Simple Steps to Install Android Apps and Games on Windows 11!

Curious about how to bring the Android experience to your Windows 11 PC? In this video, we’ll provide you with essential tips, step-by-step methods, and best practices for installing Android apps and games on Windows 11. Read now to enhance your Windows 11 experience with your favorite Android apps and games!

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Just a few weeks ago, it was impossible to run Google Play Store on Windows 11. But luckily, now there is a way to use Android apps from Google Play Store with all of their features unlocked on Windows 11. The installation process is not too difficult, and the results you gain are really worth the time you spend.

One little disclaimer here – we decline all responsibility for any possible errors of the software you are going to use, although we haven’t had any system errors or failures in the process of testing.

Getting a Windows 11 computer ready for WSA installation

Before you proceed to download and install software, make sure that additional features such as Hyper-V and Virtual Machine Platform are enabled on your computer.

To do it, click the Start button, and type “Control Panel” in the search field.

Go to Programs&Features. Find the tab “Turn Windows features on or off”.

In the window “Windows Features”, check the boxes for Hyper-V and Windows Hypervisor Platform. Click OK. The system will ask you to restart the computer.

Remove any other previously installed WSA packages

After that, remove any Windows subsystems for Android if they were installed before. This step should be taken before you can install a new subsystem. To remove them, open the Start menu, find “Windows Subsystem for Android”, right-click on it and delete.

Enable Developer mode in Windows 11

Now it’s time to enable Developer mode in Windows. Open Start, go to Settings, and find the “Privacy&Security” tab.

Then go to the tab “For Developers” and enable the developer mode. Click “Yes” in the window that appears.

After that, you’ll need to download the WSA package – which is a modified version of “Windows subsystem for Android”. Follow the link to download it.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

Extract the downloaded file to any directory but remember where exactly, because you will have to specify the path to this file a bit later.

Start PowerShell as administrator. Right-click on the “Start” menu, and open Windows terminal as administrator.

In the Command Prompt, type this command Add-AppxPackage -Register and give the path to the file named AppxManifest.xml.

Add-AppxPackage -Register

To quickly find this path, go to the folder containing the file and right-click on AppxManifest.xml. Choose “Copy as path” to copy the path to this file into the clipboard, then go to the Command Prompt, paste the path and press Enter. The WSA application will be installed, and its shortcut will be added to the Start menu.

Now you need to download the SDK Platform Tools package. Visit the corresponding website:

https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

Extract the .zip archive to a convenient location.

WSAConfiguration

Then click Start, jump to the tab “All apps” and launch the WSA app.

In the “Developer mode” tab, drag the slider to enable it.

Now you need to open the file option by clicking here, and then the firewall request window appears, so click to allow access. In the window that appears, click “Continue”.

In the IP address tab, click to refresh the address, and copy it.

Have a look at the address displayed in the “Developer mode” tab. It should be the same as yours.

Establish connection

Now go to the folder where the SDK package has been extracted. Hold down the Shift button and right-click on an empty area in this folder, and choose the option “Open in Windows Terminal”.

Now run the command

.\adb.exe connect 127.0.0.1:58526

And paste our address 127.0.0.1:58526, then press Enter.

Then type one more command

.\adb.exe devices

Now ADB is connected.

Now you need to authenticate at Google Play Store by running these three commands one by one:

.\adb.exe shell

su

setenforce 0

Sign in to your Google account in the app.

That’s all. Now you can install your favorite apps and games: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and so on.

Author: , Technical Writer

Vladimir Artiukh is a technical writer for Hetman Software, as well as the voice and face of their English-speaking YouTube channel, Hetman Software: Data Recovery for Windows. He handles tutorials, how-tos, and detailed reviews on how the company’s tools work with all kinds of data storage devices.

Editor: , Technical Writer

Oleg Afonin is an expert in mobile forensics, data recovery and computer systems. He often attends large data security conferences, and writes several blogs for such resources as xaker.ru, Elcomsoft and Habr. In addition to his online activities, Oleg’s articles are also published in professional magazines. Also, Oleg Afonin is the co-author of a well-known book, Mobile Forensics - Advanced Investigative Strategies.

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Questions and answers

Does Windows 11 support Android apps?

Yes, they do. One of the flagship features that Microsoft advertised for Windows 11 was the opportunity to install Android apps on a computer, which allowed people to use some of the same apps they favored on Android right on the Windows desktop.

However, to install such apps you need to make some changes to the system settings.

Can I run apps for Android in Windows 11 Dev?

As of February 2022, Android apps were available in Windows 11 stable version, but only in the USA. If your PC meets requirements for Windows 11, it also meets them for Android apps. Make sure you have necessary Windows updates and install every available one before you continue.

Can I run apps for Android in Windows 11?

The finally released Microsoft operating system still doesn’t work under Android, but if you’re a Windows insider for development or beta channels, you can do it now .

Can I install APK on Windows 11?

Fortunately, we only discuss Android apps, so so sideloading is absolutely an option. However, you can use ADB in Windows 11 to install any APK file, but it’s not the most user-friendly process for many people.

How to run an APK file on my PC?

Grab an APK that you want to install (be it a Google application package or anything else), and put that file into the tools folder in your SDK directory. Then use the command prompt while your AVD is running to type (in that directory)_ the name of the installation file adb. apk. The application should be added into the application list of your virtual device.

Comments (13) #

  • novopet 1.02.2024 06:31 #

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  • novopet 1.02.2024 03:54 #

    Bravo, seems to me, is a remarkable phrase

  • Elijah Hawkins 5.08.2022 11:14 #

    Does full screen mode work in games?

    • Hetman Software 9.08.2022 15:35 #

      In some games, yes. Depends on the application

  • Daniela Dimirova 5.08.2022 11:13 #

    What are PC requirements for that? Is 6 GB of RAM enough?

    • Hetman Software 9.08.2022 15:35 #

      System requirements to run Android on Windows 11: Memory : 8 GB (16 GB recommended). Processor: Intel Core i3 8th Gen, AMD Ryzen 3000, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8c or better. Storage: Solid-state drive (SSD).

  • Oumarou Amadou 5.08.2022 11:13 #

    How to install Android apps on Windows with .apk files, and not from Google Play? Is it possible?

    • Hetman Software 9.08.2022 15:34 #

      Hi! Open the WSATools app from the Start menu to install Android apps. Click on the Select an APK button. In the next window, click on the "Install" button to install the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) tools. Specify the folder where the ADB tools will be installed, for example in the root of the C drive.

  • Douglas Mac Evoy 4.08.2022 15:47 #

    Will this method work with Windows 11?

  • Irvin Paul Parada 4.08.2022 15:46 #

    How will applications work if I install them on Windows this way? Will they lag?

    • Hetman Software 5.08.2022 16:15 #

      Actually, there are system requirements to run Android on Windows 11. Memory : 8 GB (16 GB recommended). Processor: Intel Core i3 8th Gen, AMD Ryzen 3000, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8c or better.

      Storage: Solid-state drive (SSD). Games generally work, but not all are comfortable to control with the mouse.

      At the same time, it's cool that Android treats the trackpad as a full-fledged touch interface. It even works gestures on the trackpad! So for many games, you don't even end up needing a touchscreen. Heavy games don't really fly.

      It also supports a gamepad. And where control is difficult - you can't do without a game controller.

  • Hetman Software 20.04.2022 15:39 #

    If you have any questions about installing Google Play Store on Windows 11, leave a comment to ask us.

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