How to Install BitTV on FireStick and Android TV

BitTV is not on the Amazon Appstore or Google Play, so putting it on a FireStick or Android TV takes a few extra steps. None of them are hard. You allow installs from unknown sources, load the app with Downloader using code 5213135, and open it. Here is the full walkthrough, in order, with the settings screens named so you can follow along with your remote in hand.

Before you start

You need your FireStick or Android TV connected to the internet and about five free minutes. BitTV itself is small, around 8 MB in recent builds, so storage is rarely an issue. The current version is v2.1.8, and the steps below install the app the community shares through Downloader. This site does not host the app file, and our download page explains why and what to watch out for.

Step 1: Turn on developer options (FireStick)

Go to Settings, then My Fire TV, then About. Highlight your FireStick's name and press the select button on it seven times. A message tells you developer options are on. Go back one screen and you will now see a Developer Options menu. On some Fire TV versions the same setting lives under Settings, Device & Software, then About.

Step 2: Allow unknown apps

Open Developer Options and find "Apps from Unknown Sources" or "Install unknown apps". Set it to ON for the Downloader app. This is the permission that lets Downloader install BitTV. Android TV and Google TV ask for the same thing in a different place: Settings, Security & restrictions (or Privacy, then Security), then Unknown sources, and allow it for Downloader or your file manager.

Step 3: Get the Downloader app

Downloader by AFTVnews is a free, legitimate app on the Amazon Appstore and Google Play. Search for it from your device's home screen, install it, and open it. If it asks for storage permission, allow it. It needs that to save the file it fetches.

Step 4: Enter the BitTV code

In Downloader, tap the URL box on the home tab and type the code 5213135, then press Go. Downloader resolves the code and starts fetching the BitTV APK. Wait for the download to finish. If the code fails, check your internet connection and type it again slowly. Codes get shared and re-shared in the FireStick community, so a mistyped digit is the usual problem.

Step 5: Install and open

When the installer screen appears, choose Install. Android scans the file, installs it, and offers Open or Done. Pick Done first, and delete the APK file when Downloader offers, to keep your stick tidy. You will find BitTV under Your Apps & Channels. Move it to the front row if you will use it daily: highlight it, press the menu button, and choose Move to front.

Android TV notes

On Android TV boxes and smart TVs the flow is the same idea: enable unknown sources for Downloader, enter the same code, install, open. TV remotes vary, so if your TV's Downloader looks slightly different, the order of events is what matters, not the exact screen art. A USB drive with the APK also works through a file manager, if you already have the file from a phone.

If the install is blocked

"App not installed" usually means an older BitTV copy is already on the device with a different signature, or storage is full. Uninstall the old copy first, restart the device, and install again. If Downloader itself will not open links, clear its cache in Settings, Applications. More fixes, including what to do when the app opens but channels will not play, live on our BitTV not working page.

First-run tips

Once BitTV opens, give it a minute. The first launch pulls the channel list and library data, and on a slow connection the home screen can look empty for a short while. After that, set your favourites while you browse: mark the channels you actually watch so they sit at the top next time. If your household watches a lot of subtitled drama, open the subtitle settings early and adjust the display once, instead of fighting small text on every episode. The app remembers it.

Staying safe

Two habits keep you out of trouble. First, BitTV is free, so never pay anyone for the install or an "activation". Second, after installing, you can turn "Apps from Unknown Sources" back off for everything except the apps you trust. The permission is a door; leave it open only where you mean to. For the bigger picture of what the app is and does, head back to our BitTV homepage.