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Grandma Expands the Storage on Her Amazon Fire TVPublished September 30, 2020 I finally did it! I finally moved apps from my almost maxed out Amazon Fire TV to a USB flash drive. This is something I had been wanting to do for so long but thought the process was way too involved and complicated. All I needed was the right teacher and viola, Bob’s my uncle! The Fire TV Storage ProblemMy Amazon Fire TV comes with only 4.27 GB of available space. The Storage SolutionThe solution to the overcrowded Fire TV is to get a USB flash drive, format it, attach it to the TV (or to the Fire TV Stick if you don’t have a Fire TV), and move apps to the flash drive. Going forward, most apps, except those downloaded from Amazon, will automatically install onto the flash drive. For those that don’t, you can always move them over after they’re downloaded. Sounds simple, right? Well, it’s a little more involved than it sounds, but fortunately, thanks to TroyPoint, I was able to accomplish the task easily. Implementing the SolutionI bet you thought I was going to tell you how to get it done, right? Well, I would be doing you a disservice if I even attempted. The best thing for me to do is to share the video I used. UPDATE 1/26/23: Unfortunately, the original video is no longer available. Howeever, there is another video and you can find it here: How to Expand Internal Storage on Firestick & Fire TV Cube. I did not use this video as it was produced in January of 2023. I expanded my storage back in 2020. I suggest you follow the updated instructions and pretty much ignore the rest of this article below.This gentleman does a fantastic job of explaining what to do. He walks you through the process step-by-step. The only difference between his video and what I did was that I used an Amazon Fire TV instead of the Fire TV stick. Although his video was made for folks looking to expand the storage on a 4K Fire TV stick, the process also works for expanding the memory on a Fire TV. If you’re expanding the memory on your TV and not a TV stick, you won’t need the OTG cable (Amazon affiliate link) he mentions at the 1:08 timestamp in the video. Fire TVs have a USB input port for the flash drive. 4K Fire sticks don’t and require the cable to connect the flash drive to the fire stick. The only other difference I noted in the instruction is around 9:30 timestamp when partitioning the USB drive. The partitioning process will disconnect and then reconnect the USB drive. If you’re using a Fire TV, the TV will actually shut off and reboot. Don’t be alarmed when the TV shuts off. Once it turns back on, go back to where you left off (you’ll have to open the appropriate apps again) and continue the process. Down and Dirty to Expand DriveHere's a quick synopsis for expanding the storage:
 I do recommend performing the process when you’re focused and able to pay full attention to the instructions. The process is not difficult, just particular. There’s a lot of remote control typing, which I found to be tedious, but it’s part of the process and it works.
Transferring Files from Fire Stick to USBI like the thoroughness of the TroyPoint video. After preparing the USB for receiving apps, he explains how to move apps from the Fire TV Stick/TV to the USB drive (around 11:58 timestamp). He explains that downloaded apps should automatically load onto the USB drive, provided the app programmer inserted code to allow it to happen. If the programmer did not insert the line of code, the app will download to the Fire TV/Stick. In those cases, you’ll have to manually move the app from the device to the USB drive. In the second half of the video, he explains how to do it. Down And Dirty for Moving Apps
The process is easy and logical. As I said before, it just takes a lot of remote single-fingered typing. I can’t say enough good things about the way in which TroyPoint guides you through the process. He takes something that could be difficult and makes it easy. He’s my kind of instructor.  Felicia (aka Low Tech Grandma) is a wife, mother, grandmother, freelance writer and low tech blogger. Last Modified: 10 February 2023 |
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The Amazon pre-installed apps took up most of that space. At purchase, I only had about a gig or two of available space to install apps, download movies, or upload photos. Actually, even less space, because a rule of thumb is (I’ve heard somewhere) you should leave about 1GB of space available on the TV for the apps to function properly. If the apps don’t have enough space to stretch their legs, arms, and brain, the programs slow down and the TV performance suffers.