How to install apps on a Fire TV Stick from your phone
Updated September 2026
You do not need a computer, a cable or ADB. Turn on installation from unknown sources on the Fire TV, install Send Apps to TV on your phone, and send the app across your Wi-Fi. Android's own installer does the rest.
The step almost every other method gets wrong is split APKs. Most modern apps ship as several files rather than one, and sending only the base file is exactly why so many sideloads fail with "app not installed".
Before you start: allow installs on the Fire TV
- Settings → My Fire TV → Developer options. If Developer options is not there, go to Settings → My Fire TV → About and click the Fire TV Stick name seven times to reveal it.
- Turn on "Install unknown apps" (older devices call it "Apps from Unknown Sources") for the app you will send from.
SCREENSHOT SLOT — the Developer options screen and the Install unknown apps toggle, photographed on an actual Fire TV Stick.
This setting is what Amazon provides for installing your own software. Only install apps you have the right to use, from sources you trust — an APK from a random website can contain anything.
Send the app from your phone
- Install Send Apps to TV on the phone. Nothing is needed on the Fire TV beyond the setting above.
- Put both on the same Wi-Fi. Same network, same band.
- Open the app and pick what to send — either an app already installed on your phone, or an APK, APKS, XAPK or APKM file you have.
- Choose the Fire TV from the list of devices found on your network.
- Confirm on the TV. Android's own installer shows its normal confirmation screen and installs it.
Why "app not installed" keeps happening
This is the failure everybody hits, and the cause is almost always one of four things.
| Message | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| App not installed | Split APK — you sent only the base file of a multi-part app | Send the complete APKS/XAPK, or use a tool that handles split APKs |
| App not installed | Wrong CPU architecture — an arm64-only build on a 32-bit stick | Get the universal or armeabi-v7a build |
| Parse error | The app needs a newer Android version than the Fire TV runs | Find an older release of the app |
| Install blocked | Unknown sources still off for the sending app | Enable it for that specific app, not just globally |
Send Apps to TV checks the app will actually run on the target device before it sends, so you find out about a mismatch on your phone rather than after walking over to the television.
If the Fire TV does not appear
- Different Wi-Fi bands — the phone on 5 GHz and the stick on 2.4 GHz is the most common cause.
- AP isolation on the router blocks devices from seeing each other. Turn it off.
- Guest network — move the phone to the main SSID.
- Still nothing? Work through the full checklist.