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How to install an app on Chromecast with Google TV

Google TV keeps the switch in a different place from Fire TV, and the little Chromecast is short of room, so there is one extra thing to watch. Otherwise it is the same five minutes.

Which one have you got? This guide covers the small oval Chromecast that comes with its own remote, both the 4K one and the cheaper HD one. The older Chromecast you plugged into a phone app has no apps of its own and cannot do this.

Step 1: Turn on Developer options

  1. Press the cog at the top right of the home screen, then Settings.
  2. Go to System › About.
  3. Scroll down to Android TV OS build and press the middle of the remote seven times.
  4. A message says “You are now a developer”.

Nothing about your Chromecast changes. It only makes one more menu visible.

Step 2: Allow the app that does the installing

Google TV does not have one big “allow anything” switch. You allow one app at a time, which is safer and only takes a moment.

  1. Back in Settings, go to Apps › Security & restrictions.
  2. Choose Unknown sources.
  3. Find Downloader in the list and switch it on.

If Downloader is not on that list, it is because you have not installed it yet. Do Step 3, then come back.

Step 3: Install Downloader from Google Play

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.
  1. From the home screen choose Search, or press the Assistant button and say “Downloader”.
  2. Pick the one by AFTVnews, with the orange icon, and press Install.

Step 4: Type the address, install, tidy up

  1. Open Downloader. Type the address into the box at the top and press Go.
  2. When it finishes, choose Install.
  3. Android asks once more in its own words. Choose Install again.
  4. Choose Done, then Delete to throw away the installer file.

Deleting that file matters more here than on other devices. See below.

The Chromecast runs out of room quickly. The 4K model leaves you about 4.4GB and the HD model less again. If installing fails for no obvious reason, that is usually why. Settings › System › Storage shows what is using it; clearing the cache on YouTube or Netflix often frees a surprising amount.

Installing Brownout Media Player

Same four steps. In Downloader, type this number:

4205862

or type the address brownoutapps.com/tv

The app is about 30MB, which a Chromecast has room for. When it opens it shows a QR code: scan it with your phone and enter your provider's details there instead of on the remote.

If it will not play ball

The new app is not on the home screen

Google TV's home screen shows what it wants to show. Press the house button, go along to Apps, then See all apps and scroll to the bottom. Sideloaded apps live there. Highlight it and choose Add to favourites to bring it onto the front row.

“App not installed”

Either there is no room (see the box above) or an older copy signed by somebody else is already on there. Uninstall the old one first.

The download finishes and nothing happens

Downloader was never allowed. Go back to Step 2.

“Parse error”

A typo in the address, so a web page came down instead of an app. Retype it carefully.

Other devices

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