A new software update started rolling out earlier this month to the 1st generation Fire TV Stick. The update maintains the previous version number of 5.2.6.2 but comes with a new build number of 587700820. No other devices have received this newsoftware version and it doesn’t seem like they will. It’s unusual for an update to roll out to a single older device and it’s unknown what this update changes. If I were to guess the purpose of the update, I’d say that it has something to do with optimizing video playback since the software update was released right around the time that the Silk Browser received a major update that focused on improving video playback on the 1st generation Fire TV Stick. If you’ve noticed any specific changes with this update, let everyone know in the comments.
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Not to be dismissive, but it’s hard to imagine still using the 1st gen stick, except as an enthusiast. Surely, you would upgrade if one were your primary streamer.
If you’re spending most of your time in just one or two streaming apps, you probably won’t notice the 1st-gen Stick’s sluggishness. I think that’s how the vast majority use these devices. It’s when you switch in and out of many apps that you run into the 1st-gen Stick’s limits.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the 1st-gen Stick still makes up the majority of Fire TV devices out there. At the very least I expect it to be #2 witht he 2nd-gen Stick as #1. They sold a heck of a lot of 1st-gen Sticks when it debuted for just $19 and was then $24 on Black Friday a month later.
That’s interesting and surprising information. Hard to see how Amazon is making any money on FTV devices if that’s the case and I can see how releasing new, pricey devices is not a priority if only a comparative few would buy it. The send gen stick is a decent device and pretty capable with a an Ethernet adapter, but it doesn’t really compare all that well with the boxes, gen one or two, in terms of function and processing power.
Amazon generally use the razor and blade model, from what Ive heard at least.
Its not the hardware that generates profit but everything they sell because of them eg. Apps, books, music, prime, etc.
So as long as people are paying for the services, they likely dont care if older devices are in use.
Any chance we will ever see YouTube tv app on firestick ? I know amazon and google are fighting
Just sideload the you tube apk, or download silk browser. Its already bookmarked to it.
It is.I put it on Tuesday when I got my 2nd stick.
Does this hold up if you only look at US numbers?
I still use my 1st Gen stick – it’s plugged in to my bedroom TV. A bit slow, sure, but while it still works, I can’t see any need to replace it.
If your a tech head it doesn’t matter what gen you use lolol and you can always make th first gen faster anyways man. Just gotta know what your doing. All technology is good tech.
How do you make it faster?
Good question.
HOW DO YOU MAKE IT FASTER???
Charlie-I’ll have you know I’m a first gen firestick owner, and I bet me & my OG stick can do da kine, yeah. I also still use a landline, I’m not important enough to need to be contacted anytime, anywhere. I also gave up my car for sandals & a strandcruiser, I also track time kanaka maoli style…R U saying ho brah, she’s mento? NAH, NAH, NAH, brah, a mellow cali/hawaiian wahine w/da kine stuff, fo reals…..cheeeehuuuuuu!!!!
Lol….wierd….witty…
COOL..
1 of my 2 TVs has the 1st gen stick, the other has 1st gen box. The stick is noticeable slower!!! It will likely be replaced if this new update and/or a clean wipe done help.
I bought the 1st gen Firestick at $19, still using on my bdrm tv.
I bought the 2nd gen Firestick at $25, using on other bdrm tv.
I got the 4K FireTV for my 4K set in the living room free by getting 1 month $35 trial subscription for Directv Now, cancelled subscription after 2 weeks, sucked.
Amazon makes money by flipping a percentage of Firestick/Tv users to Prime and/or subscribing to premium channels they get a commission for.
Most of these sticks are just bought so 3rd party software which is capable of recieving hulu, prime , netflix current movies tv shows can be installed on them. A couple may buy them for the prime to get the 2 day shipping.
Wonder if Hulu and Netflix have to pay amazon a fee for having the app preloaded on the device?
There are no 3rd-party apps, like Hulu and Netflix, preloaded on Fire TV devices.
I have the 1st gen FTV stick plugged into an additional HDMI port of my computer monitor, so if the computer is off and I just want to have some music, I can just switch the monitor’s input and start streaming.
(and I paid 19€ for the stick with the initial promotion, and 49€ for the 1st gen Fire TV)
That’s awesome. I personally have the first gen and 2 of the new Fire sticks so the first gen is not being used. I’m excited for the update now I can can use it on my monitor. Thanks for the great idea, Thomas!
Was still using 1st Gen stick until last week when new 2nd gen arrived. Never had much of any problems with FTV stick until the last few months when it started to lose track of the wireless networks when waking up. Got tired of having to restart. Performance was never an issue. Best $19.99 I can remember ever having spent.
I have a 1st Gen stick in my bedroom, and it received the update last week. I can say there is a definite improvement in boot speed (it is plugged into my tvs USB port so it boots fresh every time I turn it on), responsiveness, and app load speed for netflix, hulu, and plex. I’m biding my time until I can afford a Shield for the living room tv, then I will move my firetv box into the bedroom. This update made the wait a little less painful lol
I would think its a codec upgrade from H264 to H265 which uses less then half the bandwidth. The first generation firestick is the only Amazon product that doesn’t have H265 capabilities. That would give the G1 stick new life.
Video decoding is done in hardware, so the 1st-gen Fire TV Stick and the 1st-gen Fire TV box will never truly support H265. Those models only have an H264 hardware decoder and that can never change with a software update. I say “truly” because, yes, they can decode H265 through software, but the CPU will be doing the decoding instead of the dedicated hardware decoder. You don’t want the CPU to do the decoding because it’s not powerful enough for high resolution and high bitrate streams.
More info here: http://www.aftvnews.com/comparing-h-264-vs-h-265-video-playback-on-the-fire-tv-1-2-and-fire-tv-stick/
But what about same resolution and same bitrate streams?
Take a 720p video at 30hz. Encode one in H264 and one in H265. Can the 1st-gen Fire devices play that? Then CBS could just stream to H265 to all Fire devices.
(I really have no idea about this stuff)
There’s nothing stopping a service from streaming H265 to the 1st-gen Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. Those device will begin playing those streams the same way they play an H264 stream. The difference is that, since those devices do not have a hardware decoder capable of H265 decoding, the CPU will need to decode the H265 video. The CPU will get overloaded and result in very choppy playback.
The resolution and bitrate being the same won’t matter. What matters is what physical hardware component handles the decoding. For a smooth stream, you always want the hardware decoder and not the CPU to decode the video, since that’s what it was designed to do and that’s all it does.
I have 3 1st gen and 2 2nd gen and the 2nd gen is more faster then the 1st gen but i still use my 1st gen because they still useful. Just i wish they can change the home page or have a way for some of use the we dont use a lot of those apps
I wonder if we will ever see Fire OS 6 arriving on one of the old devices. First or at least second generation. But I guess to keep development effort low it would be the best for Amazon to update either all or none of them. So I guess the old devices will stay on Fire OS 5 as long as they receive updates.
Just got firestick and it will connect with my mobile hotspotbut won’t connect to Amazon.com
1st Gen Home page won’t come up on recently purchased Fire Stick .???
Locked tonight/super slow couldn’t find internet connection on a few apps. After working on it for several hours was forced to reset to factory settings, we’ll see what happens.
Found the ADB and software from unknown sources is missing in SETTING – MY FIRE TV ?? and replaced with LEGAL & COMPLIANCE ??
They’re not removed, just hidden now. Instructions for revealing the developer options can be found here: https://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-find-show-unhide-reveal-developer-options-on-an-amazon-fire-tv-stick-fire-tv-cube-or-fire-tv-smart-tv/