How to Connect Firestick to WiFi Without Remote

Tijana Tijana

Written by Tijana Gadgets

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Amazon’s Fire Stick reached a new milestone when over 150 million units were sold as of January 2022.

The reason why this product gained so much popularity is due to how compact and helpful the product is, especially for people who travel often and stay in hotels or AirBnbs.

The process of connecting the device is quite simple, you need to plug the Fire Stick into the TV, enter the password of the WiFi, and all your connected streaming platforms will show up, such as Netflix or Disney.

Since the Firestick is so tiny, it’s really compact and easy to carry around wherever you’re going, even if it’s in a different room in the same household.

However, it happens that you’re traveling, and you forget the Firestick Remote back at home.

Luckily, since this is the Internet era, it’s possible for you to use your Firestick, even if you don’t have the remote nearby.

How do I connect my Firestick to the Internet with no remote?

You may be getting frustrated by the fact that you forgot your remote, but you don’t need to worry.

Luckily, there are third-party remotes that actually work with the Firestick device.

The remotes we’re talking about can be considered as universal remotes, and they’re affordable for anyone running on a budget.

There is a variety to choose from in some of the biggest stores such as Walmart or Best Buy, and the best thing is these remotes also work with devices such as Roku or Apple TV.

In order to proceed with the setup, we need to explain that this type of remote is named HDMI-CEC remote, you will need this name in order to connect the remote in the following steps.

Note: This type of remote is pretty much new to the market, and its main function is to help users to be able to operate on multiple devices that have an HDMI port, with a single universal remote. Bear in mind, however, most newer-generation TV brands already come with universal remotes, meaning you might be able to control your Fire Stick already, so double-check before getting a new one.

To check, on your TV, go to Settings, and then to ‘Display and Sounds’.

Select ‘Display and Sounds’ and look for the HDMI CEC Device Control. If it’s not selected/enabled, make sure to do so.

Note: For those users not owning a universal remote, follow the steps above after purchasing one to connect it to your TV.

Using a smartphone or tablet to connect the Fire Stick

Since there are TVs that don’t support CEC remotes yet, the only possible fix to this issue is using a smartphone or a tablet to control your Amazon Fire TV Stick,

However, there’s an issue with this fix. How the Fire Stick works is your smartphone/tablet and the Fire Stick need to be connected to the same WiFi network. The problem is your Fire Stick is already connected to a network you do not have access to currently - your home network. Consequently, your smartphone won’t be able to work as a remote control due to this issue.

Luckily, there is a fix for this too. Follow these steps to activate your Amazon Firestick.

  1. Use a smartphone or a tablet to create a wireless hotspot. Make sure to name the hotspot and the password the same as the network you have at home.
  2. On another device, install the Amazon Fire TV App if you don’t have it already (available on the App Store as well).
  3. On this device, connect to the hotspot you created previously.
  4. After this, your Fire Stick TV and the remote control (the tablet or the second smartphone) will be connected, since they’re running on the same network connection.
  5. Connect your Fire Stick to the TV as you usually do, and you’ll be able to start using it.
  6. Use the tablet/smartphone that is currently running as a remote, and reset the network connection to the WiFi of the place where you’re staying.
  7. You can turn off the hotspot since you won’t be needing it anymore.

After setting this up, you will also be able to use your Echo or Echo Dot as a controller for the Fire Stick TV. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use the voice commands, but luckily, the Fire Stick is running, and you can enjoy your stay!