Setting Up Your Pre-Configured Fire Stick

If you have received a Fire Stick directly from TSOLife and are looking to set it up with your TV, then these are the instructions for you!

Need Assistance? Please contact support@tsolife.com for technical issues or credential prompts.


Unboxing Your TSOLife Equipment

  • Step 1: Open the box and remove the main tray: Slide the cardboard tray out of the main box. Right on top, you will see the primary items: the Fire TV Stick, the Remote Control, a flexible HDMI Extender cable, and a long USB Power Cable.
  • Step 2: Check the hidden side compartments: Don't throw the box away yet! Look closely at the sides and bottom of the cardboard packaging. Tucked into a small side pocket, you will find the square Power Brick (wall adapter) and the included AAA batteries for your remote. Remove all items from the packaging.
    box-contents.jpg
  • Step 3: Prepare your remote control:  Slide off the back cover of the remote control and insert the two included AAA batteries, making sure the plus (+) and minus (-) symbols match the diagram inside.
  • Step 4: Assemble the power connection: Plug the small end of the USB power cable into the side of the Fire TV Stick. Plug the larger, flat end of the USB cable into the square Power Brick, then plug that power brick directly into a standard wall outlet or high-quality surge protector.

⚠️ Important Power Warning!

Only use the official power brick (wall block) that came inside the Amazon box. Do not plug the USB cable into a TV slot, a generic cell phone charger, or a USB port built into a power strip. The Fire Stick requires a specific, stable amount of power. Using any third-party USB plug or TV port will starve the device, causing it to freeze, randomly restart, or crash the TSOLife software. Always plug the official brick directly into a power outlet.


Before Beginning

Just as a heads up: accessing Settings from your Fire Stick's home screen can vary slightly depending on which model you're using. 

Fire TV Stick 4K Plus

  1. Press the Home button on the remote.
  2. Navigate to Settings (gear/person icon located on the right side of the Home screen).
    4kplus-settings.png

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

  1. Press the Home button on the remote.
  2. Press the Menu (hamburger) button on the remote.
  3. Select Settings from the menu that appears on the left side of the screen.
    max-settings.png

Part 1: Connecting Your Hardware

Follow these steps to plug in your pre-configured Amazon Fire TV Stick(s):

  • Power Connection: Connect the USB power cable to the Fire Stick and plug it into the included wall power adapter.
  • CRITICAL NOTE: Always plug the adapter directly into a wall outlet. Do not plug the USB cable straight into the TV's built-in USB port, as this can cause performance issues or sudden restarts.
  • HDMI Connection: Plug the Fire Stick directly into your TV's HDMI port. If the fit is tight or your TV is mounted close to the wall, use the included HDMI extender cable to make it easier.
  • Switch Your TV Input: Turn on your TV and use your original TV remote to switch to the correct HDMI input source (for example: HDMI 1 or HDMI 2).

Pro-Tip: Choosing the Right HDMI Port (Auto-Input Switching)

Most modern TVs feature a technology called HDMI-CEC (which allows connected devices to talk to your TV). You can use this to your advantage:

  • The "Auto-Switch" Trick: If you plug the Fire Stick into an active HDMI-CEC port, simply pressing the Home button on the Fire TV remote will automatically command the television to switch directly to the Fire Stick's input channel. You won't even need to hunt for your original TV remote!
  • A Warning About ARC / eARC Ports: Look closely at the labels next to your TV's HDMI ports. One of them will likely be labeled ARC or eARC (Audio Return Channel).
  • Avoid this port if you are connecting to a standalone TV. ARC ports are specifically engineered to send audio out from the TV to an external soundbar or surround-sound audio receiver.
  • If you plug the Fire Stick into the ARC/eARC port, it can cause the TV to get confused about where audio should be playing, or it might aggressively force the TV to switch back to the Fire Stick input even when you are trying to watch standard cable or another device. Stick to standard ports labeled HDMI 1, HDMI 2, etc.

Part 2: What You Will See on Your Screen

Because this device was already set up and configured for your community before it shipped, you get to skip the long registration process, QR code scanning, and initial profile creation. Instead, your screen will guide you through a quick environmental setup:

1. "Welcome to Fire TV" Screen

After plugging in the Fire Stick, turning on your TV, and using the correct HDMI input for your TV, you'll land on the Welcome to Fire TV screen:

welcome-final.png
Click the Got It button to continue. 

2. "Home is Currently Unavailable" Screen (Don't Worry - This Is Normal)

home-is-currently-unavailable-final.png
  • What you see: A gray screen stating that the device cannot connect to services. This is completely normal! The Fire Stick is simply looking for its old, previously saved Wi-Fi network.
  • What to do: Use your Fire TV remote to select Go to Network Settings on the screen.

3. Connecting to Your Local Wi-Fi

  • What you see: A menu on the right side of the screen listing all available local wireless networks.
  • What to do: Select your community's local Wi-Fi network, type in the Wi-Fi password using the on-screen keyboard, and click Connect. You will arrive onto the following screen:
new-tv-detected-final.png

Select the Update Now button. You may or may not see Amazon's Unable to Connect screen:

unable-to-connect-final.png

This screen is related to how the new TV is detected within the Amazon account and has nothing to do with the actual loading of the Fire Stick's home screen or TSOLife's software. 

You can select Try Again or simply click Skip.

4. "Who is Watching?" Profile Screen

  • What you see: As soon as the internet connects, the device will securely talk to the servers and load your active profiles. 
  • What to do: Simply select your primary profile icon to pass through to the main system.

5. Matching the Remote to Your TV (Equipment Control)

  • What you see: The Fire Stick will notice it is plugged into a new television. A prompt will appear reading: "We detected a change in your display connection. Let's set up your Fire TV remote to control your new TV's power and volume."
  • What to do: Select the brand of the TV you are currently using (such as Samsung, LG, or Sony). The system will play some background music; point your remote at the TV and press the Volume buttons to confirm it works, then select Yes.

Part 3: Launching the TSOLife App

Once you are on the main Fire TV home screen, you will need to open the TSOLife application to start displaying your digital signage.

Method A: Search Using the Find Menu

  • Using your Fire TV remote, navigate to the main menu bar at the top of the screen and select Find (the magnifying glass icon next to "Home").
  • Select the Search box.
  • Use the on-screen keyboard to type in TSOLife.
  • Select the TSOLife app from the search results below.
  • Click Open (or Get/Download if the local device partition needs to sync the pre-configured cloud link).

Method B: Search Using Voice Control

  • Press and hold the Alexa/Voice button (the button with the microphone icon or blue Alexa logo) at the top of your Fire TV remote.
  • Clearly say, "Open TSOLife app" into the remote, then release the button.
  • The device will automatically search for and launch the application.

Part 4: Identifying and Renaming Your Devices

Your Fire Stick packages are shipped with generic labels on the boxes, such as TV1, TV2, TV3, etc. To keep things organized, these need to be renamed to reflect where they are physically hanging in your building.

Scenario A: You Tracked the Devices During Installation
If you kept track of the labels while plugging them into the walls (for example, you wrote down that the stick labeled TV1 was plugged into the Main Hallway), you can rename it right away:

  • Log into the desktop platform.
  • Go to Engagement > Digital Signage.
  • Click Edit next to the generic name (like TV1).
  • In the Device Location field, change the name to its actual location (e.g., Main Hall AL).
  • Click Save Changes.

Scenario B: You Don't Know Which Device Is in Which Room
If the Fire Sticks were plugged into the televisions without tracking which generic box label went where, follow these steps to find out:

  • Step 1: Send a Test Screen
    • In the platform, create a temporary unique screen for each device name (using a holiday template like Easter works well).
    • Change the title of the screen to match the device (e.g., TV1 Device, TV2 Device).
    • Assign each screen to its matching generic device name (send the TV1 Device screen only to TV1).
  • Step 2: Walk the Building
    • Once the screens are live, walk around to the physical TV locations in your community.
    • Look at what is on the screen. If you walk into the Assisted Living Hallway and see the "TV2 Device" holiday screen, you now know that TV is TV2.
    • Jot down the physical location next to that generic name.
  • Step 3: Update the Names
    • Go back to your computer and navigate to Engagement > Digital Signage.
    • Edit the Device Location field for each device to reflect its real-world home (e.g., update TV2 to Main Hallway AL).

Jump to another article for more information on Fire Sticks:

Which Fire Stick Should I Be Using?
Updating App On Fire Stick