How Do I Connect a USB Drive to My Fire Stick?
Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick 3, Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick 4K Max and newer models feature full support for USB drives in the operating system and can be used for transferring apps and games. All Fire Sticks can view media on a connected USB drive via a file browser app.
This accessory is essentially a Micro USB cable with a USB port in the middle and allows for the connection of a USB drive without interrupting the Fire Stick’s power supply.
Here’s how to use this adapter cable to plug a USB drive into your Fire Stick.
The type of USB cable adapter used to connect a USB drive to a Fire Stick can usually be purchased for less than $10. When buying one, make sure both cable ends are Micro USB and the port in the middle is a regular-sized USB port. It’s sometimes referred to as an OTG cable adapter.
Connect the other end of the adapter into the Fire Stick charging cable.
If you usually plug the Fire Stick charging cable into a USB port on the TV to power the Fire Stick, do so now. Otherwise, connect the cable to its AC adapter and plug it into a power outlet on a wall near the TV.
Turn the TV and Fire Stick on.
Plug your USB drive into the USB port on the adapter cable. A small notification should appear in the lower-right corner to confirm the USB drive has been detected.
Before the notification disappears, press the button on the Fire Stick remote with the three horizontal lines.
To transfer Fire Stick apps to your USB drive, you’ll need to format it. Select Yes to begin the format process.
Formatting the USB drive will delete everything currently on it.
Select Yes.
The USB format process will start. It should take no more than a few minutes to complete.
Once it’s finished, select OK.
You should be returned to the Fire TV Stick’s Home screen. Select Settings to continue the USB drive setup and transfer apps onto it.
Select My Fire TV.
Highlight USB Drive to view its used and available disk space. Select USB Drive to view more options for managing the connected USB drive.
Select Eject USB Drive if you want to safely remove the USB drive without damaging its contents.
Physically removing a USB drive without selecting this option can corrupt or damage files.
Select Format to External Storage if you want to use your USB drive on other devices.
This process essentially removes the Fire Stick format process you did when you initially connected your USB drive to your Fire Stick.
Select Manage Installed Applications to move apps and video games to and from your USB drive.
Any Android apps you have installed on your USB drive, if any, will appear here.
Select Show USB Only to view apps that are installed locally on your Fire Stick and begin transferring some to your USB drive.
Select Internal Only.
Select the app you want to transfer from your Fire Stick’s local storage to your connected USB drive.
Select Move to USB Storage to transfer the app to your connected USB drive.
Once selected, the app transfer process will begin. Do not touch any buttons on the remote while this transfer is being done.
Repeat this process for as many Fire Stick apps and video games as you like.
To move apps from your USB drive to your Fire Stick’s local storage, select the app from the app list and select Move to internal storage.
All Fire TV Cube models feature full USB support as do Fire TV Stick models released in 2000 and after. This means while the Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick 3, and Fire TV Stick 4K Max fully support USB functionality for transferring apps and video games, the regular Fire TV Stick 4K and the first two versions of the original Fire TV Stick don’t.
Fire Stick models that don’t fully support USB for app transfers can still be used to view images and movies stored on a connected USB drive.
If you don’t see the USB menu option in Settings > My Fire TV, it’s likely you’re using a Fire Stick model which doesn’t offer full USB support.
To do this, connect the USB drive to the Fire Stick following the above steps and then open a file browser app such as S-plore File Manager to access the contents of the connected storage device.
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Can You Connect Fire Stick to USB Devices?
Keyboards, mice, and even video game controllers have all been proven to work with Fire Stick models which feature full USB support though functionality can vary on older models.
Fire Sticks also support Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to other devices. If you don’t want the hassle of dealing with lots of cables, try connecting a Bluetooth device instead.
- How do I connect a Fire Stick to a laptop USB?
- If you want to use your Fire Stick with a laptop or computer, you need an HDMI splitter and a capture card to make the connection work with your laptop’s USB port. Attach your Fire Stick to the HDMI extender that came with the device > connect the HDMI extender to your HDMI splitter > and then connect a separate HDMI cord from the HDMI splitter to your capture card. Finally, plug in the capture card’s USB cable and connect it to a USB port on your laptop.
- What happens if I allow USB debugging on a Fire Stick?
- USB debugging allows you to sideload apps to your Fire Stick, which means you can add apps you have on your computer (that aren’t available in the official Appstore) to your Fire TV. If you turn on this setting, you can also sideload apps from your Android phone to your Fire Stick.
If you want to use your Fire Stick with a laptop or computer, you need an HDMI splitter and a capture card to make the connection work with your laptop’s USB port. Attach your Fire Stick to the HDMI extender that came with the device > connect the HDMI extender to your HDMI splitter > and then connect a separate HDMI cord from the HDMI splitter to your capture card. Finally, plug in the capture card’s USB cable and connect it to a USB port on your laptop.
USB debugging allows you to sideload apps to your Fire Stick, which means you can add apps you have on your computer (that aren’t available in the official Appstore) to your Fire TV. If you turn on this setting, you can also sideload apps from your Android phone to your Fire Stick.
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