Change Android CheckBox box's color programmatically (support library)?
Finally, found the answer here from one of the Google guys: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=202235. I was right about not using:
checkbox.setSupportButtonTintList(ColorStateList);
It seems is a private API. Instead, you have to use:
CompoundButtonCompat.setButtonTintList(checkbox, colorStateList);