Amazon Fire TV Device Sale: Fire TV Stick 4K Max $33, Fire TV Stick 4K

DrivingDutchman

Nov 13, 2024 12:53 PM

115 Comments

Joined Sep 2007

DrivingDutchmanNov 13, 2024 12:53 PM

115 Comments

Quote from MaroonArm4013

:

Swapped all our fire sticks to Roku. The UI on the fire sticks is slow and buggy. After a few months everything slows down. I don't recommend these at all. We had them on every TV and they all were slow compared to Roku.

I use Roku on all our TVs as well but got the Fire Stick Max to try out Kodi as well as the Xbox cloud gaming service. Curious how it does.

1

Deal-R-Dash

Nov 13, 2024 1:03 PM

1.8K Comments

Joined Oct 2014

Deal-R-DashNov 13, 2024 1:03 PM

1.8K Comments

Quote from Imallvol7

:

Just to let y'all know it's fine. I hate mine and am switching to the new ONN from Walmart or the Google stream. The ads on the fire stick are out of control and I don't like the interface at all

Came here to say the same thing. After a while the bloat slows the entire thing down. This is happening on every Amazon device I own included the Show. Couple that with killing off the ability to reactive the older 1st generation Echo devices that were one of the best Alexa items made that sound amazing and we've been gradually dumping the Amazon ecosystem. I picked up 4 Rokus yesterday from the Walmart deal which should get us totally off of FireTV now.

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1

Deal-R-Dash

Nov 13, 2024 1:07 PM

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Joined Oct 2014

Deal-R-DashNov 13, 2024 1:07 PM

1.8K Comments

Quote from Dr_Derogatory

:

I own a lot of Amazon products, including an original non Max 4K stick and the Max variant. My son has the 4K stick and the Max I use for outdoor movie nights. Honestly I think they are by far the worst streaming platform. My son doesn't seem to mind his, but being that the Max I have doesn't get used super regularly it becomes an absolute chore every time I do use it. (Obnoxious AI Voice) Let me explain.

If the stick (I presume the Cube is the same but I don't own one so I can't confirm) sits unused without getting updates it basically breaks the device until it's fully updated. You can't launch apps because the device firmware isn't updated. It's not even the apps that need updated, it's the FireTV firmware. It boots fine, let's you navigate fine, let's you try and launch apps, and then it just sits there. So the takeaway here is that if you're going to use one of these, make sure they stay connected at all times. It's what I should do with mine, but that leads me to the next complaint which is just the user interface.

It has gotten better over time, but its interface is so incredibly inferior to every other streaming platform. I'm personally in the Roku camp, but if I could afford to switch out all of my Roku Ultras with Apple TV 4K devices I probably would as those eliminate ads. My Roku Ultras are all from 2018 but all feel significantly snappier than the 4K Max streaming stick. Additionally, a 2018 43" TCL 4-Series 4K TV (bottom of the barrel) that I use as a computer monitor has a Roku interface which also feels markedly snappier than the FireTV interface. The FireTV interface just feels full of bloat and ads and is just visually unpleasing and often laggy/unresponsive. It's the same issue I had with Fire Tablets, but that's another rant for another time. I know this is because it's Amazon, but it's off-putting to me, and worse than Google TV. Consequently if you can get the original Onn. 4K for $20 I'd recommend that over these.

All this having been said, these 'work', and this isn't a bad price, but I don't know that I'd want to use them as a daily streaming device for the user interface issues I've mentioned above. If you keep them connected you'll circumvent my biggest annoyance with the platform, but that's a me problem for not just keeping the thing connected to the internet all the time. I only bring it up so others don't run into the same frustrations as me with only using it every couple months and then waiting 30 minutes to be able to actually use it while it updates.

This has also been my experience. The other issue I experience with devices sitting around is the remotes literally eat batteries and you really cannot use rechargeables. Once the remote battery dies it seems like it loses its pairing with its FireTV and then does not get updates for the remote firmware so there is a mismatch. If you are super lucky you can repair it but it takes a while if at all for it to happen. I've never had this issue with the latest generation Roku and my goodness the scroll is just so fast on the interface. Heck with FireTV you cannot even tell what you have highlighted or are selecting there are so many ads and auto-launch movie/series previous. It is outrageously frustrating.

6

lethol0gica

Nov 13, 2024 1:30 PM

131 Comments

Joined Oct 2022

lethol0gicaNov 13, 2024 1:30 PM

131 Comments

If you are interested in the 4K Max, it's cheaper at Target $29.99

4

youra6

Nov 13, 2024 1:36 PM

10.9K Comments

Joined Nov 2010

youra6Nov 13, 2024 1:36 PM

10.9K Comments

Idk about the rest, but I can confirm that the 4K Max has horrible handshaking issues with my Onkyo RZ-50 and 7100 receivers. Video will intermittently cut out. Thought it was the CEC or the actual receiver at fault, but ended up being the fire stick.

Waste of 35 dollars.

3

RonDo

Nov 13, 2024 2:08 PM

9K Comments

Joined Nov 2004

RonDoNov 13, 2024 2:08 PM

9K Comments

Quote from MaroonArm4013

:

Swapped all our fire sticks to Roku. The UI on the fire sticks is slow and buggy. After a few months everything slows down. I don't recommend these at all. We had them on every TV and they all were slow compared to Roku.

I'm going to be in the same boat. I jumped on a Roku deal during one of the last prime days and found the experience much better than dealing with the firesticks and the ads/space issues (even with the convoluted usb expansion).
Hoping to see some more of those same deals around BF as I try to replace our fleet of firesticks.

loudmouth

Nov 13, 2024 2:16 PM

232 Comments

Joined Dec 2013

loudmouthNov 13, 2024 2:16 PM

232 Comments

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Quote from Imallvol7

:

Just to let y'all know it's fine. I hate mine and am switching to the new ONN from Walmart or the Google stream. The ads on the fire stick are out of control and I don't like the interface at all

100%. Im sick of it all. Ads everywhere. Netflix. Amazon. Max. YouTube. Twitter. Reddit. It's actually helpful for me as i find it so unbearable that I've reduced my screen time. I could pay, but nothing really on these services worth paying for

15

1

yazyazoo

Nov 13, 2024 2:23 PM

6.2K Comments

Joined Feb 2007

yazyazooNov 13, 2024 2:23 PM

6.2K Comments

Firestick has been fine with me. Rather have ads on home screen than on YouTube. Roku doesn't have sideload ability. Need it for Kodi and Youtube (version that removes the commercials).

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SubieR6

Nov 13, 2024 2:25 PM

320 Comments

Joined May 2009

SubieR6Nov 13, 2024 2:25 PM

320 Comments

Great deal, I bought my 4k max during black Friday last year. I just got around to using a month ago when I cut the cord for iptv. This works great, although I do notice that streaming from my LG B3 Oled's built in streaming apps (Amazon prime) is better quality than streaming from the firestick. But for my use it's worth it.

JollyFeather3240

Nov 13, 2024 2:28 PM

93 Comments

Joined Aug 2024

JollyFeather3240Nov 13, 2024 2:28 PM

93 Comments

I got a code few weeks back and i bought max for $30. It was targeted code.

BPD007

Nov 13, 2024 2:31 PM

2.5K Comments

Joined Oct 2010

BPD007Nov 13, 2024 2:31 PM

2.5K Comments

Been waiting for a decent sale. My old fire stick is so slow. Just ordered the MAX

1

SingingTree

Nov 13, 2024 2:32 PM

289 Comments

Joined Apr 2021

SingingTreeNov 13, 2024 2:32 PM

289 Comments

Quote from Imallvol7

:

Just to let y'all know it's fine. I hate mine and am switching to the new ONN from Walmart or the Google stream. The ads on the fire stick are out of control and I don't like the interface at all

What ads? Not sure what you're doing ...

9

C_W

Nov 13, 2024 3:03 PM

506 Comments

Joined Jul 2014

C_WNov 13, 2024 3:03 PM

506 Comments

I have an lg smart TV and I got this just to use smart tube because I was sick of YouTube ads and it was worth it for that alone not even counting the other side loaded apps you can use

1

ugabuga

Nov 13, 2024 3:16 PM

5K Comments

Joined Sep 2005

ugabugaNov 13, 2024 3:16 PM

5K Comments

I have rokus and fire TVs on every single television in my house. I usually use the Roku for the basic streaming apps and always use and switch to the fire for Amazon specific content and also the side load the YouTube app which pays for it just to have the no ads

2

phoshizzlez

Nov 13, 2024 3:29 PM

296 Comments

Joined Dec 2020

phoshizzlezNov 13, 2024 3:29 PM

296 Comments

Probably will trade in my old firestick with a missing remote for the 20% off towards the 4k Max.

Amazon Fire TV Device Sale: Fire TV Stick 4K Max $33, Fire TV Stick 4K

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