An Amazon Signage Stick runs out of storage because its 16 GB is shared with Fire OS, Amazon's services and the signage app, and large videos fill the rest fast. Replace oversized files (a 4K video on a 1080p TV is the usual one), remove content no screen plays, then restart the stick. Clear the signage app's cache only as a last step, because it deletes the offline copies too. To size a playlist before it fills up, see how much storage digital signage needs.
What a full stick breaks
- New content does not arrive, or arrives only in part. Some items play, others are skipped or show an error.
- Offline playback fails for the files that did not fit. They play only while the internet is up, if your app streams them at all.
- Playback stutters when the app keeps deleting and downloading files to make room.
- Updates fail. Fire OS and app updates need free space to install.
How the space fills up
- The system's share. Fire OS, Amazon's device services and the signage app take a fixed part of the 16 GB before your content gets any.
- The app's own limit. Most signage apps cap how much of the free space they use for content, and each vendor sets its own cap.
- Oversized video. One minute of 4K video can take 150 to 300 MB. The same minute at 1080p takes about 40 to 80 MB, and looks the same on a 1080p TV.
- Old content from retired playlists that the app has not cleaned up yet.
- Every store's content on one stick, for example a playlist with every store's menu when each store needs only its own.
How to check storage
Signage software that uses Amazon's Remote Management API can show the stick's free storage in its dashboard. Check the screen's device details in your CMS. Your CMS vendor can also read it from the stick's diagnostics.
How to fix it
- Resize large videos. Export at the TV's resolution (1920 × 1080 for most) with H.264 or H.265. A signage loop rarely needs more than 8 to 10 Mbps.
- Resize images. A 6000-pixel photo from a camera is wasted on a 1920-pixel screen.
- Remove content the screen does not play. Give each screen, or each store, only its own playlist.
- Shorten long loops. Ten minutes of video is 400 MB or more even at 1080p.
- Restart the stick so the app cleans up and reports a fresh figure.
- Clear the app's cache as the last step, from your CMS if it offers the command. The app then downloads everything again, so do it on a good connection and outside opening hours.
- Factory reset only if the stick is still full with a small playlist. See factory reset.
Where Brix fits
Brix handles the stick's storage for you, and says plainly when content does not fit:
- Half the storage for content. In Brix's own fleet, a Signage Stick reports about 12 GB of usable storage, and a typical Stick has about 10.7 GB free. On player version 9.1.52 and later, Brix lets its offline cache use up to half of the stick's storage, never less than 1 GB. Earlier versions stopped at 1 GB on the stick. When the cache is full, Brix removes the least recently played files first. It never removes content the screen is due to play. It also keeps free space for updates, logs and commands.
- Cache full, not a stuck download. When a screen's content does not fit, its panel reads Cache full. The screen keeps playing and streams the files that did not fit, but those files do not play offline.
- Storage alerts. A critical storage alert opens in the CMS with no setup when the stick drops below its safety floor (5% free, or 250 MB, whichever is larger). Add a Storage almost full rule to get an email at a level you choose.
- Clear cache is a button in the screen's panel if you still need it.
See offline playback for what plays when the internet drops, and the media library guide for managing files.
A stick is the wrong player for a loop of long 4K videos. A Windows player or an Android box with more storage suits that better.
FAQ
Can I add a USB drive or SD card to the stick?
The stick has no card slot, and Amazon does not document USB storage for signage content. Plan on the built-in 16 GB.
Is this the same as the Fire TV "low storage" warning?
Similar cause, different device. On a Fire TV the space goes on installed apps. On a Signage Stick it goes on the content your signage app saves.
Start a free trial and see how much of your playlist fits on one stick.