The Amazon Firestick is an incredible little device for the price — but it has one big weakness: storage. If you’ve ever seen the dreaded notification:

“Critically Low on Storage Space”

“Your Amazon Fire TV is out of storage space. In order to receive automatic system updates and to continue installing apps, please uninstall enough apps to free up at least 500 MB on your device.”

…you know it can instantly ruin your night of streaming.

The frustrating part?
Most people think they don’t have many apps installed, or they don’t understand how such a small device fills up so fast.

In this guide, we break down:

• why Firesticks run out of storage

• what “critically low storage” actually means

• the hidden things filling up your memory

• and how to fix it without resetting your device

No fluff — just a clean explanation that finally makes sense.

🧠 Why Firesticks Run Out of Storage So Easily

The biggest thing Amazon never tells you is this:

A Firestick does not have 8GB of usable space.

Even though it’s advertised as 8GB, nearly 4GB is used by the system itself.

That means you only get around 3.2–3.5GB for apps, thumbnails, caches, downloads, and updates.

And that fills up very quickly.

🗂️ Hidden Storage Hogs Most People Don’t See

Here’s where Firestick storage actually goes:

1️⃣ App Thumbnails & Images

Apps like YouTube, TikTok, Disney+, or even TiviMate create hundreds of tiny images for menus and previews. They’re tiny individually — but huge together.

2️⃣ Streaming App Cache

Not IPTV cache — ALL streaming apps build cache:
Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Plex, Prime Video, even Downloader.

3️⃣ App Updates Sitting in the Background

Firestick often downloads updates in advance.
These update packages can be hundreds of MB each.

4️⃣ Amazon Bloatware

Pre-installed apps you can’t delete (Prime Video, Amazon Photos, Freevee) take up space — even if you never use them.

5️⃣ App Residue

When you uninstall apps, they don’t fully clear their data. Some leave behind folders and junk in the background.

Quick Note: This is why your Firestick may say “Critically low storage” even if you haven’t installed anything new.

⚠️ Why the Warning Appears Even When You Think You Have Space

You might check storage and see “800MB free”…
but the Firestick still warns you.

Why?

Because the warning triggers when there’s less than 500–600MB available after Amazon counts system usage, background tasks, and update space.

Even if the “Storage” menu says 800MB free, the “true usable space” can be under the threshold.

Important: This is Amazon’s way of preventing app crashes and failed updates.

🐢 How Low Storage Affects Streaming

When storage runs low, streaming performance collapses:

• apps freeze

• channels take longer to open

• menus lag

• voice commands stop working

• updates fail

• device overheats

• Wi-Fi becomes unstable

This is because streaming apps constantly need to write temp files.
If there’s nowhere to write them → performance tanks.

🔧 How to Fix “Critically Low Storage” — Safely

Below are fixes that do not reset your apps or playlists.

🧽 1. Force Stop & Clear Cache of Every Installed App

Go to:
Settings → Applications → Manage Installed Applications

For each app you recognise, select:
👉 Force Stop
👉 Clear Cache

Not “Clear Data”.
That wipes everything.

⭐ Pro Tip: Start with YouTube, ITVX, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, Netflix, and other big apps — they generate the most cache.

🗑️ 2. Uninstall Any App You Don’t Use

Great candidates to remove:

• • Amazon Photos

  • Freevee

  • Amazon Kids

  • News app

  • Music apps

  • Any duplicate browsers

  • Old sideloaded apps

  • Games

Even apps you forgot you installed take up space.

Recommendation: If you don’t use it weekly → uninstall it.

📦 3. Move “Cache-heavy” Apps to an OTG USB Drive (Advanced)

You can expand Firestick storage using:

• • a $6 OTG adapter

  • a USB stick

Some apps can’t move, but many can.

This gives you 15–128GB of usable space, depending on the USB size.

Perfect for:

• • Kodi

  • Stremio

  • big add-ons

  • file managers

Not essential for beginners, but a game changer.

🧹 4. Delete App Residue Using a File Manager (Safe Method)

Use X-Plore File Manager or File Commander.

Look inside:
/Android/data/
/Android/obb/

You’ll often find leftover app folders long after you’ve uninstalled the app.

Delete any empty or unused folders.

🔄 5. Restart the Firestick

Clearing cache only removes temporary files.
Restarting actually frees the memory used by running processes.

Hold the Select + Play buttons for 5 seconds — it restarts instantly.

🧊 6. LAST RESORT — Reset the Device (Only If Everything Fails)

Only do this if:

• • apps won’t open

  • storage says 0 bytes

  • updates fail

  • system keeps crashing

Resetting wipes EVERYTHING.
Only use this if your Firestick is unusable.

🏁 Final Thoughts

The “Critically Low Storage” message is the Firestick’s biggest weakness — but it’s not a sign that your device is broken. Firesticks simply have very limited usable space, and modern apps are bigger than ever.

Once you understand what’s actually filling the memory, fixing it becomes straightforward.
A bit of maintenance goes a long way, and your Firestick will stay fast, smooth, and ready for streaming — whether you’re watching movies, TV apps, or your UltimateFIRE service.