How to Install Back When TV on Roku, Fire TV and Android TV

Back When TV takes about two minutes to install once you know the route for your device. The app is free, weighs under 1 MB, and needs no account. The only thing to get right is the source: everything below follows the official steps from backwhen.stream, and our download page sends you there when you are ready.

Roku: the easy one

If you have a Roku TV or a Roku player, skip the rest of the technical stuff. Press Home on the remote, open Search, and type "BackWhen". The Back When TV app appears as the top result. Select it, choose Add App, and it lands on your home screen like any other Roku app. Open it, press OK for the guide, and flip channels with up and down. There is no sideloading on Roku and no code to type.

Fire TV, Android TV and Google TV: the Downloader route

On these TVs the app installs through a helper app called Downloader by AFTVnews. It sounds technical. It is not. Follow the steps in order.

Step 1: Install Downloader

Open your TV's app store and install the free Downloader by AFTVnews. Check the name carefully: it has an orange icon and says "by AFTVnews". A lookalike app with a similar name exists and does not work for this.

Step 2: Allow Downloader to install apps

On Google TV and Android TV, go to Settings, then Apps, then Security & restrictions, then Unknown sources, and allow Downloader. On Fire TV, go to Settings, then My Fire TV, then Developer options, then Install unknown apps, and allow Downloader. If Developer options is missing on a newer Fire TV, tap the device name in My Fire TV seven times to reveal it. You only do this once.

Step 3: Enter the official code

Open Downloader and type the code shown on the official site — 5778898 at the time of writing — or type the short address backwhen.stream/get. Choose Go, wait for the small file to download, then choose Install. The app is about 0.8 MB, so this part is quick even on slow connections.

Step 4: Watch

Open BackWhenTV from your apps list. Up and down changes channel, OK opens the guide with the picture still playing in the corner, left and right page through the guide, and number keys jump to a channel. If you are new to what is actually on, the channel guide breakdown is worth a read before your first session.

Prefer a computer? ADB and the web player

Comfortable with a command line? The official site documents installing over ADB: connect to your TV with adb connect and your TV's IP address, then install the APK with adb install. Most people will never need this, but it is handy for setting up several TVs. And if you just want a taste first, the official web player with Chromecast support lets you sample the channels in a browser.

Updating the app

When a new version is out, a small "UPDATE READY" note appears in the guide. Open the guide and hold OK to install it. The first time, Android asks you to allow BackWhenTV to install its own updates; accept and future updates stay one long-press away. You can also simply run the Downloader code again to grab the latest build.

Troubleshooting

Downloader code fails or the page will not load. Check the TV is online, retype the code slowly, and confirm you installed Downloader by AFTVnews, not the lookalike.

"Install blocked" message. The unknown-apps permission from step 2 was not saved, or it was given to the wrong app. Go back and allow Downloader specifically.

Buffering or a black screen on a channel. Most channels stream recordings from the Internet Archive, and quality and speed vary by recording. Try another channel to see if it is just that one. Cheap sticks like the Onn 1080p and 4K are exactly what the app is built for, so hardware is rarely the problem.

A site asks you to pay or sign up. Close it. The app is free with no accounts, and the free and safe breakdown explains how to spot the fake copies riding on the app's name.

Once it is on your TV, there is nothing else to set up. No profiles, no watchlist, no password. Just a guide, a remote, and whatever happens to be on.