How to install VPN on a firestick

Firstly, we need to say that you may choose one of the several variants to install a VPN on your firestick. It can be made with a direct download method, using another Android device, and also through a router.

What is a Fire TV Stick?

Let’s first find out the exact definition of a Fire TV Stick and why you need to install a VPN for this.

The Fire TV Stick is a device that allows you to stream media to your TV. It can be such well-known services as Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and a number of other platforms.

If you have a Fire TV Stick, it will be a great idea to use VPN as it will allow you to visit services that are prohibited in your country, protect you from legal penalties for doing so, and will help you protect your data from being accessed by intruders.

To choose a good VPN, you will need to pay attention to its characteristics such as speed, streaming compatibility, safety, and payment.

This may seem like a difficult job to you, however, we assure you that thanks to our instructions, you will be able to quickly figure everything out and do what you need.

Let’s take a closer look at how to choose the best VPN for installation on your firestick and how to install it on your Fire TV.

How to Choose a VPN for the Fire TV Stick

At this point, we need to consider how to choose the best VPN that will work with the Fire TV Stick.

As we have already said, during buying a VPN, you will need to pay attention to a number of fairly important points.

Let’s take a closer look at what you need to know when buying a VPN.

Speed

When choosing a VPN for streaming, pay attention to speed. If you have a free VPN trial, our advice would be a speed test that will show you the capabilities of the VPN that you chose. You can find many free programs that will help you with this task.

Streaming Compatibility

You also absolutely need to make sure that your VPN works correctly with the actual streaming services. You can find VPNs for Netflix, VPNs for Hulu, VPNs for Prime Video, and everything in between.

Safety

Perhaps you want to visit those platforms that are currently not available or want to use VPN in a country where it is prohibited to do so. In any case, you need to review your VPN’s privacy agreement to find out about the data it will store about your activities.

By the way, don’t forget also to check where the headquarters of your chosen VPN is located. The country must not be a member of the Five Eyes Surveillance Alliance. 

At the end of the checks, pay attention to the encryption methods of your VPN. The best method would be AES-256.

Payment

Despite the fact that there are free best versions of VPNs can work well with Fire TV Sticks, they usually come with built-in data usage and speed limits. Our advice is a paid subscription that will set you back around $5-10 per month. If you are satisfied with the VPN you have chosen, you can enter into a long-term contract. This move will help you save money.

Why You Should Still Use a Fire TV Stick VPN

Using a VPN is useful not only because you can bypass the blocking of services in your country or visit paid resources for free. There are a number of other reasons you need a VPN and why not using it can be harmful to you.

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of using this:

• Your connection becomes more secure, especially if you use a public Wi-Fi source. This will help you avoid hacking and intruders gaining access to your data.
• VPN protects you from google and other advertisers using your data to serve targeted ads.
• You can be connected to prohibited streaming via VPN and not be penalized for it.
• Your VoIP phone conversations will be protected.

Thus, you can see that using VPN is a great chance to secure your actions in the digital space.

How to set up a VPN correctly?

When setting up your VPN, there are four best methods that you can use for it.

Let’s start by preparing your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. Follow the next steps:

1. Download Fire TV and go to settings by selecting “Device”.
2. Scroll down and select “Developer options”.
3. Enable “Applications from unknown sources” and “ADB debugging”.
4. Open the menu item “System” and go to the section “About the application”
5. Click on the “Network” item that appears.
6. Write down your Fire TV’s IP address and keep it close by as you may need it.

Now we may take a closer look at the methods that can help us to set our VPN on the Firestick.

Method number 1: Installing the APK file via direct download

Let’s consider the first method of installing VPN on a Firestick.

Start from downloading the VPN APK file of your choice to your Fire TV 2nd generation flash drive. Experts advise using the direct download method for this. This method is perfect for you if the Android APK file is open for direct download without using the app store.

By the way, we have to explain what APK is. APK (Android Application Package) is an installation file format used by appliances that run under the Android operating system.

Experts recommend installing APK files only from the website of the VPN provider. Most VPNs allow you to download their product directly from their company’s website. Downloading files from third parties can damage your PC and infect it with viruses.

Use the URL and Fire TV Stick 2nd Generation to download the files.

 Let’s take a closer look at our VPN settings on your Firestick.

1. Turn on your device and type in the search bar “Loader” and install it. You must install the application that has the orange logo.
2. Open the Downloader you installed and enter the direct download URL of the VPN app APK file. If the address is too long, enter the download link from your browser.
3. After the download is complete, install the application. If not, you need to go to the downloads folder in the Downloader program and open the APK file.

After following our instructions from the first method, the application should fully work.

You will not always be able to find files for download on the page of the website of your chosen VPN. If this happens, try contacting support and ask them for a link to the download file or the file itself.

Method 2: Download the VPN Using Another Android Device

For this method of installing the best VPN on your device, you will need to have a second-generation Firestick or a newer version, as well as a device running the Android operating system.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. First, you need to download the app on a second device and then transfer it to Fire TV using Apps2Fire.
2. On a second Android device, download Apps2Fire using Google Play.
3. On the same device, download and install the VPN of your choice using the Google Play app download store.
4. Launch your chosen VPN and open its settings.
5. In the section where you need to specify the IP address of your Fire TV device, enter the IP address that you entered in the previous section and click the “Save” button.
6. Open the menu on your device again and select “Download apps”.
7. Click on the VPN you want to use with your Fire TV to download it.
8. Further installation of the application will occur automatically. Next, we will tell you how to find this application and enable VPN.

VPN connection

Once you have installed a VPN on your Firestick, you need to go to the system and connect. These steps may differ slightly from what you need as they depend on your VPN provider, but the general connection scheme is the same.

Here are the steps to connect a VPN:

1. Open the start menu on your Fire TV device.
2. Go to settings and open the “Applications” item.
3. Select “Manage installed applications”.
4. Select from the VPN that you downloaded to your device.
5. Select “Launch Application”.
6. Enter your ISP credentials.
7. Having opened the VPN of your choice, select the country you need through which you need to visit the services and click the “Connect” button.

After completing these steps, you should be able to connect to a VPN on your Firestick.

Method 3: Router

If you can’t download the best VPN that you chose on your Firestick, because you can’t find a file that you can trust, or you can’t use Google Play using another Android device, or if your device is very old, you have a method to download the VPN through the router. You can go two ways: set up a virtual router on a laptop or set up a home Wi-Fi router to use VPN.

Before starting the setup, we should warn you that virtual routers are easier to set up, but you may need a laptop for this, so this method may not be suitable for every user.

As for setting up a VPN on a physical router, this can only work with certain router firmware and it can be quite difficult to set up, but it is more convenient when done correctly.

Control your Firestick VPN with the mouse app

Most VPNs are designed to be used on touch screen devices, so they can be quite difficult or even impossible to manage.

Alternatively, you can use a Bluetooth mouse and connect it to the Fire TV. Another way out is to use a touchscreen device to remotely control your Fire TV.

The Firestick is not controlled by the mouse, its purpose is to reproduce the basic functions of the remote control.

As third-party solutions, experts advise Remote for Fire TV. This option will cost you $2. As for the free paths, you can try CetusPlay.

You need to select any app on your Fire TV Stick and also select the same app on your touchscreen device. For it, you can use a smartphone or tablet. We must warn you that the version that is suitable for the Android operating system is in the Amazon app store, but you will not be able to find it on Google Play. Download the Amazon App Store app on your Android device to connect to your Fire TV remotely.

iOS version of Remote for Fire TV

Even though the iOS version of Remote for Fire TV doesn’t get the highest rating, you can try this option. 

For this, follow the next steps:

• Install the app on your Fire TV, then open it and make sure the first feature is enabled. 
• Check that the status indicator at the bottom is marked “Started”.

Your app is now running in the background. Also, make sure the Fire TV Stick and your touchscreen device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Find the Fire TV Stick in the app for the second device and make sure you’re connected to it.

Select the “Mouse” function and use the screen of your second device as a touchpad on your laptop. Just touch the screen to click. Use the s-up and s-down buttons to scroll.

How to Know if Your VPN Is Working on Your Fire TV Stick

If you found the best VPN and you installed it, you should check if it works on your Firestick. Let us consider in detail the instruction on how you can check the operation of the VPN:

• Find and open the Downloader app.
• Find “Home” and open it.
• Enter whatismyip.com in the search bar.
• Click the “Go” button.
• Notice the address that appears with the real IP address of your Fire TV Stick. If they are different, then you have connected the VPN correctly.

How to Change Location on Fire TV Stick

It may be that you are in the USA, but you need a VPN for Germany, because you really like the TV shows of this country or you are a traveler and are in another country, but at home, you prefer to look through the TV channels of your native country. In any case, you will need to change the location for the VPN, and for this, your Prime account must match the country you selected.

To change your location for VPN on Firestick, you need to follow these steps:

• Go to your Amazon account and select “Your Account”.
• Open your content and devices.
• Find “Settings” and select it.
• Choose the location you need.

Updating Your VPN

When you use any application or program, you need to update it as soon as new updates become available.

To update your VPN, you can use the following recommendations:

• Open VPN on your Firestick.
• Go to the menu and select additional information there.
• If you see on the screen that a new version of the application is available to you, you can click on the “Update” button and get the latest version of the application.

We hope that you understood the steps of our instructions and that you managed to complete the work of installing VPN. 

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We are busy making VPN understandable and accessible to any user. We have insanely talented people on our team who are well versed in VPN, data protection, and security. We invite you to go to the website of our company and check out our offers. Your interests and the security of your data always come first for us!

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