Android TV boxes are some of the best streaming devices on the market place. They tin can deed as Kodi boxes, Plex servers, and even gaming consoles. However, they take one odd and significant drawback: they don't come with a pre-installed browser.

If you lot search in the Google Play Store on your device, you'll discover a couple of Android Television 3rd-party browsers listed, only Google Chrome is not in that location. Is information technology possible to install Chrome on Android Television receiver? Yes! Here's how.

How to Install Chrome on Android TV

Previously, you used to be able to either install Chrome on Android TV using your figurer or (on some Android TV devices) instruct your device to install the app using a voice control. Sadly, neither of those methods work anymore.

Instead, you accept two new approaches bachelor to y'all. Both crave you to practise some sideloading.

ane. Employ a Third-Party App Store

There are several third-party app stores bachelor for Android. For the procedure described in this article, nosotros are going to apply Aptoide.

For those who don't know, Aptoide is an independent Android app store with more than two,500 apps available for you to download. All the apps on the shop are costless, pregnant it'due south worth installing the store on your device regardless of this specific process.

First, you will need to install Aptoide on your Android TV box. You do and then in two ways:

  • Via a browser: Although Google Chrome is non available in the Android TV version of the Google Play Shop, other Android Tv set browsers are available. The all-time is arguably Puffin Tv set Browser. If you install the browser, you lot can navigate toaptoi.de/television, download the installer, and run information technology from your device's default file manager.
  • Via USB: If your Android Television set box has a USB port, you lot can download the Aptoide APK on a desktop machine, motion it to a USB, and run the installer from your file director.

In one case you have installed Aptoide on your Android Tv box, the process of installing Chrome on Android TV becomes straightforward.

Merely fire up the Aptoide app and run a search (using the search box at the top of the page) for Google Chrome. Click on the right search result and select the Install button from the row of options at the top of the list's information.

Follow the on-screen prompts to confirm the installation, and Aptoide will take care of the rest.

Once the app is installed, y'all will observe it listed amongst all your other apps on the platform.

2. Use the Google Chrome APK

apk mirror chrome

The other approach is similar, but instead of using a tertiary-party app shop as a middleman, it instead relies on you grabbing a copy of the Google Chrome APK and sideloading it yourself.

Doing so has both pros and cons. On the plus side, you'll take control over which version of Google Chrome y'all install. That'due south useful if one version has bugs or doesn't work well on your device. Notwithstanding, the flipside is that the app volition not automatically update; every bit new Chrome features are unveiled by Google, you will need to update the app yourself past grabbing a reinstalling a new APK.

So, how tin can you lot install Chrome on Android TV using the app's APK file?

To brainstorm, you lot need a get a re-create of the APK file in question. There are lots are places to find Android APK files, only nosotros recommend APK Mirror or APK Pure. Both are amid the near secure APK repos on the spider web. You can download them either via the Puffin TV Browser mentioned earlier, or download information technology on your figurer and transfer it to your box using a USB stick.

Thereafter, use a file explorer on your Android TV device to locate the APK and click on information technology to beginning the installation process. There will be a couple of on-screen prompts you'll need to hold to, merely the whole process is fast and painless.

Accessing Chrome on Android TV

sideload launcher

One time yous accept installed Chrome on Android TV, y'all might not see it listed on your Android TV domicile screen (depending on the make and model of your device). Some devices will non brandish sideloaded apps alongside your other regular apps.

At that place are four ways to access sideloaded apps if it does not appear automatically:

  • Settings menu: You can access a complete listing of your apps (sideloaded and regular) from the apps department of the Settings menu.
  • Use a sideload launcher app: Several third-party Android developers have created apps that live on your home screen and provide ane-click access to sideloaded apps on your device. Some of the most popular include Sideload Launcher, Sideload Channel, and Sideload Aqueduct Launcher ii for Tv. Each of the apps has dissimilar features, so make certain you endeavor a few to see which one best meets your needs.

Regardless of which method you use, in that location's ane setting you need to modify when you launch Chrome for the first fourth dimension. Click on the three vertical dots, scroll down, and marker the checkbox side by side to Request Desktop Site. Information technology will ensure the app takes full advantage of your Tv set screen'southward real manor.

Should You Even Use Chrome on Android TV?

We understand the appeal of using Chrome on your Android TV box. Yous'll get access to your extensions, bookmarks, browsing history, and all your other customizations.

But using Chrome on Android Goggle box is not a particularly pleasant experience. The app is not optimized for utilise with a remote command, meaning that navigating spider web pages and entering search queries can quickly become a tedious task. That's why apps like Puffin are and so good; they are optimized for Boob tube remotes and thus the entire experience is much more fluid.

The lack of an Android TV-optimized version of Chrome remains one of the platform's big mysteries. However, until Google decides to accost the issue, we are stuck with these workarounds. At best, we'd recommend installing Chrome on Android TV as a backup browser. It's fine for accessing certain information, but for your day-to-twenty-four hour period browsing, stick with an Android TV optimized version.

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Near The Author

Dan Toll (1604 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2022 and has been Partnerships Managing director since July 2022. Reach out to him for inquires near sponsored content, chapter agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. Yous can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Fiscal Consultant.

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