How to sideload apps on your Android TV or Google TV

The Android TV platform is one of the most diverse ones out there when it comes to app availability. Like your Android phone, you get access to the Google Play Store on your Android TV to download apps and games. However, not all Play Store apps are available for Android TV and Google TV devices. That’s where sideloading comes in handy.

Editor’s note: We used a Google Pixel 7 running Android 14 and a Chromecast with Google TV running Android TV OS 12. Some steps might slightly differ depending on your device and its software version.

What is sideloading?

Sideloading apps is a method that allows you to install applications manually. This is helpful if an app isn’t available from the Google Play Store or, in this case, if it’s not available for Android TV. It’s a lot like sideloading apps on your Android phone.

What’s great about the Android TV platform is that, unlike other smart TV operating systems, you can install an APK on it. It’s a lot like sideloading apps on your Android phone, but the difference here is that Android TV has no browser or file manager. You’ll have to figure out a way to get the file on your Android TV or Google TV device, and then find a file manager to install it.

This guide will talk about two of the simplest ways of sideloading apps on Android TVs — using Android phones and the cloud. Both methods are easy to follow and get the job done, so let’s look at how they work.

Prepare your Android TV or Google TV

Depending on your device, you might need to play with the settings a bit first. This is the case with the Chromecast with Google TV. Let’s help you figure out how to get the Android TV ready for this process.

How to enable Developer Options on Google TV:

1. Launch the Settings (gear cog).
2. Go into System.
3. Select About.
4. Highlight Android TV OS Build and press the Select button repeatedly. You should see a message saying, “You are now a developer!”

How to sideload apps on Android TV or Google TV using an Android phone

We’ll use an Android phone and a Chromecast with Google TV to go through this process. Google TV is simply an Android TV skin, so the UI might look different, but the process is nearly identical.

Let’s start by getting the APK file for the app you want to install on your Google TV. We will be using Chrome. One of the best resources to find APKs for apps you want to install on your Android TV is APKMirror. Open the website on your Android phone and download the APK of your choice. Once you download the file, let’s work on getting it to your Android TV or Google TV.

Warning: Keep in mind you’re downloading an app from an unofficial source. APKMirror is known for its verification process, and we have never encountered any issues with its files, but it’s always good to be cautious. 

You will need a couple of apps to get this done. These are Send Files To TV and File Commander Manager & Vault. You can use other alternatives, but we found these to be simple and effective. Download and install them on your Android TV. They are available straight from the Google Play Store. You’ll also need to install Send Files To TV on your Android phone.

How to sideload apps on Android TV or Google TV:

1. On your Android TV or Google TV, launch the Send Files To TV app.
2. Select the Receive option.
3. Open the Send Files To TV app on your phone and select the Send option.
4. You will now see a file menu on your phone. The APK you have downloaded should be in the Download folder. Find and select it.
5. You should see the name of your TV on your phone screen. Select it, and initiate the transfer.
6. Once the transfer is complete, you should be able to select it and hit Open on your Android TV. When you do that, you’ll ideally see a prompt to Show Settings. If you do, slide the toggle to allow manual installs from Send Files To TV.
7. Select Install. Otherwise, move on to the next step.
8. If you can’t install the app, worry not. You can still install the APK you just transferred to your TV using File Commander Manager & Vault.
9. Open the File Commander Manager & Vault app and select the Internal Storage option.
10. Here, you’ll find your transferred APK in the Download folder.
11. Select the APK file, and you should see a message on your screen saying “Staging app.”
12. You might get a prompt saying that installations from unknown sources are not allowed. If this happens, just tap on the Settings button that pops up with the message and slide the toggle next to the name of the app you’re using to install the APK (File Commander Manager & Vault or Send Files To TV). When ready, select Install.
13. Your APK should now start installing.
14. When you see the app installed message on your screen, just press Open and your app should start up.

How to sideload apps on Android TV using cloud storage

Another easy method of sideloading apps on your Android TV is through cloud storage. You can use Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or OneDrive to install APKs on your Android TV using File Commander Manager & Vault. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that this is a premium feature on File Commander Manager & Vault. Thankfully, you can get a seven-day free trial. Otherwise, you can also create an account and get access to MobiDrive, the developer’s own cloud storage solution, which gives you 5GB of cloud storage for free.

Before you get started, you’ll have to download the APK of the app you want to sideload and transfer it to your cloud storage. We used Google Drive for this guide. Many people have a Gmail account with at least 15GB of free storage, so it’s easiest to recommend.

Use cloud storage to sideload apps on Android TV:

1. Open the File Commander Manager & Vault app on your Android TV.
2. Sign in to the cloud storage account of your choice. We signed into Google Drive.
3. You should now be able to see your Google Drive files on your Android TV.
4. Select the APK file you want to install, and you’ll see a message saying, “Staging app.”
5. If you haven’t already given the necessary permissions to File Commander to install apps, you might get a prompt saying installations from unknown sources are not allowed. In this case, all you need to do is press the Show Settings option that comes with the prompt and toggle the switch on for File Commander Manager & Vault to allow it to install the APK.
6. Hit Install.
7. Your app will now continue installing and you can start using it once the download is complete.

You can also use the File Commander app to sideload apps using a USB stick or hard drive. Add the APK file to your USB drive and attach it to your Android TV, if it has a USB port. You can now open File Commander Manager & Vault on your TV to access the contents of the USB drive and follow the same steps above to install the APK.

How to open sideloaded apps on Android TV

Once you’re done sideloading an app on Android TV, you might not know where to find it when you want to open it. Unlike Android phones, you won’t see sideloaded apps in the launcher or the apps menu. However, you can still access them through the settings menu of your Android TV or Google TV device.

To find your sideloaded app, just head to the Settings (gear icon) on the home screen of your Android TV. Go to Apps > See all apps. Here, you can find and open the app you sideloaded.

If you don’t want to go through this hassle of finding the sideloaded app each time, you can simply download an app called Sideload Launcher. It lets you access all your apps in one place, including the ones you sideloaded.