How to Install Android Apps on Windows 11

The Windows Subsystem for Android preview is now available under the Insider program, and some enthusiasts were quick to find ways to install Android apps on Windows 11 using the stable version. The exact process is long and requires combining several tools, but once you reach the end, you'll have access to a functional Android environment with thousands of apps just a click away. Want to learn more?

Work in Progress

Let's be honest: this is not a process recommended for beginners. Installing Android apps on Windows 11 requires secondary operating system components, using PowerShell and the system console, installing ADB, and manually downloading two stores before you get there. The bad news is that we can't avoid it. The good news is that you only need to do it once, and the rest will be handled by the stores. Ready to get your hands dirty? Let's go.

How to Install Android Apps on Windows 11: Step by Step

• Go to the classic Control Panel, enter Programs and Features, click Turn Windows features on or off, and select Virtual Machine Platform. Confirm and restart your PC for installation. If you skip this, you'll encounter several errors along the way.

• Visit the Adguard page for downloading apps, and enter the URL that downloads Windows Subsystem for Android:

https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9P3395VX91NR

• Change the download option to Slow, click to confirm, and look for the download at the bottom of the list. Windows Subsystem for Android takes up 1.2 gigabytes. If you're using Edge to download, it might not allow you at first, but choose to save anyway.

• Here we recommend moving the package to a folder closer to the root of the drive, for example, creating a subfolder called Android in C:. I also recommend renaming the package, because the original name is a nightmare and I guarantee you don't want to type that. In our test, the package is now called Android.msixbundle and is saved in C:\Android.

• Open PowerShell with administrator privileges. The command to install the package is:

Add-AppxPackage -Path C:\Nombre_de_ruta\Nombre_de_paquete.Msixbundle

• In our example, the exact command is Add-AppxPackage -Path C:\Android\Android.Msixbundle

• Once the installation finishes, Windows Subsystem for Android should appear in the Start menu. Click to run it.

• That will take you to the settings menu. Click the arrow that says Files. The first boot may take a while, and if your PC has less than 8 GB of RAM you'll get a performance warning, but it should still work.
• The process so far also installed the Amazon store, but it seems to only work for service accounts with a US address. Fortunately, we can add alternative stores, with one condition... we must install ADB.

• Visit the Android developers page on Google, and download the Android SDK Platform Tools for Windows. In total, the zip is less than 12 megabytes. Here we've dumped its contents into a folder called ADB on C: for convenience, but you can use any name and path you want.
• Return to Windows Subsystem for Android settings and enable developer mode. This entry should report that ADB can connect to a specific address, usually 127.0.0.1:58526.

• Restart your PC. This is very important for one reason: you need Windows Firewall to detect and automatically configure an exception for Windows Subsystem for Android, otherwise ADB will never connect and you won't be able to continue. Disable and re-enable developer mode if necessary, but you must set up that exception.

• With developer mode enabled and the firewall exception configured, open the system console with elevated privileges, go to the ADB folder, and use that tool to connect:

Adb connect 127.0.0.1:58526

• ADB will start its daemon, and it may throw an authentication error, but it should connect anyway. Use the command adb devices to check if the link is active.

• Go to the official F-Droid page, manually download its APK, and save a copy in the ADB folder. Then, use the command adb install F-Droid.apk to install it. Just as shown in the image.

• The operation should end with a Success, and if everything went well, F-Droid will appear in the Start menu. Click to open it. We're close!

• If you only want to install open source apps, you can stop here, but if you prefer to get access to some of the apps available on the Google Play Store, it's recommended to install Aurora Store from within F-Droid. Its configuration is very simple: once installed, choose to sign in as an anonymous user, and leave the rest of the options as default.

• That's it! From here on, to install Android apps on Windows 11, it's enough to open F-Droid or Aurora Store. Fortunately, both options are working quite well.

Possible Issues

• My computer "actively rejects" the ADB connection: Once again, you need Windows Firewall to configure the exception for Windows Subsystem for Android. Restarting your computer and re-enabling developer mode should be enough for the alert to appear.
• I have less than 8 GB of RAM: Windows Subsystem for Android recommends a minimum of 8 GB physical, but it should work anyway... unless the apps are huge.
• Windows Subsystem for Android won't start: The most likely cause is that the Virtual Machine Platform module is disabled in your Windows 11 installation. Go back to the first point of our guide to learn how to enable it.
• (Insert app here) doesn't work: Many apps depend on Google's proprietary services to function correctly, and Windows Subsystem for Android doesn't have access to them... for now. At the same time, the whole system is in preview and has a lot of work ahead. This guide is proof of that.

Good luck!