# How to sideload apps on Google TV and Android TV > Canonical HTML: https://screenrig.ai/guides/sideload-android-tv-apps To sideload an app on Google TV or Android TV, install the Downloader app on the TV, type the app file's web address into it and choose Install. You only need the remote. Your AI agent can check the file before it goes near the TV. Updated October 27, 2026. ## Check the file before you install it Anyone can put an app file on the internet, so check it first. The screenRIG Player is the example here, because screenrig.ai publishes everything needed to check it. > **You:** Before I put the screenRIG Player on the TV, download the current app file and check it against screenrig.ai's list: its fingerprint, who signed it and what it asks for. > > **Agent:** It checks out. The file matches the fingerprint screenrig.ai publishes, and it's signed with the certificate screenrig.ai lists. It runs on Android 9 or newer, on 32-bit and 64-bit TVs and sticks. It asks to start itself after a restart and to show over other apps, which is how it comes back after a power cut. We ran this check on a computer, with no TV involved. A matching fingerprint proves the download is the file screenrig.ai names. The signing certificate shows who made it, and Android checks it again when you install an update over the app. ## Install it with Downloader 1. On the TV, open Google Play and install **Downloader**. 2. Ask your agent for the Player's current download address. The file name changes with every update, so your agent reads the latest from screenrig.ai. You can also find it on the [downloads page](https://screenrig.ai/downloads.md). 3. Open Downloader, type the address into its box with the remote and choose **Go**. 4. Android says installs from unknown sources aren't allowed. Choose **Settings** in the prompt, switch **Downloader** on, press **Back**, then choose **Install**. 5. Open the app. Sideloaded apps often don't show in the home screen rows, so open **Settings > Apps > See all apps**, choose **screenRIG** and select **Open**. 6. The Player opens full screen and shows a pairing code. Read it to your agent. Prefer a computer and adb, or does your TV have no Google Play? The [Players guide](https://screenrig.ai/docs/players.md#android-apk) has that route. ## Updating later Repeat the steps with the new address. Android installs the newer version over the old one and keeps the pairing. When Start on boot is on, the Player opens again by itself after the update. ## Or get it from Google Play If your TV has Google Play, the Player is a normal install with no sideloading: [get the Player on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.screenrig.player). It is the same Player. Sideload when you want the file straight from screenrig.ai. screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. ## What not to do - **Don't install the file over a Google Play copy.** The two share one app. Uninstall the Google Play version first, install the file, then pair again. If an install stops with an error, a Google Play copy is the usual cause, or a file older than the one on the TV. A Google Play install updates through Google Play. - **Don't take the Player from a mirror or a file-sharing site.** Use screenrig.ai, and ask your agent to check the file. - **Don't hack the TV's launcher to keep the app on screen.** The Player's own settings do that from the remote: see [Android TV kiosk mode](https://screenrig.ai/guides/android-tv-kiosk-mode.md). **Next:** make the TV open the Player by itself after a power cut with [Android TV kiosk mode](https://screenrig.ai/guides/android-tv-kiosk-mode.md). ## Sources - [aftvnews.com/downloader-app](https://aftvnews.com/downloader-app/) - [www.androidpolice.com/how-to-sideload-any-application-on-android-tv](https://www.androidpolice.com/how-to-sideload-any-application-on-android-tv/) - [www.guidingtech.com/sideload-apps-on-google-tv](https://www.guidingtech.com/sideload-apps-on-google-tv/) ## Related - [Android TV Kiosk Mode: Boot to Your Signage App](https://screenrig.ai/guides/android-tv-kiosk-mode.md): Make an Android TV or Google TV start on your signage after a power cut. Three settings, all on the remote. screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. - [Android TV Digital Signage App (Free)](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/android-tv.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Turn any Android TV or Google TV into a signage screen your AI agent runs, from Google Play. - [onn. Google TV Digital Signage Player, Free](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/onn-google-tv.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. A Walmart onn. Google TV stick runs your signage and keeps playing when the network drops. We tested it. - [Sony BRAVIA Digital Signage on Android TV, Free](https://screenrig.ai/digital-signage/sony-bravia.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Your Sony BRAVIA runs the Player from Google Play with no extra box, and your AI agent runs the screen. - [Digital Signage Player Apps for Every Screen](https://screenrig.ai/downloads.md): screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more. Player apps for Android TV, Amazon Signage Stick and Fire TV Sticks, Raspberry Pi, Windows, Mac and Linux. [Start free](https://screenrig.ai/docs/start.md). screenRIG is free. Pay only if you want more.