RELATED: How to Install and Use ADB, the Android Debug Bridge Utility To install the developer kit, which includes ADB, and the appropriate drivers check out our tutorial How to Install and Use ADB, the Android Debug Bridge Utility.

To follow along with the command line technique you’ll need a copy of ADB installed on your computer. This approach is handy if you’ve archived APKs on your computer and/or you’ve download an APK from a developer’s website and wish to load it directly from your computer to your Fire TV. The first technique involves using the command line interface on your computer to send Android installation files (APKs) right to your device.

There are two approaches for sideloading apps onto your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV stick both of which rely on different implementations of the Android Developer Bridge (ADB). It’s in the Amazon Appstore as a general Android download but you can’t download and install it onto the Fire TV devices (but those devices can in fact run it).įortunately for you, us, and anyone else looking to load apps on their Fire TV we can take advantage of the developer options included with the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick to load any Android application we want. Second, even when the app you want is available in the Amazon Appstore if it isn’t approved for use on the Fire TV line then you can’t download it. Kodi, the media center software formerly known as XBMC, is a perfect example of this. RELATED: HTG Reviews the Amazon Fire TV: Beefy Hardware Primed for the Amazon Ecosystem There are many developers who simply haven’t opted to port their apps over to the Appstore (or the apps contain some element that Amazon vetoed). First, despite the size of the Appstore it doesn’t compare to the Google Play store and there are many, many, apps only available via Google Play. While the Amazon Appstore has a wide selection of applications there are two big issues Fire TV owners bump into.

Make no doubt about it, however, that Amazon designed the devices to be very Amazon-ecosystem centric and there is a strong push toward you only using apps from the Amazon Appstore. The Amazon Fire TV and TV Stick are both robust Android-based streaming devices that pack a lot of power into a small footprint.

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