Before you begin
- A set running Android TV or Google TV, or a standalone Android box
- A Google account signed in ahead of time
- The Aero IPTV login details we sent you
Not signed up yet? Put the 24 free hours to work before anything else — open a trial, watch it run, and choose a plan in US dollars only once you are happy.
The walkthrough, step by step
Get the hardware right first
Sets from Sony, TCL, Hisense and Philips ship with Android already built in. If instead you are adding a box, a Chromecast with Google TV — or an Nvidia Shield when the budget allows — is money well spent, whereas the $25 marketplace special is not. Once the hardware is sorted, choose TiviMate if the grid guide is what you are after, or Smarters for an easier start.
Open the Play Store
It usually sits along the home row; on Google TV you may have to look under Apps for it. Confirm a Google account is genuinely signed in first, because the store happily lets you browse without one and only blocks you at the point of installing.
Add your chosen player
Search for IPTV Smarters Pro or for TiviMate IPTV Player and install it. On a television rather than a tablet, TiviMate is the one to favour: its grid guide is the whole reason it exists, and for live sport nothing else really compares.
Enter your Xtream details
In TiviMate the route runs Add playlist, then Xtream Codes login; Smarters names it Login with Xtream Codes API. Both ask for the identical server URL, username and password, and both go and collect the channel list and the guide on your behalf.
Clean it up and confirm
Hide away the categories you will never open, pin the few you will, and set your language — in TiviMate these all live under Settings > Playlists. Finish by leaving a live channel on screen for a minute and making sure both the picture and the guide look correct before you walk away.
If it acts up
The player is nowhere in the Play Store
A few budget boxes are actually running the phone edition of Android, which hides apps meant only for TVs. In that case sideload the APK with Downloader, following the Firestick guide exactly as written.
The guide comes up empty
Give the initial download time to complete, then run Update EPG from the settings. Your guide arrives packaged with the login, but for the odd player that insists on one we can hand over a separate URL.
The player we would put on this one
TiviMate
The grid guide in TiviMate is what converts sport fans. How to install it on Android, add your Aero IPTV line, and judge whether Premium pays off.
IPTV Smarters Pro
A free player that spans Fire OS, Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Windows and Mac. Installing IPTV Smarters Pro, adding your Aero IPTV login and fixing snags.
Browse every guide
The full run of screens and players we cover, all in one index.
Set for your Android TV this evening?
From $15 a month across 25,000+ channels — one WhatsApp message and it is live under 15 minutes.
Android TV — common questions
Which Android box works best for this?
The Nvidia Shield is the smoothest of the lot and handles 4K HDR without breaking stride, though it costs more than a year of the subscription. A Chromecast with Google TV 4K lands right on the value sweet spot. For any generic box, hold out for 2 GB of RAM and a wired port, and treat the spec sheet with a healthy dose of doubt.
Will it run on a Chromecast with Google TV?
It does. Google TV is really Android TV wearing fresh paint, so both TiviMate and IPTV Smarters come straight from the Play Store and accept your details just as described above. It is one of the tidiest ways to get everything running.
Can I record live channels on Android TV?
TiviMate can, on its Premium tier and where the box has storage or a plugged-in drive, which is one more edge it holds over Smarters on a television. Recordings land on the device itself, so a box with a spare USB port is handy. On a plain Android TV short of storage, catch-up covers most of what people reach recording for.