Netflix to End Support for First-Generation Amazon Fire TV Sticks
Netflix has announced that it will be discontinuing support for first-generation Amazon Fire TV Sticks, which were launched more than 10 years ago. The decision affects models including the original Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote.
The company has begun notifying affected users via email, with US users facing a cutoff date of June 3. According to Netflix’s FAQ page, support is typically ended for devices when the company “can no longer get necessary updates from its manufacturer or support new features.”
Users can check if their device is affected by navigating to the “About” section in Settings > My Fire TV. Error codes R4, R12, or R25-1 indicate that a device is no longer supported or will be discontinued after a certain date.
This move is consistent with Netflix’s recent history of dropping support for outdated devices, including old DVD players, Blu-ray players, video game consoles, TVs, and tablets. Affected Fire TV users may be eligible for a discount on newer Fire TV Stick models, at least in the US.
The first-generation Fire TV devices, launched in 2014, were powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 chipset, ran on Fire OS 8, and came with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. As streaming technology continues to evolve, maintaining support for older hardware becomes increasingly challenging for streaming services.
