Installing

Two minutes, once.

Castaway TV is not in any app store, so you install it yourself with Downloader. Everything below is done with the remote you already have.

Downloader code

2439353

That is a short code, not a phone number. It points at the update channel, not at one particular build, so it always fetches the current release.

On a Fire TV stick

  1. Find Developer Options

    Go to Settings › My Fire TV › About, move down to the line naming your device, and press OK on it seven times. A message says developer options are on.

    On older Fire OS builds Developer Options is already visible in Settings › My Fire TV and this step does nothing. Skip it.

  2. Allow installs from Downloader

    Go to Settings › My Fire TV › Developer Options. Open Install unknown apps and turn it on for Downloader.

    Older builds have a single switch called Apps from Unknown Sources instead. Turn that on.

  3. Install Downloader

    Search the Amazon Appstore for Downloader. It is free, the icon is orange, and it is published by AFTVnews. Install it and open it once so it asks for its permissions and gets them out of the way.

  4. Type the code

    In Downloader, stay on the Home tab, select the URL box, and type 2439353. Press Go.

    The file is a few tens of megabytes and lands in under a minute on most connections.

  5. Install it

    When the download finishes, Fire OS shows the app's permissions and an Install button. Choose Install, then Done.

    Downloader then offers to delete the file it just fetched. Say yes, twice. The stick has very little storage and there is no reason to keep it.

  6. Open it

    Castaway TV is now in Apps & Channels. It can take a few minutes to appear on the home row, because Fire OS caches that row and refreshes it on its own schedule. Launching it from the Apps grid works immediately.

    There is no account, no sign-in and no email. The app opens empty and the first screen asks you to add a playlist or an add-on.

The first fourteen days run as Castaway Plus. Nothing to activate and no card to enter. On day fifteen it steps down to the free tier and keeps working.

Then what

You add your own sources. Castaway TV ships with no channels and no catalogue. Add an M3U or Xtream playlist for live TV, and add the Stremio-protocol add-ons you already use for on demand. Two metadata add-ons are pre-installed: Cinemeta for titles, posters and episode lists, and OpenSubtitles for subtitles. Neither one resolves a stream.

Typing a long link is optional. The add-on and playlist screens show a QR code. Scan it with a phone on the same network and type the link there instead.

Updates find you. A new build puts a small marker in the corner of the home screen. Every build publishes a SHA‑256 and the app checks it before it will install one. The update check sends no identifier of any kind.

If something goes wrong

  • Downloader says the download failed

    Almost always the network, not the code. Check the stick is online, then try again. If Downloader shows a page instead of downloading a file, the code was mistyped; it is seven digits, 2439353.

  • Fire OS blocks the install

    Step 2 did not take. Go back to Developer Options and confirm Install unknown apps is on for Downloader specifically, not for some other app.

  • The app is installed but not on the home row

    Open Apps & Channels and launch it from there. Fire OS refreshes the home row on its own schedule and a newly sideloaded app can take a few minutes to show up.

  • It opens and there is nothing in it

    That is correct. There are no channels in this app until you add a playlist or an add-on.

Updating

Do nothing. The app checks for a newer build and tells you once, in the corner of the home screen. If you would rather force it, running the Downloader code again fetches the current release and installs over the top; your playlists, add-ons and watch history stay where they are.

Removing it

Go to Settings › Applications › Manage Installed Applications › Castaway TV and choose Uninstall. Everything the app stored goes with it: playlists, add-ons, watch history, settings. Nothing is left behind on the stick and there is nothing to cancel anywhere, because there was never an account.

If household sync was on, the encrypted file in your own cloud storage is yours and stays there until you delete it.

Verified on the Fire TV Stick 4K and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Other Android TV devices running Android 6 or newer may work and are untested. TV and remote only: there is no touch support and no phone app.

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