In this guide, I will demonstrate how to sideload apps on Android TV Boxes. I have provided separate methods for True Android TV OS boxes and Stock Android TV Boxes. The difference between these Android boxes is explained in the first section of this post. 

You will find a wide range of Android TV Boxes in the market. However, there are only two broad categories you can put all these boxes into – True Android TV OS Boxes and Stock Android TV Boxes.

Both types of boxes offer Google Play Store support. You can download many official apps from the Play Store, such as Netflix, Hulu, Plex, etc.

However, the true potential of any streaming device is explored with third-party apps not available through the official store. Such apps need to be sideloaded or manually installed onto your device. That’s exactly what this guide is all about.

Here is what we will go through in this post:

• What is sideloading on Android TV or Google TV
• Understanding Different Types of Android TV Boxes
• How to sideload apps on True Android TV OS Boxes
• How to sideload apps on Stock Android TV Boxes
• How to sideload apps on your Android Box using a PC (works for both types of boxes)

Note: ‘True’ Android TV OS is not an official term. I have used the word ‘True’ to help you differentiate between the two types of boxes. 

What is Sideloading on Android TV or Google TV?

Sideloading is a method to install apps and services unavailable on the Google Play Store on your Android TV.

Like an Android phone, you can install an Android Application Package (APK) file on an Android TV. However, unlike an Android phone, Android TV does not support a web browser. Therefore, sideloading on Android TV isn’t as straightforward.

To sideload on Android TV, you can either use an Android phone or third-party apps like Downloader. You can also install apps from cloud storage services like Google Drive on an Android TV or Android TV box.

Let’s check our top options in detail.

Understanding Different Types of Android TV Boxes

It is important to understand the different types of Android TV Boxes to determine the sideload methods to apply to each. There are only two types of Android boxes we need to concern ourselves with:

1. True Android TV OS
2. Stock Android Box

Let’s learn a bit more about them:

True Android TV OS

These devices run on the Android OS and are fully customized for the TV experience. The True TV OS is usually found in the smart TVs with a built-in Android interface. They are also common among the more popular Android TV Box brands, such as Mi Box and Nvidia Shield.

Since the Android TV OS is specifically designed for TV screens, they also have their own version of the Google Play Store. You can download the TV version of popular streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu.

Devices with true Android TV OS are costlier. However, they use high-quality design materials, are fully responsive to the remote, and have a more user-friendly user interface.

Stock Android Box

This is the type of box that runs on the Android OS similar to (or even the same as) what is used in the Android Mobiles and Tablets.

If you use an Android phone and a stock Android TV Box, don’t be surprised if you find both running on the same Android OS version. However, TV Boxes typically do not use the latest versions.

Most Android Boxes use a modified version of Android OS that is better suited for orienting with your TV’s larger screen.

While these boxes do the basic job, they are often poorly designed with cheap materials. The interface is also not as responsive to the remote as you would like.

They are also unsuited for those who like to stream on popular and official streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, etc. That’s because they download the mobile version of these apps from the Google Play Store. The mobile apps are meant for touch devices. They are not very remote-friendly.

Nevertheless, they are still quite popular due to their low cost and easy availability.

Sideload Apps on Android TV or Google TV Using an Android Phone

If you have an Android phone, sideloading apps on Android TV doesn’t require much effort. You can simply download APK files on your Android phone and send them over to your Android TV via an app called Send Files to TV.

Please follow the steps below.

1. Download the APK file on your Android phone from a browser. Next, download Send Files to TV on your Android phone and TV.

To do that, go to the Apps menu on your Android TV and launch the Google Play Store.

2. Search for Send Files to TV and open it. Hit Install.

3. Open the app on your TV, allow the required permissions, and select Receive.

4. Launch Send Files to TV on your phone, glance over the setup guide, and tap Send. Open Downloads and find the APK file you want to send.

Please make sure your phone and TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

5. Find and select your Android TV from the following menu.

6. Select the received file and open it.

7. A Security pop-up asks you to tweak settings to install unknown apps on your Android TV. Click Show Settings.

8. Enable the toggle beside Send Files to TV. Try opening the same file.

9. Click Install, and the system extracts the APK file to add the app to your TV.

You shall find your sideloads services under the Apps menu on your Android TV.

Sideload Apps on Android TV Using Cloud Storage

If you don’t want to send APK files from your Android phone to a TV, use a cloud storage service like Google Drive or OneDrive to get the job done.

In the steps below, we will download and upload APK files to Google Drive and access them from a third-party file manager app called Solid Explorer on Android TV. Follow the steps below.

1. Launch the default browser on your Android phone and download APK files from the web.

2. Open Google Drive on your phone and tap +. Select upload. Find and upload your downloaded APK file to Google Drive.

3. Move to your Android TV and head to the Apps section. Launch Google Play Store.

4. Search and install Solid Explorer app on your Android TV (the steps are almost identical as we discussed above).

5. Launch Solid Explorer and click + in the bottom right corner. Select New cloud connection.

6. Select Google Drive and click Next.

7. Enter Display Name.

8. Login to Google Drive using your Google account details.

9. Choose your Google account.

10. Select Connect, and you are good to go. Move back to Solid Explorer home and check Google Drive.

11. Open a relevant folder where you uploaded the file.

12. Select an APK file and click Package installer at the bottom.

13. Solid Explorer downloads the file from Google Drive and opens it on your TV. A pop-up appears to give required permission to Solid Explorer to install unknown apps.

14. Enable required permission.

15. Hit Install and check your sideloaded files in no time.

You can also explore other cloud storage services like OneDrive or Dropbox to access and install APK files on your Android TV.

How to Sideload Apps on True Android TV OS Boxes Using Downloader

The True Android TV OS Box and Stock Android TV Box support the Google Play Store. However, both have different versions of the Store.

There are many apps that are not common between these two devices. One of them is: Downloader

Downloader is a sideloading tool designed for Android devices such as Android TV Boxes, FireStick, etc. This app is available through Play Store for true Android TV OS devices, such as Mi Box and Nvidia Shield.

It is NOT available on Stock Android including Stock Android TV devices, mobiles, and tablets. For Stock Android TV devices, I have provided the browser installation method separately in this guide.

We are now going to install the Downloader app and use it to sideload an app on an Android TV OS box. Follow the steps below:

Note: The following images have been taken on the Mi Box 

1. Power up your Android TV Box and wait for the home screen to load up

2. Move to the Apps menu and launch Google Play Store.

Note: You can also access Google Store from Settings (click the cog icon in the top-right corner followed by the lens icon on the next screen)

3. Click the Search option (magnifying glass) in the top-left corner.

4. Use the voice feature and look for Downloader. Or, simply type AFTVNEWS in the search box.

5. Highlight the row that displays the apps in the search result. Select Downloader in the row and click it

Note: Downloader may or may not be the first app in the search results. If not, navigate to the right until you find it

6. Click Install on the next window.

7. Wait while the Downloader app is downloaded and installed on your device

8. Click Open to run Downloader.

Note: You may also run it later from the Apps section on the home window of your Android TV Box

9. When the Downloader app is opened for the first time, it may ask you for permission. Click Allow.

10. The main window of the Downloader app now loads up. If you see a popup on the first run, press the back button to dismiss it
You will notice that the Home tab in the left section is selected by default.
In the right section, you simply need to enter the desired URL and click GO

Important!!! Make sure that the URL points directly to the APK file and not a webpage. Browser-based downloads are not supported on Android TV OS Boxes

11. Let’s download the Cinema HD APK for demonstration purposes. Type in the cinema and click GO.

12. Wait while the Cinema HD APK is downloaded on your Android TV device.

13. Click Install in the bottom right corner when prompted.

14. The system may ask permission to install unknown apps via Downloader. Enable the toggle beside Downloader.

15. Wait for the App Installed notification.

Click DONE

Note: We are going back to the Downloader app window to delete the Cinema APK file, which is no longer needed. We will run the app later from the Apps section. However, if you want to run the app right now, click OPEN

16. Click Delete

17. Click Delete again

18. Exit the Downloader app and go back to the home window of your Android TV Box. Click Apps

Note: In Mi Box it is in the left section, in the top row. If it is not in the same location on your device, find it. It won’t be difficult to locate it.

So, these are the top three ways to sideload apps on Android TV OS Box.

How to Sideload Apps on Stock Android TV Boxes

As I said before, the Downloader app is not available through the Google Play Store on the Android mobile platform. Hence, it is not available on Stock Android TV Boxes as well.

Thankfully, the stock TV devices allow browser downloads (as with Android mobiles and tablets).

To sideload apps, all you need to do is use the pre-installed browser or download one of the popular ones like Google Chrome or Firefox from Google Play Store.

I have taken the following images from the X96 Mini Android TV Box. Your device may have the same, similar or different user interface. Nevertheless, the method remains more or less the same.

1. There is a good chance you may already have a built-in browser. It is usually available from the home screen of the device. If it is not on the home screen, you may access it from the Apps drawer section

2. Some devices come preinstalled with one or more popular browsers like Chrome or Firefox.

If you don’t want to use the built-in browser and the desired browser is not preinstalled, click Google Play Store on the home window, look up for the browser and install it

3. Go to the Apps section and run the browser

4. Select the browser address bar and type the URL

Some browsers will also accept the shortened version of the URL

5. Wait while the APK is downloaded

6. Once the APK has downloaded, if the browser prompts you to run the APK, you may start the installation right away. If there is no such prompt, skip to the next step

7. Most Android Boxes (both Stock and Android TV OS) come preinstalled with a file manager (or file browser) application. You may find it on the home screen or you may go to the Apps section.

If you don’t have a file manager app, you can install one from Google Play Store

8. Run the file manager app and open the folder in your internal storage where the APK was downloaded. Usually, APK files are downloaded into the Downloads folder by default

9. Simply run the APK file to start the installation

10. Click Install

11. When the installation is finished, click OPEN and run the app. You may also access the app later from the Apps drawer

This is how you sideload the apps on stock Android TV Boxes using a browser.

Sideload Apps on Android TV Box Using a PC

If the URL points directly to the APK, you can easily sideload apps on your True Android TV OS boxes. However, if the URL opens a webpage where you must click a link to download the APK, it won’t work on the Android TV OS device. That’s because these devices do not support browser downloads.

In that case, you may sideload apps onto your TV OS Box using a computer. To do so, the following requirements must be met:

– Your Android TV OS Box and your computer must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network
– You must have a file manager application on your Android TV Box that has a PC connectivity feature

Here are the steps to sideload apps on your device using a computer:

1. Access the URL in your browser on your computer from where you wish to download the APK file and download the APK

2. Make sure your Android TV Box and computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi

3. Open the Google Play Store on your TV Box and look for a file manager utility with a PC connectivity feature (such as File Commander)

Install the file manager

4. Open the file manager app you just installed. Find the PC connectivity (or PC File Transfer) feature

5. Allow the file access to the file manager app

6. Enable PC connectivity (some file manager apps automatically enable this feature the moment you access the PC connectivity feature)

7. You must now either see an http path or ftp path depending upon the file manager you have on your Android box

Also, enable the option Allow all incoming PC Connections at the bottom

8.1. If the file manager displayed http path, open a browser on your computer and access the path
You can now access all the Android TV Box folders in your browser on the computer

You must also find the option to upload files somewhere on the webpage

Find the APK file you downloaded earlier onto your computer. Upload it into one of the folders on your Android TV Box

8.2. If the file manager gave you an ftp path open any folder on your computer and enter the ftp path in the address bar of that folder

You will now be able to view all your Android TV Box folders on the computer

You can now copy the APK file on your computer into one of the Android Box folders

9. Now go back to your Android TV Box

Use the file manager to access the folder in which you copied the APK file from your computer

Let’s say you copied the file to the Downloads folder

10. Select and click the APK file

Note: Enable Unknown Sources for the file manager app using the method I have provided in the beginning. If you haven’t done that, you will see some prompts that will allow you to enable it before the installation

11. Click Install when prompted

12. Wait for the app to install

Well, this is how we sideload apps on Android TV Box using a PC

Wrapping Up

Since there are two types of Android Boxes with different sideloading techniques, things tend to get tricky. While the stock Android box allows browser downloads, the Android TV OS boxes like Mi Box and Nvidia shield do not have any browser support.

On your Mi Box, Nvidia Shield, or TVs with built-in Android OS or Google TV system, you can use Downloader, Solid Explorer or Send Files to TV to sideload third-party apps.

If you have a URL for a webpage with the link to the APK, you could download the APK on your computer first. Later, you may use a File Manager tool on your Android TV OS Box or Android TV to connect to your computer and transfer the APK file to the device. This seems a bit complicated, but that is all we have until browser support is added to your Android TV OS boxes.

Things get a bit easier with stock Android TV boxes since you can download the files directly through the browser, whether or not the URL is pointing directly to the APK.