How to Clear Cache on Firestick and Android TV to Stop Crashing

One of the most frustrating problems in IPTV is when your streaming app suddenly closes and dumps you back to the Amazon or Android home screen without an error message.

This is rarely a problem with the IPTV provider. Almost 100% of the time, this happens because your device has run out of RAM (memory) or its cache is completely full. IPTV apps—especially when downloading massive EPG (TV Guide) files—require a lot of temporary storage.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to clear your cache and stop your IPTV app from crashing.

What is Cache?

Cache is temporary data stored by an app to help it load faster the next time you open it. Over months of use, an IPTV app's cache can balloon to hundreds of megabytes, consuming all the free space on a Firestick.

Clearing the cache will NOT delete your playlists, username, or settings. It only deletes temporary junk files.

(Note: "Clear Data" WILL delete your playlists and log you out. Never click "Clear Data" unless you are intentionally trying to factory reset the app!)

How to Clear Cache on Amazon Firestick

1. Go to the Firestick Home screen.
2. Navigate to the far right and click the Settings gear icon.
3. Scroll down and click on Applications.
4. Scroll down and click on Manage Installed Applications.
5. You will see a list of all your installed apps. Scroll down until you find your IPTV player (e.g., TiviMate, Smarters Pro, XCIPTV).
6. Click on the app.
7. Scroll down to the bottom of the list. You will see the cache size (e.g., Cache: 150 MB).
8. Click Clear cache. (Again, do NOT click Clear data).
9. You should see the cache size drop to 0 B or 12 KB.

How to Clear Cache on Android TV / Google TV

(Nvidia Shield, Chromecast with Google TV, Formuler boxes)

1. Go to your Home screen.
2. Navigate to the top right and click the Settings gear icon.
3. Click on Apps.
4. Click on See all apps.
5. Find and select your IPTV app.
6. Click on Clear cache.
7. Confirm by clicking OK.

Best Practices to Prevent Crashing

If clearing the cache temporarily fixes the issue but it returns a few days later, your device simply does not have enough storage. Here are three permanent fixes:

1. Reduce the EPG Retention Size

In apps like TiviMate, go to Settings > EPG. Change "Keep past days" to 1 day or 0 days. The TV guide is a massive text file, and keeping 7 days of past EPG data will instantly crash a 1st-generation Firestick.

2. Uninstall Unused Apps

A Firestick 4K only has about 5.5GB of usable storage. If you have Netflix, Prime, Disney+, Spotify, and three different IPTV apps installed, you have zero breathing room. Delete any apps you do not actively use.

3. Use a Background App Killer

Apps running in the background consume RAM. Download a free app called Background Apps & Process List from the official app store. This utility forces all hidden apps to close, giving 100% of your device's processing power back to your IPTV stream.