Did you just get an Amazon Fire Stick? Are you planning to get one? If you have an unstable internet connection, or you travel a lot and may not have access to WiFi at all times, you may want to know if you can use your Fire Stick without WiFi.
So, can you use your Fire Stick without Wi-Fi? You can use streaming devices without Wi-Fi if they have an Ethernet port. Most of them, including the Amazon Fire TV Stick, do not have the port. To use your Fire Stick without WiFi, you can share a hotspot from your smartphone or download videos for offline viewing.
However, doing these are not as straightforward as they seem. Moreover, you will need to be connected to the web initially. In this article, we will talk about how to use your Fire Stick without WiFi. However, to make you understand better, we will first answer some questions about the device and how it works. Check out some of the best Fire Stick bundles
What Is Fire Stick?
The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a portable device that allows you to stream movies and TV shows. It essentially transforms normal, conventional TVs into smart TVs.
Manufactured by none other than Amazon, Fire Stick allows you to have access to several streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and so on.
This device comes with a remote that makes it very easy to use. You can control it with your voice by incorporating Amazon’s Alexa. Alternatively, there is a free Fire TV Remote mobile app that allows you to control the device with your phone.
How Does Fire Stick Work?
The device looks like a big flash drive. It is designed to plug into the HDMI port of your TV. To use it, simply plug it into your TV, connect to the internet, and download the apps of your preferred streaming platforms.
Of course, you need to subscribe to these streaming platforms to have access to them.
There are two models of the device—the basic version and the 4K model. The difference between both versions lies in the image quality. The basic model displays images with a resolution up to 1080p.
The 4K Fire Stick, on the other hand, can stream movies in higher resolutions up to 4K.
Does The Amazon Fire Stick Need Internet/WiFi?
Well, you need to be connected to the internet to download the necessary streaming apps and channels for the device. Additionally, streaming platforms require an internet connection to access them.
Therefore, it is safe to say that Amazon Fire Stick requires an internet connection to work.
If you are away from home and you don’t have a WiFi router with you, you can create a mobile hotspot using your smartphone.
Do You Need Cable or Internet for Amazon Fire Stick?
To use Amazon Fire Stick, you need a WiFi router.
Amazon Fire Stick is quite small and does not have any port. Hence, it does not support ethernet or any other form of cable connection. The only way to connect this device to the internet is via wireless connectivity.
Hence, connecting your Amazon Fire Stick to a WiFi router is the only way to get connected to the internet.
Does Amazon Fire Stick Have WiFi Built-In?
The Fire Stick has a built-in WiFi transmitter that allows it to transmit signals back to the web.
This WiFi transmitter does the job of enabling the execution of your remote commands. You cannot stream from the web with it.
To stream movies from the web, you need to connect your Amazon Fire Stick to an external WiFi router.
How to Use Your Fire Stick Without WiFi
The Amazon Fire Stick primarily serves the purpose of streaming media from online platforms.
To use your device for its originally intended purpose, you must necessarily have an internet connection.
You can use your Fire Stick without WiFi if you download the things you want to watch so you will have access to them offline.
However, it is possible to use your Amazon Fire Stick without an internet connection. To do this would imply using the Fire Stick innovatively, outside the main purpose it is designed to perform. Below are ways of doing that;
1. Fire Stick without WiFi Using Kodi
Kodi is a popular streaming platform. Like the bigger platforms that you are familiar with, Kodi requires you to connect to the internet to stream media.
However, in addition to this, the service also allows you to download videos to your Fire Stick. You can then watch these videos offline at any time.
This is possible because the Fire Stick has 8GB local storage. 5GB of this is usable and available to save downloaded videos. While you can download videos for offline use, the memory of the device is so small that you are restricted to only a small number of movie downloads.
Nevertheless, this feature will come in handy if you are traveling to a location with a poor internet signal. You can easily connect your Fire Stick to the internet and download movies in advance.
If your installed applications don’t require an internet connection, you can easily access them through the device’s Settings. Turn your TV⇒Fire TV Settings⇒Select Applications⇒Manage Installed Applications⇒Launch Application.
2. Fire Stick Without WiFi Using Hotspot
This way does involve using the internet, but not necessarily WiFi, so let’s see how it works. In order to make your Firestick work, all you need to do is to have a smartphone with cellular internet, and that’s about it.
To use this method, you simply need to create a hotspot and connect your Fire Stick to it. Here is how to do it:
- Open “Settings” on your phone
- Turn the “Hotspot” on
- Open Alexa App on your phone, select “Devices”
- Go to “Amazon Tap”, then click “Change”
- Find the name of your Hotspot in the menu
- Click “Use this device as a Wi-Fi hotspot”
Android Games on Fire Stick without WiFi
Here is a cherry on top. The 8GB internal memory of the Amazon Fire Stick allows you to download and install several apps. This device does not only support streaming apps.
You can also install other Android apps, including games. If you download a game that does not require an internet connection, you can play it anytime and anywhere without WiFi. Check out some of the best Fire Stick bundles
Conclusion
Because of their limited knowledge about the device, many people are not getting the best out of their Fire Stick. The device is filled with features that enable it to serve other purposes beyond streaming media online.
Thanks to third-party apps, you can expand their uses. Luckily, the device can carry out some of these auxiliary functions without WiFi.
Hi there, technology lovers! My name is James, I am an admin and a frequent writer for this blog. I am a techno-geek, so this blog is the place where I want to share all my knowledge with you to make your life a little bit easier in terms of dealing with technology.
