Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsInconsistent functionality
Reviewed in Canada on March 7, 2024
8n theory I love the Fire stick. Great interface, easy to use, and integrate with echo devices for sound. I have two separate home theatre set ups with pair of echo dots for stereo sound, one in my bedroom and another in living room. To me the stereo sound provided by newest echo dots is excellent for the price. I'm not a sound / tech aficionado, so it serves me just fine. However, it comes with a lot of headaches as the reliability of the devices is inconsistent. If you're on a budget and prepared for a few headaches (listed below) they are ok. If you can afford better technology I'd recommend looking elsewhere. Here are pros and cons:
Pros-
-Great affordable option if you don't have a smart tv. You can load all the apps you need for entertainment. I don't play games so can't comment on that but works well for streaming and music - use mostly with Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, Disney, Gem, Crave, (though issues with Prime Video as mentioned below)
-Love the integration multiple devices for home sound, entertainment and lights/plugs that can be set up and controlled by voice via Alexa- from any location
Interface well designed and easy to use
-Like that it has a "live" section where you can watch local news and shows from channels like CBC, city etc
Cons-
-Extremely unreliable inconsistent technology- fire sticks require regular reboots. Freezes frequently - ie 5x a week. I have had a version of these for more than 5-7 years and every device I have owned has had the same issues.
-When using home theater with echo dots (both single or stereo pair) there are constantly problems. The stereo sound stops working all the time. I have to troubleshoot, delete the theatre set up and recreate it constantly.
-When using Prime video app for streaming, it is the absolute worst- ironically you'd expect the best performance with an Amazon service! For example my stereo set up works perfectly with Netflix and Crave, but when I watch shows on Amazon Prime, the sound most often lags, or goes out of sync with the video stream, freezes, or the video stops and only sound plays & vice versa. This ONLY happens with Prime Video- never in Netflix or other apps. Go figure. I have to turn off theatre altogether to watch any older series in Prime, otherwise problems listed above arise. Only way to fix is to delete theatre/sound setup, reboot, and/or reset internet connection. Then, within ten minutes watching the same show, it all happens again and I have to turn theatre off- after which it works fine albeith without stereo sound.
-Customer service is not much help beyond basic troubleshooting- they just give you instructions that are provided in app- as described above.
-When searching for shows from home page, it will not integrate at all with Crave - you have to do searches within Crave/Netflix to find shows there. Pain in butt- as I don't always remember what shows are where- and I wish it would show me upcoming/new shows are available in ALL apps, not just Prime apps.
I don't know if the issue is in the fire stick itself, or in the echo dot devices- I have replaced and updated ALL my devices more than once- only to have exact same problem with the new ones.
I have had to return/ exchange more than once because I received a lemon.
So, all in all, I like what it can do- just wish it would do it well and consistently!! I would give it a 5 star rating if it worked at least 85% of the time.