Can you add apps to element tv

Element TVs, along with Hisense, Sharp, and RCA TVs, are budget TVs that attempt to maximize your entertainment experience while cutting out some of the features that other smart TVs come with. That’s not to say that Element TVs are bad—far from it—just that they may be lacking certain features. With that said, you may be wondering if Element TVs have a Google Play Store so you can download your favorite streaming apps.

One of the features that Element TVs lack (if it doesn’t have Fire TV or Roku TV built-in) is an app store, including a Google Play Store. The base model Element smart TVs come with preloaded apps, with no other way to download new apps on their own.

Fortunately, there are other ways to get what you want on an Element TV, and that means purchasing a Roku Stick, Fire TV stick, or a Google Chromecast. Sure, it’s a little bit of an added expense, but all three of their add-ons are phenomenal when it comes to streaming channels. Read on to learn more.

How to Get Google Play Store on Element TVs

As mentioned above, there are multiple ways you can still use the Google Play Store on an Element TV, even though the base model doesn’t come with it:

Roku Stick

If you decide to go with a Roku Stick, you can get a version of the Google Play Store on there with third-party options. The problem with Google is that they removed all of their content from Roku, Amazon, and Apple devices so that Google could consolidate all of their streaming content under the YouTube banner.

This means that you can either get YouTube or go with some third-party applications if YouTube isn’t to your taste. YouTube should come with your Element TV as a preloaded app. If not, it will certainly be preloaded on your Roku Stick. If you don’t happen to have YouTube on either, it’s easy to download for the Roku Stick:

1. Press the Home button on your Roku Remote.
2. Scroll down to Streaming Channels.
3. Select Search and type in YouTube.
4. Select Add Channel.
5. Select Ok once the channel has been added.
6. Select Go to Channel.

Once you have opened the YouTube App, you will be able to view anything that you have previously purchased, in terms of streaming movies or shows, from the Google Play Store on other devices. It’s not exactly Google Play, but it’s as close as you’re going to get.

Amazon Fire Stick

Like the Roku devices and TVs, Google also went after all of its Google Play Store content on Amazon and removed them all. There is no longer any Google Play Store functionality on Amazon Fire TV, despite Amazon’s close cooperation with Google with its own brand of the Android Operating System.

The best way to get anything Google-related on Amazon is to download Aptoide. Unfortunately, Aptoid is not a preloaded app on Fire Sticks and isn’t an app that Amazon supports. It is a third-party app, so you will have to tweak the developer options:

1. Go to Settings > My Fire TV.
2. Select Developer Options.
3. Turn on ADB Debugging.
4. Turn on Apps from Unknown Sources.
5. Return to the Home Screen and select the Magnifying Glass to do a search.
6. In the Search Box, type in the word Downloader.
7. Select Downloader and Download it.
8. Launch the app and select Allow to give Downloader permission to access files on your Fire Stick.

Now, you need to install the Google Account Manager by downloading it through your new Downloader app. It’s a lot of steps, but when it’s complete, you will have the next best thing to a Google Play Store streaming channel on your Fire Stick, which means you will have it on your Element TV.

Only a few more steps and it will be done:

1. Launch the Downloader App again.
2. Select the URL Box and type in https://tv.aptoide.com.
3. This will take you to the Aptoide page, where you can scroll down to select Download Aptoide TV.
4. Choose Install > Open > Allow.

Now you are free to navigate what is essentially a Google Play Store emulator, with many of the same apps and streaming channels that you will find on the Google Play Store.

Google Chromecast

If you decide to purchase a Chromecast device for your Element TV, you won’t have to worry about doing any of the above instructions, steps, or downloads. Everything you need to access the Google Play Store on your Element TV is right on the Chromecast device.

Since not everyone is a fan of Google or Chromecast—yet appreciates the usefulness of the Google Play Store—it’s nice to have the option if you want it on any device. The Chromecast just simplifies everything. All you have to do is plug it into your Element TV and sign in.

Final Thoughts

Google kind of threw everyone a curveball when they pulled the Google Play Store from everything except Google devices. Fortunately, there is always another way for you to access this platform from your Element TV. If you don’t happen to own a Chromecast nor want one, you can access it through YouTube with Roku and Aptoid with the Fire Stick.

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