Amazon’s Fire TV platform might not be the most popular in the smart TV space, but it is deeply entrenched. It’s not hard to figure out why — it’s easy for budget TV makers to adopt, and Amazon’s own TVs and add-ons are consistently affordable, too. It gets the job done without costing anyone a fortune.
You do have to be careful to keep a Fire TV running smoothly until your next upgrade. Most of these tips will apply to any TV — but since Fire OS can be prone to slowing down over the years, you may want to pay extra attention to the software side of things.
- Display Size
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55 and 65 inches
- Display Type
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QLED
High brightness levels and extreme runtimes
There’s always a price to pay
It’s always tempting to crank brightness up as far as possible. As long as it doesn’t blind you or render shadows gray, it’s a shortcut to vibrant images. Frequently, in fact, it’s peak brightness levels that are the attraction of the most expensive TVs. Some newer models offer a ridiculous 10,000 nits, more than three times what I need to read my Apple Watch in the midday sun.
Increasing brightness generates a lot of waste heat, however, accelerating wear on internal components. For LCDs (including mini-LEDs), this raises the likelihood of backlight failure. On OLEDs, you’re amplifying the risk of image retention, and related long-term concerns like color tint. Modern OLEDs do use several software and hardware techniques to mitigate burn-in, such as pixel shifting, but these can only do so much to counter bad habits.
Though you should avoid your TV’s auto-brightness and energy-saving modes, brightness should still be limited to 80% or less. And regardless, avoid leaving your TV on in the background for hours at a time. As much as you might like ambient noise, or being able to pick up a paused game in seconds, you’re accelerating your TV’s decay while adding to your power bill.
Bad air circulation and other environmental conditions
Think twice about where your TV is sitting
Having marked heat as one of the biggest issues, you can see why airflow is essential. Amazon pegs the safe operating temperatures of TVs like the Ember Artline as between 32 and 113F (0 and 45C). That’s not difficult to achieve in a home with central air conditioning. If you’re dependent on fans or window units, though, ensure there’s plenty of room circulation, and that your TV has sufficient distance from the wall and other electronics. Avoid sitting it in direct sunlight. The closer you can push your TV to about 72F (22C), the longer your TV will last.
Don’t forget moisture. What you’re after is balance — overly dry air will increase the risk of static shock, while humid conditions may corrode components. As necessary, install a humidifier or dehumidifier, and close off unwanted sources of moisture, such as an open window on a rainy day.
Dust and other debris
Heat is only one threat
Dust is inevitable, so a little bit is nothing to panic about. That said, it’s going to trap a significant amount of heat if you neglect it for too long, simultaneously worsening the risk of severe static shock (although it’s dry air and friction that actually causes a discharge). Dust your TV at least a couple of times per year, if not every month.
Dust, grime, and other kinds of debris can also wreak havoc with the ports on your TV, blocking a clean signal. Inspect inputs occasionally. If cleaning work is called for, gently swipe a port with soft-tipped tools that won’t leave any fibers behind. Being too aggressive risks damaging contacts, and the only way of fixing that is to replace the whole port.
Out-of-control app installs and cache sizes
Fire TV’s silent killer
I mentioned at the start that Fire OS is prone to bogging down, or at least was prior to a recent overhaul. The verdict is out on whether anything’s been fixed. In any case, the cause of those slowdowns may be a growing footprint combined with weak storage specs. If a device has 8GB or less, it’s all too easy for Fire OS, app caches, and the apps themselves to intrude on swap space, leading to severe stuttering as a processor desperately tries to make use of what swap capability it has.
On most Fire TV products, you should be able to clear app caches by going to Settings -> Applications -> Manage Installed Applications, then clicking Clear all Application Caches. Once that’s done, go back to Manage Installed Applications and delete any apps you’re not using by selecting them one-by-one and clicking Uninstall. I’d recommend scrubbing app caches once per month.
