How To Set Up A Fire Cube

In my retirement I spend a great bargain of time on an unusual "hobby" — coming upwardly with useful applied science-based solutions to issues and annoyances that aggress my elderly friends and relations.

I have establish that many of these older adults spend quite a lot of their time within earshot of a TV — which is often turned on in the background. I observe my "solutions" often involve finding new ways to leverage the prominence of the Tv set prepare in their lives.

Solutions for My Relatives & the Burn down TV Cube

Recently, a production called the Amazon Burn down Telly Cube has become available and I am finding it often helps me solve the challenges I am working on on behalf my older friends.

However, the Amazon Burn Television set Cube is not so elementary to prepare, and so I accept developed this "How to" guide to help other people like me set a Burn TV Cube for their friends, relatives, or aging parents. I include instructions for how to enable various features I have needed for the solutions I take created for my friends and relatives.

For some specific examples of the problems and solutions I have been working on, see "DIY Technology Solutions to Things Bothering My Aging Relatives". And, for a story most how I helped my 94-year-old Aunt turn her Boob tube from a not very useful source of background "dissonance" into a useful tool that helped her attain a range of of import tasks, see "Making Tv Useful for my 94-yr-sometime Aunt".

What Is Amazon Fire Boob tube? What Is the Amazon Fire Idiot box Cube?

Amazon Burn TV is the name of a family of products (the Fire TV Stick, the Fire Television receiver Cube). The main purpose of these products is to exist what is chosen a "media player", which is something that plugs into an ordinary Tv set and turns it into a "smart" Boob tube — which can and then stream content from the Internet.

The Fire Idiot box products look like a minor stick or a cube, and plug into the HDMI port on a Television set. Once they are connected, you can stream programming from a wide range of channels such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, YouTube and Amazon Prime. These products compete with other media players like the Apple tree TV, Roku, and Google Chromecast.

A key differentiator of the Fire Boob tube products compared to other media players is the tight integration with Alexa, and with Amazon's services.

The big difference betwixt the Fire TV Cube and other Fire TV products (eg Burn Tv Stick) is that the Cube includes a speaker and microphone, so that you can talk with it directly, and incorporates many of the capabilities of the remote control straight into the Cube — accessed via vox commands.

List of Equipment, Software, and Applications Required

Equipment needed:

Amazon Fire Tv set Cube (view Fire Television receiver Cube on Amazon* [chapter link])
Wi-Fi
Mobile Phone for setup using the Alexa app
Repeat Connect (if you want Caller ID on screen)

If y'all want to get caller id on the TV when someone calls, then you also demand either a landline or a VoIP connection.

Software needed:

Amazon account
Alexa app
Notifications for Fire TV app (Android but)

Setup Instructions for the Burn TV Cube: Step by Stride

one. Basic Fire Telly Cube Setup

Plug and follow Amazon's setup procedure (see this page on Amazon'due south website).
Here are some helpful videos if you take issues (see this page on Amazon's website)
If you have previously ordered Amazon Echo devices, information technology may already be partially configured with your Amazon account data and Wi-Fi settings
Select which "Amazon offers" you lot desire (if any). And in full general, we recommend keeping things simple to start.

Avert Automatic Previews

Now is a skilful time to clean upward a few items that will brand it less annoying when you just desire to look at what Television receiver shows are available WITHOUT getting an automatic preview.

If yous want to exercise that, scroll down to #11: Disable Autoplay.

2. YouTube 360-degree virtual reality videos

Enjoy 360-degree videos that you can pan effectually.

Hither is a YouTube video of information technology in action:

Install YouTube on your Fire TV cube & login
In that location is no existent setup, only pick a video with a 360-degree video, as explained in the YouTube video.
AirPano has some good ones

3. Setting up Alexa Notifications

Here is a YouTube video of it in action:

These are the steps to prepare Alexa Notifications on the Burn Television set Cube

Concord the Home button for 5 seconds
Scroll over and tap Settings
Scroll across to Preferences and tap it
Scroll down to Notification Settings and tap it
Exist sure "Practice Not Interrupt" is off
Scroll to App Notifications and tap it
Exist sure Alexa Notifications is on

These are the steps to ready Alexa Notifications on the Burn TV using your phone

Open the Alexa app on your phone
Tap the three confined in the upper left
Tap Notifications
Be sure that Announcements and Reminders are enabled
Tap the back pointer twice in the upper left to get back the offset screen

Testing

Optional: If you'd similar to cheque that this is working and how information technology looks on the screen:

Tap Reminders & Alarms;
Tap Add Reminder and create one that occurs before long;
Add your Fire TV cube every bit the "Announces from" device.

You should encounter the reminder popup at the fourth dimension you lot set it for.

four. Descriptive Audio Settings

This provides professional narration of what is going on in a scene when the actors are non speaking.

This is very useful if a person's vision is declining. That person often has a difficult time understanding what is happening in a TV prove when the actors are not speaking, In some shows there are long dramatic pauses or but action noises.

See my detailed "How To" at: "Descriptive Sound Tells You What is Going On".

5. Setting upwardly Android Phone Notifications

Here is a YouTube video of it in action:

Please note that you must install the app BOTH on your mobile phone AND the Burn Idiot box Cube

These are the steps to prepare up "Notifications for Fire TV" on the Fire Goggle box Cube

Button the Dwelling house button on the remote
Scroll left and the Search icon (magnifying glass)
Blazon in "Notifications for Burn Television receiver" app and select it
Click the Select push button
Download the app
Click to open information technology
Click to close the on-screen message
Accept the terms
Whorl down to Info and tap it
Gyre beyond to Open Settings and brand my selections, here are some suggestions (add effigy)
- Turn screen on when getting a notification- Checked
- Notification sound- Aquila
- Notification Volume- fifty%
- Notification sound duration- Notification duration
- Saved Messages- unchecked
- Click OK
- Click the Home push button

These are the steps to set upwards "Notifications for Fire Television receiver" on your mobile phone

Notifications

Install the Notifications for the Fire TV app from the Play Shop
Follow the setup steps for the app
Accept the policy
On the "Setup Fire Television set" screen (show figure)
Be sure your Fire Tv Cube is checkedIf you are unsure, this is the right Fire Goggle box Cube…
On the Fire TV Cube
Hold the home for 5 seconds
Scroll over and select click Settings
Whorl down and over to My Burn down TV and click it
Click Most
Scroll down and select Network
Note that the IP accost should friction match what you saw to a higher place

Fire Cube IP address

^^^ For example ^^^^

Grant Permission
Permit Contacts
Allow Phone Calls
Setup Notification Access

Notification access

Permit Notification Access
You can ship a test message at present to see that everything is working

Test message

Push button the mobile phone home button

You tin can examination your other notifications such as your Android Telephone notifications such as calendar event. If this doesn't piece of work, endeavor rebooting your telephone and the Burn down Tv Cube

vi. Alexa incoming phone call pauses the Fire Television receiver Show (Prime Video, YouTube… Netflix is audio mute only)

In my Dad's nursing habitation everybody has their TV blasting, including My Dad. Sometimes he can't even hear me calling on a video conversation request on his Alexa Show.

My solution is to set up Alexa Calling then it pauses the Television prove, when a phone call comes in.

Meet my detailed "How To" at: Alexa Calling Pauses Telly When Call Comes In.

7. Linking your Echo Testify to your Burn down Television receiver Cube

This tin allow you to speak to the Fire TV Cube that is located too far abroad without having to raise your voice.

In your Alexa app:

Tap the top left three bars
Tap Settings
Scroll to Goggle box & Video and tap information technology
Tap Fire Goggle box
Tap "manage devices"
Tap your Fire Tv and continue
Tap the device you want to link to your Fire Goggle box
Tap Link Devices
Tap Render to Fire TV
Tap the "Bluish Circle" to go out

Now you lot can say the command every bit normal, and IF the TV is on, the command will exist sent to it instead of the Echo Show

Hither is a list of the commands you can say (see available commands on this Amazon page):

For example…

"Alexa, Watch the Mentalist"
- Plays on Fire TV Cube… if Goggle box is on
- Else… plays on Echo Show
"Alexa, Watch Blue Planet on Netflix"
- Plays on Burn down TV Cube… if Boob tube is on
- Else… plays on Repeat Show

8. Habitation Theatre Speakers

Here is a way to get speakers correct adjacent to your seat when watching Television set.

It's great for the hard of hearing and y'all can use any PAIR of the same type of speakers ranging for Repeat Dots to Repeat Studio… simply they must be the same model

Add or choose two Echo speakers of the aforementioned type
Place them virtually your seat. They will be stereo, so place 1 on each side of your seat. Left & Right setup will be handled in the app

See likewise: Boob tube Besides Loud Due to Hearing Loss

Setup on your mobile phone

In the Alexa app, tap Devices in the lower correct corner
Tap the "+" in the upper correct corner
Tap the "Gear up Sound System"
Tap "Habitation Theatre"
Select the ii speakers and tap Next
Choose which is left and right and use the swap button if necessary
Tap Next
Chose a proper name, suggestion- Home Theatre
Tap Next
Select a room (group)
Tap Save

Setup on your Fire Television set Cube

You should see this popup

Home theatre page

You can lookout man the Play Preview or skip
You will see a message most your Burn Television set remote now controlling audio volume (add figure)
If you become a loud clicking sound
- Turn downwardly your Tv volume
If you feel a Lip Sync problem
- Hold the Home button for v seconds
- Scroll over and tap Settings
- Scroll over and tap Display & Sounds
- Tap on Abode Theatre System
- Ringlet downward to Lip Sync Tuning
  - It takes a bit of exercise, just go the ball to drop on the line in sync with the beep
  - Tap Domicile

9. Workaround: Band doorbell printing shows live video on Fire Television

In this setup we are using two devices, a Fire Television set Cube to testify the doorbell photographic camera, an Repeat Dot to relay the Alexa spoken command to the Burn Tv. This is required because, as of this writing, there is no way for the Burn down TV Cube to automatically evidence the Ring Doorbell photographic camera. This assumes you already take setup the Ring Doorbell.

No setup is necessary on the Fire Telly Cube, other than to identify an Echo Dot well-nigh it then that it tin hear the command. You may later want to change the wake discussion on the Fire Idiot box Cube and Repeat Dot to something other than "Alexa" if you have multiple other devices

See besides: "Crumbling Parent Answers Doorbell Without Looking"

10. Caller ID on Fire TV

Here is a mode for your Fire TV to brandish Caller ID on the TV screen using an Repeat Connect. It requires either a landline or a VoIP connection from your Net provider

Setup on the Repeat Connect

Follow the Amazon instructions (see this Amazon webpage)
- Note that almost US users won't need the "1" prefix for local calls

Echo Connect screen

If you are using a Country Line or VoIP connectedness, just plug the phone cable into the Echo Connect

You can at present test Repeat Connect by calling the Land Line or VoIP number from some other telephone

11. Disable Autoplay

Disable Autoplay on Netflix

If you program on using Netflix, this Netflix website page will show you how to stop Netflix Machine-Playing previews

Disable Autoplay on Amazon Prime

These are the steps to stop the Amazon Prime Car Play feature.

Agree the Home button for v seconds
Scroll over and tap Settings
Scroll beyond to Preferences and tap it
Scroll down to featured Content and tap information technology
Turn off
Allow Video Machine Play
Let Sound Brandish

If y'all decide to use a screensaver, we suggest you turn off Alexa Hints

Where to Buy the Amazon Fire Telly Cube

Amazon Burn Idiot box Cube (view Fire TV Cube on Amazon* [chapter link])