We have been using Plex since nearly the beginning, and I honestly can’t remember the last time an update frustrated me this much.
The new Fire Stick app is a complete mess. The interface looks like it was redesigned by people who never actually use Plex. Features and settings that used to be quick and easy to access are now buried behind multiple layers of menus. What used to take one click now takes four or five.
And that’s before we get to the performance issues. The app constantly hangs, freezes, and becomes unresponsive. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to force stop the app and clear the cache just to get it working again. A media app shouldn’t require this much maintenance from the user.
This update has turned Plex into a frustrating scavenger hunt where you’re constantly clicking through menus trying to find basic options.
The library behavior is also inconsistent and unreliable. Sometimes newly added content appears on the Home screen but doesn’t show up in the actual library where it belongs. Other times the libraries simply don’t refresh or update the way they used to.
Playback has become equally frustrating. If you pause a show and step away long enough for the Fire Stick screensaver to activate, the show can resume playing in the background without any input from the user. I’ve come back to discover episodes continuing to play while the screen saver was active, completely throwing off watch progress.
Even simple controls now feel sluggish. Button presses often take several seconds to register, and there are times when I have to press Pause multiple times before the app actually responds. Navigation feels delayed, menus are slow to load, and the overall responsiveness of the app is noticeably worse than previous versions.
It feels like Plex prioritized appearance over functionality. Navigation is slower, common options are harder to access, and overall the user experience has suffered significantly.
Right now, this version is far less user-friendly than the one it replaced.
And to the people who suggest “just install the older version,” that’s not an acceptable solution. Users shouldn’t have to hunt down old APKs, disable updates, or rely on workarounds just to make the app usable. Plex broke something that was working, and Plex should be the one fixing it. Expecting customers to revert to older versions is avoiding the problem, not solving it.
Long time Plex users aren’t asking for flashy redesigns. We’re asking for a stable, responsive app that makes it easy to access our media and works reliably. Right now, this update misses that mark.
