Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics was right.
Anything is possible.
I thought it was going to be impossible to reset a Firestick…
Without a remote or WiFi.
But I found out that not only is it possible…
It’s actually really easy to do.
Continue reading to discover:
- External devices that you can use to reset your Firestick.
- 3 easy ways to reset your Firestick without a remote or WiFi.
- An app that can quickly turn your smartphone into a Firestick remote.
- And a lot more…
How to reset Firestick without remote or WiFi? 3 ways
#1: Through the Amazon Fire TV app
No remote?
No WiFi?
No problem.
It doesn’t matter if your Firestick remote isn’t working. Or your WiFi’s down.
You can still easily reset your Firestick. There are several ways in fact.
But for this first method that I’ll teach you, you’ll need 3 things:
- Mobile data.
- Smartphone.
- Amazon Fire TV app.
You’ll use the app as a remote control to navigate your Firestick.
Also, I assume you’ve previously connected your Firestick to WiFi. And that it has saved the WiFi’s name and password.
If you’ve never connected your Firestick to WiFi…
Then this method won’t work.
But your Firestick’s also likely still in default settings if it has never gone online. So there’d be no need to reset.
Now, if your Firestick had connected to WiFi before but didn’t save the name or password…
Jump to methods #2 and #3 instead. You may also check out the Bonus section.
Alright. Let’s begin.
The first thing you need to do is switch on your phone’s mobile data.
How to turn on mobile data on iOS
- Swipe down from the top right of the screen.
- Tap the Cellular icon. It’s the one beside the Airplane mode icon.
How to turn on mobile data on Android
- Tap the gear icon to open the Settings menu.
- Select Data usage.
- Look for Cellular data and toggle it on.
The next step is to download and install the Amazon Fire TV app.
You can find it on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Already have the app?
Great. But don’t open it just yet.
At this point, you’ll now need to turn your phone into a hotspot.
Essentially, your phone will become sort of like a modem and router. Where you can share your mobile data with your Firestick.
And you need to do that for the Fire TV app to work.
How to turn your iOS device into a hotspot
Step #1: Tap the Settings icon.
Step #2: Select Personal Hotspot.
Step #3: Switch the Personal Hotspot toggle on.
Step #4: Click WiFi Password.
For this step, you need to create a password for your hotspot. And it should match the WiFi password that’s saved on your Firestick.
Step #5: Go back to Settings and click General.
Step #6: Tap About, then Name.
Step #7: Change your phone’s name to match the WiFi name that your Firestick saved.
How to turn your Android device into a hotspot
Step #1: Open the Settings menu.
Step #2: Select Connections.
Step #3: Select Mobile Hotspot and Tethering.
Step #4: Toggle the Mobile Hotspot on.
Step #5: Tap Mobile Hotspot.
Step #6: Tap your network name. Change it to the WiFi name that your Firestick recognizes.
Step #7: Change the password to match the WiFi password on your Firestick.
Now that you’ve set up your hotspot, go ahead and restart your Firestick.
How to restart your Firestick
- Unplug the Firestick from the power outlet.
- Disconnect the Firestick from your TV.
- Wait for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Plug your Firestick back into the TV.
- Reconnect the Firestick to the power source.
Once it restarts, it should automatically connect to your mobile hotspot.
You’re now ready to pair your Amazon Fire TV app with your Firestick. The steps are as easy as pairing a Firestick remote.
How to pair the Fire TV app with your Firestick
- Open the Amazon Fire TV app on your phone.
- Wait for it to detect your Firestick.
- Tap your Firestick’s name.
- Wait for a 4-digit code to appear on your Firestick screen.
- Enter the code into your Fire TV app.
You should now be able to control your Firestick using the app.
But just in case the pairing wasn’t successful…
You may also refer to this video guide on how to do it:
At this point, resetting should be easy.
Warning: Resetting your Firestick means you’ll lose all your data. This includes your downloaded apps and channels. As well as your sign-in info and personal settings.
How to reset your Firestick using the Fire TV app
- Navigate to Settings and select it.
- Scroll down and select My Fire TV.
- Select Reset to Factory Defaults.
- Click Reset to confirm.
#2: Using a keyboard
If you can’t connect your Firestick to your mobile hotspot, don’t worry.
There are a couple of other simple things you can do.
And one is by using a computer keyboard.
Now your Firestick doesn’t have a port for a keyboard’s USB cable.
So you’ll need a device called On-the-Go (OTG) adapter.
This adapter will allow you to connect devices with different USB types.
For example, keyboards usually have a USB A plug. Firestick, on the other hand, only has a micro USB port.
So you’ll need this adapter to make them compatible.
You’ll find many types of OTG adapters on the market.
But that one that you’ll need for your Firestick and keyboard should have the following:
- USB A port.
- Micro USB plug.
- Micro USB port.
Something like this DSYJ OTG adapter.
If you already have an adapter like that, you may connect your keyboard to your Firestick.
How to connect a keyboard to your Firestick via an OTG adapter
Step #1: Plug the Firestick’s power adapter into the OTG adapter’s micro USB port.
Step #2: Connect your keyboard to the OTG adapter’s USB A port.
Step #3: Connect the OTG adapter’s micro USB plug to your Firestick.
Step #4: Plug the Firestick into your TV’s HDMI port.
Step #5: Connect the Firestick’s power adapter to an outlet.
Once your Firestick turns back on, you may now control it via a keyboard.
You can use the keyboard’s arrows to navigate around the Firestick’s interface.
You may press Esc to go back.
If you’d like to select anything, just press the Spacebar or Enter key.
And you can press the keyboard’s Home key to return to Firestick’s home screen.
How to reset your Firestick using a keyboard
- Press your keyboard’s Home key.
- Press the right arrow to go to Settings and hit Enter.
- Use the down arrow to move down and select My Fire TV.
- Highlight Reset to Factory Default and press Enter.
- Select Reset to confirm the action.
#3: Using a mouse
Another external device you can use for your Firestick is a mouse.
The entire process is pretty much the same as the previous method.
You’ll also need the same OTG adapted required for the keyboard.
The only difference is you’ll be connecting a mouse instead.
And a mouse is actually much more convenient for navigation.
All you have to do is to point and click.
Although one drawback is you’ll have to use your Firestick’s virtual keyboard to type.
But the way to reset your Firestick’s the same.
Using your mouse, just click Settings. Then click My Fire TV and Reset to Factory Default.
And then click Reset to proceed with the factory reset.
Bonus: How to reset Firestick using your TV remote
Most modern TVs have a feature called HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (HDMI-CEC).
In a nutshell, this feature grants permission for TV remotes to control HDMI devices.
Your Firestick connects to your TV via an HDMI port. This means it qualifies as a device that you can control via HDMI-CEC.
The HDMI-CEC feature comes in different names depending on the TV brand.
Here’s a list of a few TV brands and how they refer to HDMI-CEC:
For other TV brands, you may refer to your user’s manual to find what they call this feature.
To control your Firestick with your TV remote, you’d need to enable HDMI-CEC.
I’ll provide the steps for a few brands. But it should be similar for others as well.
Vizio
- Press your remote’s Menu button.
- Select System.
- Click CEC.
- Highlight CEC Function and select Enable.
LG
- Click your remote’s Settings button.
- Select All Settings.
- Select General.
- Navigate to SimpLink and switch it on.
Insignia
- Select Settings.
- Go to Display & Sound.
- Select External Inputs.
- Click HDMI CEC Device Control.
- Select On.
Samsung
- Press Home on your remote.
- Select Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down and click External Device Manager.
- Highlight AnyNet+ and toggle it on.
Sony
- Press the Home button on your remote.
- Click Settings.
- Go to External inputs.
- Select HDMI CEC Settings.
- Select CEC.
After enabling it on your TV, restart the TV and the Firestick.
Just unplug both from the power source. And after a minute, plug them back in.
You should now be able to use your remote to navigate around Firestick.
And you may go ahead and reset. Same process.
Just go to Settings > My Fire TV > Reset to Factory Default > Reset.