# Fire TV Remote App First Impressions



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Made a separate thread for app discussions, now that it's available for Fire Tablets:


Downloaded it onto my Fire HDX7.

Opened nicely. Asked to pair with my device and showed me a list (which only had my Stick on it). When I selected the Stick, it said to show the PIN pn the TV. So I turned the TV on and entered the PIN in the app. It took a long time to pair. Don't panic, set it down and let it get to know your Stick. 

You then get a screen that has a menu icon in the upper left, a keyboard icon in the upper right, a microphone top center, and three buttons that correspond to buttons on the physical remote: a back key bottom left, a menu button in the bottom right and a home key bottom center. There's also a little dotted grid above the home key, swipe up on those to get the other buttons on the remote. Most of the app screen is a plain gray rectangle.

You navigate on the TV screen by using the big gray area as a trackpad. Drag your finger to move the selection on the screen, tap the gray area to select the current, er, selection.

To use voice, drag down on the microphone keeping your finger on it. The TV will beep and tell you to speak your search term. Worked pretty well on what I've tried it so far.

Betsy


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks for letting me know about the App. Betsy, thanks for telling us how ro use the App. My stick isn't coming until 12/11, so I am happily reading all the reviews. I just saw the ad on TV for the 1st time on the Stick tonight.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Now that I've paired my app with my Stick, when I switch the input on the TV to the Stick, I get a black screen.  Before I paired the app, the Fire TV Stick screen would come up right away.  If I open the app and touch any button or the touchpad part of the screen, I get the First TV screen--whatever I was viewing when I was last one.  It was a bit disconcerting at first.

Betsy


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## Dragle (Dec 10, 2011)

I'm not sure I want to bother with getting the app, especially if you have to use that from then on instead of the remote.  I like the way the remote works and I accidentally found out it automatically changed the TV input to the stick by hitting a button on the stick's remote, which will be less trouble than using my TV remote to select the input.

Is there any advantage to using the app instead of the remote, other than the voice search?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Dragle said:


> I'm not sure I want to bother with getting the app, especially if you have to use that from then on instead of the remote. I like the way the remote works and I accidentally found out it automatically changed the TV input to the stick by hitting a button on the stick's remote, which will be less trouble than using my TV remote to select the input.
> 
> Is there any advantage to using the app instead of the remote, other than the voice search?


You don't HAVE to use the app from then on--I can use the physical remote, too. Either one at will. Sorry I didn't make that clear. If I get the black screen, I can also hit any button on the remote to bring it back--in fact, that's what I did the first time I got it.

That's cool that you can change the input using the stick--that doesn't work on mine.

The main advantage to the app, I think is the voice search. Another advantage is if you typically have your Fire at hand, you don't have to have the additional remote.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> You don't HAVE to use the app from then on--I can use the physical remote, too. Either one at will. Sorry I didn't make that clear. If I get the black screen, I can also hit any button on the remote to bring it back--in fact, that's what I did the first time I got it.
> 
> That's cool that you can change the input using the stick--that doesn't work on mine.
> 
> The main advantage to the app, I think is the voice search. Another advantage is if you typically have your Fire at hand, you don't have to have the additional remote.


And since Betsy has had her Fire surgically implanted . . . . .


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Haven't we all?


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