Install Surfex on a television
There is no store listing to tap, so the APK is sideloaded. Four ways to get it across, easiest first — the first one needs nothing but the remote in your hand.
That address hands back the current release's APK, so it never needs updating and there is no version number to type.
Downloader by AFTVnews
Install Downloader from the Play Store or Amazon Appstore, open it, and type the APK link into its URL box. It fetches the current release straight from GitHub and offers to install it.
- 1. Install Downloader on the television and open it
- 2. Type the download URL into the URL box and press Go
- 3. Let it download, then choose Install when it asks
- 4. If Android says installs are blocked, allow Downloader in the dialog and confirm
Send it from your phone
Install a transfer app — Send Files to TV is the easiest — on both your phone and television. Download the APK on your phone, then send it across and open it on the TV.
- 1. Install Send Files to TV on both phone and television
- 2. Download Surfex.apk on your phone from this website
- 3. Send it to the TV, and open the received file
- 4. Allow installs from the transfer app when Android prompts
A USB flash drive
Copy the APK onto a USB drive, plug it into the television and open it with a solid file manager like X-plore or FX File Explorer.
- 1. Copy Surfex.apk onto a USB drive from your computer
- 2. Install X-plore or FX File Explorer on your television
- 3. Plug the USB in, open the APK file in the file manager
- 4. Allow install permission when Android asks
ADB, over the network
If the television already has developer options turned on, this is one command and no prompts on the television screen at all.
- 1. Settings → Device Preferences → About, click Build 7 times
- 2. Turn on Network Debugging in Developer Options
- 3.
adb connect 192.168.1.50:5555(TV's IP address) - 4.
adb install -r Surfex.apk
Why it is not on the Play Store
Surfex is sideloaded because a BitTorrent streaming player is not something Google's store lists. Every APK comes directly from the open-source release workflow on GitHub.
Updating is the same as installing
Every release is cryptographically signed with the same key, so a new APK installs directly over the old one and keeps your library, history, watchlist, and settings intact.
What it runs on
Android TV or Google TV 8 or newer, which covers Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield, Fire TV sticks and boxes, and most smart television sets since 2018.
If the install is refused
Android blocks sideloading per app, not once for the entire device. Grant the "Install unknown apps" permission to whichever app opens the APK (Downloader, Send Files to TV, or your File Manager).