This tutorial shows you how to create the home screen shortcut of apps on FireStick. I am using a FireStick 4K for demonstration. However, all Fire OS devices share the same interface. Therefore, the steps used here will work on any Fire TV device running Fire OS, including FireStick 3rd Gen, FireStick 4K, 4K Max, Lite, and Fire TV Cube.
Why Create a Home Screen Shortcut?
For a very simple reason – quick access to the app. FireStick lets you access all your installed apps from the Your Apps & Channels window. At the same time, it allows you to place six apps on the home screen.
You can quickly open the home screen apps without going to the Apps & Channels window. There are some apps we use more than others. Therefore, you would want to determine which six apps you use more frequently. Then, you can place the home screen shortcut of these apps.
I have ExpressVPN as the first app on the home screen. This is because I want to ensure that I never forget to connect to a safe server before I start streaming. Next, I have the Downloader app because I like to sideload apps on FireStick.
The remaining 4 are usually a mix of streaming and utility apps. The following is the screenshot of the FireStick home screen. You can see the home screen shortcuts in the middle. The Downloader app is presently the first shortcut.
Attention FireStick Users: Read before you continue
Your government and ISP are probably monitoring your streaming activities using your IP address 35.175.39.36 (exposed to all). You may get into serious legal trouble for streaming copyrighted videos on FireStick.
I strongly recommend getting a trusted VPN for FireStick to hide your IP address and protect your online identity.
I use ExpressVPN on all my devices as it is the most secure, fastest, and easy-to-use VPN. It comes with an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee, and you get 3 free months with the yearly plan.
Don't miss out on the peace of mind and online security ExpressVPN provides.
Read: How to Install & Set up the best VPN on FireStick.
How to Create a Home Screen Shortcut?
I am using the ExpressVPN app for demonstration in this guide. Here are the steps to move ExpressVPN to the home screen:
1. Go to the FireStick home screen and click the Apps & Channels icon in the menu bar on the right (this icon has 3 little squares and a + symbol).
2. You are now on the Your Apps & Channels window. You can see that the six apps in the top row are also on the home screen. So, moving the app to this row creates a home screen shortcut for it.
Use the navigation key on the remote to select the app you want to move to the home screen. I am selecting ExpressVPN.
3. Now, press the menu key on the FireStick remote. You are looking for the button with 3 horizontal lines (right of the home button).
A popup menu appears near the bottom-right of the screen. You may either select Move or Move to front on this popup. Let me tell you the difference.
- Move: The Move option releases the app from its current position. You can use the navigation keys on the remote to reposition the app to any spot you like. For instance, you can move the app to the third spot in the top row.
- Move to Front: This option directly makes the app the first shortcut on the home screen. You don’t need to use the navigation buttons on the remote to relocate it. Move to front will move the existing first shortcut to the second spot.
4. I am choosing Move to front for ExpressVPN.
5. ExpressVPN is now the first item in the top row.
6. Go back to the home screen. You will see that ExpressVPN is now the first shortcut, and Downloader is the second.
This is how you create a shortcut to an app on the home screen.
Wrapping Up
You learned how to create a home screen shortcut for the app in this post. You can place six apps on the home screen. To access more apps, go to the Your Apps & Channels Window.
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