Making backup of user addons/user data, favorite tv shows, etc - Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey all I have a rooted fire tv. How would I backup my info? What would I back it up too? I have usb drives. Thanks.

thegameksk said:
Hey all I have a rooted fire tv. How would I backup my info? What would I back it up too? I have usb drives. Thanks.
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From your Q, I am assuming you are asking about backing up your Kodi data. If you are:
The folder that needs to be backed up is residing at /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files. In that you will see a folder called ".kodi" that has all your settings and addons. This folder needs to be backed up.
If you have attached a USB to your FTV and your firmware on the FTV is allowing you see that attached USB (located at /sdcard/extUsb), you can use multiple ways to copy the folder. You can use an app like ES File Explorer or one of the apps like Fire TV utility or ADBFire (I could be wrong on the names, I don't use them. I believe they have a forum thread where you can post Qs). You can also use native shell commands and not use any external app to copy to USB, but I would not recommend it if you are not familiar with scripting. Using apps would be much simpler.
If you are on a firmware on your FTV that does not have native USB support, you will probably need to use an app like "USB OTG Helper" or "StickMount" or other apps to mount your USB first before you can start using its storage. Maybe the ADBFire or Fire TV Utility has mounting features, you will need to look into those apps for that.
EDIT: You can also backup your folder to your computer if you have ADB installed on your computer and can connect to your FTV through ADB. Depending on your choice, someone can give you more detailed steps.

The only thing I see there is advanced settings in the .kodi folder.

You need to show hidden files. Get yourself a copy of es file explorer. Copy add ons and user data to where you want to keep them.

I have a Fire TV and i'm upgrading to a NVIDIA Shield. All I need to do is copy the file I backed up to the same directory and I will have all of my original settings and repos back?

backup
thegameksk said:
I have a Fire TV and i'm upgrading to a NVIDIA Shield. All I need to do is copy the file I backed up to the same directory and I will have all of my original settings and repos back?
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Worked from my ouya to AFTV...Have a try!

Related

[Q] spmc thumbnails to ext USB help

Hi could you clever folks help a guy out, I'm trying to do what it says in the thread title but I do not have a PC, I use agk fire and es file explorer.
can anyone do a quick idiots guide on how I can do this.
Many thanks.
Just go to you SPMC foldr and delete the thumbnail folder, and make sure you also delete the texture database file too. The thumbnail folder will auto recreate itself. If you do not delete the textures DB file iit will take a long time for Kodi to make new thumbnails.
porkenhimer said:
Just go to you SPMC foldr and delete the thumbnail folder, and make sure you also delete the texture database file too. The thumbnail folder will auto recreate itself. If you do not delete the textures DB file iit will take a long time for Kodi to make new thumbnails.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply.
Yes I already know how to delete thumbs and textures 13.dB.
I'm trying to redirect thumbs to external flash drive. It can be done but I have no PC.
Think this is for kodi
from ftv news
how can I do this manually using esfile explorer for spmc
Guide
Ensure that your USB drive is connected to your Fire TV, that Kodi is installed on your Fire TV, and that you’ve launched Kodi at least once before proceeding with this guide. It does not matter if Kodi is installed on the Fire TV’s internal storage or on external USB storage.
Force stop Kodi on your Fire TV by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications, selecting Kodi, and selecting the Force stop option.
Connect to your Fire TV via ADB.
Open a Fire TV shell prompt by running the command:
adb shell
Create a directory called kodi on your USB drive where we will move Kodi’s thumbnail files by running the command:
mkdir /storage/extUsb/kodi
Copy Kodi’s thumbnail files to your USB drive by running the command:
cp -r /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails /storage/extUsb/kodi/
This may take a while depending on the size of your Kodi installation and the speed of your USB drive.
Create a blank Kodi configuration file by running the command:
touch /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
Fill the configuration file by running the command:
echo \<advancedsettings\>\<pathsubstitution\>\<substitute\>\<from\>special://thumbnails/\</from\>\<to\>/storage/extUsb/kodi/Thumbnails/\</to\>\</substitute\>\</pathsubstitution\>\</advancedsettings\> > /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml
Launch Kodi and verify everything is working correctly.
Delete Kodi’s thumbnail files from your Fire TV’s internal storage by running the command:
rm -rf /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Thumbnails
Can anyone please help
astro77 said:
Hi could you clever folks help a guy out, I'm trying to do what it says in the thread title but I do not have a PC, I use agk fire and es file explorer.
can anyone do a quick idiots guide on how I can do this.
Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Mac and a PC and I've never tried but unless someone corrects me....android terminal is very similar to Mac as it applies to Unix. So you can install android terminal on your device and run the same commands in the aftvnews guide. I'm not even 50% certain it works. Your android might need to be rooted but not certain there either.
Its just I noticed your notngetting many answers. At the very least I'm sure itnwont hurtnto try. And, I'm very curious to see if it would work.
As I understand it there are definite limits, thats why the guides usually say Mac, PC or linux. But we can connect with adb (actually that's much simpler to do with android) so its might be worth a shot.
You will need to Google if you don't know manually copy and paste paths but this isnpretty simple too. Hope it works. And if someone knows of a reason this won't work hopefully you'll let both of us know.
Thank you a lot
Downloaded the terminal on my android tablet but have no idea how to connect to fire TV over WiFi using the terminal app.
Was going to just create a "text" XML file containing the correct path then just put it in the right location on my fire TV with esfile explorer and maybe copy a few folders from spmc to flash drive........
I'm sure its simple when you know how lol.
If that works for you that's even simpler. You can still use the terminal to adb push your XML. Place it in userdata. Then you'll probably need to delete textures13db from the database and restart kodi. Before the new updates this was how I stored thumbs and it worked as well as it does now. Once you verify advanced settings and it works you can delete the thumbnails from your internal sdcard.
Good stuff :good:
just don't know what to name the XML and the contents path for spmc.
As you can tell I'm not very experienced at this stuff.
edit:
something like
<advancedsettings\>\<pathsubstitution\>\<substitu te\>\<from\>special://thumbnails/\</from\>\<to\>/storage/extUsb/kodi/Thumbnails/\</to\>\</substitute\>\</pathsubstitution\>\</advancedsettings\>
please someone help
if you have done this by whatever method could you please open up your advanced XML file and copy and paste it here please.
Cracked it
made a text file using esfile explorer on my tablet named:
advancedsettings.xml
then put this in the file:
<advancedsettings>
<pathsubstitution>
<substitute>
<from>special://profile/Thumbnails/</from>
<to>/storage/extUsb/Thumbnails/</to>
</substitute>
</pathsubstitution>
connected my tablet to aftv using esfile explorer over WiFi and moved the file to spmc userdata
opened spmc and deleted textures and thumbs folder, close spmc, restarted and it worked.
thanks too all that replied

[Q] Custom Background for firetv question help please ??

Hi all,
Running kodi/Helix 14.0 sideloaded on my non-rooted fireTV.... With no other extras or addons apart from my network attached HD.
Using IkonoTV as my launcher.
all updates blocked via opendns.
I just wanted to know if it was possible to change the background wallpaper on the main screen...
I know I have to go to System/Settings and then to appearance then go to skin tab and then to settings....then the tab for "Background Options" then "enable custom Background".
Once I have done this I then go to "Background Path:" and this is where I get stuck..... It's been a real pig... because the only two options I have are "External Storage" and "Root Filesystem". It's impossible for me to be able to change either of these directorys to anything else. And believe me, I've tried.
I've tried adding my photos "under the main photo tab" on the main screen held on my external storage HD and I have no problem with that...
Is the reason I cannot change the background because my firetv is not rooted, (root is not possible, due to when it was produced).
I would really appreciate any advice or help on this, as I'm googled out, and I've given up looking at the amount of tube vids telling me how to install kodi...
Is it possible for me to use adbfire to add images to the firetv somehow?
Weird thing is, nearly all of the folders I have looked in within "external storage" and "root filesystem" are empty...
One good thing is that I managed to find a tube video showing how to update kodi on a firetv without loosing ones settings using adbfire, as I wanted to update to 14.2.
Thanks chaps for reading my help request... as I seem to be all out of luck at the moment. (wish it was as easy to change the wallpaper on my firetv as it is on my laptop).
Install ES file explorer on fire tv via adb. Link it to your dropbox or Google drive account. Copy photos to your cloud account using your PC. Access from fire TV using ES file explorer and download to folder of your choice.
D33H said:
Install ES file explorer on fire tv via adb. Link it to your dropbox or Google drive account. Copy photos to your cloud account using your PC. Access from fire TV using ES file explorer and download to folder of your choice.
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Thanks for the info D33H...... cheers mate..
I have to admit, I did eventually manage to get it done by using adbfire, by changing the push folder to "sdcard" and pushing my photos that way.... not ideal as I would like them in a particular folder of my choice, but at least kodi can now see my images in "external storage"....
But I like the idea of using ES file explorer, so I might try it that way as well.
On a sidenote, is it possible to run kodi without ones internet on,..... I've tried but i only get a flashing orange light,.... would this be happening, because i have set a 4 digit code on my firetv.. (to stop anyone from making unnecessary purchases by mistake).
I only ask because if my internet goes down it would be nice to still be able to use kodi.

Copy Kodi configuration between FTV sticks?

Can anyone tell me an easy way of copying my Kodi setup between several FTV sticks? I have one setup up with all repos and addons to my liking and want to copy this to a few others that family have bought. I don't want to have to manually add repos and addons for each individual device. I have installed Kodi backup application and backed my own up to the device under /storage/emulated/0/download (from memory may not be correct). Can i use ADB pull to my PC and then push this onto the other FTVs? I haven't much experience of ADB other that installing apps with it. Or if anyone has any easier ways or suggestions i'd be grateful.
Thanks.
/storage/emulated/0/ = /sdcard/
Its just easier to type in /sdcard/ each time, instead of the full filepath.
-
Yes - its entirely possible, in fact its the way I also like to handle backing up and duplicating a Kodi installation.
All you need to do is
adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/ /PATH OF YOUR FOLDER ON THE LOCAL COMPUTER/
then adb push the same folder to another Fire TV (Stick), after you've installed Kodi there (adb install /PATH TO THE APK ON YOUR COMPUTER.apk) and started it once, then exited it - then:
adb push /PATH OF YOUR FOLDER ON THE LOCAL COMPUTER/ /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/
Thats it. .kodi is a hidden folder on the device (thats what the . stands for), thats about all.
---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 PM ----------
An easy way to browse the Fire TV (Stick) over ADB on Windows is
Total Commander with the ADB filesystem addon: http://totalcmd.net/plugring/android_adb.html
If you use adbfire just hit backup(put the backup where you can find it again) and when it's done connect adbfire to the new fire stick and click restore and navigate to where you saved the backup, pretty simple
Yes and you have not even learn anything about Android file structure, because navigating through folders hurts peoples brains. Instead you'll learn how to push several buttons and put numbers into fields. You know, like in your dayjob (*sarc*). Thats fun.
Also - during the pull operation adb Fire performs, you'll see a nice infinite loop of a fake progression bar - while if you'd be using the real adb you'll see the files actually copying over. Fake progression bar gifs are much more pleasent to look at. They give you a sense of excitement - in not knowing if something is happening, or not.
I say - make everything a person knows as abstract as possible. As far removed from the real thing as it can be. It causes less thoughts. And therefore - less problems in the long run...
I hate this dependency on ADB Fire appraoch. Did so from the very beginning. The program is harshly laid out, end prevents people from gaining any below surface knowledge - its just recommended so much, because people have a hard time typing. I'm not against good GUI's in fact, I prefer them in almost all cases - but ADB Fire and its rivals are just a buttondump fest to prevent real learning.
When replicating an entire FIre TV (Stick) plain adb actually turns out to be faster, and more forward with the information it gives back to you. Because adb install *dragdroptheapk* turns out to be faster than installing apks through ADB fire. But then again - buttons are so likeable.
--
Also - before using adbFire or adb to do a backup - you could use texturecache.py ( http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=158373 ) to prune ( P ) your Kodi installation, which would delete unnecessary thumbnails that have accumulated in Kodis cache over the time. This will reduce the time the backup takes, as less files are copied over.
Thanks guys. I've never had any luck with the adb tool. It wouldn't ever work for me. Adb push/pull seems straight forward enough I'll try it out.
What I do all the time with all my android devices including Fire TV is use 'ES FILE EXPLORER' to copy the folder 'org.xbmc.kodi' from original device (location: Android/data) onto a shared folder on my network and then copy it from there (using the same ES file explorer on the other devices) back again onto the same location of the receiving device. Works perfectly every time.
Quick question, how is this any different from the "Backup" addon that is used on Kodi? What I usually do is load everything like normal, then when I have my setup just how I want, I go to the "backup" addon, backup all of my info, and then copy it to a flash drive. Once copied, I install Kodi on other Fire TV's and then copy over the backup onto them, load the addon, and click "restore". And boom bada bing, I have everything just like my original Fire TV. EXCEPT, for a few things like skin settings, like widgets, and RSS feeds, and subtitle options.
The easiest way to do it is to copy the addons folder and your user data folder to you PC using ES Fle Explorer. install any varient of XBMC/Kodi on the other Fire TV sticks and open XBMC/Kodi one time so that it sets up the data folder contained inside Android/data. So this is basically all you need to do
1)Install XBMC/Kodi on all your devices and open one time.
2)Install Filezilla on your PC and ES File Explorer on all of your devices.
3)Open ES File Explorer on the device that already has Kodi setup, and go to the Network tab and click on remote manager and turn it on
4)Now type in the IP address and port into Filezilla that it shows on ES File Explorer and navigate to Android/data and find the data folder for your version of Kodi.
5)Once there simply copy over the addons folder and the userdata folder to yor PC.
6)Once those two folders are copied to your PC, simply go to each of the other devices and connect to ES File Explorer and overwrite the addons and userdata folders with the ones you just downloaded to your PC and restart Kodi on each device.
When you turn on the remote manager in ES file Explorer it will give you an address like this ftp://192.168.0.105:3721, the numbers 192.168.0.105 will be the address you type into Filezilla and the port will be 3721. I am sure your IP will be different so use the numbers that ES File Explorer shows and not the ones I used as an example. Also, when you go into the remote manager in ES File Explorer it will say settings at the bottom, if you click on that it will say set root directory, that means that when you connect with Filezilla that the directory you set will be the directory that it shown first from your Fire TV. So if its set to SDCARD, when you connect to filezilla you would just navigate to wherever you need to go just like you would inside ES File Explorer if you were in the SDCARD directory.
Just a reminder if you are logged into Youtube or any other addon, when you copy your Kodi setup to another device it will be logged in on that device as well. So if you do not want people doing things on your account you will need to log out before or after copying to other devices.
Download adbfire and do a Backup. Then connect the others Fire TVs and do a Restore with adbfire. That Backup folder that gets created can be used to copy everything to as many fire TVs.
How do I jailbreak my fire stick? I just purchased it today.
What have I done wrong, connect to device press backup and get an error ' media center not installed'
speed ?
How fast does everyone get with this method ? I got only 5-6 Mbit/s when doing restore or backup .
How to Prune
I am looking into copying all the kodi addons and such from one firestick to another. How would i go about using the texturecache.py that you suggested.
You have to first install Kodi in the new Fire Stick before restoring the backup
hey i have been trying this today but when i try to restore the backup to another stick it just says wrong backup folder type or something??
D33H said:
Thanks guys. I've never had any luck with the adb tool. It wouldn't ever work for me. Adb push/pull seems straight forward enough I'll try it out.
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make sure your computer is wifi and connected to same wi-fi as your stick, I find usb connection to be a bit 'iffy'
n0ka25 said:
hey i have been trying this today but when i try to restore the backup to another stick it just says wrong backup folder type or something??
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Click to collapse
latinotter2 said:
You have to first install Kodi in the new Fire Stick before restoring the backup
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Click to collapse
Farva603 said:
I am looking into copying all the kodi addons and such from one firestick to another. How would i go about using the texturecache.py that you suggested.
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Click to collapse
richiec427 said:
make sure your computer is wifi and connected to same wi-fi as your stick, I find usb connection to be a bit 'iffy'
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Click to collapse
Heres another method -
Add the source Xfinity if you haven't already & install there repo (if you dont know how to add a source in kodi google it), install the Usb/Sd card backup add on inaddon, configure the backup location of your choice (aftv backup or name it what ever you wanna call it), then start the add on & select backup of your choice (full = is everything, addons = just the addons), wait, once finished put your backup on the new device then add source Xfinity on the new device, configure location Again, open add on & select restore, sometimes it hangs a while but works good, if using a different skin once you restored It change to the skin you were using, then restore again (sometimes it don't all stick first go), any backgrounds need to be loaded on if the location of the pics are on the root of the device? & note if it hangs on a 100% completion just force close using the select circle button & play/pause buttons held down for about 6seconds. Enjoy your new backup copy on your other device.
If this helped press that like button
deanr1977 said:
Heres another method -
Add the source Xfinity if you haven't already & install there repo (if you dont know how to add a source in kodi google it), install the Usb/Sd card backup add on inaddon, configure the backup location of your choice (aftv backup or name it what ever you wanna call it), then start the add on & select backup of your choice (full = is everything, addons = just the addons), wait, once finished put your backup on the new device then add source Xfinity on the new device, configure location Again, open add on & select restore, sometimes it hangs a while but works good, if using a different skin once you restored It change to the skin you were using, then restore again (sometimes it don't all stick first go), any backgrounds need to be loaded on if the location of the pics are on the root of the device? & note if it hangs on a 100% completion just force close using the select circle button & play/pause buttons held down for about 6seconds. Enjoy your new backup copy on your other device.
If this helped press that like button
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Click to collapse
Has the address for xfinity.xunitytalk.com changed? Hasn't worked for me for at least a week.
zaspears said:
Has the address for xfinity.xunitytalk.com changed? Hasn't worked for me for at least a week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes mate heres the new source -
http://xunitytalk.me/xfinity
Press that thanks button if this helps
solorzano_felipe said:
Download adbfire and do a Backup. Then connect the others Fire TVs and do a Restore with adbfire. That Backup folder that gets created can be used to copy everything to as many fire TVs.
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When doing back up via adb fire ,dies it save the back up to my laptop and if so where ,I get kodi back up device data location and thumbnail location
Thanks for any help
---------- Post added at 10:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------
Also how long does a back up take and do you get a message when complete,mine been running about 25 mins now ?

How to transfer / copy / backup app or game settings between two AFTVs?

I've got a non-rooted AFTV 1 with some games installed. Now I want to upgrade to a (non-rooted) AFTV 2. How can I copy my game settings from my AFTV 1 to the AFTV 2? I've tried whispersync option, but it didn't work for me. I don' want to start every game again from scratch.
jaydee 77 said:
I've got a non-rooted AFTV 1 with some games installed. Now I want to upgrade to a (non-rooted) AFTV 2. How can I copy my game settings from my AFTV 1 to the AFTV 2? I've tried whispersync option, but it didn't work for me. I don' want to start every game again from scratch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think if you go into your file system with something like "File Explorer or Es File Manager on Your AFTV or using ADB or an FTP server on your computer" & goto sdcard0/android/data & find the file there for your game just find the right name or the auther of the game? & copy that into your new AFTV in the same location (sdcard0/android/data) after you have already installed The game on it first though, & just copy/replace the old file. See if this works.... It should do?
If this helped don't forget to press that thanks button ?
Yes, I've tried that, with ES Explorer as a FTP server (remote manager). But there are no files in /sdcard/android/data/com.ratrodstudio.snowparty2/ for that game. Also i can't find any game settings folder for the game "Xenowerk". Where could that be?
jaydee 77 said:
Yes, I've tried that, with ES Explorer as a FTP server (remote manager). But there are no files in /sdcard/android/data/com.ratrodstudio.snowparty2/ for that game. Also i can't find any game settings folder for the game "Xenowerk". Where could that be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With adb try extracting the folders before sdcard0? I'd presume that the file your looking for maybe in system or sys then In the folder app? I'm at work now & not anywhere near a AFTV or a laptop so I can't help anymore than that at the moment
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
App manager in settings app shows 5MB of game data, meaning there must be some files. I've searched again on device root, not only on sdcard. Also tried total commander, but could not find any game or app setting files. I'm not familiar with adb. how to extract folders as you mentioned?
jaydee 77 said:
App manager in settings app shows 5MB of game data, meaning there must be some files. I've searched again on device root, not only on sdcard. Also tried total commander, but could not find any game or app setting files. I'm not familiar with adb. how to extract folders as you mentioned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google ADB Fire, add the ip address & then find your device, press connect, then look for the part where it says push & pull, pull from where ever you need then push it back after you done what ever you want to add, when finished disconnect.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
I've think it's useless without root. i've got no access to /root/data/ folder where most app or game settings are stored. this is really pain in the ass for people using a Fire TV for gaming and upgrade their device, lose all game settings. Amazon should provide a cloud storage option to migrate devices.
jaydee 77 said:
I've think it's useless without root. i've got no access to /root/data/ folder where most app or game settings are stored. this is really pain in the ass for people using a Fire TV for gaming and upgrade their device, lose all game settings. Amazon should provide a cloud storage option to migrate devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My fire sticks which are 1st & 2nd Gen are not rooted & I can use ADB Fire with those, I've not been trying to mess with game data but have modded/added & changed a few things?
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
When trying to access /root/data/ with ADBFire or TotalCommander, i get an "access denied" message. ES Explorer shows the Bilder AS empty, which isn't the truth. Backup apps i've tried also can't create a backup of the data. You can do a data backup if the app or game use /sdcard/Android/data/ as storage location.
I tried the backup from adb
I connect with adbfire, then run ADB
adb backup -noapk com.ubisoft.rayman.fiestarun
the message in adb tells me to confirm the backup on my device. on my smartphone i got a black screen where I can confirm, decline or can type a password. After confirmation a file backup.ab is created in my adb folder on my client. The smartphone is not rooted and there is no need to do it.
On myaftv1 I never get that black screen where I'm asked to confirm the backup, so it s´doesn't start.
Is there anything I can do, like install some apks?

extract apk

I have some apps installed on my firestick 2 that I would like to move to my Sony Android tv, especially downloader. How can I extract the apk from the firestick to either my android phone or to a usb drive?
(OT Any help on how to sideload apps to the Android tv would also be appreciated).
Thanks.
/system/app
/system/priv-app
Thank you, but for that I would need to be rooted - which I am not.
Install es file explorer, go to apps, highlight the app you want by holding down the firestick central remote button, go to the bottom of the es explorer app where you’ll see backup, choose that. Repeat for each app or do it all at once. You’ll find the apk files stored in the backup folder under internal storage, backups, app. From there, pick your poison on how you transfer them to your Android tv.
In the past, I used dropbox to install apk files on to my stick. You could probably do the same with your Android tv box. The fire tv was simple because i could also use a usb flash drive plugged into the back to transfer / install the sideload apk files where as you need a two in one power/ usb cable for the stick to run the power and install a usb flash drive at the same time. I use lightning browser and if there’s an apk file I want quickly, I usually send it to my gmail account which I then download and install directly on to the stick. I use a mini bluetooth keyboard with the stick for easy input.
I’m sure there are a ton of other sideloading options. I just use what works for me.

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