Change these 5 settings to improve the audio quality of your Fire TV Stick

Sitting down for a movie night only to have the audio coming in and out can quickly kill the fun. Sometimes the problem is a faulty TV, poor internet connection, or interference with wireless speakers. But other times, it’s the default software settings that don’t match your devices’ needs. For example, Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks in particular default to the same audio setting requested by the TV. While good in some cases, the defaults can also lead to muffled dialogue, action scenes that sound like they were recorded in a Pringles box, and unpredictable jumps in volume.

We found five settings in the Fire TV Stick menus that fix some of the most common problems. These settings address issues with dialogue clarity, distortion, tone shaping, Bluetooth sync, and volume behavior. Keeping Bluetooth gadgets paired with a Fire TV Stick locked to the picture is an example of how far a small setting change can go, so readers can rest assured these fixes hold up.

Be sure to check the settings below before unplugging a soundbar, resetting an audio system, or purchasing new optical and HDMI cables. With luck, you could save a lot of time and quite a bit of money. The good news is that a few tweaks can make an old Fire TV Stick look like new.

One of the common complaints about modern films is that it has become much more difficult to hear dialogue. There are many reasons, from new cinema sound technologies to changing acting styles, and complex home audio setups haven’t helped either. The Fire TV Stick has a setting called Dialogue Boost, designed to increase speech in the audio mix while reducing background music and effects. This is one of the audio settings that every Fire TV Stick user should use.

Improving dialogue can be ideal for action movies and TV shows, where hushed whispers between spies can turn into a massive explosion in the same scene. When it launched, these were titles published by Amazon itself. The newer Fire TV Sticks use AI running on the device itself, on any video source, to get the job done.

To enable Dialogue Boost, go to Settings > Display & Audio > Dialogue Boost. On older sticks, Dialogue Enhancer is found under Settings > Display & Sounds > Audio > Advanced Audio, or potentially a menu for Dolby audio. On premium sticks, such as the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, there’s an intensity slider that lets you dial in the mix that best suits the room.

This setting can reduce background audio by up to 12 dB while increasing dialogue by approximately 10 dB without increasing the overall volume. That’s why it’s such a great feature, especially for late night sessions. Setting Dialogue Boost to Low or Medium is suitable for a show with a laugh track, while Enhanced or Intensified works best for summer blockbusters. This is a great feature for anyone with hearing difficulties, as well as anyone living on a busy street. Some versions of Fire TV Stick list this setting under Accessibility, so be sure to double check if Dialogue Boost or Dialogue Enhancer is not present as above.

Crackling, buzzing, or complete silence is usually related to a broken speaker or faulty audio system. But what about when the audio sounds good on everything else except the Fire TV Stick? The problem is probably that you are guessing what type of audio signal to send, since the default setting chooses for you. Fire TV Sticks stream audio in several options, including PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Passthrough, as well as the default Best Available setting, which is where this problem begins.

If you have surround sound, go to Settings > Display & sounds > Audio > Display & sounds options > Surround sound. To play around with the advanced audio settings, go to Display & Sounds > Audio > Advanced Audio where the volume level and Dolby dialog enhancement should reside.

If the audio is distorted, turn off Dolby Digital Plus to force a less complicated audio stream than the TV or audio system in question can handle. On the other hand, if a soundbar can handle the audio signal but it seems too weak, leave this setting on and use the soundbar. PCM sends uncompressed, downmixed stereo audio, which is the best solution for popping or silence because almost all TV speakers work with it. Passthrough sends the source signal intact to a connected receiver or soundbar, and the channels it unlocks depend on what that hardware supports. And Best Available is supposed to automatically choose the right option, but it doesn’t always deliver.

On a TV running the Fire TV platform, Sound Mode, along with bass, treble, and balance controls, can allow users to adjust the audio output to the speakers instead of using the defaults. A standalone Fire TV Stick handles the digital audio format but leaves this type of EQ control to the TV or soundbar it’s plugged into. On a TV with small speakers, a touch of treble makes a surprising difference in the TV’s audio clarity. Anyone who has searched for a good electric guitar tone knows how important a small adjustment can be.

To fix this, go to Settings > Display & Sounds > Sound Mode and choose a sound setting that would suit the TV or movies on the slate for the evening. Users can choose from Standard, Movie, Music and other presets, then adjust bass, treble and balance. There is a reset option to restore default settings if things seem worse instead of better.

Other settings are hidden in advanced settings. There’s Dialog Clarity for talk-heavy content like podcasts and interviews, TruVolume for equalizing loud commercials scattered throughout quiet broadcasts, and DTS Virtual:X for a wider virtual surround effect. The quickest way to set a setup is to start with a mode that matches most of what’s being watched, fine-tune with EQ, and enable TruVolume to stop fears of ad volume skipping.

Bluetooth headphones are the easiest way to get great sound without waking anyone. But lip sync issues and slight delays in button presses can turn a chilly night into a boring one. Luckily, Fire TV devices have an AV Sync Tuning tool to fix these issues, and it switches to Bluetooth mode when wireless headphones are connected.

Start by pairing a Bluetooth headset by going to Settings > Bluetooth Controllers & Devices > Other Bluetooth Devices or Add a Bluetooth Device. Once the headphones are paired, go to Settings > Display & Sounds > Audio > AV Sync Setting and move the slider until the voices match the lips. The screen automatically detects a connected headset and displays Setting Mode: Bluetooth in the corner, then stores a separate offset for it, so be sure to run it every time another set is in use. This first step is knowing how Bluetooth gadgets paired with a Fire TV Stick, including headphones and gaming controllers, connect.

If the sound is still not in sync with the actions on the TV, disconnect, move physically closer to the Fire TV Stick, and try again with headphones. The problem is that longer distances between Bluetooth devices and the key weaken the signal and add delay. There may also be wireless interference, especially in homes where many Wi-Fi radio signals are already present.

Remote controls have become much simpler these days, but they still sometimes cause problems. If you notice that the volume buttons on a remote no longer control the TV, soundbar, or audio system, the sync connection to the device has likely been lost. This can also happen immediately if programming timing has not been set up correctly or when HDMI-CEC is disabled in the TV settings. Your first stop might be to go to the Fire TV Stick’s Display & Sound menu to change audio formats or inputs, but that won’t fix this problem.

Head to Settings > Equipment Control / Device Control > Manage Equipment > Change TV. Then you can add the TV brand again, just like when setting up the remote for the first time. Simply follow the instructions to resync the remote and users should be good to go. To allow Fire TV Sticks to control TV functions such as volume, users must enable HDMI-CEC on their TV. Just a warning: TVs have their own settings and menus to configure correctly, so always have the TV’s instruction manual handy.

This is a must-have solution whenever remote buttons stop working randomly. Just make sure the remote has good batteries and isn’t too far from the TV before trying. If the Fire TV Stick is indeed too far away, you can solve this problem by using an HDMI and USB-C extension cable to bring the Fire TV Stick closer to the sofa.