How to Install Sideload Launcher on Google TV [Bye Bye Ads]

Here’s the most annoying thing about Google TV: you spend ten minutes sideloading an app — SmartTube, a custom IPTV player, whatever — and then it just… disappears. Gone from the home screen. Hidden away where Google wants it, not where you need it. The app is technically installed, but good luck finding it without digging through Settings every single time.

Sideload Launcher solves this in about three minutes. It’s a free APK that surfaces every app on your device — official Play Store installs and sideloaded ones — in a single clean list. No subscription, no setup complexity, no nonsense. Once it’s on your Chromecast with Google TV or Google TV Streamer 4K, all those “hidden” apps are one click away.

I’ve installed it on two Google TV devices and it’s become the first thing I set up on any new unit.

Why Google TV Hides Your Sideloaded Apps

Google TV’s default home screen is optimized for content discovery — meaning Google’s content discovery, powered by recommendations, subscriptions, and a healthy dose of ads. Sideloaded apps that didn’t come from the Play Store don’t fit that model, so they’re buried.

That’s the “ads” problem the title references. When you sideload an app like SmartTube — a free, open-source YouTube client that strips every ad from the platform — the default Google TV launcher hides it. You installed an ad-free YouTube replacement, but you can’t easily get to it. Sideload Launcher puts it right back where you can reach it.

SmartTubeFree

The same applies to any sideloaded IPTV player, streaming app, or utility you’ve installed outside the Play Store. Sideload Launcher doesn’t change what those apps do — it just makes sure you can actually launch them without a treasure hunt through Settings.

What I Tested On

Before the install steps — I ran this on a Chromecast with Google TV (4K model) running Google TV OS, and also confirmed the same TROYPOINT Toolbox method works on the Google TV Streamer 4K. The Downloader code method (250931) redirected correctly on both devices as of April 2026.

If you’re on an older Android TV device rather than true Google TV, the steps are nearly identical — though Developer Options access may work slightly differently.

Method 1: TROYPOINT Toolbox (Recommended)

This is the easiest route. The TROYPOINT Toolbox is a curated APK installer that hosts Sideload Launcher and several other useful tools — no hunting for APK download links required.

DownloaderFree

Method 2: Send Files to TV (Phone Transfer)

If you’d rather not use Downloader — or you want to grab the APK directly from APKMirror as a verified source — the phone transfer method works just as well.

Send Files to TVFree

Quick version of this method:

1. On your Android phone, download the Sideload Launcher APK from APKMirror
2. Install Send Files to TV on both your phone and your Google TV device
3. Open Send Files to TV on your phone, select the APK, and send it to your Google TV
4. On Google TV, accept the incoming file transfer
5. Locate the APK in your files, tap to install (you’ll need to grant unknown sources permission for whatever file manager you’re using)

This method takes a few more steps but gives you more control over exactly which APK version you’re installing. APKMirror is a trustworthy source — they verify APK signatures against Play Store versions.

After Installing: What Sideload Launcher Actually Looks Like

Sideload Launcher’s interface is deliberately minimal — it’s a flat alphabetical list of every app installed on your device. No recommendations, no ads, no curated rows of content Google wants you to click. Just apps.

That minimalism is the whole point. Tap the Sideload Launcher shortcut on your Google TV home screen (it adds itself as an app tile), and you get an unfiltered view of everything installed. SmartTube, your sideloaded IPTV player, anything you’ve transferred via ADB — all of it shows up.

Navigating with the Google TV remote works cleanly — the D-pad scrolls through the list without issues, and the back button exits to the regular home screen.

Sideload Launcher vs. FLauncher: Which Should You Use?

Sideload Launcher and FLauncher solve slightly different problems, and knowing the difference saves you from installing both when one will do.

Sideload Launcher is for one specific job: revealing apps that the default launcher hides. It doesn’t try to replace Google TV’s home screen — it just gives you an escape hatch to reach everything installed.

FLauncher is an open-source full launcher replacement available directly from the Google Play Store — no sideloading required to install it. It supports custom categories, app ordering, wallpapers, and has zero ads. The trade-off is that it’s still in active development with occasional bugs, and it replaces the entire Google TV experience rather than supplementing it.

If you just want to reach your sideloaded apps without changing anything else, use Sideload Launcher. If you want to overhaul the whole home screen experience, FLauncher is worth a look — and since it’s on the Play Store, there’s no sideloading risk involved.

Sideload Launcher — Pros and Cons

Known Issues and Fixes

App launches but remote input doesn’t work: This is a sideloaded app compatibility issue, not a Sideload Launcher problem. Some apps aren’t designed for 10-foot TV interfaces and don’t respond to D-pad navigation. Sideload Launcher can surface the app — it can’t fix the app’s remote support.

Install fails after download: Double-check that unknown sources is enabled specifically for Downloader (Settings → Apps → Security & Restrictions → Unknown Sources → Downloader → ON). The toggle is per-app on most Google TV versions.

Can’t find Sideload Launcher on home screen after install: It won’t appear automatically in your main app row in all cases. Look for it in the “Your Apps” section — or launch it once through Downloader’s install prompt, which will bookmark it.

250931 code isn’t working: The TROYPOINT shortcode occasionally changes. If 250931 fails, navigate directly to troypoint.com/sideload-launcher-apk in Downloader’s URL bar instead.

The “Bye Bye Ads” Part — What You Can Actually Do With This

Sideload Launcher itself doesn’t block ads. But it’s the key that unlocks the apps that do.

Once you can reliably launch sideloaded apps from your Google TV home screen, a few use cases open up:

• SmartTube — an open-source YouTube client with zero ads, no sponsored segments, and background playback. It’s sideload-only, and without Sideload Launcher it’s a pain to reach. With it, one tap from your home screen.
• Ad-free IPTV players — apps like TiviMate don’t have the same ad injection that some built-in streaming apps run.
• Alternative browsers — some users sideload browsers that support uBlock Origin or similar extensions.

The short version: Sideload Launcher is the infrastructure. What you build on top of it is up to you.

For more on what you can sideload and how to do it safely, the complete sideloading guide covers the full workflow — including ADB methods if you want to skip the Downloader step entirely. And if you’re comparing Google TV against other streaming devices before committing, Firestick vs Roku vs Chromecast breaks down exactly where each platform wins.

Protect Yourself While Sideloading

SurfsharkPaid

Any time you’re pulling APKs from outside the Play Store, your ISP can see the traffic. Most of the time that’s fine — but if you’re using sideloaded streaming apps or IPTV services, a VPN is worth having from the start. It encrypts the connection so your ISP can’t monitor what you’re downloading or streaming.

Surfshark is what I have running on my Google TV — it’s on the Play Store so no sideloading required, costs under $3/month, and the Fire TV / Android TV app connects with one tap. For the best VPN options compared side by side, the full roundup covers everything from speed to privacy policy.

Get Surfshark — 86% Off + 3 Months Free

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Wrapping Up

Sideload Launcher is one of those utilities that should be on every Google TV device by default — it fixes a genuine annoyance in Google TV’s design without touching anything you don’t want changed. Install it, launch it once, and your sideloaded apps stop disappearing.

The TROYPOINT Toolbox method (Downloader code 250931) is the fastest route. Ten minutes start to finish including all the permission steps. Free, no subscription, works on every current Google TV device I’ve tested.

If you want a fuller launcher overhaul rather than just app visibility, FLauncher from the Play Store is worth the look — no sideloading required and more customization options. But for the simple “show me all my apps” fix, Sideload Launcher does the job cleanly.

For what to install once you’ve got Sideload Launcher running, SmartTube is the first app I’d add — ad-free YouTube with full remote support.

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Last updated: April 2026