The HDMI port you use on your TV actually matters and your Amazon Fire Stick may be plugged into the wrong one

If you use an Amazon Fire Stick to stream content on your TV, there’s a chance you might have it plugged into the wrong HDMI, and could be impacting how well it works.

You might not know it, but not all HDMI ports are made the same. 

And if you’ve had your Amazon Fire Stick plugged into the back of your TV for a while, it might be worth checking exactly which port you’re using. 

Because if it’s not in the correct one, you won’t be getting the best out of your Fire Stick.

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Here’s which HDMI port works best for the Amazon Fire Stick

The Amazon Fire Stick is a clever little device that can be plugged straight into your TV, giving you access to a bunch of different streaming services. 

But if you want to ensure you get the very best sound and picture quality out of your Fire Stick, you’ll need to check you’re using the correct HDMI port. 

In 2017, HDMI 2.1 was introduced and started being included on new TVs a couple of years later.
HDMI 2.1 offers up to 48 Gbps and supports up to 4K resolution at 120Hz.

So by using it, you’ll get much better streaming quality and also see a reduction in the time it takes to switch between inputs or sources with a different frame rate. 

Modern TVs typically have more than one HDMI port, but that’s not to say that they’ll all be HDMI 2.1, so if picture quality is important to you, then it’s worth checking that your Fire Stick is plugged into the 2.1 port rather than the 2.0 port. 

Also watch out for the HDMI ARC or eARC port, as this one is designed to be used for soundbars and receivers and can cause issues with audio playback.

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Got a soundbar? That might be in the wrong port, too

Your Amazon Fire Stick isn’t the only bit of tech that could be using the wrong port on your TV. 

If you have a soundbar or other similar setup, you’ll want to make sure it’s plugged into the HDMI ARC or eARC mentioned above. 

ARC stands for Audio Return Channel, and eARC is its newer, more powerful sibling that will give you higher quality, uncompressed audio formats across the likes of Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD, and more advanced versions of surround sound.

If you’ve got it plugged into the standard HDMI port, you’ll find that the sound isn’t as good and will sound far better if you switch it.

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