How to sideload apps on Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

Sideloading means installing an app that is not in the Amazon Appstore, from its developer’s own website. Fire TV allows it, but keeps the switch out of sight. You need the Fire TV remote, a network connection and the web address of the app you want. The steps below use ZiroTV as the example; any app that offers an APK file for Fire TV installs the same way.

Check your Fire TV can sideload

Most Fire TV devices run Fire OS, which is built on Android and installs APK files. A few newer models run Vega OS, Amazon’s own system, which installs apps only from the Amazon Appstore. So far that means the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and the 2026 Fire TV Stick HD. To see which one you have:

1. Open Settings > My Fire TV > About. On a TV with Fire TV built in, it is Settings > Device & Software > About.
2. Look at the software version. If it names Fire OS, carry on. If it is a plain number that starts with 1, the device runs Vega OS and none of the steps below will work on it.

The same screen shows which Fire OS version you have. ZiroTV needs Fire OS 6 or newer.

Step 1: Install Downloader

Downloader is a free app by AFTVnews that fetches a file from the web and hands it to the Fire TV installer. It is the usual route because you type a short address or a number code with the remote and nothing else.

1. On the Fire TV home screen, open search: the magnifying glass in the menu, or Find > Search on some models.
2. Type Downloader and select the Downloader app by AFTVnews in the results.
3. Select Get (on some models, Download) and wait for it to install. You do not need to open it yet.

Step 2: Turn on Developer options

Amazon hides Developer options until you ask for them. You only do this once per device.

1. Go to Settings > My Fire TV > About.
2. With the first line highlighted, the one with your device’s name (for example Fire TV Stick 4K), press the select button seven times, until a message says you are a developer.
3. Press Back once. Developer options now appears in the My Fire TV menu.

On older Fire OS versions, Developer options is already visible and you can skip this step.

Step 3: Allow Downloader to install apps

1. Go to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer options > Install unknown apps.
2. Find Downloader in the list and select it, so it reads On.

On older Fire OS versions there is one switch instead of a list: Apps from Unknown Sources. Turn it on, and confirm when the Fire TV warns you. Leave ADB debugging off unless you install from a computer, as described further down.

Step 4: Download and install the app

1. Open Downloader. The first time, allow it to access files on your Fire TV and dismiss any notes it shows.
2. On Downloader’s Home tab, select the address box and type the app’s web address. For ZiroTV, that is zirotv.com/apk.
3. Select Go. Downloader fetches the file and then opens the installer.
4. Select Install. When it is done, select Open to start the app, or Done to go back.
5. Downloader then offers to delete the file. Select Delete and confirm: the app stays installed, and the space comes back.

How to install an APK without Downloader

Downloader is the quickest route, not the only one. Whichever app opens the file needs the same permission from step 3, so turn it on for that app instead.

From your phone, with Send files to TV

1. Install Send files to TV on the Fire TV from the Amazon Appstore, and on your Android phone from Google Play.
2. Download the APK on your phone.
3. Open the app on both. Choose Receive on the Fire TV and Send on the phone, then pick the file and your Fire TV.
4. On the Fire TV, open the file that arrived and select Install.

From a computer, with ADB

ADB is Google’s developer tool for Android. It suits people who already have it installed on a computer on the same network.

1. Turn on ADB debugging in Settings > My Fire TV > Developer options.
2. Find the Fire TV’s IP address under Settings > My Fire TV > About > Network.
3. On the computer, connect and install, replacing the address and file name with your own:

adb connect 192.168.1.20
adb install app.apk

The first time, the Fire TV asks whether to allow debugging from that computer. Select OK. Turn ADB debugging off again when you are done.

Is sideloading safe?

The switch itself is safe. What matters is where the file comes from, because nothing from outside the Appstore is checked by Amazon. Download apps only from their developer’s own website, and be wary of modified versions of paid apps and of any app that comes with free channels or films: those are the ones that carry malware and unlicensed streams.

On Fire OS 7 and newer, the permission belongs to one app at a time, so allowing Downloader lets nothing else install. You can switch it off again after installing, and the apps you installed keep working. An app that updates itself, as ZiroTV does, may ask for the same permission the first time it installs an update.

Troubleshooting

Developer options does not appear

Press select on the device name line itself, not on the About heading, and press it seven times in a row. On a TV with Fire TV built in, look under Settings > Device & Software. If the software version is a plain number starting with 1, the device runs Vega OS and has no Developer options for sideloading.

Downloader is missing from Install unknown apps

Some Fire OS 7 and 8 updates leave apps out of the list. Open Downloader once, then check the list again. If it is still missing, install any waiting update under Settings > My Fire TV > About > Check for Updates, restart under Settings > My Fire TV > Restart, and look again. Send files to TV is a way round it in the meantime.

“App not installed” or “There was a problem parsing the package”

The download was cut short, the Fire TV is too old for the app, or storage is full. Delete the file in Downloader and download it again, check the Fire OS version on the About screen, and free up space. If an older copy of the same app came from somewhere else, uninstall it first: Android will not install an update signed by a different developer.

The download fails straight away

Check the address for typing mistakes: Downloader needs it exactly. A clock that is far out also breaks secure downloads, so check the time zone under Settings > Preferences > Time Zone, and restart the Fire TV if the clock is still wrong.

The Fire TV is short on storage

Go to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, uninstall apps you no longer use, and clear the cache of the ones you keep. Let Downloader delete each file after installing.

Still stuck installing ZiroTV? The download page lists the fix for each message, and support can help. Once it is installed, find out which playlist login to use.