Google TV devices can access Android apps and games made especially for TVs. If you want an app that doesn’t appear in the Play Store on the TV, you can “sideload” it. We show you how to do it.
Apps and games not specifically enabled for TV will not appear in the Play Store on your Google TV device. However, that doesn̵
Sideloading is the installation of an app from outside the Play Store. Instead of the Play Store handling the download and installation process, you have to do it manually. Sideloading on Google TV is slightly different than on Android TV.
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Before we can do sideloading, you need to download an app. APK Mirror is a trusted source for downloading apps and you are not making piracy. Visit the website, find the app you want and download the APK file.
After downloading the APK, you need to move it to Google TV. The easiest way to do this is with a cloud storage service such as Google Drive. Upload the file to the Drive website or mobile app.
Finally, you need a way to access your Google Drive on the TV. We recommend an app called “File Commander”, which we will be using in this guide. Download the app and log in with your Google account.
The first step in sideloading is to allow apps to be installed from unknown sources, which is disabled by default as a security feature. First, select your profile icon in the top right corner of the Google TV home screen.
Select “Settings” from the menu.
Scroll down and select ‘System’.
Then click “About” in the system settings.
Scroll all the way down to ‘Android TV OS Build’ and select it repeatedly until a message appears that says ‘You are now a developer’.
You have now enabled the developer options, making it possible to install apps from unknown sources. Then go back to the main Settings menu and select ‘Apps’.
Scroll down and select Security & Restrictions.
Navigate to ‘Unknown sources’.
Finally, turn on the switch for “File Commander”. If we had not enabled developer options first, this option would be grayed out.
Now that we’ve enabled installing apps from unknown sources, we can finally sideload. Open File Commander on your Google TV and go to the Google Drive section.
Find the APK file you moved earlier and select it.
In the pop-up message, click on ‘Install’.
Select ‘Open’ after installation is complete.
Keep in mind that not all apps or games will work properly on Google TV. Some will be completely broken, while others will not work with a remote. However, many unsupported apps work fine. You will just have to test it and see.
