How to Add Your Fire Stick to a Harmony Remote

Many people are curious as to whether or not Harmony remotes can be used to control Amazon Firestick and Amazon Fire TV. The answer is yes. In an official statement by the official Harmony Team, they confirmed that Harmony Express remotes and Harmony Hub-based remotes work with Fire OS.

You can add Firestick to any of these Harmony remotes, with the exception of Harmony infrared remotes, which won’t work with Amazon Firestick or Amazon Fire TV.

This guide will show you how to add any Fire OS device to a compatible Harmony remote, and also how to control some of the most popular apps on it, such as Netflix, YouTube, etc.

Getting Started

Very soon you’ll be able to use your Harmony Remote to control Amazon Fire TV or Amazon Firestick. For this to work you’ll need the Harmony mobile app, which you can download from the official Harmony download page.

If you follow the link you’ll see that you can install this app for desktop, iOS devices or Android devices. Simply select your device and you’ll get direct download links for the official Google Play and App Store.

You’ll also need to set everything up on your Firestick or Amazon Fire TV. Make sure to install the apps you want to control with the Harmony Remote, such as Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, and so on.

When you finish the preparations you can move on to adding Firestick to Harmony remote.

Add Firestick to Any (non-IR) Harmony Remote

The following instructions are taken from the official Logitech Harmony support page:

1. Start the Harmony app on your preferred device and connect to the Harmony hub.
2. Click on the Menu button, followed by Harmony Setup, then choose Add/Edit Devices and Activities, and finally select Devices.
3. Tap on the Add Device option located at the bottom of your screen. Then choose the Entertainment Device.
4. Next, you’ll need to type in the manufacturer and the model number of your device. Then click on Add.
5. In case you have more than one Firestick or Fire TV, choose the one you wish to add to Harmony remote.
6. When you add it Harmony will ask you to create an activity. Confirm with Yes.
7. You’ll be asked a series of questions you need to answer before creating the activity. Harmony support suggests turning off CEC after setup if you are using Amazon Fire TV Cube.

Create an Amazon Firestick or Amazon Fire TV Activity

You can add additional activities to your Harmony remote pretty easily. Follow these steps:

1. Click on the Activities option located to the left on your screen.
2. Choose the Add Activity option.
3. Choose the type of Firestick activity and proceed with Next.
4. Again you need to go through many questions until you have built the activity.
5. When that is done you will need to sync the Harmony remote. Instructions are to follow.

The Watch Amazon Firestick activity has to be launched with the Harmony app for the first time.

Harmony Remote Syncing

Syncing a Harmony remote is not difficult at all. You can it using a Wi-Fi network connection on Harmony remotes with a hub. If you’re using the desktop Harmony app you will need to sync changes manually.

Changes you make on the remote or smartphone apps will be automatically tracked via the Harmony Cloud. To sync the changes with the Harmony remote select the Menu, followed by Settings, and finally Sync Remote.

To sync the changes with the Harmony smartphone app, go to Menu, then select harmony Setup, and finally choose the Sync option.

How to Launch the Amazon Firestick Activity

Launching the Firestick activity is also simple, just follow these steps:

1. Connect to the Harmony hub via the Harmony smartphone app.
2. Launch the Watch Firestick activity. You will get a notification from Harmony telling you to begin Bluetooth pairing.
3. Get to the Firestick home screen using the Firestick remote.
4. There’s a slight difference between the first and the second generation of Firestick. On the first-gen Firestick you need to choose Settings, then Controllers, next Firestick Remotes, and finally Add New Remote. On the second-gen Firestick you should choose Settings, followed by Controllers and Bluetooth Devices, then Other Bluetooth Devices, and Add Bluetooth Devices.
5. Your Firestick and Harmony remote should pair in a matter of seconds. Don’t worry if the pairing doesn’t work instantly, just repeat the steps again until you get the devices paired.
   

Mission Accomplished

That’s it. Now you can use the Harmony remote to control all sorts of apps on your Amazon Firestick or Amazon Fire TV. In time, you’ll see how practical and useful this can be. The remote should also work just fine even with some obstacles in the way.

Do you like using Logitech Harmony products? Tell us about your experiences or anything else you would like to discuss in the comments section below.