# FireTV



## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Old TV died, bought a Fire TV, because I thought it was interesting. So far, it's a pain in the neck.

Anyway, I watch antenna TV, don't subscribe to any of the TV type viewing. Tv is more of a background noise to me.

BUT got my bill for internet this month and I used 40gb this month...it is usually 20 to maybe 22 gb a month. Would this rise be because of the FireTV? Would the TV be sending/receiving data even though I don't use it for internet anything? Guess I'm asking. does this TV have it's own agenda?

Mon


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Started playing with a Fire Stick today. Noticed there appears to be no OFF.


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## secondhandacres (Nov 6, 2017)

Did you connect your new fire tv to your home WiFi? Or simply hook your antenna to your new tv and turn it on?


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## Composted (Aug 28, 2019)

I’m new, a few months in. Frustrated at first, but finding some nice niches now. 

I have unlimited streaming, but I do unplug for shutdown.


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## Composted (Aug 28, 2019)

secondhandacres said:


> Did you connect your new fire tv to your home WiFi? Or simply hook your antenna to your new tv and turn it on?


Huh?


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I just plugged in the antenna but THEN, apparently connected WiFi so I could use Alexa with it. Duh!

Just searched and disconnected WiFi but may need to reset everything.

I really hadn't thought about FireTV using data if I wasn't using it to stream, or other internet access. IOW, I have NO need to access internet on my TV.

Mon


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

frogmammy said:


> Old TV died, bought a Fire TV, because I thought it was interesting. So far, it's a pain in the neck.
> 
> Anyway, I watch antenna TV, don't subscribe to any of the TV type viewing. Tv is more of a background noise to me.
> 
> ...


First question is does it matter, You paying by the GB? Second is having alexa a must? IF your paying and you can live without alexa turn off your wifi. DONE...


I would check and see what apps you have installed. 20gb seems a bit high for houusekeeping but if you have installed a bunch of apps and even if your not using them they would be upgraded when the firestick gomes online for the first time.


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## popscott (Oct 6, 2004)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Started playing with a Fire Stick today. Noticed there appears to be no OFF.


Does holding the "home" (house shape) button for several seconds let you choose "sleep"


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I will try that.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Gary in ohio said:


> First question is does it matter, You paying by the GB? Second is having alexa a must? IF your paying and you can live without alexa turn off your wifi. DONE...
> 
> I would check and see what apps you have installed. 20gb seems a bit high for houusekeeping but if you have installed a bunch of apps and even if your not using them they would be upgraded when the firestick gomes online for the first time.


No, kinda need my Alexa. Without her I'd have burned meals, lost shipments, be roaming around in storms and be looking to buy the wrong size property. LOL! I get 1T of data, so not like it's costing me more. VERY few apps, and the few I have, don't use often....as in daily or even weekly. The ones that come with a device, I disable the ones I'll never use when I get the device.

Not a firestick, a Toshiba FireTV.

Mon


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

frogmammy said:


> No, kinda need my Alexa. Without her I'd have burned meals, lost shipments, be roaming around in storms and be looking to buy the wrong size property. LOL! I get 1T of data, so not like it's costing me more. VERY few apps, and the few I have, don't use often....as in daily or even weekly. The ones that come with a device, I disable the ones I'll never use when I get the device.
> 
> Not a firestick, a Toshiba FireTV.
> 
> Mon



YOU might want to go to your router and see if it has usage reports. I would also check the second month, is it as large a data usage as the first. There are lots of apps that come pre-installed on firestick and those update when you plug it in. MIght just be a new stick update. Also check and make sure you turn on all the privacy options in the firestick so its not continually sending diagnostics back to amazon. Also keep in mind every time you hit the home button its going to go back to amazon for any updates to your firestick.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I *don't* have firestick, I have a Fire TV...measures about 17 by 28 inches, 32 diagonal. Different animal.

However, are you saying that whatever happens with a Firestick will happen with a FireTV?

Actually, kinda decided that I will give the TV to my daughter...she has a Firestick and really likes it, so will likely appreciate the TV. I don't.

For those that MIGHT think about buying a FireTV...sometimes it will turn off in the middle of a show, for no particular reason, and no advance notice. Sometimes it will turn on by itself....like at 3am. It will not go to channel 2, but WILL go to channel 5 and THEN channel 2. It's a LOT easier to press a button than it is to tell it to do something several times in a row, and wait for it to actually DO it. And most of all, I really don't have a desire, or need, for a TV with internet connectivity. Curiosity costs!

Mon


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

frogmammy said:


> I *don't* have firestick, I have a Fire TV...measures about 17 by 28 inches, 32 diagonal. Different animal.
> Mon


THe first stick and fireTV are basically the same thing functionally. ONe is built in one is an external HDMI device.

Usually if your tv is turing itself off you have that set. YOu can power off after a period of time if no buttons have been presses. Look fro the auto off feature.

For those that MIGHT think about buying a FireTV...sometimes it will turn off in the middle of a show, for no particular reason, and no advance notice. Sometimes it will turn on by itself....like at 3am. It will not go to channel 2, but WILL go to channel 5 and THEN channel 2. It's a LOT easier to press a button than it is to tell it to do something several times in a row, and wait for it to actually DO it. And most of all, I really don't have a desire, or need, for a TV with internet connectivity. Curiosity costs!


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## dyrne (Feb 22, 2015)

Apparently the device can still use quite a bit of data even in sleep mode...which surprises me. It seems pretty irresponsible on Amazon's part. Depending on the penalty for exceeding the cap, I'd be wary of leaving it plugged in. Just looking on Amazon's forums, I see reports of more than 10-30GB in a day not related to streaming. That should have been a bug but you never know. Some TVs have USB ports. If you are using the fire stick, you could I guess plug the usb power into the TV to make sure when the TV is off, it is also. I'm not sure about power options for the larger fire tv.


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## Composted (Aug 28, 2019)

Duh, sorry. Stick only.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

dyrne said:


> Apparently the device can still use quite a bit of data even in sleep mode...which surprises me. I.......... Some TVs have USB ports. If you are using the fire stick, you could I guess plug the usb power into the TV to make sure when the TV is off, it is also. I'm not sure about power options for the larger fire tv.


This was a firetv, so nothing external. All in one device. Only real option is to turn wifi off or put some time based blocking on your router.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

My daughter tells me she has 3 firesticks and loves each one of them. As soon as she visits, she will then have a FireTV to love!

And I will buy a clunky push the button on the remote, and we will BOTH be happy as clams.

Thanks, Gary, for taking the time to explain things.

Mon


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## RibbyR (Mar 15, 2020)

The Fire Stick is an excellent device. I did jailbreak firestick this morning. Pretty simple and easy setup. Got my Netflix and Hulu + apps running pretty quickly, of course my Amazon Prime Video account was already set up. Elegantly done in recognizing from the beginning who I am.


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