3 Simple Ways To Install Third-Party Apps On Samsung Smart TV

Third-party apps are simply apps that are not available on the app store of your device. These are apps made by other developers and have not been managed to get themselves listed on the device’s store officially via the company.

How to install 3d-party apps on Samsung Smart TV? You can either use the command prompt on your computer, APK files, or install apps by using a USB drive. By far the easiest way is to get a streaming device like Chromecast/Firestick or an Android TV with Google Play Store.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to download these apps since they are just regular apps downloaded from other places on the internet (and not the app store). There are plenty of ways to do these, and this guide covers most of them. Check out the list of the best streaming devices on Amazon now!

Can I Add Apps to my Samsung Smart TV?

A smart TV would be useless if you cannot edit the apps section and add or delete it according to your liking.

• You can download any app from this listing or download any other third-party app to your Samsung TV provided it’s not running Tizen OS.
• You can add the set of preinstalled apps by navigating to the “Apps” option on the home screen of your Samsung smart TV.
• You need to check if the third-party app that will be downloaded is compatible with the TV’s configurations or not.

You would also need a computer and an internet connection to complete your downloads. The internet connections on both devices need to be the same (IP address should be the same) in order to download the apps.

Here is how to add regular apps to your Samsung Smart TV:

1. Press the Smart Hub button on your remote
2. Select Apps
3. Search for the app by selecting Magnifying glass icon
4. Type the name of your app
5. Click Done
6. Select Download
7. Open the downloaded app

The ways to download third-party apps are discussed in detail below.

Can you Install APK on Samsung Smart TV?

The answer is it depends. If your Samsung TV is Tizen-based, you can’t sideload any apps or APK files. But some models of TV, usually produced before 2015, will let you do that.

To do that, you will need to enable developer’s mode on your TV, access the “installation from unknown sources” and from there you have a few options to choose from.

You can either use the command prompt on your computer, APK files or install apps by using a USB drive. Below you will find the instruction for these methods.

Plus, if you can’t be bothered to deal with all the files, you can just purchase a streaming stick like Firestick and get access to many apps that weren’t originally on your Samsung TV.

How to Install Third-Party Apps on Samsung TV

Two major options need to be enabled before downloading your desired third-party app.

You need to enable the “developer mode” as well as the “installation from unknown sources” option.

The steps for enabling the developer mode are as follow:

1. From your Settings menu, go to the Samsung Smart Hub. You need to click the “apps” option in this Hub.
2. To access this section, the TV would ask for a pin. Enter the default pin for all Samsung smart TVs. This default pin is 12345.
3. The developer mode window will open. You need to turn on this option and enter the IP address of the computer you will be using to download the third-party apps.
4. The last step is to reboot your TV (turn it off and on again).

The steps for accessing the “installation from unknown sources” is as follows:

1. From your settings (on the TV), go to the Personal tab.
2. Open the option of “security” in this tab.
3. In the security option, you will see the option for enabling “unknown sources.”
4. Enabling it will allow you to finally download the apps that you want to.

1. How to Add Apps to Samsung Smart TV via Command Prompt

Now that the prerequisites are out of the way, you can finally explore the different ways available to you to download these third-party apps.

The first way is to download through the command prompt on your computer.

The steps to do that are explained below:

1. Get the IP address from your smart TV via the network option on its settings. Write it down as you will need to write it in the command prompt.
2. There are many websites that give you good APK apps. Select the website that suits you the best and download your app’s APK version from any online source.
3. On your Windows computer, run the command prompt from the search bar. Run it as an administrator by right-clicking on the name.
4. Run the command adb connect ABC.XYZ.w.mno. The letters represent your TV’s IP. Enter the one you just copied from the network settings. After this command, your computer will be connected to your TV via Wi-Fi. Run the command install C\app.apk. In this case, the “C” was the drive we used to download the initial APK app on. You must input the drive where you have downloaded your APK version. Give it some time, and your app will be downloaded on your TV.
5. You can disconnect via ADB disconnect (enter IP address here). 
6. Find your new app on your Smart Hub.

2. How to Add Apps to Samsung Smart TV via USB

The second way to install apps is by using a USB drive.

Examine the steps below to find out how you must proceed in this method:

1. Download the APK version from the website of your choosing. Download the file onto your computer. Make sure it is a “.apk” file.
2. Transfer this file to the USB drive you will be using. Insert this USB drive into your Samsung Smart TV.
3. Access the USB drive like you normally would. Enter its files and folders and see that your APK file is there.
4. Click on it to install the file and follow the onscreen instructions to finish installing this app.
5. You will find the app in your Smart Hub after the installation process has been completed.

3. How to Install APK on Samsung Smart TV

You can also directly download the APK app on your TV if you have a browser option. This way would not require a computer.

The steps to download an APK file directly are as follows:

1. Search for the website that lets you download APK files and open them on your browser.
2. Look for the app that you want to download and select it.
3. Download the app after selecting it on your browser. Let it download, and when it is done, you can click on it again to install the app.
4. Follow the instructions on the TV to complete the installation.

How to Install Android Apps on Samsung Smart TV

Many Android apps can be downloaded on your device even if they may be available on the App Store or not.

Make sure that the APK app you download is compatible with the TV. Even though the Samsung Smart TV is not an Android TV, you can still go forward and download any Android apps on it in the ways that have been described above.

They are bound to work since the Samsung operating software cannot distinguish between apps that have been downloaded from the store or from the APK platforms discussed above. The apps will run smoothly because of this characteristic.

So, if you want to use Android on a smart TV that does not have Android, you can either use APK files to get the desired app or also get an Android set-top box and connect it to your Samsung TV using HDMI and you will be able to use any Android app that is available.

Here are the steps to get Android apps on your Samsung TV:

1. Download the APK files of the app you need
2. Connect a USB flash drive to your computer/laptop.
3. Copy the APK file to your USB device.
4. Connect the USB to your smart TV.
5. Using file explorer on your TV, find and click on the file to install it and follow the onscreen instructions to finish the process.
6. You will find the app in your Smart Hub after the installation process has been completed.

How to Install Google Play on Samsung Smart TV

The Tizen OS on the Samsung Smart TV is not preferred by many users who have experienced the Android TV OS; therefore, all these third-party apps are quite popular amongst Samsung Smart TV users.

However, Samsung users can rejoice since they can access Google Play by using APK files or purchasing an Android set-top box. Access the listings by following the steps below:

1. Download the Play Store APK
2. Connect a USB flash drive to your computer/laptop.
3. Copy the APK file to your USB device.
4. Connect the USB to your smart TV.
5. Using file explorer on your TV, find and click on the file to install it and follow the onscreen instructions to finish installing the Google Play app.
6. You will find the app in your Smart Hub after the installation process has been completed.

How to Add Apps to an Older Samsung Smart TV

The older TVs like the 2011 or the 2012 version of the Samsung Smart TVs have the Smart Hub that allows users to download apps like Netflix directly from the store.

However, like the newer version, the older versions were also based on Tizen OS and had the same limitations. To overcome these limitations, you can download third-party apps on your older TVs in the same ways that have been described in this article.

The only things that you need to be worried about are the locations of the different options like the “developer mode” and the “unknown sources” option.

They can be found in the menu option that is found on many remotes of the Samsung Smart TV from that period.

If you have tried all the steps described below, but still can’t get your desired app, just get a streaming stick like Firestick, that will solve all your problems.

Follow the steps below to get more information on how to download third-party apps on an older version of the Samsung Smart TV(2011-1014):

1. Find the “developer mode” and the “unknown sources” option on your older Samsung Smart TV through the menu options. You need to navigate through the various options to access the developer mode under the apps option.
2. Then use an APK website to download the older version that is compatible with your older TV.
3. Use one of the three ways described above to complete the installation of the desired third-party app on your TV.

Follow these steps to add regular apps to your older Samsung Smart TV(2011-1014):

1. Press the Smart Hub button on your remote
2. Select Apps
3. Search for the app by selecting Magnifying glass icon
4. Type the name of your app
5. Click Done
6. Select Download
7. Open the downloaded app

Conclusion

The Samsung Smart Tv is a great option for viewers all over the world. However, their app store limitations demotivate the viewers to buy a Samsung Smart TV.

However, there is a workaround, and you can download third-party apps to compensate for the lack of apps on the app store provided by Samsung. The many ways to do this have been explored in detail under this heading.