So, you don’t know How to clear the cache off your Amazon Fire TV Stick? Read this guide and forget about this problem forever!
There is nothing worse than a streaming device or app that becomes slow or lags. There are lots of potential causes for this, but one of the most common is a cache that has become too large or corrupted. One of the first things you should do when troubleshooting a slow Fire TV stick is clear that cache.
How exactly do you do that? Read our guide to find out.
Even if you aren’t having trouble with your Fire TV stick, it is good practice to clear the cache on your apps every few months to keep your device working the way it should.
You can find the latest Fire TV Stick 4K Max on Amazon here.
How To Clear Your Cache On Different Applications
It’s simple to clear the cache on your Fire TV stick from the Settings menu, but you do need to do so for each of the apps that you use individually. Follow the simple process below, which should be the same on all Fire TV-powered devices (including smart TVs using the Fire OS).
- Open the Settings menu
- Head to Applications
- Choose to Manage Installed Applications
- Select the application that you would like to clear
- Choose Clear Cache
Before you clear the cache, you will be able to see the size of the cache on the right-hand side of the page. This can give you an indication of whether the cache is really the source of your problems. If your app is showing less than 10 MB in the cache, it’s probably functioning normally but you can clear it anyway. If your app is showing 50, 60, or even 70 MB of cached data, something isn’t right.
You will know that you have successfully cleared the cache if the size changes to zero after completing the steps above.
If you are having trouble with a specific app, you will want to clear that cache first. If your device is running slowly in general, you will want to check the caches in all of your applications.
If you use a screensaver application, that is often at least part of the problem and it’s a good practice to clear it every few months whether you’re having issues or not.
If you have sideloaded Kodi onto your Fire TV device, you may find that it is the source of the problem. This is especially likely if you have recently installed a build, so this is another application to check first.
What Is A Cache?
When you clear an app cache, what exactly are you clearing? Most applications create a temporary storage cache locally on your device while they are in use. These temporary files can do things like remember where you are in a film or show or keep a record of what you have browsed recently.
In theory, this cache should be cleared from your device when you stop using the application, but that doesn’t always happen. When caches do not delete properly, they can build up and start to use a lot of space on your device and cause minor problems in the functioning of the associated application.
The storage used can particularly be a problem with devices like Fire TV sticks, which are designed to be light and pretty much have “just enough” space. A number of small cache files can make a big difference.
Should I Clear the Data?
While looking for Clear Cache, you will also find Clear Data. There is an important difference between clearing the cache and clearing your data. If you clear the cache you will lose temporary data, which can be useful for finding things you have watched recently or your stopping point if you are halfway through a movie.
Clearing your data will reset your application to default settings, and you will probably have to sign in again. Once you are logged back in, though, your favorites and preferences should remain intact since these are part of your account, which is stored on the cloud, rather than local to your device.
Nevertheless, unless you are having major problems with an application, you probably only need to clear your cache rather than all of your data.
If your application isn’t working and clearing the cache doesn’t seem to fix the problem, the next step is to uninstall and reinstall the app. In most cases, you can do this without worrying too much since, as we have already said, your most important settings aren’t stored locally. When you download the app again you should get the most up-to-date version. Then you can sign in again and all of your settings should be imported.
Clear Space On Your Fire TV Stick
If you have cleared the cache on your applications and your Fire TV stick is still running slowly, it could be that it doesn’t have enough space to operate properly. You can check the available storage on your device using the following sequence.
- Settings
- My Fire TV
- About
- Storage
This storage screen should show you how much storage capacity your Fire TV stick has and how much is currently being used, as well as a summary of what is taking up space on your device.
From this same menu, you can also identify the apps that are using the most space on your device. This can help you identify the biggest problem apps, and also those applications that you don’t use but are eating up your storage capacity.
In the storage menu, you should be able to see the total size of each application which includes the app itself, the local data, the temporary cache, and the breakdown for each.
If the cache is big there might be a problem with the application deleting the data properly, and you will need to clear it manually following the instructions above. If the application is using a lot of space, it could just be a heavy app and you may need to consider how valuable it is to you. If the app is using a lot of local data, you may have downloaded something that you can delete once you’re done with it. You can go into the application and check.
Looking for a new Fire Stick? Find our full review of the latest Fire Stick models here.
FAQs
How do I reset an Amazon Fire TV stick?
If, after troubleshooting your Fire Stick, you feel like a factory reset is your best option, this can be done in the Settings menu. Head to > Settings > Device > Reset to Factory Defaults > Reset. If you can’t get into the Settings menu, you can also hold down the Back and Right buttons on the remote at the same time. The option to reset should then appear on your screen and you can accept it.
Read our full guide on how to factory reset an Amazon Fire TV stick here.
The Verdict
It’s not uncommon to feel like some of the applications you use most on your Fire TV stick are starting to feel sluggish, or for your entire device to start running slowly if you have been using it for some time without looking at your settings. While there are a variety of different things that could cause this, checking the cache on your applications is one of the first things you should do to troubleshoot.
Caches are meant to be temporary storage that deletes themselves when you close the application, but it doesn’t always work that way. A corrupted cache that doesn’t delete itself can make its associated application sluggish. On a lightweight device like the Fire TV stick, one or a couple of apps building up cache can slow down your entire device since storage is minimal.
It’s easy to check the size of your cache on all your applications and clear them in the settings menu of your Fire Stick. Just enter the Manage Applications menu and enter each app individually. You will see the size of the cache listed, and an option to clear the cache. Don’t confuse this with clearing data, which will restore your application to basic settings and require you to sign in again.
It is a good idea to clear the cache on all your applications every few months just to ensure they stay in good running order. You don’t want any lagging or the loading circle of doom!