Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Evening all. Arrived 5 weeks ago and had a flight to VN cancelled last week so here I am with not much to pass the time, so, I decided to attach my Firestick I used in England to my TV in my room here in Patts, there is only 1 HDMI connection but when I select HDMI after hitting SOURCE on the TV remote, nothing is happening. Just a blank black screen. I checked the download speed for the wifi in the guest house and it reads 7.11Mbps which Im presuming is not adequate? Im not a techy by any means! In England I used a myfi device and that was strong enough to connect my TV, laptop and phone all at the same time with an unlimited data sim card. I have brought the myfi with me and am thinking I could use it again for my Firestick and my laptop, but, Im wandering if my Firestick is not working because I am in a different country? I expected something to at least come up on the TV screen even if it was to tell me it is not compatible or it cannot connect but there is just a blank black screen. Any help/advice/recommendations would be great, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiMaai Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Don't have a Firestick so I may be asking a silly question but does it have external power? (such as a USB port on the TV?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCC1701A Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Walter Travolta said: Im wandering if my Firestick is not working because I am in a different country? you might need a VPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 hour ago, JaiMaai said: Don't have a Firestick so I may be asking a silly question but does it have external power? (such as a USB port on the TV?) A Firestick is connected to the mains with the mains lead entering the device with something similar to a mobile phone connection and the device itself connects to the TV via an HDMI port. Apps are downloaded onto the device so when I connected it to the TV i expected the apps to show on screen and for it to simply ask me for my password and crack on, but nothing like that unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 hour ago, NCC1701A said: you might need a VPN. Yes my mate who is really helpful with this kind of thing said that but I thought I would ask on here first in case anyone knowledgable enough knew how to avoid that. Do you know what kind of price a VPN is? Monthly? Annually? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCC1701A Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 minute ago, Walter Travolta said: Yes my mate who is really helpful with this kind of thing said that but I thought I would ask on here first in case anyone knowledgable enough knew how to avoid that. Do you know what kind of price a VPN is? Monthly? Annually? Cheers don't use free VPN's they don't protect you properly. about $40 a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, NCC1701A said: don't use free VPN's they don't protect you properly. about $40 a year. Ah right fair enough thats do-able haha, although I havent got a clue how long Im stuck here for, Im a week into my enforced extension and heard today immigration are charging 20.000 for an extra month extension and 30.000 for 2 months ONLY if you apply with at least 20 days of this extension remaining!! Is this BS or a possibility? Was a bloke passing my digs earlier who stopped for a chat who told me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiMaai Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 15 minutes ago, Walter Travolta said: A Firestick is connected to the mains with the mains lead entering the device with something similar to a mobile phone connection and the device itself connects to the TV via an HDMI port. Apps are downloaded onto the device so when I connected it to the TV i expected the apps to show on screen and for it to simply ask me for my password and crack on, but nothing like that unfortunately OK. Thanks. It was just that a completely blank/black screen makes me think there is some kind of power problem going on. Even if there was some kind of issue with it being in another country, I'd expect it to power on and give some kind of error. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiMaai Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Have you tried a different HDMI port (assuming there is one)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 minute ago, JaiMaai said: OK. Thanks. It was just that a completely blank/black screen makes me think there is some kind of power problem going on. Even if there was some kind of issue with it being in another country, I'd expect it to power on and give some kind of error. Yeah thats what I thought seeing as the apps are already loaded and the wifi here works well enough although its only 7.11 download speed it gives me my laptop and mobile phone wifi no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 (edited) I have a Firestick, an early version, which I brought over from the UK about 5-6 years ago. I use it daily with no VPN (in fact it's not possible to install a VPN on my model). Plug it into the HDMI on any of my TV's (Sony, Samsung, LG), power it up, either from a USB port on the TV or from a mains adaptor - and it's good to go. I suspect the problem might be with the power supply or the HDMI port, otherwise you would at least get some image or message on the TV screen. Edit to add: I have used it at various hotels. If the wifi isn't good enough you will still get the start up screen and a message about a poor connection. Edited March 26, 2020 by chickenslegs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 minute ago, JaiMaai said: Have you tried a different HDMI port (assuming there is one)? There is only the 1 port which took me ages to find as it is wall mounted, its a Samsung though but only LCD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 In this picture the long lead will attach to the plug and the other end which looks like a mobile phone connection goes into the side of the stick. You cant see that connection on the stick from this diagram but you can see the HDMI male part which goes into the TV. The extension pictured below the mains cable is for tight spaces like mine attached to the wall, if I didnt have that extension I wouldnt be able to get the stick into the HDMI socket at the back of the TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, chickenslegs said: I have a Firestick, an early version, which I brought over from the UK about 5-6 years ago. I use it daily with no VPN (in fact it's not possible to install a VPN on my model). Plug it into the HDMI on any of my TV's (Sony, Samsung, LG), power it up, either from a USB port on the TV or from a mains adaptor - and it's good to go. I suspect the problem might be with the power supply or the HDMI port, otherwise you would at least get some image or message on the TV screen. Thats what I thought but nothing! A guy who lived on the ground floor of my guest house his worked fine but he was disabled and Im on the 3rd floor, no lift so he couldnt help and he was leaving that day in the next couple of hours anyway. Maybe I could ask to try it in his room and see if it works there, that way I will know there is something wrong with something in my room. What do you mean by 'power it up'? I thought with it connected to the mains it would be instantaneous? Forgive my apathy I really am poor with technology Edited March 26, 2020 by Walter Travolta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnacha Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 You don't need a VPN. Might be a problem with the HDMI connection rather than the Firestick. Was some other device previously plugged into the TV's HDMI connection, and was that working properly? I would try to find another TV to test the Firestick on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Walter Travolta said: In this picture the long lead will attach to the plug and the other end which looks like a mobile phone connection goes into the side of the stick. You cant see that connection on the stick from this diagram but you can see the HDMI male part which goes into the TV. The extension pictured below the mains cable is for tight spaces like mine attached to the wall, if I didnt have that extension I wouldnt be able to get the stick into the HDMI socket at the back of the TV The mains plug shown in that photo is not exactly standard for Thailand. Here we have flat (spade) connectors not round ones. I have had experience of this type of plug not connecting properly - although mostly they do - depends on the socket. Try taking power from a USB port on the TV. Edited March 26, 2020 by chickenslegs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Just now, chickenslegs said: The mains plug shown in that photo is not exactly standard for Thailand. Here we have flat (spade) connectors not round ones. I have had experience of this type of plug not connecting properly - although mostly they do - depends on the socket. Sorry yeah that was just a photo I plucked from google for purposes for Jaimaai No offence using the term 'plucked' Chickenlegs haha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiMaai Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Do you have a mobile phone charger you could try? Also, since you mentioned that the HDMI port was difficult to get at; is it possible the cable isn't fully pushed in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 I had exactly the same issue just a few hours ago after borrowing a mate's Firestick. The cause was the HDMI port on the TV had a few years of dust gathered in it which needed clearing out before I got a good contact and the Home Menu for the Firestick appeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 9 minutes ago, JaiMaai said: Do you have a mobile phone charger you could try? Also, since you mentioned that the HDMI port was difficult to get at; is it possible the cable isn't fully pushed in? No my mobile is an iPhone so not the same and yes it was fully in the port, also checked other plug sockets that I know work but same same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 5 minutes ago, treetops said: I had exactly the same issue just a few hours ago after borrowing a mate's Firestick. The cause was the HDMI port on the TV had a few years of dust gathered in it which needed clearing out before I got a good contact and the Home Menu for the Firestick appeared. Thanks for that, before you cleaned it out did you get anything on screen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 18 minutes ago, Walter Travolta said: Thanks for that, before you cleaned it out did you get anything on screen? No, the screen was blank and I mucked about changing sockets for the power supply to a known good one before having a go at the HDMI port. My TV wasn't wall mounted so easy for me to get to the port and blow off excess dust then just put the connector in and out a few times to clean anything else off and it kicked into life. Can't be anything to do with Wifi speed as you've not even connected to the router yet to download/stream anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 3 minutes ago, treetops said: No, the screen was blank and I mucked about changing sockets for the power supply to a known good one before having a go at the HDMI port. My TV wasn't wall mounted so easy for me to get to the port and blow off excess dust then just put the connector in and out a few times to clean anything else off and it kicked into life. Can't be anything to do with Wifi speed as you've not even connected to the router yet to download/stream anything. Good point about the wifi speed cheers. Im gonna find it tough cleaning the port. The owners of the guest house huff and puff when you ask them for anything so I will have to bite the bullet and ask them to dismount the set to clean it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Can't you get in with a toothbrush or similar? Even just re-inserting the plug a few times might be enough to make a connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, treetops said: Can't you get in with a toothbrush or similar? Even just re-inserting the plug a few times might be enough to make a connection. I have an electric toothbrush and the head is nearing its end so I will try that tomorrow and with it vibrating Im hoping it will do the trick, failing that I will try a toothpick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 26 minutes ago, treetops said: Can't you get in with a toothbrush or similar? Even just re-inserting the plug a few times might be enough to make a connection. Hey it worked thanks, I finally have lift off, but Im trying to play programmes on the ITVhub and it says . . . Where's My Show?! It looks like there was a problem playing your video. We know this is the last thing you want, so let's try and fix it. Then the option RETURN TO SEARCH is displayed underneath that script, then at the bottom it says "If you're still having problems using the ITVhub, please get in touch with our friendly customer support team at [email protected] Did you have any issue like this or did yours just work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 minute ago, Walter Travolta said: Did you have any issue like this or did yours just work? Have you gone to settings and entered the network password? I did that and then it worked OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, treetops said: Have you gone to settings and entered the network password? I did that and then it worked OK. Yes I have typed in the password and username for the guest house and it accepted it and notified me the signal was strong. I have emailed ITV hub just now so will wait for their response now. Thanks I will get you a pint if the bars ever open again haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Looks like it only works in the UK unless you've got an addon: https://help.itv.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002793693-Can-I-use-my-Hub-benefits-abroad- A VPN as mentioned upthread might be required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Travolta Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Just now, treetops said: Looks like it only works in the UK unless you've got an addon: https://help.itv.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002793693-Can-I-use-my-Hub-benefits-abroad- A VPN as mentioned upthread might be required. Possibly, I will wait to see what they come back with, they said within 24 hours ????♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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