A VPN on a Sber TV and SberBox: how to install it on Salute TV

Mayak is not in Sber's catalogue, but Sber itself lets you install your own apps from a file. Below: how to do it following Sber's own steps, how to sign in, and what we know about SberBox Top.

Will your SberBox or Sber TV work

SberBox and TV sets on Salute TV run Sber's own system. By Sber's own description it is built from Linux and the open part of Android (Sber documentation). Apps are usually installed from Sber's catalogue, and Mayak is not in it. But Sber officially lets you install your own APK files — and that is our way in.

The firmware you need, according to Sber's help:

• SberBox and Salute TV sets — 1.81 or newer;
• SberBox Top and SberBox Time — 1.82 or newer.

Sber explains how to check the firmware version in the help page of each device. Only files made for Android TV boxes and TV sets fit — Mayak is one of them: the same app runs on a phone and on Android TV.

Does it work for real people? Yes: as of 24 September 2026, people with a SberBox and with other Salute TV hardware held connections to our lines — according to our data on account devices.

How to install Mayak on a SberBox via apps.sber.ru

The order below is from Sber's help, with our file in place of an abstract one.

1. Create a Mayak account on your phone or in your account page. Registering on a TV is awkward: it asks for a “not a robot” check, and that check may not open on a TV.
2. Download the Mayak file to a computer or phone: mayaknetworks.com/dl/app. It is about 18 MB — Sber's limit is 300 MB per file — and carries a build for armeabi-v7a, the architecture SberBox runs on according to Sber's help.
3. Upload it to your Sber account. Open apps.sber.ru/my, sign in with the same Sber ID you use on the device, drag the file into the upload area and press Save. Sber scans the file for viruses while it uploads.
4. Install it on the device. On the SberBox or TV, open the services screen, choose «Мои приложения» (My apps) and the «Загруженные» (Uploaded) tab. Press the Mayak card — installation starts.

The card is grey and does not respond? According to Sber's help, that happens in two cases: parental control is on (third-party apps do not install under it) or the app is already installed on the device.

The second way — the built-in browser. Sber names it too: download an app from the internet with the device's browser (SberBox help). The address is the same — mayaknetworks.com/dl/app. We have not tested this way on Sber hardware; the Sber account route is more reliable.

How to sign in and connect

Open Mayak on the TV. What next depends on what you see.

• A QR code and an eight-character code on the screen. On your phone, open Mayak → Settings → “Sign in a TV” → “Scan QR”, point the camera at the screen, then press “Confirm sign-in”. No app on the phone? Enter the code in your account page, the «Devices» section, «TV sign-in». Details — in step 3 of the TV article.
• An email and password form. That is how Mayak behaves on a device that does not call itself a TV. Sign in with your email or account number and password; if typing with the remote is awkward, plug a keyboard into the box.

How your SberBox describes itself we do not know: we own no Sber hardware, which is why both branches are here.

Connecting. Pick a country and press the connect button. The first time, the system asks for permission to connect — press “OK”. When “Protected” appears, you are done. If no question appears and Mayak says there is no permission, that is the case from the next section.

SberBox Top: if the app used to close

On 27 September 2026 we saw it in our crash reports: on SberBox Top, Mayak closed when the connect button was pressed. The reason: this box's firmware has no system window in which Android asks permission for a secure connection, and the app did not expect that.

Since version 0.7.39 (on our site since 28 September 2026) Mayak no longer closes and explains what to do:

• if another secure-connection app is on the box — turn it off and press connect again;
• otherwise — grant the permission from a computer with an adb command: Mayak shows it in full;
• or write to our support — we will help.

⚠️ An honest limit: the fix is checked by an app test, not on a live SberBox Top — we do not own one. Whether the connection comes up on a Top after the hint, we do not know yet. If you try — write to us, and we will publish the result here.

How to put a new version over the old one. According to Sber's help, two versions of one app cannot be uploaded to the account, and an app does not install over itself on the device: first remove the old version from the account and from the device, then upload and install the new one. After removal you will need to sign in to Mayak again.

What goes through Mayak

What runs on the device with Mayak goes through the secure connection. If Mayak is on a SberBox, that means the SberBox's apps; if it is on a Salute TV set, the TV's apps. It carries Android apps the same way as on any Android device. But Salute TV is not built from Android alone, and whether its own system services go through Mayak we have not measured.

A plan slot. A SberBox or a TV is one more device on your account, like a phone. The trial has two slots: a phone and a SberBox both fit. How many slots each plan has — in the TV article.

What we tested

• Sber hardware works for people. As of 24 September 2026, people with a SberBox and with Salute TV hardware did not just bring up a connection to our lines but held it — according to our data on account devices.
• The file meets Sber's conditions. On 28 September 2026 we downloaded the file from mayaknetworks.com/dl/app: about 18 MB, with builds for armeabi-v7a, arm64-v8a, x86 and x86_64 inside.
• SberBox Top. The crash was seen in reports on 27 September 2026; the fix shipped in 0.7.39 and is checked by an app test.
• The app on Android TV — on an emulator: install, sign-in with a code from the phone and a connection up to “Protected” — details in the TV article.

What we do not know

• We own no Sber hardware. We have not uploaded our file through apps.sber.ru and Sber's virus scan ourselves; the steps above are from Sber's help.
• The built-in browser route on SberBox is untested by us.
• Whether your SberBox shows a sign-in code or an email form depends on how the device describes itself; we have not measured it.
• SberBox Top after the fix. The app no longer closes, but whether anyone on a Top has reached “Protected” we do not know yet.
• Salute TV system services. Whether what runs in the system part rather than in Android apps goes through Mayak we have not measured.

Short answers

Can I put a VPN on a Sber TV? Mayak — yes: as an APK file via your Sber account at apps.sber.ru/my. You need firmware 1.81 or newer.

Is Mayak in Sber's app catalogue? No. It installs from a file, and Sber allows that.

And on SberBox Top and SberBox Time? The same way, but you need firmware 1.82 or newer. On a Top, use version 0.7.39 or newer — older ones closed on connecting.

Why is the Mayak card in Uploaded grey? According to Sber's help — parental control or a version already installed.

How do I sign in on a TV without a keyboard? If there is a QR code on the screen, confirm it from your phone or in the account page. If it is an email form, a keyboard makes it easier.

Does a SberBox take a plan slot? Yes, as one more device. The trial has two slots.

My TV is another brand. If it has Google Play — go here; if it is a Samsung or LG — here.