Everything About Amazon Fire TV Stick
Last updated June 24, 2022 By Patrick
This article shows you how to install SmartTubeNext on FireStick. Using SmartTubeNext is an easy way to watch YouTube on FireStick without being interrupted by ads. This article applies to all Amazon Fire TV devices, like FireStick 4K and 4K Max, Fire TV Cube, and FireStick Lite.
SmartTubeNext (STN), previously known as SmartYouTubeTV, is an advanced YouTube app made for Android TVs and TV boxes. It gives you the YouTube experience but without the ads. It’s 100% free and open source.
As SmartTubeNext isn’t an official app, you won’t find it on app stores, which means we’ll be sideloading it in this guide.
SmartTubeNext is supported on Android TV, Google TV, Xiaomi Mi Box, Fire TV, Nvidia Shield, and other Android-based TV boxes. It doesn’t support any TVs that are not based on Android, nor does it support any non-TV devices.
Before I show how you can install SmartTubeNext on your FireStick, let’s discuss the safety and legality of the app.
SmartTubeNext is an open-source TV app created by an independent developer on Github. Being open source makes SmartTubeNext a somewhat safer third-party app. However, it’s not officially available on any app stores, which may be uncomfortable for some users.
To be on the safe side, I ran the file for SmartTubeNext through VirusTotal. As you can see, the file should be safe for your device.
Although SmartTubeNext doesn’t stream content from illegal sources, its being a third-party YouTube clone may still raise legal concerns. It uses the YouTube API to deliver content while blocking the ads YouTube intends to deliver, which may or may not be crossing legal boundaries.
To be on the safe side, you can install a VPN on your FireStick. Using a VPN is the best way to keep your personal data and your streaming private. It prevents your internet service provider from monitoring your FireStick activity.
Governments and ISPs constantly monitor your online activity, and accessing copyrighted content on your Fire TV Stick could lead to serious trouble. Currently, your IP is visible to everyone. I strongly recommend getting the best FireStick VPN to mask your IP address and securely stream your favorites.
I personally use ExpressVPN, the fastest and most secure VPN available. Not only is it easy to install on any device, it comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Plus, if you're not 100% satisfied, you can always get a refund. ExpressVPN is currently also offering a whopping 3 extra months free on their annual plan!
Here are reasons why using a VPN at all times is essential.
Read: How to install and use the best VPN on FireStick
Legal Disclaimer: This tutorial is purely educational. FireStickTricks.com doesn’t own, host, operate, resell, or distribute any streaming apps, addons, IPTV or services. The page contains some unverified services, and we are not certain whether they hold legal licenses to distribute the content. FireStickTricks.com does not verify the legality of each app/service in all regions. Do your due diligence if you use any of the unverified apps/services, and stream only content that is available in the public domain. The end-user shall be solely responsible for the media accessed.
I divided the installation instructions into two parts so you can easily follow along and install SmartTubeNext on your FireStick.
Since SmartTubeNext isn’t in the Amazon App Store, we’re going to sideload it, which means we’ll download it from a third-party website. B efore you can sideload an app, you have to get Downloader on your FireStick and change a setting called unknown sources.
If you haven’t already set up Downloader on your device, follow this guide before moving on.
When your FireStick is prepared, go ahead and follow the next steps.
1. On your FireStick remote, long-press the home button for several seconds until this menu pops up. Then, select Apps.
Note: Can’t see the Downloader tile? Check for it in the App Library tile at the bottom.
3. S elect the box under Enter a URL or Search Term.
Note: On the first launch of the Downloader app, Allow access to your files and folders.
4. Enter https://smartyoutubetv.github.io and click on the Go button.
Note: The file is uploaded on Github by the SmartTubeNext developer. FireStickTricks.com does not host or distribute any app files.
5. When the website is done loading, scroll down.
6. Click Stable release located under the Downloads heading.
Note: You could download the Beta release instead, but I don’t recommend it, as it will probably have bugs.
7. Wait for Downloader to download the file on your FireStick.
8. Once the file is downloaded, c lick INSTALL.
9. When the installation is complete, c lick DONE.
10. Downloader will ask you what you want to do with the APK file. Since you just used it to install SmartTubeNext, you don’t need it anymore. Click on the Delete button.
Congratulations, you have successfully installed the SmartTubeNext app on your FireStick.
As I mentioned, the app may cross legal lines by disabling ads on YouTube’s API, so you may want to get ExpressVPN on your FireStick to make your streaming private, just in case.
You can follow these steps to get it quickly and easily:
Step 1: Subscribe to ExpressVPN HERE. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Meaning, you can use it free for the first 30-days and if you are not satisfied with the performance (which is highly unlikely), you can ask for a full refund.
Step 2: Power ON your Fire TV Stick and go to Find followed by Search option.
Step 3: Now type “Expressvpn” (without quotes) in the search bar and select ExpressVPN when it shows up in the search results.
Step 4: Click Download to install the ExpressVPN app on Fire TV / Stick.
Step 5: Open the app and enter the login credentials that you created while buying the ExpressVPN subscription. Click Sign in.
Step 6: Click the Power icon to connect to a VPN server. That’s all. Your connection is now secure with the fastest and best VPN for FireStick.
You can also read more detailed info on using ExpressVPN with Fire TV / Stick.
Long-press the home button on your FireStick remote until the menu appears. After that, select Apps.
Want to make a shortcut to SmartTubeNext on your FireStick home screen? Scroll to SmartTubeNext without selecting it. Then, press the options button (three horizontal lines) on your FireStick remote and select Move to front. For more detail, read my full guide on creating FireStick home screen shortcuts.
If you just want to launch the app, click on the SmartTubeNext tile. Remember that if you’re unable to find SmartTubeNext, you’ll find it within the App Library tile.
On your first launch of the SmartTubeNext app, you’ll be presented with the option to enable voice search. Enable it if you want. If you’re not interested, you can prevent the message from showing again.
After that, you’ll land on the home screen of SmartTubeNext. The interface of the app resembles YouTube.
Press the left button on your FireStick remote to bring up the side menu. Then, select a section, like Gaming.
Inside it, you’ll see rows like Recommended, Top live games, Trending videos, and more. Other side menu sections are organized into similar rows.
To play a video on SmartTubeNext, simply select it .
After a few seconds, the video will start playing.
Press the play/pause or down button on your FireStick remote to bring up the video player options.
You’ll see two rows of options, including play/pause, rewind/forward, search, share, video quality, like, subtitles, and add to playlist.
Scroll down to see suggestions and videos from similar channels you might like.
To quickly find your favorite video, you can use the search function on SmartTubeNext. Bring up the side menu on SmartTubeNext and click the magnifying glass icon on the top left.
Next, select the search bar.
After that, enter your search term and click Next.
After a few seconds, you’ll arrive at the search results. Select something from the search results to watch it.
Finally, there is a Settings tab on the side menu. The app’s settings are further broken down into categories like Accounts, Subtitles, and Language/Country.
In this article, I showed you how to install SmartTubeNext on FireStick and how to browse the app. For people who are tired of frequently seeing ads on YouTube, SmartTubeNext is the way forward.
If you have any questions about installing SmartTubeNext or you would like to suggest something, please leave a comment. As always, happy cord-cutting!
Filed Under: Apps, Fire Stick, How to
Hi! I'm Patrick, a seasoned IT and cybersecurity professional. As an avid streamer myself, I started FireStickTricks.com to help others access and stream good content on any platform. On this blog, I review services, write how-to articles, and cover the latest Fire Stick news and streaming trends.
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