This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido
and by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly
. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
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If your FireStick is slow and takes ages to buffer, there are ways to increase the speed. You can routinely restart it, clear your cache, and uninstall unused apps. Here's why your FireStick is slow and how to speed it up.
Steps
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Routinely restart your FireStick. You may already do this when your device is frozen, but it's a good idea to restart when it starts to slow down, too. Do the following:
- Navigate to Settings .
- Select My Fire TV .
- Select Restart .
- Select Restart again.
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Clear the app cache routinely. The cache stores temporary data that usually helps speed up the next use. However, this can make your FireStick run slower than usual. You'll need to clear the cache for each app individually. Do the following:
- Navigate to Settings .
- Select Applications .
- Select Manage Installed Applications .
- Select an app.
- Select Clear cache .
- Repeat for all other apps.
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Uninstall unused or unwanted apps. Your FireStick may be slowing down due to an excess of apps. If you find yourself using only a few apps, uninstall the other apps that stay unused. If you need them again later, you can download the apps again. Do the following:
- Navigate to Settings .
- Select Applications .
- Select Manage Installed Applications .
- Select the app you want to uninstall.
- Select Uninstall . [1] X Research source
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Keep your FireStick updated . Updates keep your Fire TV Stick working properly and can prevent crashes from happening. Do the following:
- Navigate to Settings .
- Select My Fire TV .
- Select About .
- Select Check for Updates .
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If your FireStick buffers too often, it may be your Wi-Fi network. If you can't use another Wi-Fi network or move your router closer, purchase an adapter to connect an Ethernet cable from your router to your FireStick. This can fix issues with slow buffering.
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Turn off autoplay for featured content. By default, videos and audio will play on the homescreen and within apps when you hover over them. You can turn this feature off to reduce the stress on your device. Do the following:
- Go to Settings .
- Select Preferences .
- Select Featured Content .
- Turn off Allow Video Autoplay and Allow Audio Autoplay .
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Disable automatic updates for official and third-party apps. Some apps may take up more storage after updating. Unless the app is frozen or buggy, you may not need to update them as often. Do the following:
- Go to Settings .
- Select Applications .
- Select Appstore .
- Turn off Automatic Updates .
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If all else fails, reset your FireStick to factory settings. This will erase all your data unless you have it backed up with Amazon. Do the following:
- Go to Settings .
- Select My Fire TV .
- Select Reset to Factory Defaults .
- Select Reset to confirm.