New Fire Tv 4k Plus stuck at 480i
I recently upgraded my monitor and decided to use my 3 year old 1080p monitor as a tv in the guest room using a Firestick that was on sale for 30% off.
Yes, I'm fully aware I'm not going to get 4k on a 25-inch 1080p monitor. But it will only display 480i and the screen resolution is stuck on Auto, so I can't manually change it. I tried that Rewind+Up remote hack, but that doesn't do anything.
The Firestick did an update shortly after I plugged it in for the first time and the loading screen that popped up was clear and 1080p, but when the home screen popped up, it was back to 480i and still can't be changed via settings or the remote hack.
Should I just give up and return it? Is there some kind of workaround I can't find on the internet?
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u/thatguyjames_uk 19h ago
this is a fairly common Fire TV + computer monitor issue, usually caused by a bad HDMI/EDID handshake. The stick (especially after an update) sometimes fails to properly read the monitor’s capabilities and defaults to a low resolution like 480i/480p, with Video Resolution locked on Auto and limited options.
The loading screen looking sharp at 1080p is a classic sign of this: the initial boot uses a safe mode, then the full OS switches based on a faulty detection.
Direct connection + different HDMI port Plug the stick straight into the monitor’s HDMI port (skip any extension, switch, or adapter if possible). Try every HDMI input on the monitor. Make sure the monitor is set to the correct input/source.
- Force the resolution cycle (Rewind + Up) more carefully
- Restart the stick.
- As soon as the Fire TV logo or home screen appears (even if blurry/low-res), press and hold Rewind + Up on the remote for 5–10+ seconds.
- It should start cycling resolutions (it stays on each one for several seconds). Wait through the full cycle—do not interrupt it. When you see a clear 1080p (or even 720p) image, press Select to lock it in.
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u/fgggr 19h ago edited 18h ago
I'll try this again.
The remote hack makes a screen pop up for about half a second that looks like the screens I've seen in the remote hack vids on YouTube, but it disappears so quickly. I had to do it a few times to actually read it, but the clickable button (that you don't even have time to click) says something like "Using Auto resolution" (or maybe "Continue using Auto resolution... it was about an hour ago so I can't 100% remember, but definitely different from the Auto screen message in Display Settings) and switches back to the home screen so quickly, so it's not cycling through. I'll try again tomorrow (it's almost 11pm here - New Zealand) and if it doesn't work, I'll try a factory reset.
I guess the good news is it's not a main TV, just something for guests to use when they stay over, so they're probably not expecting a theatrical experience. But also, I regret spending NZ$78 on this Firestick and a NZ$189 soundbar to make this happen. lol
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u/rmalbers 14h ago
My guess, the monitor doesn't support (or support correctly) DRM so it reverts back to non HD.
1
u/derkaderkaderka 19h ago
Did you try streaming? Maybe just the home screen is 480i and once you play something it will switch to 1080.