How to Install a VPN on the Amazon Fire TV Stick: Advantages and Options

Installing a VPN on a device like the Amazon Fire TV Stick may seem unnecessary, but it is just the opposite. Ok, it is not something for everyone, but if you want to avoid any kind of restriction as well as get other advantages when you use it away from home, you are interested in knowing how to do it.

The advantages of using VPN on the Fire TV Stick

Install a VPN on the Amazon Fire TV Stick

The first question when talking about how to install a VPN on a device like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is, what do I want or need to do it for? Well, there are basically two reasons: privacy and the ability to remove restrictions by region .

The issue of privacy is obvious, although it mainly affects when we use the Fire TV outside the home. Yes, this is a device to connect to the television and the normal thing is that it is to our television at home. But also the Amazon device is a great travel companion. Being able to get to your hotel, connect it to the TV and access all the content that interests you is useful and practical.

On the restrictions by region little to comment too. We all know that the catalog available on a streaming platform varies depending on the country and the rights acquired. For example, there are series or movies that have already been released on Disney + in the United States and have not yet reached Spain.

Well, with a VPN you could connect to the service as if you were in the United States. The only thing is to also have a user account for that country. Although on other platforms it is not necessary and the only thing you need is to “tell” that you are in the country to be able to access content that you could not see from yours. Also for the opposite, access the content that a service offers in your country while you are traveling in another.

In short, the use of a VPN is more useful than it might initially seem. So, if the subject continues to attract your attention, let’s see how to choose VPN and install it on a Fire TV.

What is a VPN and how to choose it

VPNs or Virtual Private Network have become popular in recent years. These virtual connections that allow you to connect to another computer with if you were on the same local network or in the country itself, thus allowing unrestricted access or obtaining other advantages such as greater security or preventing them from knowing what service you are connecting to, from where, etc. ., caused many to be interested in them. The problem is that in the middle of 2020 not yet everyone is clear how to choose such a service.

If you do an internet search you will see that there are a multitude of options, some completely free and with the same options as others of payment. How is this possible? Taking into account that a service such as a VPN implies an consumption of resources, if they offer you free access it is because either there are restrictions that later offer you in their payment option or they are directly profiting with another data that you generate when using the service.

For all this, although the decision of which VPN to use is something that will be up to you, the three most recommended options are:

  • NordVPN : Connections in 54 countries, unlimited bandwidth, security and privacy, paid, 30-day money-back guarantee
  • ExpressVPN : 7-day trial, connections in 94 countries, access to any content, security and privacy
  • IPVanish VPN : over 75 locations, security and privacy, paid with a 30-day money-back guarantee

The great advantage of these VPNs is that they not only offer good performance when it comes to redirecting traffic, responding to requests from your browser, etc., they also have applications that facilitate their use and configuration on practically any device where you want to use the service. In our case, this is on a Fire TV Stick.

How to install a VPN on the Fire TV Stick

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is based on Android and that already makes the process of installing and configuring a VPN much easier. Depending on the service you have chosen, you will have to carry out different steps if their apps are optimized or not. In the three options that we have selected, the process is the same:

  1. Download the application on your Amazon Fire TV Stick or search it on the web of applications for Fire TV Stick and do it from there. You could also use the Downloader app for installation.
  2. With the application already installed, start and create an account in case you don’t have it
  3. Once inside the application, select quick connection or go to the advanced settings that they usually offer to choose which server to connect to
  4. From now on, all traffic will go through this VPN with the benefits that this brings

In the following videos you can see the process of setting up ExpressVPN and IPVanish VPN on a Fire TV Stick, so you can see how easy it is.

One last clarification and advice. The first generation Amazon Fire TV Stick (the one that is not compatible with Alexa) does not support the use of VPN networks, only current models in its basic and 4K edition allow the use of these apps.

When you travel with your Fire TV Stick, don’t forget to take the micro USB to ethernet adapter with you . There are many models, so it is a matter of choosing the one you prefer, but it is a hotel or away from home it may be easier to find a network connection to a secure wifi to connect to. As long as, in hotels and other places to stay overnight, wireless internet connection is not something to be paid for.