Android TV for PS4

Android 16 v0.1 source is available: browse and build it · download project and full kernel source. The v0.1 source includes the power/restart cleanup update in its normal build; see its hardware status. The guide below covers Android 13 / 1.1.

Android TV 13 on a PlayStation 4, based on BRTDTV's Android TV x86 build. Install one PKG, open it from the home screen, and the console boots straight into Android TV from its internal drive. Your apps, accounts and settings are kept between launches.

Questions, testing, or just want to follow along? Join the Discord server.

This is a work in progress by one developer with one PS4. It's been tested properly on a fat PS4. Every other model is being made to work right now, with the help of people who try it and send their logs. If it doesn't work on your console yet, that's expected, and your report is exactly what gets it fixed. See Where it's at.

Download · Installation · Compatibility · Hardware support · Release notes · Roadmap · How it works · Build it · Contribute · Discord

• Support added for every GoldHEN firmware the Linux loader covers (tested on 13.52 so far): 5.05, 6.72, 7.00–7.55, 8.00–8.52, 9.00–9.60, 10.00–10.71, 11.00, 11.02, 11.50–11.52, 12.00–12.52 and 13.00–13.52.
• No console model is blocked. Belize Slims and Pros reach Android; Baikal is being worked on. See Hardware support.
• Fixes you'll notice: video no longer freezes, the controller works like a TV remote in every app, a screensaver replaces the sleep mode that froze the console, and it shows up as "PlayStation 4" for Spotify Connect.
• One 3.12 GB PKG from MediaFire, and failed starts explain themselves and save their logs to a USB stick.
• No more "restart your PS4" after installing (26 Oct update). Linux used to need two unbroken blocks of memory that a busy PS4 often couldn't find (code 12). It now loads in small pieces and puts them together at handover, and starts straight away. How it works

Everything in 1.1

1. Download Android-TV-for-PS4-1.1-b132.pkg from the 1.1 release page (checksum and tips).
2. Install it with GoldHEN's Package Installer, from an exFAT USB drive or over FTP (put it in /data/pkg/).
3. Enable GoldHEN → Servers → BinLoader (port 9090).
4. Open Android TV for PS4.

The first launch takes 5–10 minutes while Android installs to the internal drive and sets itself up. Leave the console alone while progress or the Android animation is showing. After that, Android boots in about 2 minutes.

To launch again later, load GoldHEN, make sure BinLoader is on, and open the app. The handover to Linux usually takes 30 seconds to a minute, so give it time. In Android, Restart takes you back to the PS4 system and Shut down turns the console off. Booting needs no PC or network.

Updating from 1.0: delete Android TV for PS4 from the PS4 home screen first, then install the 1.1 PKG and open it. Your Android apps, accounts and settings are stored separately in /user/app/ps4-android, so deleting the app doesn't remove them.

Android gets 32 GiB of storage. That isn't the download size: PS4 drive space is only used as Android fills it, and nothing is repartitioned.

Hardware support has the details by model, and how to tell which southbridge you have.

When you open the app, the PS4 hands the whole console over to Linux, which then starts Android. The PS4 system isn't running underneath any more, so there's nothing to fall back to. If Linux can't drive some part of your console, most often the display on Baikal models, the screen stays black or the TV says no signal.

Try this first: in the PS4's Settings → Sound and Screen → Video Output Settings, turn HDR off and set Deep Colour Output and RGB Range to Automatic. The PS4 sets up the HDMI output before it hands over, and Linux expects a plain picture; a Pro that only ever showed a black screen started fine after this change.

It's not a crash you can back out of, so the only way out is to hold the power button until the console turns off. That's expected while support for your model is being built. When you turn the PS4 back on it may say it wasn't turned off properly and check its storage; let it finish. Your Android apps and data are kept.

• Send your logs. Plug a FAT32 or exFAT USB stick into the PS4 before opening the app and leave it in; logs are saved to it. Post them in the Discord's #test-reports, or in a console report with your model and firmware. Reports with logs are what fixed the Slim and Pro storage problem in a day.
• Make sure you have the latest download. Check its SHA256 against the release page. Several reports turned out to be from an older build.
• Build it or dig in yourself. Everything is in this repository: how it works, how to build it and how to contribute. PS4 Linux experience, especially on Baikal, is very welcome.

• "BinLoader unavailable" (error 61): close the app, turn BinLoader off and on again, and reopen it.
• "Restart your PS4, then open Android TV again" (code 12): the PS4 couldn't find memory for Linux. This should be rare since the 26 Oct update; if you downloaded 1.1 before then, delete the app from the home screen (your Android data is kept), download the PKG again and reinstall. If it still happens, restart, load GoldHEN, open the app, and send us logs/launcher.log.

For anything else, please report it, because failed starts are how other consoles get fixed:

1. If Linux started but Android didn't, plug a FAT32 or exFAT USB stick into the PS4. It can go in before you open the app or after the failure. The logs are saved to a folder called AndroidTV-PS4-logs.
2. If it stopped in the launcher, copy the logs folder from /user/app/ps4-android with GoldHEN's FTP server.
3. Open a console report with your model, firmware and how far it got, and drag the logs (or a ZIP of the folder) into the Logs box.

More fixes are in the installation guide. Stuck? Ask in the Discord server.

YouTube, Spotify, VLC, Jellyfin, Kodi, Plex, TV Bro, BiglyBT, Crossy Road and AIDA64 come pre-installed, along with Google Play services and the Play Store. Sign in with your own accounts. Exact app versions.

Confirmed on the test console (fat CUH-1102A, firmware 13.52):

• HDMI picture and sound, and video playback in YouTube, Kodi, Kayo, the NBA app and Spotify's music videos
• Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth
• DualShock 4 and Google TV Streamer remote. The PS button goes Home, X selects and Circle goes back.
• Google sign-in, YouTube (signed in), and Spotify including Spotify Connect, where the console shows up as "PlayStation 4"
• Screensaver when idle, Restart to the PS4 system, and Shut down

Known limitations: this isn't a Google-certified device and there's no HDCP, so some protected streams won't play (7plus is one). YouTube needs you to sign in. Details are in Compatibility.

These are the known weak spots in 1.1. Reports on any of them help the next release, and the roadmap has what's known about fixing each one.

• Code 12 after installing, fixed in the 26 Oct update. The first 1.1 build needed two unbroken blocks of memory of about 10–12 MB, which a fresh install or a busy console often didn't have, and some consoles couldn't get them even after restarting. It now loads Linux in small pieces and puts them together at handover. Tested on a fat PS4; if you still see code 12, please send logs/launcher.log, which says how the memory went.
• Baikal Slims and Pros get a black screen after the handover. Build 132 has a fix to test; please send logs either way. See Hardware support.
• MT7668 Wi-Fi (many later Slims and Pros) turned itself off before build 132, which fixes the cause. Not yet confirmed by a user.
• USB drives aren't visible in Android yet. Linux sees them, but Android doesn't get told when one is plugged in. Being worked on.
• Video is decoded on the CPU. Drawing is GPU-accelerated (OpenGL ES 3.2 and Vulkan 1.1 through Mesa), but the GPU's hardware video decoder isn't used yet, so very high-bitrate 4K may struggle. Hooking it up through VA-API is the biggest playback upgrade available, and help from anyone who knows Mesa would be very welcome.
• No HDCP, so some protected streams won't play, and YouTube needs you to sign in.
• First setup can jump back to the start, usually once. Keep going and it finishes. 1.1 removed one cause; the other isn't known yet.
• The handover to Linux usually takes 30 seconds to a minute, longer on the first launch after installing or updating.

Can this damage my PS4, games or saves? It doesn't touch them. Nothing is repartitioned or formatted: Android lives in one folder on the internal drive, and the PS4 system is unchanged.

How do I get back to the PS4 system? Choose Restart in Android. The console boots back into the PS4 system as normal; load GoldHEN again if you want to reopen Android TV.

How do I remove it? Delete the app from the home screen, then delete /user/app/ps4-android over FTP (details).

Does it need a PC or internet to start? No. The app hands Linux to GoldHEN on the console itself.

Which consoles work? Only a fat CUH-1102A on 13.52 has been tested so far. Everything else is built in and waiting on reports; see Hardware support.

Every console can now try, but only a fat 13.52 console has been tested. If you have a different model or firmware, please give it a go and send a console report, even if it fails. Anyone with PS4 Linux experience on Slim, Pro or Baikal hardware is especially welcome; Hardware support lists what's built and what still needs testing. To chat with other testers and follow test builds, join the Discord server; for longer write-ups, there's this discussion.

flowchart LR
    A[PS4 launcher] --> B[GoldHEN payload]
    B --> C[Linux kernel]
    C --> D[PS4 hardware setup]
    D --> E[Android TV]

The launcher installs Android to the internal drive, then hands a payload to GoldHEN, which loads Linux in place of the PS4 system. Linux unlocks the PS4's storage, sets up graphics, controllers and networking for this hardware, and starts Android. The PS4 system comes back when the console restarts.

The Android system image is read-only. PS4-specific changes are applied in memory at each boot, and your data lives in a separate image. The architecture guide walks through the code, and Storage explains disk usage.

The source is in releases/release-1.0/: native launcher, modified kexec loader, boot runtime, tests and artwork. Start with the build guide, then Contributing for areas that need work and how to report a test.

• BRTDTV / TD Android TV: the Android TV x86 distribution this port is built on. Channel · Community
• PS4 Linux contributors: the PS4 kernel and Linux loader.
• GoldHEN: homebrew environment and payload loader.
• OpenOrbis, Scene-Collective and sleirsgoevy: PS4 toolchain, payload SDK and libjbc.
• Ps3itaTeam: the Liverpool raster configuration used in the graphics fix.
• Android-x86, AOSP, Linux, Mesa and the app developers.

Full credits and artwork sources. Android TV and PlayStation are trademarks of their respective owners. This is an independent homebrew project and is not affiliated with Google or Sony.