Short answer: as of October 2026, TiviMate still works and is still one of the best live-TV players on Android TV, but three things changed this year. It dropped out of Google Play search for many users in late July, so new installs and updates are harder. Amazon's new Fire TV sticks run Vega OS and can't install it at all. And Premium, around $9.99 a year or about $34 for life, is worth buying only from the developer, because reseller "lifetime" keys and unlocked copies circulate whenever the Play listing disappears. If it's already installed on a Shield, Google TV device or Fire TV Stick 4K Max, keep using it.
At a glance
TiviMate, October 2026
| Latest build | 5.3.3 (June 2026) |
| Google Play | Patchy since late July; varies by device |
| Premium | About $9.99/yr or ~$34 lifetime, 5 devices |
| New Fire TV Stick 4K | Vega OS: can't install it |
| Channels included | None. It's a player |
What changed in 2026, month by month
Most TiviMate pages online were written before any of this happened. Here's the year so far, from the version history and published reports.
| When | What happened | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb | Version 5.2.0 released | First update in about a year |
| March | During the T20 World Cup, India's rights holder JioStar had 36 IPTV player apps removed from Google Play and the App Store | TiviMate wasn't on the reported list, but rival players were. A sign of how quickly players can be pulled |
| 2 and 23 Jun | Versions 5.3.2, then 5.3.3 for Android TV | The current builds |
| Late July | TiviMate disappears from Play search for many users, reported widely around 28 July | New installs and Play updates stop on affected devices |
| 31 Aug | Google's minimum target-Android-version rule rises again | Apps that lag become invisible to new users on newer devices |
| 30 Sep | Amazon stops selling Fire TV Stick 4K Select and 4K Plus; launches a third-generation Fire TV Stick 4K on Vega OS at $59.99 | The new mainstream Fire stick can't run TiviMate |
| 30 Sep | Android starts developer verification for apps installed outside Play in its first four countries | A preview of how sideloading will work worldwide from 2027 |
None of these changes stopped an installed copy from working. What they did was make getting, updating and paying for TiviMate harder, and make the device you choose matter more than it used to.
Price and Premium right now
TiviMate is free to install and use with one playlist. Premium adds the features most people install it for: several playlists with a combined guide, recording, catch-up, multi-view and backup.
| Option | Typical 2026 price | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | One playlist, live TV and guide, per device |
| Premium yearly | About $9.99 | Up to 5 devices on one TiviMate account |
| Premium lifetime | About $34 (reported $33.99-$37.99 by region) | Same 5 devices |
Prices are set by the developer, Armobsoft FZE, and appear in local currency at checkout. Premium has normally been bought through the TiviMate Companion app on a phone or via the developer's site, then unlocked by signing in on each TV device. You'll still see old pages quoting $4.99 a year and $19.99 for life; those prices are long gone. Our free vs Premium breakdown shows what each tier unlocks feature by feature.
Our advice this year: if you're new, pay yearly. "Lifetime" means the life of the app on hardware you own, and with Fire TV moving to Vega OS and Play availability wobbling, $10 to find out is better value than $34 on faith.
The Play Store exit, explained
In the last week of July, Android TV owners began reporting that searching Google Play for "TiviMate IPTV Player" returned nothing. It wasn't the first time; the listing has vanished and returned before. Neither Google nor the developer published an explanation, so the two likely pressures are context, not a confirmed cause.
Rights-holder pressure. Player apps don't contain channels, but sports rights holders argue they're the tool most often paired with pirate playlists, and app stores have acted on that in 2026.
Google's technical rules. Apps have to target a recent Android version to stay visible to new users. When the bar rose on 31 August, any app lagging behind would simply stop appearing on newer devices without being "removed" in any formal sense.
The practical effect varies by device and by week, which is why reports conflict. Check Play on your own TV box. If you can see it and the developer line reads Armobsoft FZE, install it from there and you'll get automatic updates. If you can't, the only other source we'd use is the developer's own site, tivimate.com. A copy from there should have the package name ar.tvplayer.tv. Our device-by-device Play Store status guide tracks the detail.
Fire TV and Vega OS
TiviMate has never been in the Amazon Appstore. On Fire TV it has always been sideloaded, and that only works on models running Amazon's Android-based Fire OS.
| Fire TV device | System | TiviMate? |
|---|---|---|
| Fire TV Stick 4K (third generation, 2026) | Vega OS | No |
| Fire TV Stick 4K Select, newer Fire TV Stick HD | Vega OS | No |
| Fire TV Stick 4K Max | Fire OS | Yes, sideloaded |
| Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (discontinued 30 Sep) | Fire OS | Yes, if you already own one |
| Fire TV Cube, Fire TV smart TVs | Fire OS | Yes, sideloaded |
The trap is the name. Someone replacing an old "Fire TV Stick 4K" with a new "Fire TV Stick 4K" this autumn is moving from Android to Vega OS without any warning on the box. Settings → My Fire TV → About shows the model; our Vega OS vs Fire OS guide explains the difference. If TiviMate is the reason you're buying, the 4K Max is the last Fire stick that runs it, and a Google TV Streamer or Nvidia Shield is the more future-proof choice.
Android's new install rules
Google is starting to require that apps installed from outside Play come from developers who have registered and verified their identity. It began on 30 September 2026 in a first group of countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand were the ones Google named) with a worldwide rollout planned for 2027.
For US TiviMate users nothing changes yet. Installs from Play aren't affected at all. What may change next year is that a copy downloaded from outside Play needs either a verified developer or a slower, more deliberate install route on newer devices. Whether Armobsoft registers is up to Armobsoft. Our explainer on Google's sideloading rules has the detail.
What to do if you use it, or want to
Already installed and working. Leave it alone. Don't uninstall or clear data to "fix" something minor, because reinstalling is now the hard part. If you have Premium, make a backup from the settings menu and save it to a USB stick or network folder, and note which Google account and TiviMate email you used to pay.
Premium shows "invalid order" after a reinstall. This was widely reported after July on copies installed from outside Play. Sign in with the same Google account that made the purchase, and contact the developer with your order details rather than paying again.
New install on Android TV or Google TV. Try Play first; fall back to tivimate.com. Never use "Premium unlocked" or modded copies: they don't update, and they'll be holding your playlist password.
Buying a device for it. Nvidia Shield, Google TV Streamer, a Google TV television, or a Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Not the new Fire TV Stick 4K, and not Roku, Apple TV, Samsung or LG, where TiviMate has never existed.
What you load into it. TiviMate ships empty. It plays an M3U playlist or Xtream-style login, which should come from a source you're entitled to watch: a home antenna tuner, your own DVR server, or an operator that issues logins. The big US live TV services don't issue playlists, and don't need TiviMate; they have their own apps. Full first-time setup is in our TiviMate setup guide.
If you're moving off TiviMate
Plenty of households will switch this year, not because TiviMate got worse but because their next device can't run it. What to use instead depends on where you're going.
| Moving to | Realistic replacement | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Another Android TV or Google TV box | Keep TiviMate; restore your backup | None, if you can install it |
| Any device, free | Kodi with the PVR IPTV Simple Client | Fiddlier setup; heavier on cheap sticks |
| A mix of Apple TV, Roku and smart TVs | A home server (Plex, Jellyfin, Channels DVR) feeding each device's app | Needs a computer or NAS running at home |
| Vega OS Fire TV | Only what's in the Amazon Appstore | Check before you buy; no sideloading |
If your source is a licensed live TV service, the simplest replacement is no player at all: that service's own app runs on every one of these devices, Vega OS included. A third-party player only earns its place when you have a genuine playlist to feed it, such as a network antenna tuner's channel list.
One habit carries over whatever you choose: before switching, export your favourites and hidden groups from TiviMate's backup, so at least your channel order isn't lost even if the new app can't read the file directly.
Is it still worth it?
For a Shield or Google TV owner with a legitimate playlist, yes. Nothing else on Android TV matches its guide, recording and multi-view for the money, and $10 a year is less than one month of any live TV service.
For anyone on a Vega OS Fire stick, Roku, Apple TV or a Samsung or LG TV, it isn't an option and never was. For anyone whose "playlist" is a $15-a-month everything-included subscription, TiviMate is the least of the problems: the app is fine, the source is the part that disappears.
And if you're deciding today between a lifetime licence and a yearly one, the year has given a clear answer. Pay yearly.
Quick answers
Is TiviMate still available in 2026? Yes, but it dropped out of Google Play search for many users in late July 2026. Installed copies keep working; new installs come from Play where visible or from the developer's site.
How much is TiviMate Premium in 2026? About $9.99 a year or roughly $34 for a lifetime licence, covering up to five devices. The exact price varies by region.
What is the latest version of TiviMate? Version 5.3.3, released for Android TV in late June 2026, after 5.3.2 in early June.
Does TiviMate work on the new Fire TV Stick 4K? No. The third-generation Fire TV Stick 4K runs Vega OS, which only installs Amazon Appstore apps. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max still runs it.
Will my installed TiviMate stop working? No. Playlists, guide and recordings stay intact. You may just not get updates through Play.
Where is it safe to download TiviMate? Google Play when it's listed, or the developer's own site, tivimate.com. Avoid modified or "Premium unlocked" copies.
Does TiviMate include channels? No. It's a player; you add a playlist or login from a service you're entitled to watch.
Should I buy lifetime or yearly Premium? Yearly, for now. Lifetime pays off only after about four years, and device support is less certain than it was.
Play Store visibility, Premium prices, version numbers, Amazon's device line-up and Android's install rules all changed during 2026 and may change again with little notice. Check Play on your own device and the developer's site before paying. Checked October 2026.