‘It saved my life’ Amazon Fire Stick owners cry after plugging in neglected gadget that boosts Wi-Fi & cuts buffering
PEOPLE are just realising there’s a bonus gadget in the box of their Amazon Fire TV Stick that boosts their Wi-Fi connection.
Often, this little extension is disregarded or ignored by users eager to just plug in their Fire Stick and start watching.
But Wi-Fi issues can happen for a variety of reasons.
Often, it’s down to objects blocking the signal, such as thick walls, fish tanks and even other wireless devices, such as a cordless phone.
As far as the Fire TV Stick is concerned, the problem might be your TV itself interfering.
TVs can also act as a Wi-Fi interrupter, which is why you shouldn’t put your router near it.
Likewise, having your Fire TV Stick plugged right into your set can have the same annoying impact.
And of course, bad Wi-Fi means dreaded buffering whenever you’re trying to watch something on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
A little-known gadget that should come with your Fire TV Stick when you bought it could help.
And that’s the HDMI extender.
It’s designed to help for TV slots that won’t allow the Fire TV Stick in on its own.
But it can also be used to keep your Fire TV Stick from being so close.
This will not only give it a nice clear pathway for Wi-Fi signals but the device can also breath a bit too.
Being close up to the TV can get quite hot which also hampers the Stick’s performance.
Can't find your HDMI extender?
If you've lost your Fire TV Stick's HDMI extender, fear not.
You can buy a replacement pretty cheaply on Amazon.
A pair are available for as little as £4 – buy now.
Prices were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed. Always do your own research before making any purchase.
Even Amazon’s own documentation says the HDMI extender is “recommended for best Wi-Fi reception”.
Users on Reddit have urged others to try out the gadget if they’re having connection troubles.
“I just plugged in the Stick without the extender, and it dropped the WiFi signal constantly the first 5 days, so I returned it and exchanged it for another,” one person wrote.
“When I set up the 2nd one I decided to use the extender on that one.
“And for over a month now, not a single dropped signal.”
Another said: “I got no signal at all until I used the extender. Saved my life.”
So dig out your Fire TV Stick box to find your HDMI extender.
If not, you can buy a new one pretty cheap from Amazon – check out the box above.