Having a rooted device used to have many advantages. But today, unless we want to install a custom ROM, make advanced level adjustments or install some very specific apps, there is not much reason to root. Android has evolved in such a way that it is practically no longer necessary.
In addition, there are some apps for Android that just don't work on rooted devices for security reasons. Do you have a rooted phone and want to install Netflix? Problem.
I have a rooted phone for a long time, so I am going to take advantage of this tutorial, which I am going to write on the fly, to try to install Netflix on said mobile and see if it really is possible. The steps to apply if you have a rooted Android tablet would be the same.
How to install Netflix on a rooted phone (or tablet)
The smartphone that I am going to use is an Oukitel Mix 2 with root permissions and Android 7.0 operating system.
Test 1: Search Netflix on the Play Store
The first thing I'm going to try is to look for the Netflix application in the Google Play Store. As expected, in the search results the streaming app simply It is not available for our mobile with root.
It doesn't even appear in search results.It is quite logical: if the app is not compatible with our device, it does not appear in the Google Play search results. The reason is the SafetyNet security tool, which is responsible for excluding content from devices that do not meet certain requirements.
Test 2: Download a Netflix APK and install by hand
The second most obvious option for such a case is look for an alternative source of installation. In this case, we are going to look for the official Netflix APK in the APK Mirror repository.
We download the most recent version from the browser and execute the APK file. We will see a warning message, click on "Install" and let luck do the rest.
This looks good.Bingo! The installation has been successful. If we click on "Open" the system will try to run the application. As you can see in the screenshot below, we have been able to enter Netflix without problems, and content playback works flawlessly. All this while maintaining the root permissions of the phone.
Netflix up and running.Note: Remember that to install an APK we must have the "Unknown origins" option activated in "Settings -> Security”(Unless we have Android 7.0 or higher).
Test 3: Hide your Android's root permissions
If this option does not work for us, then we can try to create a safe-conduct: hide the root so that the SafetyNet filter does not detect the root and let us install Netflix. To achieve this we have several outputs:
- RootCloack: It is an Xposed module to hide the root, but unfortunately it is a bit outdated, since it only supports up to Android Marshmallow (download HERE).
- Hide my root: If we have root with SuperSU we can install Hide my root. This app takes care of hiding the SU binary, which is just what we need. About a year ago the app was removed from Google Play, but it is still available in APK format.
- Magisk: It is one of the rooting tools par excellence. Among its qualities is that of allowing to hide the root of the device. We can download Magisk from this XDA Developers thread.
- Pre-rooted ROMs: If we have a custom ROM installed, such as CyanogenMod or LineageOS, we can temporarily disable root directly from the phone's settings menu (“Settings -> Development options -> Administrative access”).
Once we have managed to hide the superuser permissions on our Android, we should be able to download and install Netflix from Google Play without major complications.
How to install Netflix on an Android TV Box with root
In the case of rooted TV Boxes, things get quite complicated. In general, many Chinese Android TV boxes usually come with the root of series, and to make matters worse, many models are not even compatible with Netflix. For this reason, in most cases Netflix is pre-installed at the factory.
Installing Netflix on a somewhat dodgy TV Box can be exasperating.Unless we have an Nvidia ShieldTV, or a Xiaomi Mi TV Box -which is certified to play Netflix in 4K-, installing Netflix is a real lottery.
Of course, the only method we can use is installing an APK, obtaining different results depending on the quality of our Android TV. To carry out the installation, the method to follow will be the same as for the mobile phone.
- First we enable the installation of "Unknown sources" (from Settings -> Security).
Important!- We download the corresponding APK from Netflix. If possible, Android TV version adapted to televisions. We can download the APK for mobile from the Netflix website, or any other version from APK Mirror.
- We run the APK from a file explorer.
At this point it is possible that we get several errors, that the application is not installed correctly or any other failure. At this point, it would be interesting to download some of the variants of the installation package that we can find in APK Mirror and see if it works (perhaps we have downloaded a version that is not compatible with our device).
Various variants, depending on the processor architecture.Personally, I have tried to install Netflix by hand on several Chinese TV Boxes, and have almost always been unlucky. In some specific case, yes, I have managed to install the application –although it was the mobile version and not the one adapted to Android TV-.
In short, if we want to install Netflix on a rooted Android, we will have it easy if it is a smartphone. As for Android TV, we will be lucky if we at least manage to install the version for mobile devices.
You have Telegram installed? Receive the best post of each day on our channel. Or if you prefer, find out everything from our Facebook page.
