Amazon Fire Stick trick lets you find lost remote instantly using hidden ‘ringer’ – there are two ways to activate it
DON'T panic if you've lost your Amazon Fire TV Stick remote.
There's a simple way to find track it down in seconds without having to turn your whole house upside down.
It turns out that some Fire TV remote controls have a built-in ringer.
And you can trigger this to beep when you've lost your remote, allowing you to find it instantly.
It's a far better solution than pulling out all of your sofa cushions and crawling on the floor to look under cabinets.
There are two ways to activate the feature, and both are very easy.
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But the first thing to note is that not all Fire TV remotes offer this feature.
For it to work, you'll specifically need an Amazon Alexa Voice Remote Pro.
If you've got a different type of Alexa remote, it won't work.
HOW TO USE AMAZON REMOTE FINDER
First, note that it won't work if your Alexa Voice Remote Pro isn't already paired with a Fire TV.
And you'll also need it registered to the same account as your Alexa account.
On top of that, your remote needs to be within 30 feet of the paired Fire TV.
If it's too far away, it won't work.
Also, if the battery on the remote is dead, it won't work either.
Now you have two options.
One is to say "Find my remote" to any Amazon device that you have with Alexa support.
That could also be the Alexa app on a smartphone, or in the Fire TV app.
Another option is to press the Remote Finder icon inside the Fire TV app's Remote tab.
Either of these options should trigger the Alexa Voice Remote Pro to ring for up to five minutes.
Be mindful that Amazon says it can take up to 30 seconds for the ringing to begin.
Once you've found the TV remote, just press any button to stop it from ringing.
If you can't get the feature to work, make sure that your Fire Stick is connected to a power outlet and not the TV's USB port.
That means the feature can work even if the TV itself is off.
For it to work on a smart TV that's switched off, you'll need to have already turned on Voice Commands When TV Screen is Off.
WHAT IS THE ALEX VOICE REMOTE PRO?
Here are the official specs from Amazon...
- “Alexa, find my remote.”
- Backlit for your convenience
- Two customizable buttons
- Dedicated headphone button
- Integrated TV controls
- Press and ask Alexa
- Compatible with most Fire TV streaming media players, Amazon Fire TV smart TVs, and smart TVs with Fire TV built-in
SKY FANS CAN DO IT TOO!
Amazon isn't the only TV maker helping you to find lost remotes.
British telly giant Sky also has a similar feature available on its Sky Q boxes.
It turns out that the Q logo on the front of the box is actually a button.
And if you press it, it'll cause your TV remote to start beeping.
It's a great way to find your lost Sky TV remote – giving you a 30-second window to track down the beep.
But be warned: it only works with main Sky Q boxes and not Sky Q Mini boxes.
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The remote also needs to be paired with the Sky box and in range of it.
As well as that, it needs to have battery – a dead remote won't beep.