If you picked up one of Walmart’s budget Onn Google TV boxes or streaming devices, you’ve probably seen the word “jailbreak” floating around forums and wondered what it actually means for a device like this. Good news: it’s a lot less dramatic than it sounds, and we’ll walk through exactly what’s safe, what’s legal, and how to do it properly.
“Jailbreaking” an Onn Google TV device really just means enabling Developer Options and allowing app installs from outside the Google Play Store (sideloading). It takes about 10 minutes, requires no special tools, and is completely reversible. The device itself stays fully functional and under warranty — this isn’t the same kind of jailbreak associated with phones.
Why People Search for This
Onn’s Google TV lineup — sold exclusively at Walmart — has become genuinely popular because it’s one of the cheapest ways to get a real, certified Google TV experience rather than a generic knockoff Android box. But “cheap” also means Walmart trimmed the built-in app selection down to the essentials. If your household uses an app that isn’t in the pre-loaded catalog, or you’ve got a legitimate service whose app simply hasn’t been submitted to the Play Store yet, sideloading is the standard, intended way to get it running — nothing shady about it.
The word “jailbreak” gets attached to this process mostly because it sounds more dramatic and gets more search clicks than “enable developer options,” not because it’s technically accurate. Worth knowing going in, so you’re not expecting some deep system hack.
What Does “Jailbreaking” Actually Mean Here?
On phones, jailbreaking usually means removing manufacturer restrictions at a deep system level — genuinely modifying the operating system. On an Android-based device like Onn’s Google TV boxes, what people call “jailbreaking” is something much milder: unlocking Developer Options and turning on the ability to install apps from outside the official Play Store. Google actually builds this capability into every Android TV and Google TV device on purpose — it’s a supported feature, not a hack.
Is This Legal and Safe?
Yes, on both counts, with one caveat. Enabling Developer Options and sideloading apps is a standard, Google-supported feature of the Android TV platform — you’re not breaking any law or violating your warranty by doing this. The legal and safety question that actually matters is which apps you install afterward. Installing a legitimate app that isn’t in the Play Store for whatever reason is no different from installing anything else. Installing something specifically designed to access copyrighted content without a license is where real legal risk begins — and that risk sits with you, not with the device or this guide.
It’s worth repeating because it’s the single most important thing in this whole guide: the sideloading feature itself is completely neutral, the same way a screwdriver is neutral whether you’re building a bookshelf or breaking into something. Google includes it deliberately because plenty of perfectly legitimate apps — smaller regional services, business tools, apps still in limited testing — never make it onto the Play Store, or take a while to get there. That’s the actual reason this feature exists.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
- An Onn Google TV device (box or built-in Onn TV)
- Your remote and a stable Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection
- About 10 minutes
- The exact APK download link from whatever legitimate app you plan to sideload
Before You Begin: Update Your Onn Device First
This step gets skipped more than it should, and it causes a real share of the “why isn’t this working” questions people run into. Before touching Developer Options, go to Settings > Device Preferences > About > System Update and let it install anything pending. Onn devices, being budget hardware, sometimes ship with firmware that’s already a version or two behind by the time they reach a store shelf, and both Developer Options and Play Protect behave more predictably on current software.
Step 1: Find Your Device’s Build Number
Every Android TV device hides Developer Options behind a small trick, and Onn devices are no exception.
Go to Settings > Device Preferences > About
Scroll down to Build (sometimes labeled “Build number”)
Click it seven times in a row — you’ll see a countdown message appear after a few clicks
You’ll get a confirmation: “You are now a developer”
Step 2: Enable Unknown Sources
Go back to Settings > Device Preferences — you’ll now see a new Developer Options menu
Open it and find Unknown Sources or Install Unknown Apps
Turn it on for whichever app you’ll use to install APK files (commonly “Downloader,” available on the Google Play Store)
Step 3: Install a File Manager or Downloader App
With Unknown Sources enabled, you need a way to actually retrieve and install APK files:
Open the Google Play Store on your Onn device
Search for and install Downloader (by AFTVnews) — it’s free and widely used for exactly this purpose
Open Downloader and type in the exact URL of the APK you want, provided directly by that app’s official source
Step 4: Manage Your Storage
Onn Google TV devices, especially the budget models, tend to ship with fairly limited internal storage. Once you start sideloading a few apps, you’ll want to keep an eye on this.
What Actually Makes Sense to Sideload
Once sideloading is enabled, it’s worth having a mental filter for what’s actually worth installing this way, since not everything needs it. Good candidates include: a regional or niche streaming app that simply hasn’t published to the Play Store yet, a business or utility app your workplace or organization distributes internally, or a beta version of an app you already use that isn’t available through normal channels. In all of these cases, you’re getting the exact same app you’d get anywhere else — just through a different delivery path.
What doesn’t make sense is treating sideloading as a way to get something for free that’s normally paid, or installing an app specifically because its whole purpose is bypassing licensing. That’s not a technical limitation of the feature — it’s just a bad idea for the reasons we’ve already covered.
How Onn Compares to Other Google TV Devices
| Device | Storage | Sideloading |
|---|---|---|
| Onn Google TV Box | Limited (budget-tier) | Fully supported, same as any Google TV device |
| Chromecast with Google TV | Slightly more headroom | Fully supported |
| Generic Android Box | Varies widely | Supported, but Play Store may be missing entirely |
The process is nearly identical across all certified Google TV devices — Onn’s version just runs on more budget-friendly hardware, which mainly affects storage and processing headroom, not the steps themselves.
Common Issues
Quick Questions People Ask
A Quick Note on App Permissions
Whenever you sideload anything — on an Onn device or otherwise — it’s worth glancing at what permissions the app asks for during installation. A simple streaming or utility app generally has no legitimate reason to request access to your contacts, location, or microphone. This isn’t unique to sideloaded apps (plenty of Play Store apps overreach too), but since sideloaded apps skip Google’s automated review process, it’s a habit worth having specifically here. If something asks for far more than its stated purpose would explain, that’s a reasonable moment to back out and reconsider.
How to Undo This Later (If You Ever Want To)
Nothing here is permanent, and it’s worth knowing the way back exists:
To simply turn off sideloading again, go back to Developer Options and switch Unknown Sources back off for the relevant app
To remove Developer Options from the menu entirely, most devices offer a toggle at the very top of that same Developer Options screen
For a completely clean slate, a full factory reset (under Settings > Device Preferences > Reset) wipes everything back to out-of-the-box condition
None of this requires special software or a trip to Walmart — it’s all built into the device’s own settings menu.
Final Thoughts
“Jailbreaking” an Onn Google TV device is really just flipping on a couple of settings Google already built in for exactly this purpose. Ten minutes, no special tools, fully reversible — the only part that actually requires judgment is being selective about what you install afterward.
Given how affordable Onn’s Google TV lineup is, it’s easy to see why so many households pick one up as a first streaming device — and the good news is that once you’ve done this basic setup once, you genuinely won’t need to think about it again unless a future firmware update resets the toggle, which the seven-click trick fixes in about fifteen seconds.
Looking for setup help on a different device? Our Android TV Box guide and full tutorials library cover just about everything else you might be running.