Sideloading apps onto Amazon Fire TV
There are a couple ways to sideload apps onto Amazon Fire TV. You can use an Android phone, download directly from the internet or use cloud storage. I tend to go with that last method. I find it much easier to use my PC to find what I want to load and uploading to Google Drive or OneDrive takes a second. You can then access the files from your Fire TV and install directly.
First we need to enable files from unknown sources.
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Start your Fire TV and go to the Home page.
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Select Settings.
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Select Device and Developer Options.
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Toggle ‘Apps from Unknown Sources’ to on.
This setting allows you to install unofficial apps that aren’t on the Google Play Store or Amazon App Store.
Sideload apps directly onto Fire TV
This method installs a downloader app and then searches for apps directly. I find typing fiddly using the remote but you might have more luck than I.
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Start your Fire TV and go to the Home page.
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Use Search to locate the Downloader app. This allows you to install APK files directly onto Fire TV.
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Download and install Downloader.
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Open Downloader from the Apps menu and acknowledge the ‘Update Notes for Downloader’ popup if you see it.
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Select Settings within Downloader and check the box next to Enable JavaScript. This is to ensure the websites you visit using the app work properly.
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Select Home in the left menu to return to the main Downloader screen.
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Press Select to highlight the URL box in the center of the screen.
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Type the URL of the app repository in the URL box and select Go.
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Select Install when Downloader finds the file and allow the installer to complete.
