A Fire TV Stick turns any television into a managed sign. It plugs into the TV's HDMI port and runs STQRY Signage from the Amazon Appstore. After a power cut it restarts into the app on its own. On Fire OS 8, that needs one extra step at setup.
Before you start
You'll need:
An Amazon Fire TV Stick or Fire TV Cube running Fire OS 7 or 8. Fire OS 8 is what we test on.
- A TV with a spare HDMI port.
- The power supply that came with the stick, plugged into a wall socket.
- Wi-Fi, or an Ethernet adapter if the stick supports one.
- An Amazon account to sign into the device.
Powering a stick from the TV's USB port is a common cause of instability. It also means the stick loses power whenever the TV does.
Amazon's newest Fire TV devices run Vega rather than Fire OS, and STQRY Signage doesn't support those yet. Check the model with us before buying sticks for a deployment.If you have older hardware, check with us before committing to it.
Step 1: Set up the stick
Plug the stick into the TV's HDMI port and its power supply into the wall. Work through Amazon's setup: connect to Wi-Fi, sign into an Amazon account, and skip the streaming-service sign-ins.
Then change two settings in Settings → Display & Sounds:
Screensaver: turn it off, or set it to the longest delay available.
- Display → Video Resolution: check it matches the TV.
In Settings → Preferences → Featured Content, turn off Allow Video Autoplay and Allow Audio Autoplay. The home screen then won't start playing trailers if the app ever exits.
Step 2: Install STQRY Signage
On the Fire TV home screen, search for STQRY Signage and install it from the Amazon Appstore.
It appears in your apps row. To move it to the front row, press and hold the app tile, then choose Move.
Step 3: Open the app and connect the display
Launch STQRY Signage. It shows a screen code like S-K4M2XP.
In STQRY Builder, go to Displays → Adopt display and type that code. The stick picks up the adoption within about five seconds and moves on by itself.
Then assign it a project, a timezone, a license and some content. See Connect a display to your account and Quick start.
A newly installed app shows a screen code. Type it into Builder to adopt the display.
Step 4: Allow automatic restart (Fire OS 8 only)
On Fire OS 8, STQRY Signage needs one permission before it can reopen itself after a power cut. Fire OS has no setting for it, so you grant it once from a computer. Fire OS 7 doesn't need this step.
You'll need a computer on the same network as the stick, with Android's platform tools installed. They include adb, the command-line tool that talks to the stick.
On the stick, go to Settings → My Fire TV → About and click the device name seven times. This unlocks Developer options.
- Go to Settings → My Fire TV → Developer options and turn on ADB debugging.
- In Settings → My Fire TV → About → Network, note the stick's IP address.
- On the computer, run these two commands, using the stick's IP address. If the stick asks whether to allow debugging, allow it.
adb connect 192.168.1.50:5555
adb shell appops set com.stqry.signage SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW allow
Back on the stick, turn ADB debugging off again. Left on, anyone on your network could control the stick.
To check it worked, unplug the stick's power and plug it back in. STQRY Signage should open by itself once the stick has started.
The permission stays with the app. If you uninstall and reinstall STQRY Signage, repeat this step.
Typing with the remote
The provisioning screen switches to remote mode automatically if you'd rather type an activation key than use a screen code. Up and Down move between the fields, OK on the activation key field opens an on-screen keyboard, and Left and Right step through the regions.
Using the remote once it's running
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Left / Right | Step through content languages, if your project has more than one and the switcher is enabled. |
| Up five times within three seconds | Opens the settings overlay, behind a PIN. |
| OK held for five seconds | Asks for the PIN, then resets the display. |
See Using a remote control and Open the on-device settings overlay.
Restarting after a power cut
The app comes back on its own after a power cut or an overnight system update. Nobody needs to be standing in front of the sign. On Fire OS 8, this works once you've completed Step 4.
A smart plug that cuts and restores power on a timer recovers most situations. The app is the last thing that ran.
Mounting
A Fire TV Stick hangs off the back of the TV, so plan for heat and for Wi-Fi signal.
Heat. A stick pressed against the back of a wall-mounted panel, behind a bezel, in a warm room, will throttle. Use the HDMI extender that comes in the box to get it out into moving air.
Wi-Fi. A metal wall mount, or a TV pressed flat against a wall, blocks signal. Check the signal strength in Settings → Network after mounting, not before.
Portrait mounting
Fire TV Sticks follow the TV. If you're mounting a television in portrait, set the rotation on the TV itself where it supports that. Otherwise the screen shows landscape content rotated.
STQRY Signage supports both orientations and locks neither. See Screen orientation and external HDMI displays.
Managed deployments
A mobile device management system can configure region, activation key and location settings at install time, which suits a fleet of sticks. The screens then never show a provisioning screen at all. See Advanced: command-line options and managed configuration.
Troubleshooting
The app isn't in the Appstore. Check the device's country setting matches the account that owns the app entitlement, and that the device is a Fire TV rather than a Fire tablet.
After a power cut, the stick stays on the Fire TV home screen. On Fire OS 8, the app hasn't been allowed to restart itself. Complete Step 4. You can check the version in Settings → My Fire TV → About.
The screen goes to the Fire TV home screen by itself. Usually the screensaver. Turn it off in Settings → Display & Sounds → Screensaver.
The stick reboots or the picture drops out. Almost always power. Use the supplied adapter in a wall socket, not the TV's USB port.
Content won't load. Check the network in Settings → Network, then see Troubleshooting a display.
Next steps
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