The Insignia Fire TV is great for streaming your favorite movies and shows. However, one common issue that users run into is the Fire TV not automatically going to sleep after a period of inactivity. This can lead to higher energy bills and unnecessary wear on the device. You can take a few simple steps to enable auto sleep on your Insignia Fire TV.
Why is Auto Sleep Important?
Having your Fire TV automatically go to sleep when not in use is beneficial for a few key reasons:
- Saves Energy – Electronics that are powered on continuously can use a significant amount of electricity over time. According to EnergyStar, enabling power management features like auto sleep can save $30-$60 per year on your energy bills.
- Prevents Burn-in – Leaving your TV screen static for extended periods can lead to image retention, also known as burn-in. Putting your Fire TV to sleep prevents this.
- Extends Hardware Lifespan – Electronics that are in constant use will wear out faster than those that get periodic rest. Letting your Fire TV sleep preserves its lifespan.
- Peace of Mind – Knowing your device will automatically shut off when unnecessary gives you one less thing to worry about. You don’t have to stress about whether you remembered to turn it off.
How Insignia Fire TV Auto Sleep Works?
The auto sleep function works by automatically putting your Fire TV into a low-power sleep mode after a certain period of inactivity. This is typically when you’ve stopped watching content or using the remote control for some time.
The TV screen goes black, and the Fire TV enters a dormant state but remains ready to instantly wake up when you’re ready to start watching again. This sleep mode uses much less power than being fully active.
You can customize the auto sleep settings to make it activate after 5, 15, 30 minutes, or more without any activity. The default is usually 10 or 30 minutes on most Fire TV devices.
Stop Your Insignia Fire TV Auto Sleep Problem
There are two main methods to prevent your Insignia Fire TV from automatically sleeping. But before doing this, you must check the auto sleep settings first.
1. Checking Your Auto Sleep Settings
If you want to check your current auto-sleep configuration on an Insignia Fire TV, just follow these simple steps:
- From the Home screen, select the “Settings” option.
- Navigate to “System” > “Power.”
- Look for the “Sleep Timer” setting. This controls how many minutes of inactivity the Fire TV will go to sleep.
- You’ll see the sleep timer duration displayed here (e.g. “After 30 minutes”) if enabled. If disabled, it will say “Off.”
- You can also check the “Auto Power Down Overnight” setting on this screen. When enabled, this puts the Fire TV to sleep during late night hours.
2. Use AdbLink Utility
1. Download and install AdbLink on your laptop. AdbLink allows communication between Android devices like the Fire TV and your computer.
2. Open AdbLink and connect to your Fire TV using its IP address. You can find the IP address in your Fire TV settings.
3. Once connected, click on the Utility bar in AdbLink and select “Set Timer.”
4. In the timer settings, disable sleep and screensaver by selecting “Sleep off” and “Screensaver off.”
This will completely disable the auto-sleep function on your Fire TV.
3. Install the Stay Alive App
1. Download the Stay Alive APK on your laptop. This is a third-party app not available on the Fire TV.
2. Open AdbLink and use the “Install APK” option to sideload Stay Alive onto your Fire TV.
3. open the Stay Alive app on your Fire TV once installed.
4. Customize the auto-sleep settings in Stay Alive as needed.
The Stay Alive app gives you more control over sleep settings than the AdbLink method. Both options will prevent your Insignia Fire TV from automatically sleeping.
Other Ways to Solve the Auto Sleep Issue
You can also try these common troubleshooting steps.
Adjust Power Settings
Start by checking your Insignia Fire TV’s power and sleep settings. Here are the steps:
- From the Home screen, select the Settings icon.
- Select System > Power.
- Look for options like “Sleep” or “Auto power off” and adjust the setting to Never or Disable. This prevents the TV from automatically sleeping.
- You may also want to disable features like “HDMI sleep” and “Fast boot,” which can trigger sleep.
- Put the TV to sleep and wake it up again to check if the auto sleep still happens when inactive.
Changing these power settings is the main way to prevent the TV from falling asleep when you don’t want it to. Just remember to adjust them again if needed for energy savings.
Check App Settings
If adjusting the TV’s power settings doesn’t fix it, the next step is to check for any app-specific auto-sleep settings.
Streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video have their own timers to stop streaming after a set period of inactivity. Here is how to adjust those:
Netflix:
- Open the Netflix app on your Insignia Fire TV.
- Select your profile.
- Go to Account > Profile & Parental Controls.
- Select the profile you want to adjust.
- Turn off “Auto play next episode” and adjust the sleep timer to your preference.
Hulu:
- Open the Hulu app on your Insignia Fire TV.
- Navigate to the Your Account section using your remote.
- Select Settings.
- Choose the Auto Play setting and turn it off or adjust as needed.
Prime Video:
- Open the Prime Video app on your Insignia Fire TV.
- Use your remote to select Settings.
- Choose Auto Play and turn this setting off.
- You can also adjust the Inactivity Timer as needed.
Disabling these auto-play and inactivity settings for streaming apps prevents them from stopping streaming and triggering sleep mode on your Insignia Fire TV.
Adjust HDMI-CEC Settings
If your Insignia Fire TV is connected to devices like a soundbar, game console, or Blu-ray player via HDMI, the HDMI-CEC function may turn the TV off when those devices power down.
To prevent this:
- Go to Settings > System > Control other devices (CEC) on your Insignia Fire TV.
- Select Audio Return Channel (ARC) and disable it.
- Disable any other HDMI device control options like “Turn off devices with the TV” or “Put devices to sleep with the TV.”
- Put connected devices to sleep/power them down and check if the TV also turns off.
Adjusting the HDMI-CEC settings should stop connected devices from triggering the TV to sleep automatically when they power down. The TV will stay on as long as you want it to.
