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Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service to access Xbox games. The Xbox Game Pass app is available for smartphones and PCs. For Android TVs and TV Boxes, the app is yet to be released. If you want to use the Xbox Game Pass app on your Android TV, you have to sideload the app using its APK file. With the Xbox Game Pass app on Android TV, you can play all the Xbox games, access Xbox Cloud, manage your Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and more.
Surprisingly, the Xbox Game Pass is available for Samsung and LG TVs but not for Android TVs. One of the major competitors for Xbox, Google, has made its gaming platform Stadia available for Android TV. So, in the near future, we can expect the Xbox Game Pass for Android TV in the Play Store.
Xbox Games Pass – Android TV Requirements
To sideload the Xbox Game Pass on Android TV, you have to meet some primary requirements. They are,
- Your smartphone must have Android version 6.0 and above to download and share the APK file.
- Internet connection with 10 Mbps or higher. With less than 10 Mbps, you will have buffering and input lag issues. For better gaming performance, use a 5GHz network.
- Xbox Controller (Wired or wireless). The controller is optional. With the remote, you can’t play high-end games.
- Your Android TV must have at least 2GB of free storage.
How to Sideload Xbox Game Pass on Android TV: Using Smartphone
Like all the sideloaded apps, you can’t use the Downloader app on Android TV. You need to download more than one APK file for Xbox Game Pass. For this, you need your Android smartphone.
1. On your Android smartphone, launch a browser.
2. Search for Xbox Game Pass APK.
3. Get the latest version of the Xbox Game Pass APK from any website.
4. Download the APK file and don’t install it on your smartphone.
5. Now, you need to download the Xbox Game Pass Home screen shortcut. Visit this link on your smartphone.
6. Click on Download to get the Xbox Game Pass shortcut file.
7. Then, install the Send Files to TV app on your smartphone from the Play Store.
How to Get Xbox Game Pass on Android TV
1. First, make sure that your smartphone and Android TV are connected to the same network.
2. Go to Play Store on your Android Android TV.
3. Search for Send Files to TV and choose the app from the suggestion list.
4. Click on Install to install the app on both devices.
5. Once the installation is over, open the app on your Android TV and select Receive.
6. On your Android device, open the Send Files to TV app and select Send.
7. Choose the Xbox Games Pass & Xbox Game Pass Shortcut APK files. Select the Android TV as a receiver.
8. The file will start transferring and wait for the process to finish.
9. To access the received files, you must get the Solid Explorer app on Android TV. You can get the app from the Play Store.
10. Then, enable the Unknown Sources for Solid Explorer. Go to Settings → Device Preferences → Security and Restrictions → Unknown Sources → Turn on Solid Explorer toggle.
11. Launch the Solid Explorer on TV and navigate to the Downloads folder.
12. Install both the Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Shortcut files.
How to Use Xbox Game Pass on Android TV
1. On your home screen, select the Xbox Game Pass app. If the app is unavailable on the home screen, you need to get the Sideload Launcher on Android TV to open sideloaded apps.
2. On the Welcome to Game Pass screen, click the Already a Member? Sign In button.
3. Sign in with the Xbox account you use on your PC or console.
4. On the Xbox Game Pass home screen, you will have three options: Cloud, Console, and PC.
5. On the Console and PC menu, you can browse for PC and Console games.
6. You can also choose a game you’ve installed on your PC or Console.
7. On the Cloud menu, you can play games without downloading them.
Xbox Game Pass on Android TV – Issues
As you are using the Xbox Game Pass smartphone app on your Android TV, no matter how advanced your Android TV is, you will have certain issues and limitations. Some of the issues mentioned in the Android TV forum are,
- The Xbox Game Pass app runs slowly.
- You can’t access some options with the Android TV remote.
- The app freezes when playing cloud games.
- Unable to open some games.
These issues can’t be fixed no matter how hard to try. Even if your Android TV has a good internet connection and a lot of free memory, you will experience these issues. As a temporary fix, you can connect the PS4 controller to Android TV for better navigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft partnered with Samsung and released some of the Xbox games on the Samsung Smart TV. So, the chances are higher that the Game Pass app will soon be available for Android TVs.
Xbox Game Pass subscription starts at $9.99 per month and goes up to $14.99 per month.
