Are you getting a Fire TV blank screen on boot error with your Fire TV / FireStick?  This is a common issue, so try the solutions below before you light your Fire TV.. well.. on fire.  To see the troubleshooting techniques that can be done with this awesome (but sometimes touchy) streaming device, try these fixes:

How to Fix Fire TV Blank Screen on Boot

To fix the black screen / blank screen, we use the following steps to troubleshoot it:

• Your FireTV went to sleep and you just need to wake it up. You can wake up your FireTV by pressing the “Back” button on the remote.
• Try the Fire TV Remote Shortcuts to see if one of them will wake up your Fire TV.
• On the Fire TV Remote, hold the REVERSE (or “rewind”) button and the UP button at the same time for 10 seconds.  Your FireTV should start switching through the different video display modes (or resolutions).  You can expect the light on your TV to change colors and/or blink.  When it switches to a display resolution that works, press the SELECT button to select that mode.  This will fix your display issue if your fireTV happens to be set to a video resolution not supported by the TV you have it plugged into.
• Your FireTV needs to be reset to the factory default settings.  To do this, press BACK and REVERSE and RIGHT and SELECT to get your FireTV to prompt you to do a factory reset.
• Your FireTV is deceased. If you tried #1 and #2 above, perhaps your Firestick has perished.
• You could be forcing a screen resolution such as 1080p 60Hz.  Try changing the display settings back to Auto, No Scaling (by hooking the FireTV to a TV that it’s known to work on).
• Press SELECT & PLAY (Hold the buttons down for 5 or 10 Seconds) to restart your FireTV / firestick.

Kodi Won’t Start

If your Fire Stick seems to work fine except for Kodi not working, then check out our guide to Fix Fire Stick Kodi not working.  Often times, Kodi will become inundated with its own temporary files and you’ll need to re-install Kodi, re-install TV Addons, and/or do a Fresh Start in Kodi to restore it to a functioning state.

Fire TV HDMI Cable

The HDMI cable is one of only two cable that the Fire TV needs – so you need to make absolutely certain that the HDMI cable is securely connected on both ends: the end going to your Fire TV / Fire Stick – and the end going to your TV.

Additionally, an HDMI Cable that appears to be fine may actually be faulty – causing your Fire TV blank screen on boot or constant black screen.  So get a nice new HDMI cable for $10 from Amazon to eliminate this as a possibility for your seemingly broken Fire Stick.

Fire TV Power Cable

Fire TV’s power cable is the only other cable that can cause your Fire TV to have a black screen.  We strongly recommend you use the power block and power cable that were supplied with your Fire TV, not one that you used for an old Nokia phone a decade ago (that would be very bad, mkay?).  A faulty power cable can often be the root cause of Fire TV blank screen on boot, because the Fire TV needs a certain minimum # of Amps to be able to start the FireTV unit.

Fire TV Buffering

If your Fire TV is buffering constantly, have a look at our Fire TV Buffering guide.  Consider the fact that overheating, WiFi signal strength, software issues and even electro-magnetic interference may all be causing your device to buffer.

Wrap Up

If you have any questions or comments, ask us on the KFire YouTube Channel.

Ian (KFire TV Admin)

I run this website! My purpose here is to help people stream great content to their devices. With over 10 years of IT experience, I strive to educate the people who visit this site with the best, most up-to-date information available. If an article on this site helped you, then help me back by leaving a comment on my YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our mailing list for streaming add-on updates and a 60% off VPN coupon code.