If you’re having trouble getting your Fire TV Stick to recognize a USB drive or storage device, then don’t despair. In this tutorial, I’ll go through some of the common troubleshooting methods and potential fixes for when your Fire TV Stick won’t detect any USB storage.
This can be particularly frustrating if you’ve specifically bought the device in order to take advantage of its built-in media player or other apps that require a file from external sources such as an SD card or USB drive.
Let’s explore how to get up and running on your Fire TV Stick with no more issues connecting external drives.
Fix no USB storage detected on Fire TV Stick
In order to fix this issue, you’ll need to start by troubleshooting the cause of the problem. Here are some tips that may help:
Format your USB Drive
The most common reason why Fire TV Stick won’t detect any USB storage is because it’s not formatted in the FAT32 file system. To fix this, attach your drive to a PC and open File Explorer or Finder depending on what operating system you’re using.
Then right-click on the drive and select Format. In the Format dialog box, select FAT32 as the file system, then click on the Format button and wait for it to finish.
Check USB Drive Compatibility
It’s important to note that not all USB drives are supported by Fire TV Stick. Check that your drive meets the following requirements:
- Formatted in FAT32
- Max 2 TB in size
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 supported
Try Another USB Drive
If you’re sure that your drive is formatted properly and meets the compatibility requirements, try connecting a different USB storage device to your Fire TV Stick and see if it’s picked up by the device.
This will help you determine whether the problem is with Fire TV Stick itself, or if there’s an issue with your particular USB drive.
Soft Reset Your Fire TV Stick
If you’re still having trouble getting your USB drive to show up on Fire TV Stick, try performing a soft reset on the device. To do this:
- Unplug both the power and storage cables
- Wait 30-60 seconds
- Replug the cables and turn Fire TV Stick back on
Head to the Settings menu and check if your drive is now detected.
Update Fire TV Stick OS
It’s also possible that your Fire TV Stick isn’t detecting USB storage devices because it’s running an outdated version of the software. To update the operating system, follow the steps in my recent article.
Factory Reset Your Fire TV Stick
If none of the above tips have helped you get your Fire TV Stick to detect a USB drive, then it’s time to perform a factory reset. This should be your last resort as it will erase all the data on your device and take you back to its default settings.
Wrap-Up
As you can see, there are several potential fixes for when your Fire TV Stick won’t detect any USB storage. Before you give up on the device and go for a replacement, try out each of these steps and check if it gets your drive recognized by the Fire TV Stick
To summarise, make sure that your USB drive is formatted in FAT32, meets the compatibility requirements and try connecting a different USB storage device to determine if there’s an issue with the particular drive. If all else fails, perform a soft reset or factory reset on Fire TV Stick and see if this helps you get your drive connected.
