The sequences at a glance
- Pairing mode
- Hold Home for about 10 seconds, until “Press [play] to start” appears
- Reset the remote
- Hold Left, Menu and Back together for 12 seconds
- Troubleshooting mode
- Hold Rewind and Right for 3 seconds, then press Menu (remotes with an LED)
- Range
- Keep the remote within 10 feet (3 metres) while pairing
- Limit
- Remove one controller if seven are already paired
From Amazon’s Fire TV help pages, checked 29 September 2026.
Pair the remote the first time
A new Fire TV remote normally pairs when you put the batteries in and switch on, and a confirmation appears in the lower-right corner of the screen. If it doesn’t, or you see “Pairing failed”:
Move closer
Stand within 10 feet (3 metres) of the Fire TV. A stick behind a TV can struggle, so fit the HDMI extender if you have one.
Hold Home
Press and hold Home until “Press [play] to start” appears on screen. It takes about 10 seconds.
Reseat the batteries
Take the batteries out, wait 30 seconds, put them back and hold Home again. If that fails, try a new pair of AAA alkaline batteries.
Reset the remote, then pair
Hold Left, Menu and Back together for 12 seconds, then hold Home again. The full reset is below.
Restart the Fire TV
Unplug the Fire TV, wait five seconds, plug it back in and try again.
You can also pair a remote from the Fire TV app on your phone, which Amazon offers as an alternative when the remote won’t cooperate. See Fire TV remote app.
Add a second or replacement remote
If your current remote still works, use it to add the new one:
- Open SettingsControllers & Bluetooth DevicesAmazon Fire TV Remotes.
- Select Add New Remote.
- Put the batteries in the new remote. It should appear in the list. If not, hold Home on the new remote for 10 seconds.
If you’ve lost the old remote or it’s broken:
- Unplug the Fire TV from power, plug it back in and wait for the on-screen message saying no remote was detected.
- Put the batteries in the new remote. It should pair on its own.
- If it doesn’t, hold Home for 10 seconds.
Not every remote works with every Fire TV model. Check compatibility before you buy; see replacement Firestick remotes.
Reset the remote
Amazon’s reset for most Fire TV remotes:
- Unplug the Fire TV from power and from the HDMI input, and wait 60 seconds.
- Hold Left, Menu and Back together for 12 seconds.
- Release and wait five seconds, then take the batteries out of the remote.
- Plug the Fire TV back in and wait for the message saying no remote was detected.
- Put the batteries back and press Home.
On remotes with an LED, it blinks blue when pairing succeeds. If it doesn’t pair, hold Home for 10 seconds. The older Basic Edition remote uses a different sequence, which is on Amazon’s reset page (linked under Sources).
Find out what’s wrong: troubleshooting mode
Remotes with an LED can tell you what’s wrong. To check whether yours supports it, press the Alexa Voice button: if the LED at the top flashes, it does.
- Hold Rewind and Right together for three seconds.
- Press Menu. The LED turns green: the remote is in troubleshooting mode.
- Press any button. The LED flashes a colour that identifies the problem. For example, slow red blinking means the batteries are low.
“Reprogram” the volume and power buttons
Pairing lets the remote control the Fire TV. The volume, mute and power buttons control your TV through a separate feature called Equipment Control. If they don’t work:
- Open SettingsEquipment ControlManage EquipmentTV.
- Under Change TV, check that the TV brand shown matches your TV.
- If it doesn’t, select Change TV and follow the on-screen steps.
Amazon notes that these steps don’t apply to Fire TV smart TVs.
Still no luck?
If a remote won’t pair after all of this, the remote itself may have failed. Use the Fire TV app in the meantime, and see Firestick not working for problems that aren’t the remote. Once you’re paired, the Firestick IPTV guide covers installing a player.