Brownout › Guides

How to install any app on a Fire TV Stick

Amazon's store doesn't carry everything. Anything it doesn't carry, you install yourself. It takes about four minutes and you only ever do the fiddly part once.

Is this allowed? Yes. Installing software on hardware you own is your right, and Amazon builds the setting for it into Fire OS. What you then choose to watch is between you and whoever you pay for it.

Step 1: Let your stick install apps

Out of the box, a Fire TV Stick refuses anything that didn't come from Amazon. You turn that off once, and it stays off.

  1. From the home screen, go to Settings › My Fire TV.
  2. Look for Developer options.

No Developer options? This is the bit most guides miss. On newer sticks Amazon hides it. Go to Settings › My Fire TV › About, highlight your device's name, and press Select seven times. A little counter appears and tells you how many presses are left. Go back one screen and Developer options is now there.

  1. Open Developer options › Install unknown apps.
  2. You'll see a list of apps. Find Downloader and switch it on.

If Downloader isn't in that list yet, do Step 2 first and come back. The list only shows apps you already have.

Step 2: Install Downloader

The Downloader app: an orange tile with a white D and a down arrow, and the word Downloader
Look for this orange tile. It is free.

Downloader is a free app, in Amazon's own store, that fetches a file from a web address and hands it to the installer. It's the standard way to do this and it's what every guide means by "sideloading".

  1. From the home screen, press the magnifying glass and search for Downloader.
  2. It's the one with the orange icon, by AFTVnews. Install it.

Step 3: Type in the address

Open Downloader. The first box on the screen is where the address goes. Type it with the remote, press Go, and it downloads.

Addresses are usually short on purpose. Typing a long one on a D-pad is miserable, so anyone distributing an app this way gives you something brief.

Step 4: Install it, then tidy up

  1. When the download finishes, Downloader asks if you want to install. Say Install.
  2. Android shows its own confirmation. This always appears. No app can install anything behind your back.
  3. When it's done, choose Done, then Delete to remove the installer file. It has served its purpose and it's taking up room.

Your new app is now in Apps on the home screen, usually at the end of the row. You can press and hold on it to move it to the front.

Installing Brownout Media Player

Same four steps. In Downloader, type this number:

4205862

or type the address brownoutapps.com/tv

Once it's installed, opening it shows a QR code. Scan that with your phone and you can paste your provider's link straight in. No typing a username and password with a remote.

When it goes wrong

"App not installed"

Almost always one of two things: you already have a version installed that was signed by somebody else, or the download didn't finish. Uninstall the old copy and try again.

"Parse error"

The file didn't download properly, or it isn't an app at all. A typo in the address usually lands you on a web page rather than a file. Check the address and retry.

The download gets to 100% and nothing happens

Downloader doesn't have permission yet. Go back to Step 1 and make sure the switch next to Downloader is on.

It won't install because there's no space

A 4K stick has about 5GB usable and Fire OS takes most of it. Uninstall something you don't watch, or clear the cache on whatever you do.

Other devices

The idea is the same everywhere, but the menus differ. Guides for each: