In my case, they mostly stay with the TV they’re originally assigned to, unless we need to play musical Firesticks and swap a working one from a lesser-user TV with one that died on a more-used TV, as we recently had to do; inspiring this thread.
They have a separate power supply. The only interface they have with the TV is HDMI, which carries a voltage of 5V and 55mA of current (according to the standard). That’s less than 0.3 watts, compared to USB, which can easily provide several watts to power or charge devices.
This one finally crapped out - repeated glitching etc. - and at 11PM I ordered a new one. At 7AM the next day it arrived, and I learned something interesting: the Firestick is storing info on my Samsung SmartTV™.
At least, I assume that’s what’s happening, because when I booted it up it cycled for a while, then said “downloading updates” (though I hadn’t connected it to the internet) and then asked me to confirm that it was indeed Maserschmidt’s device, and when I did, it was done setting up. So, I never connected it, but it’s attached to my router.
It did also keep all my Amazon app passwords, but I had to sign in again on other apps.
Interesting timing for this thread to be revived, because I just had yet another Firestick crap out on me a few days ago. It dropped the internet connection, so I rebooted. After the reboot, I discovered 2 of my most often used apps would not work- they would begin to open, then crash after a few seconds. I ran through all the steps to clear out those apps’ cach and data, but no luck. So I tried restarting the Firestick to ‘factory settings’ which bricked it-- it got stuck on a loop of “Choose language → configuring → Choose language”.
I think it’s probably storing data on the cloud, not directly on your TV. We have several Firesticks, and they “talk” to each other-- at least to the point where often-used apps or recently viewed shows from one appear on all of them.
When I ordered a new one to replace the one that crapped out (it’s getting like buying Bic lighters) I noticed an opt-out feature “would you like to have your Amazon login settings pre-installed? It will save time and make the process simpler” So that may help explain your experience as well. Though, not even needing to connect to your router is strange.
I’m confused - I thought that part of what defined a Smart TV is that they can connect to the internet and you don’t need a Roku or Firestick or other device to stream. i definitely know I don’t use a Firestick ( or any other device ) with my Samsung smart Tv.
When you buy an Amazon device, I believe they “set it up” by linking the product ID to your account. So when you plug it in, it already knows that it belongs to you and accesses your account information. They don’t pull it out of the box but rather device XYZ123 calls home upon its initial power-up and Amazon HQ informs it that it belongs to Maserschmidt and gives it the access it needs to your account.
Smart TVs often have a less-than-optimal interface, or the apps you want to use aren’t available for your TV (something beyond Netflix or HBOMax, say like BritBox or Acorn). Or it’s easier to manage your Firesticks and subscriptions via Amazon or Roku than however it works on your smart TV.
You can get an external device - Firestick, Roku, Apple TV, what have you - and plug it in to an HDMI port and use that instead of your Smart TV’s streaming interface.
Wait, then how is the new Firestick getting to the cloud? Again, I didn’t enter my router password, I just plugged it in, and it just seemed to know what the password was.
I really don’t want to use a Firestick, especially since my TV is connected directly to the router via ethernet, but my 2016 Samsung TV doesn’t have all the apps - it definitely doesn’t have ESPN(+), which I use a lot, and I think it might not have HBO either.
Okay, here’s the answer: the Echo device right next to the TV is likely sharing that information.
The way it automatically gets online in the first place is through the help of your other devices that are already connected to the internet. Devices compatible with Amazon’s WiFi Simple Setup system, which are already online, are constantly broadcasting a connection that new devices search for. Amazon describes this connection as a “pre-defined, hidden, and restricted Wi-Fi network.
How Fire TVs and other Amazon devices automatically know your WiFi password during setup | AFTVnews
Older tvs lose functionality and can no longer be updated so you won’t be able to download or use certain aps. A firestick/roku/whatever solves that problem without having to get a new tv. You can also bring your firestick with you on vacation and use it where you are.
Oh! Forgot about that – we did that last year and it was great.
The smart TV I have was purchased quite a few years ago (2012 to be precise) and while initially it didn’t need any help connecting after awhile it became obsolete (I believe the error message was "no longer supported) and couldn’t connect any longer.
I purchased an Amazon firestick which restored and improved the connectivity of my TV. Yay. So I’m watching modern streaming on an “obsolete” TV. Which I have no intention of replacing until it stops working entirely.
Update: the new Firestick works noticeably better than the old one, so there’s that. Sometimes the old one would be slow or unresponsive, I thought it was the TV or wifi….
I’ve had several FireTV devices. Rooted some of them. All worked fine until recently.
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A really old stick that was put away for a while won’t boot now.
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I had to upgrade two of the devices to newer models since Peacock refused to run on them since the security needed a new version of the OS that wasn’t rolled out to these older models.
Again, not all “longevity” issues are hardware, some are software.