Firestick App update 3rd Sep 2026

Plex Players
1

Got the new update for firestick today. A lot of fixes but still a long way to go.

Issues I am facing still:

  1. DTS-HD MA does not play even though passthrough and force direct play are enabled. (DTS core tracks play fine)
  2. Any other audio track, there’s a slight delay when the video file starts playing the audio then starts from 1 to 2 seconds after
  3. DTS-HD MA 7.1 displays as DCA 7.1, but 5.1 displays as DTS-HD MA 5.1
  4. No more option for ‘remember selected tab’ which was super useful if, like me, you wanted quicker access to the most used part of your libraries.
  5. Click on a drop down menu to filter a page, then one step back keeps that drop down open on an overlay but you are scrolling on the page items behind it.

The libraries bar is still at the top too, I saw that other users on different platforms were getting the sidebar back..not included in this update.

I understand it is hardwork, keep it up, Plex is my Graceland.

Version no: 2026.17.0 (971050413)

2
4

Well, the answer I gave you was FLAGGED! So no help from me

5

To late! Dumped it for earlier version

6

I can no longer rewind/ffwd in 5 second increments. It just keeps rewinding even though I only tap the back button. Even hitting play doesn’t stop it. I literally have to hit the home button and get out of the video for it to stop. This is so incredibly frustrating as I’m just trying to rewind 5 or 10 seconds to see something that I might have missed and it just keeps going back. I’ve already checked my settings and I set it to 5 seconds or 10 seconds and it still doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t stop after 5 seconds and start playing automatically like it used to. I don’t know where to mention this issue but since I’m using a fire stick I figured I’d just throw it on here.

7

For the good of the cause and keeping up with gaps…Fire Stick Max 2nd Gen

  • still no live tv record while in progress
  • EPG has many quirks such as navigation is wonky if you bring up the EPG while a program in progress
  • navigation bar customization, pinning, etc.
  • home page customization, which sections to show in which order
  • Appreciate the work you guys are doing and responding to user feedback…
8

What’s the issue here? This for the most part is unchanged except that pinning is now favoriting libraries. Your recommendation hubs should operate the same as before. I will admit that there is less customization with regards to moving Plex sources (Movies & TV Shows, Live TV, Discover) around but your PMS libraries should be behaving the same as before.

Working on the first bit and still addressing navigation in general, which should address the guide as well.

Thanks for the feedback.

9

Hi. First post.

I don’t know if this applies to the new app on every platform, but certainly with music, yes it’s welcome that artwork is now in the centre when playing music. However it’s not large enough, and song, album and artist titles are truncated to the album art width, not the screen width.

They end up being dropped down the next line, which means all the info is visible in the playback screen.

However, every album title is truncated when selecting it, especially if it’s any longer than about 4 words. Really annoying, but I’m living with it!

What’s harder though, is that yes ALAC files are still Direct Play and not transcoded, but the container is still not supported, event though the codec is, and they therefore play as MP4.

Lastly, I realise that the info for each track can be viewed in advanced settings as to whether it is 24 bit or not, and the corresponding bit rate, but not on the now playing screen. Some 24 bit files are still in 44.1 kHz, and therefore it’s not easy to tell if the file is high res or not without going into the advanced settings. Stats for nerd with music is therefore incomplete IMHO.

Apart from these minor niggles, I have no issue with the UI, and video playback is absolutely fine as it was before the app refresh, and all audio tracks are in sync and play fine, and stats for nerd is no different.

I realise music is now secondary and photo viewing has vanished and will be brought back, but given that PlexAmp isn’t available on many TV versions of Plex, the main app is the only option.

10

Forgot to add this to the list, but I think it was called out above too, being able to set an option to have the last “item” you interacted with be persistent when exiting the app and coming back in…e.g. Live TV, Home Movies, etc..

First bullet…I’d like to have a pinned list either across top or on side (no dog in that fight) that I can prioritize the listed elements, I don’t see a way to do that. Second bullet, I don’t see a way to “favorite” anything, I think I’ve been through all the menu options and tried the “option” stack button on the FireTV remote in several places… Bullet 4 I can try to take video to show the experience that I’m referring to.

11

From the sidebar, you select the More option. This should open the All Libraries view where you can favorite your libraries or change the ordering.

12

Known problem affecting some FireTV devices.

Suggest you disable Force Direct Play. It is generally not needed on Android TV devices. Also, it can cause problems trying to force Plex to direct play something that needs transcoding (ex: incompatible video/audio/subtitles).

Where is this displayed?

I’ve a FireStick 4K Max Gen 2 (AFTKRT) with Plex app 2026.17.0. On the movie home page DTS-HD MA is correctly displayed.
.

13

On the films page for DTS-HD MA 7.1 specifically it displays DCA 7.1 whereas DTS-HD MA 5.1 displays correctly as that title.

14

I haven’t even got force direct enabled. So that can’t be it.

it only happens with DTS-HD tracks. DTS core tracks play fine.

Even on nerd statistics it says direct play (by default) and DCA 6ch/8ch playing, but not passing through HDMI to my soundbar.

It’s only this recent big update. Before that it worked near perfect

15

ok, found that option, but not quite what I was looking for…That only works for the Libraries, I want to put Live TV as the first option (least amount of clicks) as that is what I interact with most on a daily basis. It just feels like you guys removed a lot of personalization in favor of what someone else think is more important. As a lifetime subscriber this feels antithetical to a product that was built with the ethos of “your media, your way”

16

I assume you mean Plex’s free Live TV service?

If not, your Live TV tuner can be reordered to the top.

17

Re: DTS-HD

On my firestick 4k max (1st Gen) it transcodes the audio to AAC and the reason given is: “Audio codec is banned on device”.

I’m assuming it’s not just because I was listening through TV speakers. I’m okay with it transcoding, but that issue flagging up gives me the shakes.

Whereas on same firestick but 2nd Gen (audio playing via hdmi passthrough on soundbar) says it is direct playing the audio, not transcoding. Just that the audio doesn’t audibly come through..

So bizarre, so odd.

I’m still crossing my fingers for an update to this as I can’t imagine using anything but Plex.

18

Giving credit where it’s due, the new interface and side menu are working well, the EPG itself is still a little finicky at times with show box highlighting and quick navigation, but overall it feels useable again, and see where some of the thought is going in terms of UX