Transfer Files from Android TV to Phone — Pull Files, APKs, and Media

Transfer Files from Android TV to Phone

Most guides cover sending files TO a TV. But there's a clear use case for pulling files FROM your TV to your phone: recovering APK backups you sideloaded, pulling downloaded media, or extracting app data before doing a factory reset on the TV.

AnExplorer is one of the few file managers available on Android TV — install it on both devices and you can pull files from your TV storage directly to your phone.

Method 1: FTP Server on TV — Phone Connects as Client

Start AnExplorer's built-in FTP server on your TV. Then your phone connects to it and pulls whatever files it needs.

On your Android TV / Fire TV:

1. Install AnExplorer from the TV's app store (Play Store on Android TV / Amazon AppStore for Fire TV)
2. Open AnExplorer on the TV → navigate to Network → FTP Server
3. Toggle Enable FTP Server → note the address: ftp://192.168.x.x:2221

On your Android phone:

1. Open AnExplorer → Network → tap + Add connection
2. Select FTP → enter the TV's IP address and port 2221
3. Leave username and password blank (anonymous FTP) unless you set credentials
4. Tap Connect — the TV storage appears as a browseable directory
5. Navigate to the files you want → long-press to select → Copy → paste to your phone's storage

Method 2: SMB Server on TV

Get persistent drive-like access to TV storage from your phone:

On TV:

1. AnExplorer → Network → SMB Server → Enable
2. Note the address: \\192.168.x.x

On phone:

1. AnExplorer → Network → + Add connection → SMB
2. Enter the TV's IP → connect
3. TV storage is mounted — browse, copy, and paste files as needed

What Files Live on Your TV

Knowing where files are stored on Android TV helps you find what to copy:

Storage path varies by device. On Fire TV Stick, internal storage is tiny (~8 GB). On Nvidia Shield TV or Apple TV competitors with large storage, paths are the same Android structure.

Use Case: Recover APKs You Sideloaded

If you sideloaded an APK onto your TV (e.g. a media player app) and want to save a copy:

1. The APK file itself is usually in /sdcard/Download/ if you downloaded it there before installing
2. If you installed it and deleted the APK, you'd need root to pull from /data/app/ — AnExplorer's root mode can do this on rooted TVs
3. Pull the APK via FTP to your phone's /Download/ folder for safekeeping

Use Case: Copy TV DVR Recordings

Some Android TV boxes and Fire TV devices with storage support video recording apps (Tivimate, for example, writes recordings to internal storage):

1. Recordings are typically in /sdcard/Recordings/ or app-specific folder
2. Connect via FTP from your phone
3. Navigate to the recordings folder and copy the .ts or .mp4 files to your phone

Note: Recording quality from TV boxes can be very large — 2-hour recording at 1080p is often 10–25 GB over the network (40–80 Mbps bitrate). Make sure your phone has enough storage or copy directly to an external SMB share.

Use Case: Factory Reset Preparation

Before resetting your TV to switch to a new user or fix a persistent problem:

1. Open AnExplorer on the TV → browse through internal storage
2. Copy anything important (APK backups in /Download/, custom playlists, config files) via FTP to your phone
3. After reset, you can restore from your phone

Fire TV vs. Android TV vs. Google TV Notes

Troubleshooting

AnExplorer not available on my TV's app store

For Fire TV: sideload AnExplorer APK using the Downloader app (free on Amazon AppStore):

1. Install Downloader from Amazon AppStore
2. Open Downloader → enter the AnExplorer APK direct link
3. Install and use the FTP or SMB server

TV storage not showing or permission errors

Android TV's storage access changed in newer OS versions — apps may need special permissions. Check:

• Settings → Apps → AnExplorer → Permissions → Storage → Allow full access
• On Fire TV: Settings → Privacy → Device Usage Data — not related to storage but sometimes noted alongside

FTP connection drops during large file transfers

• TV's network can be less stable than phone Wi-Fi — use 5 GHz band on Nvidia Shield
• Reduce other streaming traffic on the network during transfer
• If transfer fails mid-way, the partial file will be present — just retry from AnExplorer

Related Guides

• Transfer Phone to TV — sending files to Android TV
• Transfer Android to Android — device-to-device phone transfer
• FTP Server Setup on Android — full FTP server configuration