Skip the Amazon Signage Stick in four cases:
- Your country is not one of the seven it sells in.
- The site has no Wi-Fi or Ethernet, only a cellular modem.
- The screen needs outdoor or industrial-rated hardware.
- Two or more screens must act as one picture, a video wall.
For each case, Brix still works. You run it on a different supported player instead. The options are a TV with Google TV or Android TV built in, an Android box, the Windows player, or dedicated wall hardware.
In every other case, the Signage Stick is the right box.
Where the Signage Stick is sold
Amazon sells the Signage Stick directly in seven countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Outside those seven markets, buy one of these instead:
- A TV with Google TV or Android TV built in. Install Brix from the
Google Play store on the TV itself.
- An Android box, such as the Walmart onn. Install Brix from Google
Play the same way.
- A Windows PC, with the Windows player installed.
The trade-off is remote control. Brix reaches the Signage Stick through Amazon's own Remote Management API: a reboot, a live screenshot, and the TV switching on and off on a schedule over HDMI-CEC.
Off the Stick, no player switches the TV itself off. A sideloaded Fire TV, a Google Play install on an Android box or TV, and the Windows player all run Screen hours, but without HDMI-CEC it blanks the picture instead of turning the TV off. Use the TV's own timer instead.
A remote reboot and a live screenshot are not Stick-only. The Windows player gets both. A Fire TV and a Google Play install get a screenshot, but not a remote reboot — plan to reach the screen in person for that.
No Wi-Fi or Ethernet, only a cellular modem
The Signage Stick needs a Wi-Fi network with a password, or the wired connection from Amazon's micro-USB Ethernet Adapter ($14.99). The Stick has no cellular radio. Its one micro-USB port is already taken by power or that Ethernet adapter, so it cannot take a USB cellular modem.
A cellular router that broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network is not a problem. The Stick joins that Wi-Fi like any other network.
The real problem is a site with only a bare USB cellular modem and no router — a temporary trailer, or a kiosk with one data SIM.
For that, use the Windows player on a mini PC. Windows takes a USB or PCIe cellular modem directly, the way it takes any other USB accessory.
A screen that needs special hardware
The Signage Stick is an indoor HDMI dongle, built for an office, a store or a lobby. Amazon lists no outdoor, temperature, dust or water rating for it, and it has only one video output.
When a site needs outdoor housing, an IP-rated enclosure, or a sunlight-readable panel, buy that hardware from a specialist for the job. Then install the Windows player on whatever PC drives it. For a closer look at dedicated players built for that case, see the Signage Stick compared with BrightSign.
Spanning screens into a video wall
One Signage Stick drives one screen on its own clock and cannot sync with another, which rules out running several Sticks as one spanned picture. See a true video wall for the full case.
One exception: a single Stick can still feed a wall when the displays themselves, or a wall controller, split its one 4K picture into tiles. For a wall driven by several separate Sticks, buy wall displays with daisy-chain, a video wall controller, or a Windows PC with a multi-output graphics card instead, and feed Brix content into that system the way its maker describes.
A row of screens that each show their own content, such as menu boards side by side, is different. A Signage Stick per screen works fine for that.
You already have "the Fire Stick" or another box behind the TV
A Fire TV, an Android box, a Windows PC, or a TV with Google TV or Android TV built in may sit behind the screen already. Do not buy anything new: install the Brix player on it instead.
What customers mean by "the Fire Stick" varies — it can be the Amazon Signage Stick built for signage, or a Fire TV Stick. The two run the same Brix build, but only the Signage Stick gets Amazon's remote control, below.
- Fire TV: sideload the Brix player APK, the same build the
Signage Stick runs. It takes a screenshot, but Amazon's Remote Management API is Signage Stick only, so a remote reboot and TV power fail. Compare a Fire TV to the Signage Stick first.
- Android box or TV with Google TV or Android TV built in: install
Brix from the Google Play store. On a Walmart onn, grant "Display over other apps" by hand so the player can stay on top. See the Signage Stick compared with the Walmart onn.
- Windows PC: install the Windows player. It takes a remote
reboot and a screenshot, but not TV power over HDMI-CEC.
Try Brix before you buy any hardware
Add a screen, then choose Open in a browser tab. The player runs in any browser with no install.
tab](/images/screenshots/player-add-screen-menu.png)
Treat this as a trial, not a production screen. The browser tab has no remote TV power control and no screenshot. Anyone with the tab open can close it.
For a screen that runs every day, the CMS itself advises the Android or Windows player. A browser tab trial is the fastest way to see the CMS before you buy a Signage Stick, an Android box, or anything else.
The Signage Stick runs more than one CMS
Amazon lists Brix and OptiSigns, alongside AbleSign, NoviSign, Rise Vision and others, as CMS partners for the Signage Stick. Choosing the box and choosing the software are separate decisions.
Check hardware support per CMS: it is not always the same list. OptiSigns, for example, says it will end support for Amazon Firesticks, and also runs on BrightSign and LG webOS displays. See the full comparison of 12 CMS options for the Signage Stick for price, remote control and app library differences.
Which to buy instead, at a glance
| Your situation | Buy instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your country is not one of the Stick's seven markets | A Google TV or Android TV set, an Android box, or a Windows PC | Sold far more widely; same Brix player |
| No Wi-Fi or Ethernet, only a bare cellular modem | Windows player on a mini PC | Windows takes a USB or PCIe cellular modem directly |
| Outdoor, IP-rated or extreme-temperature housing | Windows player on hardware built for the job | The Stick is an indoor dongle only |
| Two or more screens must show one spanned picture | Screens built for a wall, a wall controller, or a multi-output PC | One Stick drives one screen, on its own clock |
| You want to see the CMS first, before any hardware | Add screen > Open in a browser tab | No install; a trial, not a production screen |
| You already own a Fire TV, Android box, Google TV set, or Windows PC | Install Brix on what you have | No new hardware cost |
Brix itself costs the same no matter which hardware you pick: $6 per screen per month billed annually, or $8 billed monthly. Brix gives a 7-day free trial, and you need no card.
For more hardware comparisons, see the Signage Stick vs Raspberry Pi and the best digital signage hardware overall.
Frequently asked questions
Is a cheaper Android box as good as the Amazon Signage Stick?
For the player itself, yes: the same Brix player runs on both. The difference is remote control. Only the Signage Stick reaches Amazon's Remote Management API, so an Android box gets neither a remote reboot nor TV power on a schedule. An Android box still takes a screenshot, but not a remote reboot. Choose the Android box only when someone can reach the screen in person.
Start a free trial to see which player fits your screens: Start free trial.