How to Control Volume on Your Amazon Fire Stick

Trying to manage remotes in 2022 feels like trying to handle bills. Thankfully, if you’re using a Fire Stick to stream your favorite shows and movies, you can take it on yourself to reduce the number of remote controls and gaming controllers that are probably flooding your living room.

Depending on which Fire Stick model you own, you may have a remote that already controls your volume. If you don’t, that’s okay too. In this guide, you’ll see all the options you have to control how your Fire Stick works to change the volume. Let’s get started!

Use the Firestick Remote to Control TV Volume

Beginning with the Fire Stick 4K, Amazon started to equip the Fire remote with a volume rocker, a mute button, and a power switch for your TV. Regardless, you may not have a television equipped to handle the input.

If you’re trying to get your Firestick remote to work for your TV’s volume, ensure your TV supports High-Definition Multimedia Interface-Consumer Electronics Control (HDMI-CEC) and that your Fire Stick connects to a CEC-compatible port.

For anyone else who doesn’t have an Amazon Fire TV volume-equipped remote, here’s the good news: you can buy the newest version available from Amazon without having to buy an all-new device. Amazon sells remotes individually, and the more recent releases work with all Fire Sticks and most other Fire devices except early Fire TV boxes or TVs with Fire OS built-in.

Pairing the Firestick Remote for Volume Control

Pairing a new remote with your Fire Stick is super easy, and it also can help you if you have an unresponsive remote. Here’s how to do it.

1. Hold down the Home button on your Firestick’s remote to go into the Settings, or navigate to it from the Home Screen.
   
2. Navigate to the right and select Equipment Control.
   
3. Select TV from the menu; if it’s your first time connecting the device, the Manage Equipment menu will look like this.
   
4. A new screen opens. You get asked, What brand of TV do you have?
5. Select the appropriate brand.
6. Press the Power button on your remote. This action turns the TV off.
7. Wait for ten seconds, then press the Power button again. The TV turns back on.
8. You will be asked, Did your TV turn off and then back on when you pressed the Power button? Select Yes if it worked. You may need to try and pair the remote several times for it to work.
9. Next, try turning up the volume. The device plays some music so you can check.
10. If the volume changed, then click Yes. If not, select No and try the setup process again.
11. Follow the prompts to end the setup.
    

Several people have reported having to run through the remote setup process at least three times to work, so be patient and attempt it a few times. Not to bore you with some of the details of how it works, but the remote is essentially scanning and setting itself to match the frequency that the TV’s IR receiver uses.

Owners of Fire Stick devices that have the 2nd-gen Alexa remotes can also control the volume via voice commands. Press the Microphone button on your remote and tell Alexa to increase or decrease the volume.

Using Alexa to Control TV Volume

Don’t forget; if you don’t have a Fire TV Stick 4K remote that supports volume control, you can still use Echo devices to ask Alexa to turn your volume up or down. Of course, you also have the Alexa remote to talk to whenever needed. It won’t work on every television, but if your device supports CEC, you should be able to control your volume without any remote at all.

Troubleshooting Firestick Volume Controls

While the Firestick and most Amazon products work great, hiccups do happen. So, what is happening, and what are you to do? Let’s take a look at some troubleshooting steps to get your volume working.

• First, if your volume controls aren’t working, change the batteries in your Firestick remote. While this may seem too easy, it is the first thing you’ll want to check.
• Next, check that nothing is blocking your Fire TV or Firestick. If the remote isn’t cooperating, it’s likely having a signal issue. Move any items, debris, or dust that may be blocking the signal.
• If the batteries are good and there’s no obstruction blocking the signal, you can restart your Firestick or change the HDMI port (be sure you’re using an HDMI-CEC port). Lastly, if that doesn’t work, you can factory reset your Firestick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some more answers to your questions about the Firestick.

What is HDMI-CEC?

If you’re unfamiliar with the ports on your TV, most newer TVs support HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). Essentially, the HDMI-CEC port supports one remote to control all of your devices.

However, not all TV manufacturers refer to this port as simple ‘HDMI-CEC.’ For example, Philips lists its port as EasyLink, and Sony lists its port as BRAVIA Link. It’s best to look at your TV’s manual for the best port to use with your Firestick.

In closing, the ability to control your TV’s volume from the Fire TV Stick remote is simple, as long as you have the correct remote (4K Firestick or newer). But don’t fret if you have an older firestick model. You can either talk to your Echo Dot, use the microphone button to ask Alexa, or upgrade your remote from your older Firestick.