Connecting a Kindle Fire to Your TV

How would you like to connect your Kindle Fire to your TV?

Depending on which Kindle Fire (HD or HDX) you have, then you can! (See the important note below.)

Why Use Your Kindle Fire with a TV?

There are several benefits for being able to connect your device to your TV. Here are a few of the ones I've enjoyed using:

• Watch Amazon Prime movies on your big screen HDTV.
  
• Play videos from Netflix and other sites (like Hulu Plus, etc).
• Catch up on missed TV episodes at ABC.com, CBS.com, etc.
• Listen to music on your Kindle Fire through your TV or stereo speakers, then pump up the volume!
  
• Play games, like trivia, that work for a group of people. Or turn your tablet and TV into a drawing board and play your own version of Pictionary/Win, Lose or Draw.
• Turn your TV into a virtual, crackling fire with a fireplace app.
  
• Show others all the cool things you can do on your Kindle Fire, this way everyone can watch!
  
  

What You Need: HDMI Cable

So the first thing you need is access to an HDTV. Got it? Good!

The second item you need is a little Kindle Fire accessory called an HDMI to HDMI Micro cord.

You can find these cables at your local electronic department store or here's a bunch of HDMI to HDMI Micro cables on Amazon.

HDMI Cord Length

The size of the cord you get depends on what you want to do when you connect your Kindle Fire to a TV.

When watching movies or TV shows I just leave the tablet on the TV stand. Thus the cord would only need to be a few feet in length if you just want this option.

However, I personally like being able to sit on my couch and hold my Kindle Fire while it's hooked up to my HDTV. You obviously need a much longer cord if you want to do this as well.

Below is the HDMI cable I purchased from Amazon. It's 15 feet long, but you can get one that's 3, 6, 10, or 25 feet in length instead:

Connecting Your Kindle Fire to the TV

Once you've got a cable you're ready to connect your Kindle Fire to a TV!

First, locate the HDMI port on your HDTV and plug in the HDMI end of the cord. It will look something like this:

Next, plug in the HDMI micro end of the cord into the LEFT port on your Kindle Fire. (Not the one on the right, that's for charging your device.)

If it's not already on, boot up your Kindle Fire and unlock it so you see the carousel or any other screen you'd like to use.

Turn on your TV and change the input to HDMI. If you have more than one port (like I do in the picture above) you will need the HDMI input number to match the same port as the number on the back of your HDTV. For example on my TV port 1=HDMI-1 and port 2=HDMI-2.

It may take a moment but your Kindle Fire screen should now be displayed on your HDTV! Like this:

What you see on your Kindle Fire will now show up on your TV!

The picture quality is better than the pictures show 'cause I kept getting glare from the reflective screens. The sound quality that comes through your TV is also great. Yeah for louder sound volume!

Play Movies On Your Kindle to Your TV

Watching movies and shows on your HDTV is one of the benefits of being able to hook up our Kindle Fire, one that we enjoy the most.

(Movie image from The Hunger Games, copyright Lionsgate.)

For this tutorial I chose to play the movie, The Hunger Games, which is currently free for Amazon Prime members. (My husband and I watched it again the other night. Love this movie!)

Since the Kindle Fire screen will stay on even when connected to your TV (I haven't yet found a way to turn it off) I find that it's less distracting to watch a movie if I set my tablet down like this:

(Movie image from The Hunger Games, copyright Lionsgate.)

Here's one more picture I just had to share, especially since I took about a hundred to get the scenes I wanted... until I realized I could pause the video to take a clear picture of it. Doh!

(Movie image from The Hunger Games, copyright Lionsgate.)

Connecting with a 2014 Kindle Fire

All 2014 models now come with a SlimPort enabled USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) port which you can use to connect to an HDTV or VGA monitor.

Basically this is the same port as the one you use to charge your tablet.

For this option you'll need an adapter, such as Amazon's HDMI Adapter, to be able to use your Kindle Fire with an HDMI cable.

You'll also need a regular HDMI to HDMI cable (NOT THE HDMI MICRO CABLE). This is different than the cable the 2012 Kindle Fire HD uses.

Make sure before you buy one (if you don't already have one) that both ends have the regular sized HDMI and that one end isn't mini or micro sized.

Just attach the HDMI cable to your TV and to the adapter, than plug the adapter into your Kindle Fire. Follow the instructions above for making sure your TV is on the right input and other tips.

That's all there is to it!

Now that you know why and how to hook up your Kindle Fire to a TV go and try it out! Or browse through some other fun Kindle Fire Tips & Tricks or other cool Kindle Fire Accessories.

I ♥ My Fire!
- Christine