Firestick for TV - how much Mb does it use?

[peterc10]

4 years ago I bought a Fire TV stick for the TV in the motorhome when it was cheap in an Amazon sale. Only now have I got round to fitting and setting it up. What decided me to do so is the IQ Go SIM with an annual subscription of £20 per year and then just buy data top ups when you wanted to. You can buy a 100GB of data which lasts for 30 days and it can be roam in all EU countries. That seemed a good deal. And we can put the SIM into our Huawei Mifi which is wired to a 4G roof top aerial.

I have set the Fire stick to run on SD, not HD. My question is how much data will this use per hour on average please?

Many thanks for your answers.

 

[andyman]

We used just under a GB an hour setting the resolution to the lowest setting.

 

[Lenny HB]

I think to check the definition on each app, you need be careful with ITVX it gobbles data

 

[Millcourt]

I think to check the definition on each app, you need be careful with ITVX it gobbles data

Have not so far noticed ITVX being different from say BBC iPlayer, but will keep an eye on this. Normal experience seems to be around 1 GByte per hour of Standard Definition TV streaming.

 

[Speve]

I think to check the definition on each app, you need be careful with ITVX it gobbles data

When it works that is it’s a crap app

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[Speve]

Using ours most evenings not bothered changing from HD and use anything from 5 to 9 GB an evening. We use a Tiekom 400gb sim costs €43.90 per month

 

[Jo662]

It’s usually about a Gb an hour as long as you set each app to standard definition,but you cannot do that with ITVx,so like others say it gobbles data,and it’s a bit of a clunky app.

 

[peterc10]

We used just under a GB an hour setting the resolution to the lowest setting.

I set the resolution to 720p and 60hertz, but wonder if I should have used 50hertz instead to save data?

 

[peterc10]

When it works that is it’s a crap app

I thought it was just me. It is difficult just to watch live TV on it, which is what we want

 

[Manic]

Best keep a check on quality setting as my Firestick seem to change to top quality sometimes after I’ve set to lower quality

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[BikerGraham]

Depends what app you are using as Lenny says earlier.

I set mine to the lowest definition and have noticed that it’s around 700mb (0.7Gb) per hour. But ITVX can be 2 to almost 3 Gb an hour. So when abroad are very careful as to what app we use.

 

[andyman]

I set the resolution to 720p and 60hertz, but wonder if I should have used 50hertz instead to save data?

I don’t recall charging htz only setting it to 720p. Not sure why but some of the apps on the fire stick use more data than others.

 

[peterc10]

I don’t recall charging htz only setting it to 720p. Not sure why but some of the apps on the fire stick use more data than others.

I may have got the units wrong. I think it is the refresh rate of the picture. The slower it is the more jerky the movement on the screen is. The choice is 50 or 60 in both SD and HD.

 

[Carpmart]

4 years ago I bought a Fire TV stick for the TV in the motorhome when it was cheap in an Amazon sale. Only now have I got round to fitting and setting it up. What decided me to do so is the IQ Go SIM with an annual subscription of £20 per year and then just buy data top ups when you wanted to. You can buy a 100GB of data which lasts for 30 days and it can be roam in all EU countries. That seemed a good deal. And we can put the SIM into our Huawei Mifi which is wired to a 4G roof top aerial.

I have set the Fire stick to run on SD, not HD. My question is how much data will this use per hour on average please?

Many thanks for your answers.

Just be aware Peter that this is a phone data plan so won’t work as well as a mobile data service.

 

[Millcourt]

Just be aware Peter that this is a phone data plan so won’t work as well as a mobile data service.

IQ Mobile offer various SIM options using the EE network in the UK. Their “IQ Go” SIM is data only and specifically offered for use in applications such as a motorhome router. There are no data usage limitations when EU roaming.

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[Reallyretired]

Setting the lowest definition also reduces any pauses due to low bandwidth.

 

[dawsey]

We just plugged in the Firestick from our house and haven’t changed any settings. I use a 150GB Free (that’s the name of the company) SIM in France for €20 a month.
We’ve never run out of data.

 

[peterc10]

We just plugged in the Firestick from our house and haven’t changed any settings. I use a 150GB Free (that’s the name of the company) SIM in France for €20 a month.
We’ve never run out of data.

But I thought you needed a French address to get a SIM in France?

 

[peterc10]

Just be aware Peter that this is a phone data plan so won’t work as well as a mobile data service.

Harvey, the IG Go is data only designed for using in a Mifi

 

[Landy Andy]

As said you can reduce the quality on the firestick, but also in each app. Some settings are well hidden. Other apps don’t allow it, and you are stuck with high quality and eating data. ITV X is like that, where the previous ITV app was adjustable.

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[dawsey]

But I thought you needed a French address to get a SIM in France?

Use a campsite address. They don’t send any letters out.

 

[Figaro]

But I thought you needed a French address to get a SIM in France?

I don't think so, I bought a Free sim in Avignon and they just asked for passport and recorded the number

 

[Carpmart]

Harvey, the IG Go is data only designed for using in a Mifi

I stand corrected Sir!

 

[Just smiffy]

Use a campsite address. They don’t send any letters out.

But you have to send a letter to Paris to cancel it….

 

[Bessy765]

We are in France at the moment using an IQ data sim in a Huawei router. £20 per month for 100 gb. Used it all over France works fine even where we are out in the sticks.

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[VXman]

Using ours most evenings not bothered changing from HD and use anything from 5 to 9 GB an evening. We use a Tiekom 400gb sim costs €43.90 per month

Why are you smiling? I'd be very sad playing that amount per month for limited WiFi.

 

[Bolti]

Using ours most evenings not bothered changing from HD and use anything from 5 to 9 GB an evening. We use a Tiekom 400gb sim costs €43.90 per month

Why are you smiling? I'd be very sad playing that amount per month for limited WiFi.

And you need a VPN

 

[Speve]

Why are you smiling? I'd be very sad playing that amount per month for limited WiFi.

It’s unlimited in that fact that I can use it for what I want and not paying the exorbitant cost of a starlink system

 

[Speve]

And you need a VPN

And the VPN costs pence so not at all bothered by that

 

[stewartwebr]

All these comments about the Apps and setting and data usage, it just confirms why we keep using our dish. I agree the days of the dishes are like the days of cameras but by what I read and experience I’m happy due to ease of use to keep enjoying our dish. We continue to enjoy Intelsat in Spain which is great, long may it continue. We have unlimited data via Starlink, but for ease of use it has to be the dish for now.

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