What Are Amazon Fire Stick WiFi Requirements? Complete Guide

The Amazon Fire Stick WiFi requirements are there for a reason. Since Firestick contents have different qualities, it requires a certain internet speed.

More speed equals more network packets per second, which equals higher quality.

The minimum WiFi requirements for Fire Stick streaming, require at least 3.5 Mbps of speed for SD content to be smooth. For HD content you would need to meet the optimal requirements and for UHD, you’ll need to go beyond 20 Mbps speed.

Let’s first learn more about WiFi reliability, how it works and what its speed means.

What Are The Amazon Fire Stick WiFi Requirements?

Generally said, there are minimal, optimal, and best-performance WiFi requirements, recommended by the community and Amazon themselves.

The minimal requirements should be met necessarily for you to stream SD content which is the lowest quality.

How To Identify WiFi Speed?

To understand what your network values are, so you can easily identify in which category you fall, you would need to test your network speed, beforehand.

You can use many free sources online, where the most popular service is Ookla Internet Speed Test.

You will see three different values:

• Ping/ms – How much time does it take for your internet to acquire verification.
• Download – How fast internet packets arrive on your network.
• Upload – How fast your packets are sent to different location servers.

Depending on your results, let’s begin with the minimal Fire Stick WiFi requirements that your network should cover at all costs.

Minimal Amazon Fire Stick WiFi Requirements

For Firestick to stream the content in the first place, there are minimal WiFi requirements that your network should meet.

Even when not talking about Firestick, in particular, almost all networks must support this WiFi speed for the content to be streamed normally without interruptions.

There is no user that wants their content to be streamed below 480p, but with your network being at minimal coverage for streaming, this is what you’re going to get.

Let’s begin reviewing the minimal WiFi requirements for Firestick:

Minimal Internet Speed Strength

For your Firestick to meet the minimum WiFi requirements in regard to speed, the network must be above 3.5 Mbps of speed.

With this speed, your Firestick is expected to meet the requirements for SD quality streaming.

Minimal Network Band Requirements

The minimum you can get in regard to bands from your network is a 2.4GHz WiFi.

A 2.4GHz WiFi network has a better traversal through walls and solid objects. Don’t hesitate to position the router away from the Firestick for up to 150 meters.

Note: With an internet speed of 3.5Mbps and 2.4GHz band WiFi, do not expect anything above SD quality streaming to be smooth.

Optimal Amazon Fire Stick WiFi Requirements

The in-between situation where most of the users find themselves is whenever their network is optimal for Firestick streaming.

If you can relate to the following values, you’re not either in the minimal requirements or the best-performance requirements.

Optimal WiFi strength and band requirements are found to be performing well at HD quality streaming (720p and 1080p), with which most of the users are satisfied.

Let’s now review what are the optimal WiFi requirements for your Firestick and whether your network supports them:

Optimal Internet Speed-Strength

For the optimal or average performance at streaming, your network and WiFi speed must meet at least 5 Mbps of speed.

Considering your network is somewhere in between 5 and 10 Mbps, your Firestick is expected to be performing quite well at HD quality streaming.

Optimal Network Band Requirements

As for the network’s band, 5 Mbps of speed can be supported either in 2.4GHz WiFi or 5GHz WiFi.

Although the 5GHz WiFi offers better internet, with 5Mbps of speed you shouldn’t have a problem streaming HD even with a 2.4GHz band.

These are the optimal WiFi requirements that are required for HD streaming following Amazon’s recommendations.

If your network was found with the following values, your Firestick is capable of streaming at HD without interruptions or lag. 

Note: No interruptions will be met on HD quality as long as your WiFi remains strong.

Best-Performance Amazon Fire Stick WiFi Requirements

If you found your internet to be faster and more reliable than the minimal and optimal requirements, your network is most likely capable of ULTRA HD quality.

This is where the boundaries of Firestick reach and even with faster internet, the device itself is not capable of offering further improvement.

As we’ve mentioned, if your network covers the following requirements, your Firestick will be eligible to stream quality at Ultra HD.

Do not mistake that Ultra HD is the same as 4K. Not one bit. Firestick, sadly, is not capable of creating an environment for 4K streaming, even if your TV supports it.

The best Firestick can go is Ultra HD (3840 x 2160), where 4K equals 4096 x 2160.

Here are the best-performance Firestick WiFi requirements for UHD streaming:

Best-Performance Internet Speed-Strength

Amazon has said that to achieve Ultra HD quality streaming on your Firestick, the speed of the internet must be 25 Mbps or above.

This is a suitable environment for smooth UHD streaming.

Best-Performance Network Band Requirements

To achieve a speed of 25 Mbps or above, your network has to be 5GHz.

Sadly, 2.4GHz networks do not support this strength and you must make your WiFi dual-band to stream in UHD through your Firestick.

Those were the requirements for best performance when streaming through your Firestick.

With these internet speed strengths, Ultra-HD streaming will be easy work for your Firestick to achieve.

FAQ

Why Is My Firestick Constantly Buffering?

Interruptions during playback are commonly met across users that connect to a 5Ghz broadband WiFi.

Even if 5Ghz bands deliver faster WiFi, it’s not necessarily stronger, which is important for smooth playout.

The 5Ghz frequency is faster but has a hard time traveling through walls and solid objects.

How To Check My Firestick WiFi Strength?

Depending on the distance and WiFi frequently, the Firestick might not be receiving the full capacity of your internet.

To check what is the current WiFi speed that your Firestick operates with go to the Settings > Network > WiFi network. The current WiFi speed will be on the left.

Can Firestick Connect To A Phone Hotspot?

Yes and it would work exactly the same as with your WiFi. However, 4G cellular WiFi is not enough for HD and UHD in most cases.

Streaming higher-quality content on a hotspot is often accompanied by lag and buffering.

Read Next: Will a 4K Firestick Work on a Non 4K TV?

Bottom Line:

Now when you understand what the Amazon Fire Stick WiFi requirements are you can easily determine in which category your internet speed falls.

Keep in mind that the majority of users fall in the HD category which is a pleasant resolution for the eye.

However, if you intend to go beyond HD and enjoy the highest available quality of a Firestick (UHD), you might need to pay more per month to receive an optical internet connection.