Last Updated on August 26, 2022
Are you a news buff? Do you wish there was a service that showed all the news from around the world? Well, I’m here to tell you that there is! Haystack News is an ad-supported free streaming service broadcasting all the local and global news in the world. Even better news, Roku TVs, Android devices, Apple devices, Chromecast TVs, and FireSticks support Haystack News.
Today, we will go through each step needed for you to set up Haystack News on your FireStick to watch all the local and global news you wish.
Contents
How to Download Haystack News on FireStick
The first step to installing Haystack News on a FireStick is finding it in the app store.
- Turn on your TV and open the source connected to the FireStick. When the home screen appears, toggle to the top left search icon. It is right next to your Amazon profile and has a magnifying glass in a circle. When you click this, a long, white search bar will pop up.
- Type in Haystack News, and the suggestion will come up.
- The free, red app icon has the words “HAYSTACK NEWS, local and world news” boldened in white font. The logo looks like two slightly tilted squares and a rectangle on the left side of the text. Click this icon.
- Once you click it, the device will prompt you to get or download the item. The download bar pops up below the icon and has an arrow backed by a white circle.
- Once it downloads, click Open at the bottom right of the screen.
- When you launch the app, Haystack News over a blue and green background comes up. Below Haystack News, it says, “Live, local and World news from over 400+ channels.” Underneath this text, there are two boxes: Get Started or sign in. If you do not have an account, click the left Get Started button. If you do have an account, click the right sign-in button, or sign in with Google or Facebook.
- If you select the Get Started option, a bunch of categories arise for you to choose from. This is meant to gauge your interest and cater channels toward your viewing preferences, and it determines what kind of news you see daily.
- After selecting which kind of categories you have the most interest in, Haystack News uses an IP tracker to locate your device. You can get around this two ways, however. One way is by typing in the city you wish to see news from. Just toggle to the top rectangular box near Set Location: and type in your desired city. It should be a gray box. During this step, you can choose to follow different local, regional, and national channels specific to the city you chose for your location. We will touch on the other option to navigate location selection later.
- Click the gray rectangular box on the bottom screen. It is in the center and will say Next.
- Now you need to choose which hashtags best apply to your interests. If you live in the UK but want to hear about New York City news, type in #newyorkcity. Limitations on news coverage do not exist with Haystack News.
- You’re all set! The home screen for Haystack News has a left menu bar with your location, the weather, a search bar, live coverage, entertainment, and politics, among other options. Whichever category you select will have live coverage in the middle of the screen and breaking news headlines on top.
Now that you’ve successfully installed Haystack News on your FireStick, let’s talk about using the app.
Using Haystack News on FireStick
1. Once you’ve downloaded and set up Haystack News, you can use it to watch all your favorite news channels. Navigate to the FireStick homepage, scroll to the search icon the same way you did to find the app, type in Haystack News, and select the app.
2. Launch the app.
3. If you plan to use this app regularly, you can move it to the home screen or anywhere you wish on your dashboard. To do this, toggle to the final box on the right side of the FireStick home screen and select it. It has a white square with three other white squares and a plus sign in one of them. This button shows every single app you have downloaded on the FireStick.
4. Locate the Haystack News icon. If you don’t see it, use the microphone on the FireStick to signal Alexa and ask for her help. Now, hold down the menu button on the remote. The menu button is the furthest button on the right side of the FireStick remote. It has three parallel white lines on it. Hold it down until a tab of options pops up on the right side of the screen. You can select between moving the app, moving it to the front, deleting it, or hiding it.
5. Select whichever option pleases you. If you move it to the front, you will always have quick access to Haystack News, and if you just choose to move the app, you can do so with the cursor button in the middle of the remote.
6. Open the app.
7. Haystack News is a user-friendly, free service. You can select the content you want to watch or scroll through the sidebar with collections of curated content.
Some News channel options include:
- ABC News
- FOX News
- Bloomberg
- Yahoo Finance
- Newsmax
- CBS
- Al Jazeera
- Newsy
- Cheddar
- CNN
Haystack News offers hundreds of other regional, national, international, and local channels and programs. If you want to change any viewing preferences, you can do so by clicking on settings in the left user bar.
8. If you do not want to watch something in high quality, or you only want to watch in the best quality available on the app, this is where you change the viewing settings. So, Haystack News offers seven different viewing preferences:
- Auto- selects the amount that best fits your device, whether that is a tablet, computer, phone, or Smart TV.
- 1080p
- 720p
- 480p
- 360p
- 240p
The lower the number, the lower the quality of the picture. You can leave auto on, but if you enjoy selecting your own picture quality, move the cursor over the one that best fits your liking and push the middle button.
9. An interesting facet of Haystack News is it offers different options for Fullscreen viewing. If you are not a fan of full-screen viewing, you can turn it off in settings, but if you like full screen, each video either plays for 20 seconds or 40 seconds on a windowed screen before expanding to fit.
Even if you turn full screen off, you can manually open a video in full screen by selecting the square white box on the bottom right of the window.
10. Do you have any news subjects you can’t stand or do not want to subject yourself to? If so, Haystack News has your back. In settings, navigate to the white circle with a line through it. The muted topics and sources box. Click on it to streamline your preferences.
If you prefer more right-wing media, you can mute any channel that disagrees with your views and if you prefer more left-wing media, you can do the exact same. You can also enter topics you do not wish to hear about in the search bar. Do this between a combination of hashtags and channels.
Additionally, Haystack News is a free service but offers a premium, paid subscription for those who choose to invest in ad-free news coverage. The free platform runs off of the revenue generated from advertisements and commercials, but if you wish to pay $5 a month, you never have to watch another ad on Haystack News again.
Other Ways to Access Haystack News – With a VPN
Remember earlier in the article when I mentioned there are two ways to divert location information on Haystack News? The first one is by inputting a different location than where you live, and the second one is by using a VPN.
What is a VPN?
VPNs or virtual private networks are subscription services that allow users to encrypt their information so they protect their identities, IP addresses, and locations. If a hacker tries to log onto your service, they won’t have the same easy access they do on a device without a VPN.
So, not only can you watch the news from different locations with a VPN, you can also protect yourself while learning about updates and happenings in the world.
Here are some VPN options that work the best with Haystack News:
Surfshark
Surfshark runs out of the Netherlands and started in 2018 and offers high-speed connection and data encryption software to make sure you stay safe while using their service. Surfshark has over 3,000 servers to choose from and operates on high-speed connections even with a high amount of users.
Surfshark offers a few plans to start:
- $12.95 a month for one month of service
- $3.99 a month for 12 months of service
- $2.49 a month for 24 months of service
Express VPN
Express VPN started in the British Virgin Islands in 2009. It offers encrypted data plans and high-speed connections. Plus, it works everywhere. In a different country or in a different room, you can use ExpressVPN without hassle.
Express VPN offers three subscriptions:
- One month for $12.95 a month
- Six months for $9.99 a month
- 12 months for $8.32 a month
NordVPN
Founded in 2012 in Panama, this VPN offers secure access to the internet, data encryption technologies, and super-speed connections. Plus, HD, 4K, and Ultra HD streaming make this a great VPN to select.
Plans include Complete, Plus, and Standard selections ranging from monthly to annual to two-year plans.
- Complete: $13.99 a month for monthly service, $6.99 a month for annual service, and $5.99 a month for two years of service.
- Plus: $12.69 a month per month, $5.69 a month for a year of service, and $4.69 a month for two years of service.
- Standard: $11.99 a month for one month of service, $4.99 a month for an annual plan, and $3.99 a month for two years of service.
How to Use a VPN to Watch Haystack News
- Turn on your FireStick, go to the home screen and toggle to the find bar, click it and open the search icon.
- Type in any VPN you wish to use.
- Download the selected VPN.
- Once it finalizes its download, launch the app.
- Type in your login information or create an account.
- Once you log in, you can select the desired location you want the server to run on.
- After the location is set, enjoy Haystack News from the data encrypted privacy of a secure VPN!
Final Thoughts
Haystack News is the best free news-based streaming platform that exists today. From curated content to local and international news, you can watch all the coverage you wish. With this step-by-step guide, you can now enjoy Haystack News on your FireStick.
Enjoy!
