Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max streaming device (newest model) supports Wi-Fi 6E, free & live TV without cable or satellite

I had become exasperated trying to get by using a "smart" Sony Bravia TV for all my streaming services. It sort of worked but didn't work well. Slow, cumbersome, and prone to freezing up (especially with Hulu for who knows what reason.) I had previously used Directv streaming, which was functional but expensive. I then had a brief flirtation with a Tivo streaming stick, which had potential, but needed rebooting more times than could be counted. I was reluctant to go with a Fire because of its alienation from Google and the wondrous Play Store. But I finally decided to give this a try -- partly because I have had recent good experiences with Echo devices and Alexa. The 4k Max seemed like the best choice because of its larger storage. I reconfigured my system somewhat by plugging the Fire into a Yamaha receiver HDMI rather than the TV. I believe this helped achieve success -- with a more straightforward audio integration. The installation process was very smooth. Hulu, MAX, Apple, Peacock, Paramount+, Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney all installed and fired up without a hitch. I was annoyed that Google Play wasn't available and that a key mapper for the remote was apparently forbidden. But navigation and app loading were delightfully fast, and the stick quickly became friends with my Echo Dot. Alexa made changing between streaming services easy, and a more social experience -- albeit artificial. VLC was available and worked perfectly with my network storage drive. I was wary of the wireless network connection, but a test showed ample speed. I have had no internet glitches so far, and no freeze ups or weird behaviors in general. I want to get a remote with a few more shortcut buttons, but the supplied one works fine. Overall a better experience than I had dared to hope for. So far so good.

Very capable streamer. Straightforward remote. The unit seems to have ample computing power and memory. Therefore it’s very fast. Drives 1070 line displays to perfection. Lots of sound options. Should control most complex home AV systems with just one remote. Basic install was easy. BUT Some streaming services are very very obsessed about security. Just be patient and it will all work. It happens on all the streaming hardware devices. Not their fault. Once it’s all installed, it performs flawlessly. Appears to easily control your audio system and TV. AZ had it on sale so I went top shelf.

Typically I use AppleTV and Roku in my home. Recently I’ve gotten more into gaming again and in that process stumbled upon xcloud gaming from Xbox. I tried it on my tablet and wanted to try on a larger screen. Screen mirroring didn’t work, the latency was horrendous, and Apple doesn’t have support for Xbox xcloud services by default. I was about to order an adapter from Apple to output HDMI for my tablet. The price? $49.99. Seemed steep for a cord but was going to bite the bullet until I heard Firestick had the support I was looking for and that they had a sale on the newer firestick. For a little more than half the cost of the adapter, I opted to buy the firestick and I do not regret it at all. It does everything I need it to do and does it well. The upgraded Wi-Fi features(6/6e) are absolutely amazing if you’re running a proper router that supports it. Latency is near non existent. Even with heavier demand titles on xcloud it rarely has a stop or stutter. It’s small, but definitely packs a punch. Ease of use means switching from tv to tv takes mere moments and you’re back up and good to go. Excellent design overall and I appreciate the extensive list of controller support. In testing ps4/5, Xbox one/series s/x, 8bitdo, and a few off brand/generic have connected without issue. I can’t speak on the new Luna controller for now, but considering how this device performed, I think the controller will be my next purchase to use alongside my new Firestick.

These remotes are incredible, consolidating all of my programming—from DIRECTV to Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV, and more—into one spot. Since our smart TVs lack some of the features of newer models, this has been the perfect solution to simplify access to all our entertainment. One remote truly does it all. It’s very intuitive, and once you learn the button layout, it functions flawlessly. The signal strength is impressive—you can control your TV from across the room without needing to point directly at it. Another nice feature of this is that if you have these on multiple TVs, if you turn off one in the middle of a program and you start up a different TV a few minutes later, you can pick up where you left off.I highly recommend this product for its ease of use and reliability!

I got this and had high expectations. I love the interface and the ease of use, navigating and such but... It took for ever to set up. Almost 3 hours for some of the apps to load and still was not completely working and loading images. I had several apps like NETFLIX and YOUTUBE get stuck on "downloading" or "queued" and never load so I had to contact support. I tried all of the recommended trouble shooting steps SEVERAL times. After exhausting all of those options they offered to send another Fire TV but it had the same problems. After more hours of set up, I was able to resolve the downloading problem switching to my mobile hotspot which I had previously done several times. Not a fun set up process but now things seem to be working properly.Only downside now is, on some apps when you fast-forward or rewind a show or movie there is no image preview so it's hard to tell where you are. I hope they update it to work more like the AppleTv and other devices I've owned.Hope this helps!