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Amazon Fire Stick/Sony BRAVIA TV compatibility problem – one solution

Intro
There is a very long discussion of this topic on Amazon.com. Sony BRAVIA models more than five years old may not work perfectly with Amazon’s Fire TV stick. I have this problem and I’ll mention my workaround.

The details
My Sony TV model is BRAVIA XBR 32XBR6. I suppose it’s about five years old. I also have it connected to a Sony Blueray player, which can also play Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc. But it isn’t nearly as well designed as the Fire Stick and so I bought the Fire Stick, which has better WiFi support and a faster user interface.

Initially the Fire Stick appears to work with the TV and all is good.

Second day: same thing. All is good.

About the third usage, however, and when playing on-demand content I hear what I’m trying to play but I only see a blue screen with the letters HDCP. I think that indicates a digital copy protection mechanism has kicked in.

Powering down the Fire Stick doesn’t seem to work. Turning the TV off and on doesn’t seem to help.

In my case I had the option to switch to watch the same content through my Blueray player (which never displays this problem). Then next time I went back to the Fire Stick (usually days later) all was good.

So I became suspicious about cause and effect and I shortened the cycle.

Get the HDCP problem. Switch HDMI ports to the Blueray player (using the remote). Initiate the Amazon video service connection on the Player (but don’t bother to actually play anything). Switch back to the Fire Stick’s HDMI port. HDCP problem gone!

This solution was not too painful. I also have a Raspberry Pi connected to yet another HDMI TV port. I’ll see if switching to that will do the trick as well – that would be a cheap option that’s not too painful.

2017 update
I never get this HDCP problem any more. The main difference is that I never use my Sony Blueray player for on-demand programming. The Firestick is superior so I always use it. I only use the Blueray player for DVD playback.

October, 2017 update
I got my birthday present – the updated Fire TV stick with Alexa voice remote, but on the same Sony TV. It does seem to work better. The old one was button press, nothing happens, button press, nothing happens, button press, finally it gets the idea. The new one does seem to be better about that.

July 2019 update
Just go the latest and greatest: fire tv stick 4K on Prime Day a few days ago. On this same, now rather old Sony TV model mentioned above, it works really and surprisingly well! I thought surely this older model will not support newer features such as volume control – but it does. And surely it will not support power control of the TV – but it does! And since volume control works (and you can see it is controlling TV volume, not some kind of HDMI or other volume) of course the mute button also works. All these features had required me, up until now, to schlep around two remote controls: the one for the TV plus the Firestick. Now I’ll just need the one. I could probably use Alexa voice commands but I don’t think I’ll want to.

And, it’s just plain more responsive. Previous models were often a bit slow to react to key presses. This does much better on that front. One last thing, it comes pre-configured with your account already set up so you can be up and running much quicker.

I have no idea about the 4k-ness of the picture quality, but the other features alone make me glad I got it.

Fire TV stick 4K

I wish I could answer all the questions raised in the comments but I just don’t have access to any of those models. I would think it ought to work with any Sony TV made in the last 10 years, but maybe it’s not so simple.

Upgrading to a newer Firestick – what to do with your old one
Now you’ve got a Firestick on all your TVs and you want that latest model, and your relatives don’t want your old one either even though it worked just fine. Around here we’d be tempted to send it to a second-hand store, or worse case, to an electronics recycling program. But remember it has all your logins to Amazon (for sure), maybe Hulu, HBO Now, AT&T Now, Netflix, etc. So you better take an extra few minutes to factory reset it. This is a terrific article that gives five different ways to reset your Firestick to factory defaults: Five ways to reset your Firestick. I just wanted to repeat one. You have to have it connected, unfortunately. Hold the right and back buttons of your remote simultaneously for at least 10 seconds. Then follow the prompts. I have tried it and it works. The reset itself takes about 15 minutes on an older Firestick.

Tip for infrequent users

If like me you only watch a few hours a week because you are that busy, and yuo’ve subscribed to a variety of services (Netflix, Youtube Red, Amazon, …), I have this tip to save little of your precious time. You could see pop-ups suggesting to update to the latest version. I suggest to ignore those and wait until you have a bigger block of time. If you only have an hour you don’t want to waste the first five minutes upgrading an app you may have only used once (happens to me a lot). Let’s face it, these things don’t boot up quickly as it is.

2021 tip for US users wanting HBO Max

HBO Max is now available for Firestick. In 2020 it wasn’t for a long stretch.

2021 Tip: Changing Firestick from one TV set to another

I moved my Firestick from a Sony TV to an Insignia brand TV. I thought no big deal, it’s already set up – should just work. Wrong! Yes, the display worked. I could move between apps like usual, but the TV control functions – power on/off, volume, and mute – did absolutely nothing. What gives?

I always assumed that the infrared signal from the Firestick remote only communicates with the Firestick, and that the HDMI protocol included a side channel for power and volume commands. Apparently that assumption is totally wrong. In order to effectuate those things, the Firestick actually acts as a simple remote for your TV set and interacts directly with the TV’s infrared receiver. Who knew? Hence, if your set is a different brand than before, you may have to revive the infrared signal the Firestick puts out. It’s a bit obscure but not difficult. Go to

Settings > Equipment Control > Manage Equipment > TV > Change TV

Then follow the prompts. It actually knows about Insignia TVs and gets it right, by the way.

Related to the above, I recently bought a new Firestick and tried to do the initial setup on that same Insignia TV. I managed to see “Fire” on the screen, and that was it! Nothing else was possible. So I set it up on that Sony Bravia TV, then moved it over to the Insignia. Worked great, except for that On/Off/volume kind of TV controls. And that was simply fixed by the above recipe.

Android and Windows 10 screen mirroring

What I’ve decided to go with is to put the HBO Max app on my Android phone and cast the screen to my Firestick (screen mirroring). There’s a little more setup than you’re used to each time, but it’s not terrible compared with sideloading. In Firestick’s setup Screen you can enable casting. On a Samsung Galaxy pone you have the Smartview app in Settings: pull down from the top twice rapidly to get to Smart View. The Firestick screen should show up as an option. Choose it, then go back to your HBO Max app and play whatever content you like – it should be casting to your TV. I think you can also do screen mirroring from a Windows 10 laptop. Click on Notifications in the far right of the taskbar, you get all those little squares, click expand if needed, until you see Project. In Project look at the bottom and click on Connect to a wireless display.

Conclusion
A solution is offered to the dreaded HDCP problem for Amazon Fire Stick/Sony BRAVIA TV. More research needs to be done to reduce the solution to its essence.

References and related
Here’s the link to that lengthy discussion: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/forums/ref=cs_hc_g_pg_pg1?ie=UTF8&forumID=Fx1SKFFP8U1B6N5&cdSort&cdThread=Tx1A10FFQXCSZ2M&cdPage=1

Fire TV Stick (2019 model). This is the regular model. You probably don’t need the 4K model unless you have a super TV…

How to reset your (old) Firestick because you’ve upgraded: https://www.guidingtech.com/reset-fire-tv-stick-factory-settings/

Out-of-sync video and audio? Check this suggestion.

148 replies on “Amazon Fire Stick/Sony BRAVIA TV compatibility problem – one solution”

I got a sony fire stick from a friend out in the HDMI1 slot and new batteries in the remote ….nothing happens and nothing shows up on my TV screen.

How to i have sony bravia klv-32bx320 model
And I m use Amazon fire stick but tv not supported error can u have any tips for use

I’m not sure. I’m guessing there is or there should be a compatibility matrix between certain TV models and certain Friesticks. But I don’t have the resources to create such a compatibility matrix. Perhaps another reader has an idea?

I’ve tried connecting my Amazon fire stick to my Sony Bravia KDL40W2000 in the HDMI connection. Nothing comes up. I think i may need to change the source input on the TV but can’t recall how. Can you help? Thank you.

Here’s a tip. When you post on a general forum you’re more likely to get help if you present details. So what have you tried so far to get it to work?

Sorry first time. I plugged in Firestick then went to TV to open settings and it gives me no option to enter settings it keeps sending me into antenna area. Yeah no way load that way. I do have a Sony Entertainment box connect to my TV should that be disconnected first?
I took pic of screen but can’t post it site won’t allow. Hope this helps. I appreciate all help. I’m soooo technically challenged

You hit Home button on your Sony remote to go to your settings of your TV. Then navigate to the right, external source. You need to change your input source to the HDMI port the Firestick is plugged into. Mine is HDMI 4, for instance. You should be able to keep the entertainment box plugged in as well.

have a sony KDL40V2500 TV. Have cable box hooked to hdmi 1 and connected the firebox to HDMI 2. Went to inputs under menu and does noto shpw up like cable box and dvd. Is there some trick to setting it up? I have disconnected dvd player.

Well that should work. Just check that it’s plugged in well, the power cord is plugged in well and your remote has working batteries. I usually press back arrow and home on the remote a few times to wake up my Firestick.
Also, the Firestick shuts itself down after awhile (even when in use). This is less likely to be the case when you’ve just turned on your TV, but just to mention it can be one cause for a black screen. The only way to recover seems to be to pull the power of the Firestick and plug it back in.

Hello we connected the fire stick to our tv and we see it but when we play it the screen is super dark we can hadly see the picture but its there. How do we trouble shoot this? Help

I have a Sony KDL 32EX301.
I have a Virgin HD + Box connected to HDMI 1 and Fire TV connected to HDMI 2.
I used to have no problems but now the Virgin channels have good picture and sound. Then when change to the Fire TV channels the sound and pictures are fine on there but when switch back to Virgin Channels (HDMI 1) then the picture is fine but no sound!!
Have to turn the TV off and on again to get the sound back on Virgin channels.
Any help would be great?

I have a Sony Bravia model KDL-40EX400. I Have a new firestick that I installed in the port I have been using a Roku model, everything but the sound works. I have tried powering down the firestick and the tv as well as switched to other ports (4 available). Changing audio settings at the tv or the firestick does not change anything. Plug the roku back in and all is back to normal.

Shawn, did you ever get the firestick to work? I have the Bravia KDL-46EX600 but haven’t seen any question about that one. How old is your tv?

Me too! I have no sound! How can I fix this. I did restart, resets, changed HDMI inputs, and switched on/off. This happened with Roku as well.

I have a Bravia 42EX410. Bought Fire stick and connected to HDMI port. It gives a message “Unsupported Signal. Check your device output”. The same result even with two other fire sticks checked by dealer supplying fire stick. Could not resolve the issue. Also tried connecting fire stick through HDMI to composite connector and PC input, in both these the firestick repeatedly gets restarted. Is there a issue with the HDCP of HDMI ports.

I have same problem. I have a Sony Bravia KLV-32BX320. Bought Fire stick and connected to HDMI ports (switched between ports). It gives a message “Unsupported Signal. Check your device output”. Could not resolve the issue.even when I switched from one HDMI port to another one. Please help

I am having old LCD Sony Bravia model no KLV32EX300. With one HDMI and one USB.
Will Amazon fire stick work for me.

Dose firetv works on EX52 Sony Bravia 42 inch model ?
When I plug firetv in hdmi¹ it dose not detect ??? Is there a different setting to make it work

My TV is a Sony Bravia KDL46EX723. I have heard that some Sony Tvs do not support an Amazon fire stick. Before I purchase an Amazon fire stick, please can someone please advise if my TV will support it. Many thanks.

I have a sony bravia model no KLV-40BX400, with one hdmi port and one usb port, I am unable to use amazon fire stick, getting an error i.e. unsupported signal, please check device output. What’s the way out? Please help.

I have a Sony Bravia KDL 40S2000 I plug the firesick into the HDMI port but all that happens is the Amazon logo shows up and then the screen goes blank. How can I fix this?

In my experience the Firestick is really flaky and goes dark often when you first start using it. I find that a power cycle is the only way to recover.

Does fire stick work on Sony Bravia KDl-40XBRA2 ? I tried to plug it into the side of the TV but it doesn’t want to go in

Thanks

I have a Sony Kdl 40XBR2 and I have tried putting fire stick in each of the HDMI ports. When I change my input to the correct video source, it still does not work. Any thoughts?

Hi, I have just bought the latest 4K fire box, to replace a midi x which is running through a Harmon Karden 158 av receiver, the hdmi out from HK is into the xd85 sony hdmi 4 which is the ARC port. All my other devices work but when I select the fire box I get sound and no picture. I tried changing the Sony hdmi from enhanced 4K to standard but nothing changed.
If I plug the fire box into another system I have through a Sony receiver it works fine, so I’m thinking is it the amp not processing the video or the Sony tv not supporting the video!!
The Sony TV is new as well.

OK. You’ve sent me to the Internet to do some research. First, thank you for pointing out that there is a newer Firestick/Fire TV, released in 2017.
I’m actually kind of dissatisfied with the performance of my current one so I think I will try to get the new one, which should be faster and have voice integration.
You have a quite a high-end setup which I don’t have the means to duplicate – my donations still total $0!
The only thing you didn’t mention is: Does the Fire TV work as expected when connected directly to one of your XD85’s HDMI ports?? I bet it does… Which makes your HK the suspect device in the chain.
Maybe an HDMI splitter would solve your problem? So I’m thinking split the output from the Fire TV into two HDMI outputs with the splitter, one to the HK receiver for the HK sound, the other straight into the Sony TV. I have no idea if this works in practice but maybe it will.

Can you please tell me how I get my fire stick work on my Sony braver KDL /37p3020.
We have plug it in we can see it but it will show the fir stick pictures.
Please can you help we have use the different web site from the Internet .

Hello, can anyone tell me if Sony KDL 42 W 700B is compatible with Amazon fire stick…. I am planning to buy if it does support… Thanks

I just got a firetvstick and plugged it in to my Bravia KDL-40S5100. It shows the firestick coming up then says it’s trying to connect to the remote but never seems to be able to connect. I have did what it says under troubleshooting which is to hold the home button down for 10 seconds. All it does is beeps every couple seconds trying to connect and never does. Can you tell me anything else to try or maybe it’s not compatible with what I have? Or do I have a faulty remote?

Will the Amazon fire stick or the Amazon fire work on my sony bravia XBR 65X850B. Which one is best. I had Roku Express so I can get Sling since I can’t get Sling on my bravia due to no Google Play Store. But now Roku flickers.

Sure they’ll work. I only have experience with the Fire stick. Get the new model with voice remote. It works well and offers Sling as an app.

I have sony bravia KVL 32S200A model.. when i connect my fire stick in HDMI PORT noThing appears. Will my fire stick work in this model??

Sony Bravia kdl26p2530 and Fire TV

Fire TV works on every TV we’ve got including one so old I just don’t know how old it is and a brand new 4K. But nothing on the Bravia model at the top, different HDMI leads, different ports, I’ve even dumbed down the 4K to 1080 and still nothing.

Anybody got anymore options for me to try or is the tv incompatible?

I have a Sony Bravia KDL-S32A12U which has just one HDMI socket. I have tried to connect the original Fire Stick (and the new one) to the TV, but all I get is brief picture with the Amazon logo then a black screen. I contacted Amazon and they said that the reason it does not work is that the TV must have the protocol HDMI 2 or above. Given the age of my TV it must be pre the HDMI 2 protocol which came out in 2013. This might explain why so many people are having problems. Worth checking if their TVs are pre 2013 possibly?

I have a Sony Bravia tv about four and a half years old, and I also have Alexa I’m wondering which is best firestick to get some are under £30 others over £50.
I prefer to get what has best chance of working with my tv and Alexa voice control.

Hello Dr John,
I own a Sony Bravia 40S3000 Will the Amazon Fire Stick work to pick up Netflix. I have Netflix on my desk top and my iPhone. Thank you for any help you can give.
Carl

Thanks for this article, we have a Sony Bravia tv which is HD ready, not inbuilt, if I buy the Fire Stick, will it connect me to the internet, or will I have to buy the Sony Dongle as well? May thanks if you can help.

Hi I have one sony bravia EX 300 tv.Can you please tell me whether Amazon Fire stick is compatible with the same or not?

Trying 2 run amazon fire stick on my Sony Bravia KDL-32EX420 but it’s just showing the title player1 firestick but not running further will it work with the model as above or not or there any solution to that.,,

Hello will my Sony bravia klv 32bx 350 support Amazon fire stick as well as Roku stick. I’m in Kenya. Please help

Will the Amazon firestick work on the Sony Bravia KLV 32NX520?

If not then is there any workaround except replacing the TV itself to atleast use some other possible device you suggest to connect it to internet n watch online ?

I have a sony bravia model no KLV-32EX310, with one hdmi port and one usb port, I am unable to use amazon fire stick, getting an error i.e. unsupported signal, please check device output. What’s the way out? Please help

I have a Sony kdl-46XBR9 and my firestick will not display on any HDMI port. I have a Dish receiver that works on all 4 inputs. I unplugged everything except the fire stick and cycled the power on the tv. It recognizes the fire stick, displays the name on top and then tells me that there is no signal. I put the fire stick on an older Samsung Plasma and a brand new LG and it works flawlessly. Can anyone help?

Hi John,
I have SONY Bravia LCD TV Model# KDL-32CX520. I bought Amazon Firestick, but the screen shows the message Player1 (Fire TV Stick) on the top, with a black screen. Please let me know if this model is compatible for using Amzon Fire stick.

Many Thanks.

I have a Bravia model KDL-26S2010 which is HDMI ver 1
the work around is to buy a dongle – Composite RCA to HDMI 1080p
around $12 – $15
plug it into the yellow, white and red ports then, power it up, then plug in the Fire Stick
I’m using the new 4K version, it works fine

By the way, really old TVs all have HDMI 1 and this is the only work around

i have a sony KLV-42EX410, the firestick doesn’t work on it, it only shows the amazon logo nd the screen goes blank

Hi,
best appreciate to understand whether Sony Bravia KLV-40S400A will be compatible with Amazon Fire Stick ?

I have a Sony Bravia 2017model led TV model no KLV-22P402B, I wish to know will the amazon fire stick work on it.
Thank you

I haven’t been following this topic and wasn’t aware of the 4K Firestick until I saw your comment. Hopefully someone else can answer. I don’t have one yet.

Hi is the firestick (2nd Gen) compatible with Sony Bravia model No KLV 32BX320? I am getting unsupported signal when connecting with either of the 2 HDMI ports.

I have same problem. I have a Sony Bravia KLV-32BX320. Bought Fire stick and connected to HDMI ports (switched between ports). It gives a message “Unsupported Signal. Check your device output”. Could not resolve the issue.even when I switched from one HDMI port to another one. Please help

I have Sony Bravia 48 inch model about 5 years old.Fire stick is working in HDMI 4 but in HDMI3 , it is displaying fire stick on top of tv screen but no display.Pl help.

I have a sony bravia tv. It’s a 10 yr old model. It worked properly for first 1 month. And now it’s throwing “Device mot supported” Error. Now I can’t even return d product. Is there any solution to this.

Will Amazon firestick work with Sony KDL 46EX500? Has 4 hdmi ports, Comcast in 1.
Looking to get into lowest provider package and use Prime/Netflix/Sling. Whatever works.

I have a Sony Bravia bought in late 2008, model is kdl26s3000. Do you know if the firestick will work on this model?

Thanks in advance.

Hello, I know this is an old post but I was wondering whether you know if the Fire Stick TV or 4k would work with a Sony Bravia Model no. KDL-40D3500? Thank you for your time.

I have an Sony KLV-EX600 when I tried to plugin mi box 4K with an hdmi after that I tried to enable hdmi setup but stil it shows unsupported signal please check the device output
So how can I use mi box 4K in this Sony tv .if it can be then how ???

Same problem with My sony bravia
KLV-32R412C. It shows fire stick connected but troubleshooting msg: Unsupported signal. Check your device output. Tried my best but it didnt work

I was so happy to find the answer to allowing my fire stick remote to control my Sony Bravia about 4 years old. It was in settings, Equipment Control, TV, manage, change TV. It was still listed as Insignia because we had it set to another TV. Recognized the Sony, took a minute to change settings and now it powers on and controls volume. Thank you!

Hello, I was having the same Player 1 (Fire TV Stick) issue on my Bravia TV (model no – kdl-32ex650) that many other commenters were having. I finally found a configuration of settings that made it work for me, so leaving it here for any future people with the problem!

I was able to resolve it by pressing HOME, going in SETTINGS, then EXTERNAL INPUTS, then HDMI SET-UP and then setting DEVICE CONTROL KEYS to NONE. No idea why this works, but have been able to use for 5 days without issue so far!

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