How to Install Google Play on an Amazon Fire TV Stick

So, you bought an Amazon Fire TV Stick and set it all up, and you are probably wondering what else you can do with it. If you’ve come across this article, the chances are you have realized that the Amazon Fire TV Stick is somewhat limited in its functionality, even if it is convenient. If you want to expand your choices for what it can do, installing the Google Play Store onto the device is a great solution. However, Google has taken the steps to stop the Play Store from running on Amazon Fire TV devices indefinitely.

Google applied updates in 2021 that halted all functionality on Amazon Fire TV devices. Although both Google and Amazon do work together to provide other functionality to some degree, the war will never be over. Therefore, a great Fire TV alternative to the Play Store is Aptoide, an Android-based service that offers thousands of usable Android apps.

There are a lot of ways to customize a Firestick and adding Aptoide to your device is no different.

Be warned, installing Aptoide on your Amazon Fire TV Stick does pose security risks since you allow third-party installations. However, even the Play Store is not 100% safe these days. Here’s how to install the Google Play alternative known as Aptoide on an Amazon Fire Stick.

1. Turn on Developer Options in Your Fire TV Stick

To get started, you need to authorize the applications that you’ll download to make this work. Follow these steps to turn on developer options.

1. Go to “Settings” on your Amazon Fire TV Stick and tap “My Fire TV.”
   
2. Select “Developer Options” to install files and apps from stores and locations outside the Amazon Fire Stick software.
   
3. Click “Apps from Unknown Sources” and “ADB Debugging” to set them to “ON.”
   

You can now move forward and download the content needed to add the Google Play Store replacement known as Aptoide to your Fire Stick.

2. Install Downloader on Your Fire Stick

1. From the “Home” screen, click on the magnifying glass in the top-right section.
   
2. Search for “Downloader.”
   
3. Select “Downloader” from the built-in Amazon App Store search results.
   
4. Click on “Download” from the Downloader store page.
   
5. Once installed and launched, select “Allow” to let the app get access to photos, media, and files on your Fire Stick device.
   

3. Install Google Account Manager on Your Fire Stick

1. On the Downloader app, type “http://bit.ly/google-manager-firestick” in the URL/Search box from the “Home” tab and select “Go.” This downloads the Google Account Manager v5.1-1743759 for Android 5.0+ devices.
2. Select “Install” once the download completes.
3. Click on “Done.” to finish the installation process.

4. Install Aptoide on Your Fire TV Stick

Since Google Play Store is no longer functional on a Fire TV Stick, you can install Aptoide (as previously mentioned) to obtain similar app store functionality.

1. Launch Downloader from your Fire Stick library.
   
2. In the URL/Search Term box of Downloader, use the Fire TV remote to type “https://tv.aptoide.com.” The home page appears.
   
3. Scroll down the Aptoide page and select “Download Aptoide TV.”
   
4. Choose “Install.”
5. Select “Open.”
6. Choose “Allow” to let Aptoide access your photos, media, and files.
7. Aptoide launches, and it is ready to download/install apps from the Aptoide Store.

5. Install Google Play Store/Aptoide Apps on Your Fire TV Stick

1. Browse or search for apps using the previously installed Aptoide Store.
2. Select the app you want to install from the list.
3. Choose “Install.”
   
4. Enjoy your Google Play Store/Aptoide app on your Fire TV Stick.
   

Play Stores and the Firestick

As you’ve now seen, the Google Play Store is currently unavailable on the Amazon Firestick, so you’ll have to download an alternate play store. Although you won’t be able to play all of the same games and apps that you could with the Google Play Store, Aptoide is one the better alternatives that still works with the Firestick.

Share your thoughts and experiences below.