How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote in 2024 | Quick Hacks to Stay in Control

If you’ve misplaced your Firestick remote at home and if your Smartphone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network, you can use your phone as a temporary remote control by downloading and installing the Firestick TV App.

If you're like me, then you would have probably misplaced your remote by now and must be wondering how to use your Firestick without a remote. Well we got you covered, read on to find out more on how to control your Firestick without a remote.

We all have faced this predicament at least once in our lives and if you’re a Firestick user then you probably would have misplaced your remote way more than you would like to admit.

The thing about the Firestick remote is that it’s quite small in size and tends to go out of sight in no time.

But misplacing your Firestick remote does not necessarily mean it’s the end of the world. I have figured out a couple of temporary solutions that can help you navigate your TV and control your Firestick without a remote.

Let me take you through what you can do if you’ve lost or forgotten your Firestick remote.

Use The Firestick TV App On Your Smartphone With Wi-Fi
Use The Firestick TV App On Your Smartphone Without Wi-Fi
Use Alexa to Navigate & Control Your Firestick
Use A Previous Generation Firestick Remote
Use A TV Remote To Control Your Firestick
Use A Keyboard And Mouse To Control The Firestick

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote

The Firestick TV device works on a Wi-Fi network, so when you’re setting up the device for the first time you will require the remote to set up your Wi-Fi credentials and navigate the device.

The thing about losing the remote is that you will not be able to navigate the menus or control the Firestick TV, though your device will still power on and connect to the Wi-Fi.

After trying out a number of solutions, these six have proven to work successfully. So, without further adieu, here’s how you can control and navigate your Firestick TV even when your remote is lost.

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote : With the FireTV App

You can download the app either from the App Store or the Play Store depending on what smartphone you’re using. All you’d have to do is login to the app and begin.

You can follow these steps to connect your smartphone to your Firestick TV.

Start by installing the Firestick TV App from the respective store. Once the application has been installed, launch it from the app drawer.

If your Firestick and smartphone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network then you will receive a pop-up on the app notifying you that there’s one Firestick device that is available and can be connected.

Once you tap on the available Firestick, you will be required to key in a 4 digit PIN on the app. This code will be displayed on the TV once, all you’d have to do is enter the code in your app and voila, you’re connected.

Now, your smartphone will be connected to the Firestick and you will gain access to a digital remote control which you can use to navigate the interface and control what’s playing. You even get access to the Setting section of the Firestick, talk to Alexa and even use the integrated keyboard to enter URLs.

It’s a decent app which covers pretty much everything and can do whatever the remote could. It’s a great solution only if you’ve misplaced the remote at home or if you’re too lazy to fetch it.

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote : Without Wi-Fi

For those who don’t have Wi-Fi at home or if you’re setting up the Firestick at a place with no wireless connection, you can try out this method by manually creating a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Follow these steps:

Start by opening the Settings App on your smartphone and proceed to setup a Wi-Fi hotspot. You can do this by heading to Wi-Fi & Network followed by Hotspot & Tethering and finally Wi-Fi Hotspot.

Proceed to rename the hotspot (make sure the name of the hotspot matches the Wi-Fi name your Firestick was previously connected to).

Now change the password of the hotspot to the same password that your Firestick was connected to earlier. The reason we’re doing this is to make sure that Firestick connects automatically to the hotspot and would require any user intervention.

Since you managed to start your hotspot with the appropriate configuration, restart your Firestick. It should automatically get connected to your newly created hotspot.

Take the second smartphone and install the Firestick TV App from the App Store or Play Store. Follow the same steps as listed above under “Use The Firestick TV App On Your Smartphone With Wi-Fi”

Once you have successfully set up the hotspot and App, you will be able to navigate and perform any task on your Firestick TV device without having the remote around.

If you do receive a new Wi-Fi connection, you can change the Wi-Fi settings on the Firestick TV device by navigating through the following:

Open the “Settings” section on the Firestick device.
Scroll till you come across “Network”.
Choose the appropriate Wi-Fi network.
Enter the Password to pair the device with your new Wi-Fi connection.

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote : With Alexa

Alexa is a great hands-free way to control your Firestick TV device. The catch, both your devices should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Then all you’d have to do is simply say “Alexa, play XYZ on my Fire TV” and it’ll work!

You can try out these commands if you’re using Alexa with your Firestick TV:

Play a certain Movie – “Alexa, Watch (Name of Movie)”
Pause the Movie – “Alexa, Pause Movie”
Fast-Forward the Movie – “Alexa, Fast-Forward (Number of) Minutes”
Play the Next Episode – “Alexa, Next or Alexa, Next Episode”
Lower the Volume – “Alexa, Turn it Down on Fire TV”
Access Netflix on Firestick – “Alexa, Open Netflix”
Navigate Left or Right – “Alexa, Scroll Left/Right”
Open the Watch List – “Alexa, Go to My Watch List”

Point to be Noted: This will work ONLY if your Alexa device and Firestick are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote : Use an Older Firestick Remote

Not many know this but Amazon’s Firestick TV is backward compatible. This means that if you lost your new remote, you can use the previous gen remote (if you have it available).

To pair your previous gen remote with the newer Firestick device, simply press and hold the Home, Back and Left Arrow buttons together for about 10 seconds and then restart your Firestick device.

When the Firestick has rebooted, the new remote (previous-gen) will get connected automatically.

Though both remotes are different, you would ultimately be able to use the previous-gen remote without any hassle. It does lack a few buttons such as the volume buttons, the power button and the mute button but all in all, it works just the same.

Shortcuts For The Previous-Gen Firestick Remote

There are a few shortcuts you can use on the Firestick remote (previous-gen) which can make your experience easier and better:

Adjust the Display Resolution – Press and hold the Up Navigation + Rewind buttons together for 10 seconds. You will see the current display resolution, scroll through and select the resolution.

Reset your Firestick Remote – Press and hold the Back + Menu + Left Navigation buttons together for 15 seconds. This will reset the remote so it can be paired with another Firestick.

Reset your Firestick – Press and hold the Back + Right Navigation buttons for 10 seconds. This will reset your Firestick to its factory settings.

Connect your Remote to the Firestick – Press and hold the Select button for 10 seconds. This will pair your Firestick with the remote.

Restart your Firestick – Press and hold the Select + Play buttons for 10 seconds. This will initiate a forced restart.

Open the System Menu – To open the System menu for the Firestick, press and hold the Home button. This will give you access to Quick Settings so you can access Settings, Mirroring option and even put your Firestick to sleep.

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote : Use a TV Remote

These days, TV’s come with a convenient feature that’s known as HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). This is an interface which allows you to control devices that are connected to your TV via HDMI simply by using the TV’s remote.

For Example, if you press a button on your TV’s remote then it will relay the instructions to your Firestick and accordingly Play, Pause, Stop, Fast-Forward/Rewind whatever you’re watching. Though you will not be able to carry out complicated commands, you can surely do all the basic things in case you have lost your Firestick remote.

How to Use Your Firestick Without a Remote : Use a Keyboard & Mouse

Finally, if none of the other methods work then you can resort to using a computer keyboard and mouse to control the Firestick. You can use either a wired or wireless keyboard and mouse with your Firestick and it works flawlessly.

All you’d have to do is purchase a Micro USB splitter and connect your mouse and keyboard to the Firestick device. This is available on Amazon and can be yours for as low as $6.00

Conclusion

Losing your Firestick remote is something that should not be taken too seriously as it’s going to keep happening unless you tag it up to something at home.

These solutions work wonders and help you save time trying to figure out what to do next. Trust me, the easiest solution is to download the Firestick App onto your smartphone so you can control your Firestick TV anytime from anywhere (within Wi-Fi range).

I hope these methods were able to work for you and proved to be helpful as they did for me when I managed to misplace my remote.