Android TV is one of the most popular operating systems for home entertainment and media streaming. Popular dedicated hardware like the Xiaomi Mi Box, Google TV Streamer, and Nvidia Shield Pro bring the optimized 10-foot leanback television interface to your living room. However, you don’t need to purchase dedicated hardware—you can repurpose an old PC, desktop tower, or laptop into a powerful Android TV media hub. By installing Android TV x86, you can either wipe an old computer completely or set up a clean dual-boot system alongside Windows 11/10. Here is the verified step-by-step guide on how to install Android TV OS on any PC or laptop in 2026.
⚡ Quick Summary: How to Install Android TV OS on PC
To install Android TV OS on any PC or laptop: 1) Shrink your Windows drive by 10–16 GB in Disk Management to create an unallocated partition. 2) Download the 64-bit Android TV x86 ISO and Rufus. 3) Flash the ISO to an 8 GB USB flash drive using MBR or GPT scheme. 4) Reboot your PC into the Boot Menu (press F12, F11, or F9) and boot from the USB drive. 5) Choose Installation, select the dedicated partition, format it as EXT4, and install GRUB to enable dual-boot. 6) Reboot into your new Android TV home screen and sign in with your Google account.
Best OS Options to Turn an Old PC into a TV Box (2026 Comparison)
Before installing, consider which lightweight operating system best fits your old PC hardware and media streaming expectations:
| Operating System | Best For | Play Store Support | Remote / TV UI | Hardware Overhead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android TV x86 | Living room TV conversion, streaming APKs | Yes (Android TV Store) | Native 10-foot UI | Ultra Light (1 GB RAM min) |
| ChromeOS Flex | Web browsing, YouTube, Netflix in browser | No (Web apps only) | Desktop / Mouse UI | Light (4 GB RAM recommended) |
| Bliss OS (x86) | Android games, multitasking desktop | Yes (Standard Android) | Desktop Taskbar UI | Moderate (2–4 GB RAM) |
| PrimeOS | Android gaming with keyboard keymapping | Yes (Full Play Store) | Gaming Desktop UI | Moderate (4 GB RAM min) |
Minimum Hardware Requirements for Android TV on PC
| Component | Minimum Requirement | Recommended for 1080p/4K Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Processor (CPU) | 1.2 GHz dual-core 64-bit Intel / AMD | Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3 or higher |
| System RAM | 1 GB RAM | 2 GB – 4 GB RAM |
| Storage Drive | 10 GB Free Disk Space | 20 GB+ SSD or HDD partition |
| Graphics (GPU) | Intel HD Graphics / Mesa 3D | Intel UHD 620 / NVIDIA / AMD Radeon |
| USB Flash Drive | 8 GB USB 2.0 Drive | 16 GB USB 3.0 / 3.1 Flash Drive |
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Install Android TV OS on PC or Laptop
Follow these 6 structured steps to prepare your partition, flash the installer, and complete the installation without risking your primary Windows files.
Step 1: Create a Dedicated Partition in Windows Disk Management
If you want to keep Windows alongside Android TV (Dual Boot), carve out dedicated unallocated space:
- Right-click on the Windows Start Menu and select Disk Management.
- Locate your primary drive (usually
C:or a secondary data partition with plenty of free room). - Right-click on the drive volume and select Shrink Volume.
- Enter 10240 MB (for 10 GB) or 16384 MB (for 16 GB) in “Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB” and click Shrink.
- Right-click on the new unallocated space, select New Simple Volume, format it with NTFS, and label it
Android TVso you can easily identify it during installation.
Step 2: Download the Android TV x86 ISO and Rufus Tool
To flash Android TV to a USB drive, you need the compiled x86 operating system ISO image and the flashing tool:
- Download Android TV x86 ISO: Grab the verified 64-bit image from the Android TV x86 64-Bit ISO Archive (Kernel 4.19+ with wide hardware compatibility).
- Download Rufus Flashing Tool: Download the latest portable version of Rufus (free, open-source utility).
Step 3: Create Bootable USB Drive with Rufus
Insert an empty 8 GB or 16 GB USB flash drive into your computer. (Note: All data on the USB stick will be erased).
- Open Rufus with administrator permissions.
- Under Device, select your USB flash drive.
- Under Boot selection, click SELECT and browse to the downloaded
ATV-9-x86...isofile. - Set Partition scheme: Choose GPT if your PC uses modern UEFI BIOS; choose MBR if installing on older legacy BIOS systems.
- Click START. If prompted with write mode options, choose Write in ISO Image mode (Recommended) and click OK.
Step 4: Boot Your PC into the Boot Menu
Once Rufus displays READY, keep the USB drive plugged in and restart your computer:
- Immediately tap your computer’s Boot Menu key repeatedly as soon as the manufacturer logo appears:
- Dell / HP: F12 or F9
- Lenovo: F12 or Novo Button
- Asus / Acer: F8 or F12
- MSI / Gigabyte: F11 or F12
- In the Boot Menu list, select your UEFI / USB Flash Drive and press Enter.
Step 5: Run Installation, Format Partition as EXT4, and Install GRUB
When the blue GRUB installer menu appears on your monitor:
- Select Installation – Install Android-x86 to harddisk and press Enter.
- Select Partition: Carefully locate the partition you created in Step 1 (look for the size matching ~10 GB or ~16 GB, e.g.,
sda3ornvme0n1p4). Do not select your primary Windows C: drive! - Format File System: Choose ext4 file system for optimal Android performance and file permissions. Press Enter and confirm YES to format.
- Install GRUB Bootloader: When prompted “Do you want to install boot loader GRUB?”, select YES. GRUB will automatically detect Windows and add dual-boot boot entries.
- EFI GRUB2: If asked to install EFI GRUB2, select YES. When asked to format the EFI partition, select SKIP / NO so you don’t overwrite the Windows EFI bootloader.
- When prompted “Do you want to install /system directory as read-write?”, select YES (essential for modifying system apps and rooting later).
Step 6: First-Time Setup & Google Play Store Configuration
After the installer finishes writing files, select Run Android-x86 or restart your computer and unplug the USB drive.
- Upon boot, you will be greeted by the familiar Android TV animated logo.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to select your Language, connect to your Wi-Fi network, and sign in with your Google Account.
- Once signed in, open the Google Play Store for TV and install your favorite media streaming applications including YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Plex, and VLC.
How to Control Android TV on PC Using Your Smartphone
While you can use a USB keyboard and mouse, navigating a 10-foot television interface with a mouse cursor feels clunky. The best way to control your new Android TV PC is with the official Google TV virtual remote on your iPhone or Android smartphone:
- Ensure your smartphone and the Android TV PC are connected to the exact same Wi-Fi network.
- Install the Google Home or Google TV app from the Play Store or App Store.
- Open the app—it will discover your Android TV PC automatically under local devices.
- Tap the device and tap Open Remote. Enter the 6-digit pairing code displayed on your PC screen.
- You now have a responsive D-pad remote, volume control, and phone keyboard input for fast typing on your TV!
Recommended Next Steps: Optimize Your Android TV PC Setup
Once your Android TV PC is running, make the experience significantly faster and eliminate annoying ads:
- Replace the stock launcher with an ad-free home screen: Check out our complete tutorial on How to Install Projectivy Launcher and Remove Ads on Android TV & Google TV.
- Remove bloatware and unnecessary background services: Follow our guide on How to Debloat Android TV & Google TV Without PC or Root to free up system memory and improve responsiveness.
- Explore lightweight custom launchers: See our comprehensive ranking of the 18 Best Android TV Launchers (2026): Clean UI & Zero Ads.
- Essential streaming and utility apps: Browse the 25 Best Android TV Apps for Streaming, File Management & Utilities.
- Virtual mouse control: Turn your remote into a pointer with our tutorial on Using Android TV Remote as a Virtual Mouse.
it works perfectly but when we connect it to a tv with hdmi cable it works perfectly but the audio is not transferred through hdmi can any one help me to fix it
hey, can you try to connect external speakers in 3.5mm jack it might help you to fix this issue.
thank you so much it worked but i have a doubt can we configure a normal tv remote to this
Use an aux cable it will work
it works very great but may i know how to use the inbuilt chromecast and how to sideload the apps in to it because it is not working when i try side loading the apps in to it
Hey, you can use Chromecast apps available on the android tv play store. Check out the step by step guide to sideloading the app on android tv
https://gadgetjunction.in/best-way-to-install-any-app-on-android-tv/
pls help me how to use the chromecast and bluetooth functionality pls tell me for me it is not working pls reply pls pls pls pls
pls reply pls it is very usefule if you answer
hello. my wifi stopped working and it only gives me a VirtWifi signal?
is there also a way to display a fullscreen on a tv with the HDMI cable. because it doesn’t go full screen
How to connect to tv with hdmi? I installed it on to a laptop. Thanks
you can directly connect an HDMI cable from a laptop to a TV TV will automatically detect it.
I have an issue with the setup. I can get everything installed and working, but when trying to sign in the email field pops up then vanishes taking it back to the home screen with the sign in button. Is there something ive done wrong?
Hey, try to restart your system and select the Android TV (Laptop Mode) option.
Thanks for the answer. I actually discovered that the issue was the computer i used defaulted to legacy boot instead of UEFI. once i switched that it started working.
That’s Great 🙂
I am having the same problem and cant figure out how to sign in.
What error were you getting before
that didn’t worked🙁
What problem are you getting
I could not get wifi and audio to work. Disappointing.
I cannot play netflix on it. What should I do?
Hey, try to sideload the Netflix app.
Hi,
Thanks for this tutorial. But when I try to launch Android TV after installation, I only have a blue sqaure on a blackscreen and nothing happens. Do you have any clue to help me ?
me too… did you get any solution for this problem??
I have the same problem…
Excellent tutorial. It working very well. But How to get audio from HDMI port instade of 3.5mm audio out jack?
Go to settings>sound>output
I have problem with HDMI
its shows black screen in tv but perfectly in laptop screen
how can i fix that
Hi this is for those that may be encountering a black screen after clicking on install this is an issue to do with the disk encryption, check the partition made and ensure that its not encrypted if so go to :Settings >>Device encryption>>Turn off device encryption
Really sad that this tutorial didn’t cover using a fresh new HDD/SSD, i don’t understand why someone would just use a partition, anyway it halt for me as it don’t detect my SSD and i have no clue how to add a partition to Linux
Hi Frankie, it looks like your SSD/HDD is not visible on Step 13, I would recommend that before installation have a quick check is SSD/HDD connected properly or not. If SSD/HDD is connected you can directly follow STEP 12 for installation.
Bluetooth does not work in this?
my devices are not getting detected.
Hey, on my laptop Bluetooth is working, might be an incompatible driver causing this issue.
It seems that it is running on Android 9, without any possibility to update to the latest version.
Is there already something with android 12?
I only get the option to add an other Wifi, but my PC only has a LAN connection. How do i get that recognised by the installer?
Did you find a solution to this?
Same issue. no Ethernet, just wifi.
i installed android on my old pc, and it doesnt boot
That is strange, is android tv installed correctly?
Hi, I can not find the app “android t remote” on google play. can you give me some pictures of the app? thanks.
hey, you can install cetusplay app or zank remote app from android tv playstore. Here is a quick guide you can follow to use your phone as mouse/keyboard or gamepad on android tv https://gadgetjunction.in/use-phone-as-android-tv-gamepad/
Nice! Thank you. I got it.
I am having trouble with the build, I am trying to run netflix but it keeps throwing up the error ui-800-3 (207006) and when i try to install the update it says that the system update is “Null”.
I am having trouble with the build, I am trying to run netflix but it keeps throwing up the error ui-800-3 (207006) and when i try to install the update it says that the system update is “Null”.
Can this be done with the latest Android version? 9 is very old now.
No, as of now only Android TV 9 version is compatible with Intel and AMD processors.
How do I install an apk file?
hey, you can check out this article How to Sideload Apps on Android TV: The Top 3 Methods
Keeps getting stuck on Syncing the disk. Any ideas?
di laptop acer 4810t tidak jalan
It works great on HP T620! But I can’t play videos on SmartTubeNext…
Try to install the older version of smartTube.
The iso link is no longer available 🙁
We have updated it with a new link, thank you for letting us know 🙂
The mega download link is dead, can you re-upload?
Thank you for letting us know, new link has been updated. We really appreciate it!
Doesn’t boot if no usb is attached any solutions ?
Hey, it looks like you are playing a live image of android tv from the USB drive. You need to install android tv on a particular partition to use android tv without a USB drive.
Hello, I have two questions, please answer them:
1. Do communication methods such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi work on this version?
2. Can I install all Android apps from Flash or can we install only Android TV apps?
Yes, you can use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for controlling android tv and you can install some android smartphone apps on android tv apps, not all smartphone apps are compatible with android TV.
You can check out these two articles
Use smartphone apps on android tv :-
https://gadgetjunction.in/smartphone-apps-on-android-tv/
To use smartphone as android tv remote :-
https://gadgetjunction.in/smartphone-as-gamepad-android-tv/
there is no installation option when flashed to usb
I have the following error:
tGRUB Looading stage 1.5.
GRUB loading, please wait….
Error 22
This error do not let me boot up windows
Does it supports usb wifi adapter ( tp-link ac600 )? Also I just want to use youtube and will install few apps from playstore.
If your Wi-Fi adapter is compatible with Android, it’ll work seamlessly with Android TV too! Yes, You can watch youtube videos and install android tv apps from android tv play store.
i connect hdmi to tv screen is transferred but sound is still coming from laptop. any solution please
INSTALLATION OPTION NOT AVAILABLE? ALSO SOME ERROR “UNKNOWN FILESYSTEM / INTRAD.IMG NOT FOUND “
Impossible de lancer Android TV. L’exécution reste bloquée à la première ligne “Detecting Android TV… found at /dev/mmcblkop4”.
Pour info, il s’agit d’un mini PC équipé d’un processeur (CPU) Intel Atom x5-Z8350 et d’un GPU Intel HD Graphics 400.
Merci pour votre aide.
Ho lo stesso pc, ma hai risolto ?
Prova a metterci un android più vecchi a sto punto
Hi, I got this error when rebooting after installation:
error: file ‘/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod’ not found
Hey bro. I install it to my harddrive with no problems but it won’t boot. My pc is uefi only no legacy boot. What can i do that when I open the pc it boots into android tv while saving what i did
good day
I’ve loaded android tv on my computer. but when I stream sports on WAKAtv .. than it’s buffing playing stuck stuck…any reason why
Hello there, if you’re experiencing buffering issues while streaming sports, there could be a couple of reasons behind it. To help you resolve this, you can follow these steps:
1. Check Your Internet Speed: Start by checking your internet speed on your Android TV. It’s recommended to have a minimum of 20 Mbps for smooth live streaming. You can find several apps available on the Android TV Play Store that can help you check your internet speed.
2.Test Other Apps: If your internet speed seems fine, try streaming content from other apps, such as YouTube. If these apps are working without buffering issues, the problem might be specific to the sports streaming app or its server.
3.Consider Using a VPN: If you determine that the issue is isolated to the sports streaming app, you can try using a VPN. Sometimes, using a VPN can help improve the connection and resolve buffering problems.
The hdmi is working now.
i still have a problem with the wifi. When it runs for the first time it works fine, but as soon as I restart it. it will give me one wifi option and it is VirtWifi. it shows no other available networks
after instalattion is complete it started but when i shut down my laptop and tried start again only GRUB started not botig android TV
i tried too many Netflix apks new old but all getting errors.any suggestion
Hi I have some issue to boot on the android TV, even at the end of installation when I launch android TV the application does not show up. It stays stuck a blue square on the screen and that’s it no more.
Hope you can help
Best regrads
Hi. It seems to have installed successfully, but when I click on “Start ATV now”, it displays the G logo, looks like it’s loading, but I get a short message in Russian, then the PC turns off. When I turn it back on, it tries to load PXE image form IPv4, then IPv6, then cycles again.
Great work, I even get Netflix to work. Only problem that I have is that the Pulse Eight CEC adapter is not recognized. Also connection via ethernet is unstable, disconnected regularly.
is this an old version of android TV and won’t get updates and doesn’t have anything new after that last date it was developed?
Yes, this is old version of android tv but all the essentail apps and games will perfectly work on it.
Installed it as instructed. After restarting my laptop, Window is booting without showing any dual boot options. How can I access Android TV
Is it possible to install it on USB (same one that I used for creating bootable device)?
No, you would require different USB drive, from one usb drive you can go into boot menue and select the different usb drive where you want to install it.
So I’ve been tinkering with this and I can’t get the device to boot. I’ve formatted the drive (eXFat), I’ve done it via MBR and GPT. I’m doing this on an old i5-8500 Belink PC, perfectly capable of booting from a linux drive but after the install and reboot, it just doesn’t see the boot of the drive. Great walkthrough and def need to make sure it’s a GPT drive on anything in the last 10 years, but yeah, it just doesn’t see the boot partition in the bios after install. I even tried on an NVME that had a working Windows install on it. The BIOS saw the drive then. After I ran through this, it can’t see the boot.
I think, its more better if we installed android emulator and then install tv channel apk. All your driver PC like sound, graphics, keyboard, and network will compatible and work on this android emulator
I can’t paly any youtube video