Just when you thought your trusty old Fire TV would last forever, Netflix has come along to burst that bubble.
In what’s becoming an all-too-familiar story, Netflix will stop working on first-generation Fire TV devices from June 3, 2025, as reported by PC World. This affects the original Fire TV box, the first Fire TV Stick, and the Fire TV Stick with Alexa voice remote.
If you’re still rocking one of these vintage streamers, you should’ve received an email from Netflix by now – essentially giving you your marching orders.
Granted, these devices are quite old by now – but as I learn time and time again, many of our readers love to hang on to old devices…
A Blast from the Fiery Past
Cast your mind back to late 2014, when the original Fire TV box arrived on UK shores. Amazon launched it here on October 23 that year, not long after Americans got their hands on it in April.
The first-gen Fire TV Stick (known internally as “Montoya” – presumably someone at Amazon was a Princess Bride fan) took its sweet time getting to us Brits.
While our American cousins were happily streaming away in November 2014, we had to wait until April 15, 2015, when it finally landed at £35.
This wasn’t just Amazon being stingy with the UK – our version needed proper British apps like BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and All 4, plus all the tedious EU compliance stuff we used to worry about.
Here We Go Again…
If you’re a regular Cord Busters reader, you’ll know this isn’t Netflix’s first rodeo when it comes to ditching older tech. Last year, they abandoned a whopping 42 Sony TV models from 2014.
To be fair, Amazon stopped supporting these first-gen Fire TV devices ages ago. They haven’t seen a software or security update in a long time, and their creaky old processors are struggling to keep up with modern streaming demands.
Netflix hasn’t spelt out exactly why they’re pulling support, but it’s likely down to newer video standards and codecs, which help deliver better picture quality to those paying for Premium subscriptions.
The brutal truth is that at some point, you can’t teach these old dogs new tricks – the hardware just can’t handle modern video codecs, no matter how many updates you throw at it.
And even though I usually say streaming sticks are a better long-term investment than Smart TVs (as their software and compatibility usually lasts longer) – even sticks have their time limits. The good news is that – unlike a TV – they’re cheap to replace.
Stuck with a Soon-to-be Netflix-less Stick?
I’m sure some of you still have these elderly Fire TV devices kicking around. Maybe they’re in the spare bedroom, or perhaps they’re still front and centre in your main living room (no judgement here… well, maybe a bit).
If you’re in this boat, you’ll need to think about an upgrade (if you’re not sure which Fire TV stick model you have – AFTVNews has a helpful guide).
The current UK Fire TV lineup looks like this:
- Fire TV Stick HD: Normally £39.99
- Fire TV Stick 4K: Normally £59.99
- Fire TV Stick 4K Max: Normally £69.99
For most folks still using first-gen kit, the basic Fire TV Stick HD will be a massive step up in terms of speed and features. But if your TV supports 4K (and it probably should by now), the 4K models are well worth the extra cash.
Not tied to the Amazon ecosystem? Roku (with its new upcoming sticks) and Google Chromecast are solid alternatives that won’t break the bank and still give you your Netflix fix.
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