5 Popular Accessories You'll Want For Your Amazon Fire TV Stick

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The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a simple and effective way to add a smart interface to any TV. While most TVs sold these days are smart TVs, they can often be sluggish or feature a cluttered UI. That's where streaming devices like the Fire TV Stick and alternatives like Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV come in. Just plug them into your TV's HDMI port, connect them to a power source, and you've got a consistent smart interface you can use with any TV.

If your streaming device of choice is a Fire TV Stick, Amazon provides pretty much everything you need inside the retail box. All Fire TV Sticks come with an Alexa Voice Remote with power and volume controls, barring the Fire TV Stick Lite that ships with the Alexa Voice Remote Lite. In the box, you'll also find a power adapter, a USB cable, an HDMI extender, and even two AAA batteries. While this lets you start using the Fire TV Stick right out of the box, you might want to enhance your streaming experience with additional accessories.

The accessories you buy for your Fire TV Stick will largely depend on your usage requirements. It's also worth noting that many accessories are pretty close to the price of the Fire TV Stick itself, so they're only worth investing in if you really need them.

The Fire TV Stick requires a separate AC outlet for power, and while you can try plugging the USB cable into your TV's USB port, this can cause performance issues. That's where the Mission USB Power Cable comes in. With a list price of $21.99 on Amazon, the cable has over 56,000 ratings, averaging 4.6 stars. It lets you power your Fire TV Stick using your TV's USB port. The power management circuitry stores excess power from your TV's USB port and then releases it when the Fire TV Stick needs more power than the USB port can supply.

It consists of a 2,000mAh battery storage system with a USB cable for your TV on one end and a micro-USB cable for your Fire TV Stick on the other. This makes it a convenient solution if you don't have access to an additional AC outlet or if you like traveling with your Fire TV Stick.

The Mission USB Power Cable works with any Fire TV Stick and is a certified Made for Amazon device. Customer reviews say that when the cable is in use, turning off the TV with the remote also turns off the Fire TV Stick. This can be good if you've been looking for a way to turn off your Fire TV Stick when not in use. However, it also involves waiting for the Fire TV Stick to boot up every time you turn on the TV.

The Sideclick Universal Remote Attachment for your Fire TV Stick remote is designed to reduce remote clutter. The accessory is priced at $29.99 and has over 5,500 Amazon ratings, with an average of 4.3 stars. Sideclick features eight programmable buttons and clips onto the side of your Fire TV Stick remote. You can program the buttons with your TV, soundbar, receiver, and other remotes and control multiple devices at once. While there are buttons for power, volume, input, and more, they can be programmed to any function of your existing remotes.

It's worth noting that Sideclick only works with IR remotes, so newer Bluetooth TV remotes can't be used with this device. While Sideclick says the remote attachment works with all Fire TV Stick remotes, one Amazon customer says the clip isn't an exact fit for the new Alexa Voice Remote Pro.

A review of the Sideclick Remote Attachment by TechHive says that the unit is easy to set up and use but doesn't have the same range as some TV remotes. Additionally, the extended design makes it awkward to hold and use, particularly if you have smaller hands. Sideclick also makes remote attachments for Roku, Chromecast, Nvidia Shield, and Apple TV, with the only difference being the size of the side clip. You can use the attachment even if you switch to a different streaming device, but you'll need to buy a compatible adapter clip.