Even though a standard Android TV comes with many apps that let you start streaming videos, you will need to download more apps from the Google Play Store to meet your entertainment needs. If you can’t get third-party apps to work on your Android TV, here are some ways to fix the problem.
When Android TV can’t download apps, you have to go back to using a tablet or desktop to watch your favourite TV shows and movies. Use the tips below to install apps on your Android TV before you settle for a mediocre experience.
Android TV Not Downloading Apps
1. CHECK WI-FI CONNECTION
If you use a shaky Wi-Fi connection on your Android, you will continue to have trouble downloading apps. You can load a YouTube video on Android TV to see if the problem is still there. We have a troubleshooting guide just for Android TV’s Wi-Fi. Check it out and fix your Android TV’s Wi-Fi problems.
2. REBOOT ANDROID TV
It’s just another simple way to fix Android TV when it acts up. Keep pressing the power button on your Android TV remote and choose Restart from the side menu on your TV.
Open Play Store on your Android and try downloading apps again. If it’s still not working, move to other tricks.
3. CHECK STORAGE ON YOUR ANDROID TV
Most Android TVs have 8GB of storage space built in. Only 5GB can be used right out of the box. If you don’t have enough space on your Android TV, it will be hard to install apps. Here’s how to find out how much space your Android TV has.
Step 1: Open the Android TV home screen and select Settings gear in the top right corner.
Step 2: Scroll to the Device Preferences menu.
Step 3: Select Storage from the following menu.
Step 4: Click on Internal shared storage.
Step 5: Scroll down and check available space on your Android TV.
If you only have a few megabytes of space left on your Android TV, go to the same menu and choose Cache. When you hit OK, your Android TV will clear the cache for all apps.
4. DISABLE AND UNABLE GOOGLE PLAY STORE
You can turn off Google Play Store for a short time and then turn it back on to keep downloading apps without any problems. This is how.
Step 1: Open the Android TV Settings menu (refer to the steps above).
Step 2: Scroll to the Apps menu.
Step 3: Select See all apps.
Step 4: Scroll to Google Play Store.
Step 5: It will open the info menu in the Play Store app. Choose to turn it off, then wait a minute or two. Turn Play Store back on and try to download apps again.
5. UNINSTALL PLAY STORE UPDATES
In the background, Google Play Store automatically updates itself. Your smart TV’s app might not work right now because of a recent update. Time to get rid of the updates and go back to the stable version.
Step 1: Open the Google Play Store app info menu on your Android TV (refer to the steps above).
Step 2: Select Uninstall updates and confirm your decision.
6. CLEAR GOOGLE PLAY STORE APP CACHE
Google Play Store keeps track of your personal information and search history by collecting cache data in the background. If your Play Store cache is broken, you might have trouble with Android TV. You can clear the Play Store cache on Android TV and try to download apps again.
Step 1: Launch the Google Play Store app info menu (refer to the steps above).
Step 2: Check cache data and click on clear cache.
7. INSTALL APPS USING YOUR ANDROID PHONE
If you’re still having trouble with Play Store on Android TV, you can also use your Android phone to install apps. First, you need to make sure that your Android TV and Android phone both use the same Google account. When an app works with an Android TV, there will be a way to install it on your TV.
Step 1: Open Google Play Store on your Android phone.
Step 2: Search for an app you want to install on Android TV.
Step 3: Tap on the down arrow button beside Install.
Step 4: Enable a checkmark beside your Android TV.
Step 5: Tap on Install.
Go to the Apps menu on your Android TV, and your newly installed apps are ready to use.
8. UPDATE ANDROID TV SOFTWARE
If none of the tricks are working, you need to update the Android system on your TV. Here’s how.
Step 1: Go to Android TV Settings (check the steps above).
Step 2: Open Device Preferences.
Step 3: Select About.
Step 4: Click on System Update and check for pending updates on your TV.
ENJOY A RICH COLLECTION OF APPS ON ANDROID TV
If an app isn’t in the Google Play Store, you can always turn on developer options and sideload it onto your Android TV. But you may have trouble with the user interface (UI) because the app wasn’t made for the Android TV platform. Which fix did you use to get apps to download on your Android TV? Tell us what you found in the comments.