following these tips, it’s worth buying an external storage device like a USB drive to provide additional storage.
To use a USB drive with a Fire TV Stick, you will need an OTG cable to power and data to pass through the USB port.
Top Tip If you see an unable to read USB device message. Go to Settings > My Fire TV > USB Drive. Select Format to Internal Storage.
Move apps to external storage
To move an app to your USB storage, navigate to Settings and select Applications.
Choose Manage Installed Applications.
Select the app you wish to move from the list and select “Move to USB Storage”.
Delete APK Files
Many Fire TV Stick users sideload third-party apps to stream free content from the web.
Users often forget to delete APK files after installation, and these can take up a lot of space on your Fire TV Stick.
APK files are used to install apps, but after the app is installed, the APK file has no further use and should be deleted.
Install File Explorer app
From your Fire TV Stick’s Home Screen Find menu. Search for File Explorer and install.
After installing File Explorer and if you are using the Downloader app to sideload third-party apps, you can delete files from the Downloader folder.
After you update third-party apps, the apps store an APK file in the Downloads folder on your device. Delete those APK files from your device’s Downloads folder too.
Summary
Fire TV Stick storage space can get quickly used up due to large apps, files, and cached data. To free up storage on Fire TV Stick, you should first uninstall unnecessary apps, clear app data, delete cached data, move content to cloud storage, or use an external USB drive for extra storage.
Furthermore, users should install a File Explorer app to delete APK files and any other unnecessary files in the Downloads folder.
By following these tips, users can keep their Fire TV Stick running optimally with plenty of free space.
