Let me get right to the point: If you have a Fire Stick, you need the FireCable Plus.
Before I tell you about it, let me tell you that I bought it.
I have a TV in my house that’s got a rat’s nest of wires hooked up to a $10 power strip. Between the TV, streaming devices, soundbar, and one of my mesh routers, there are four plugs in the power strip – and it’s a complete mess.
I wanted to clean up the wires, but I didn’t want to spend a ton of money doing it. In the end, I found a great way to do it for less than $10.
USB as your Amazon Fire Stick power cable
Let me be clear about one thing: The fireCable Plus isn’t just another cable that you plug into an electrical socket.
Most newer televisions built in the past 8-10 years have a USB port where you can plug a flash drive in to view photos or videos. But you can also use that USB port to power your streaming stick. You can use the FireCable Plus as both the 3rd generation Amazon Fire TV and the Amazon Fire Stick power cable since they both use a micro-USB port.
First Impressions
The FireCable Plus is an 8-inch micro-USB cable, designed specifically to power streaming sticks. The cable itself is made of a high-quality orange braided material.
The braided part is important. Braided cables are better than cheap plastic cables for a couple of reasons.
- They don’t snag or twist into knots
- They’re more durable and won’t fray as easily
- They cut down on electromagnetic interference from other devices
Quick setup of the FireCable Plus
There’s not much to the actual setup of the fireCable Plus.
The fireCable Plus has a micro-USB port on one side of the cable which plugs right into the port on the side of the Amazon Fire Stick. The other end of the cable is a USB plug that goes right into a free USB port on the back of your TV.
Two simple plugs and just like that…you’re done.
The Verdict
I like simple things that just work really well. That’s what the FireCable Plus is.
It won’t give you a better picture or give you more channels to watch. But for less than $10, the fireCable Plus is an inexpensive way to clean up that rat’s nest of cables behind your TV.
Summary
Let’s talk about all pluses and minuses of this cable.
Pluses of the FireCable Plus
- Simplicity Supreme: Tired of jumbled cords? FireCable Plus kicks that mess to the curb by nixing the need for an extra power outlet. Your entertainment center just got a makeover.
- Lazy Genius: No more hunting for power outlets. This magic cable taps into your TV’s USB port to juice up your streaming pal.
- Green Power: Saving the planet, one USB port at a time. Using your TV’s power is more eco-friendly than another bulky adapter.
- Plug ‘n’ Play: Installation? Piece of cake. Plug it into your TV’s USB and connect it to your streaming gadget. Done!
Minuses of the FireCable Plus
- Compatibility Conundrum: Not all TVs play nice with FireCable Plus. Older models might give it the cold shoulder if they don’t have enough power to share.
- Power Play: Some TVs might play Scrooge with power, leading to sluggish streaming or hiccups in performance.
- No Extra Flair: This isn’t a Wi-Fi booster or streaming wizard. It’s all about power. No bonus features to jazz things up.
- TV Dependent: If your TV’s off, so is the USB port. Say bye to streaming if you accidentally switch off the TV.
- Messy Setups: If your TV’s USB port is hanging out with other ports, there could be some elbow jostling. Not cool.
- So, whether FireCable Plus is your sidekick or not depends on your TV’s USB superpowers. It’s a convenience game-changer if your setup’s up for it. Callan out! 📺🔌
I was under the impression the USB port on flat screen TVs only have an output of 0.6 mA and the new firestick needs minimum 1 mA, would this still work or create problems?
I have a 70″ Vizio 4K TV and cant find anywhere on the specs what the USB power output is
That’s a great question Steve. I don’t know the answer, to be honest.
The TV I’m using this on is a Samsung MU6300 that I picked up this year on Black Friday for around $400. I wasn’t able to find the power output of the USB port for my TV either.
I can tell you the Fire Stick works perfectly, even under heavy load.
You need 0.9A @ 5volts output from the Usb port to run the 4K or 4k max firesticks. Most of the modern Flat screen tellies have it marked next to the usb sockets what output it has. Mine is a Samsung QLED (4 years old) and that works fine.
You want this! It works, it is an excellent purchase. I bought 3 firecables for each TV in my house. Two of my TVs don’t have any power rating next to the USB port, firecable works perfect with both. The other TV has .05 ma output. On this TV the firestick displayed a message saying I should use the adapter that came with the Amazon Fire TV Stick, I pressed ignore and the stick works flawlessly. I can’t tell any difference between performance on any of my TVs and I consider myself a streaming power user.
I needed to put the finishing touches on my living room tv setup. Before I found this cable I used a cable “wire hider” strip, but it just didn’t do the job. Firecable sealed the deal for me awesome. I hate clutter! Great value a must have.
Thank you Tim, you hit the nail on the head with this!
I know, right? It’s a really simple little product, but it’s amazing if you’re looking for a quick way to hide your wires. Thanks for the comment Donald.