Windows 11 now supports Android apps. This means you can now run all your favorite Android apps on your desktop. But the question is, how to sideload Android apps on Windows 11? Well, that’s what we will be discussing in this post.
Although, as of now, Windows 11 doesn’t support Android apps. But if you are a Windows Insider dev, then you can run Android apps on Windows 11’s beta version. However, Windows only allows you to install apps from Amazon’s store. And the drawback of it is that it has a limited selection of apps.
But yes, there is a way to sideload apps into your Windows 11 PC. And for that, follow the below guide:
Requirements To Sideload Android Apps On Windows 11
You cannot straight away install android apps to your Windows 11 PC. Instead, your system must meet two requirements. These requirements are:
- Your PC must run Windows 11 Insider Build 22000.282 or higher. Also, if you are not a part of the Windows Insider program, you can join it by going to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider.
- Your PC must have virtualization enabled. To check it, you have to launch Task Manager and then go to the Performances tab. Then in the lower right corner, you should see Virtualization: Enabled. If it’s not enabled, then enter the BIOS or UEFI and enable it from there.
How to Sideload Android Apps on Windows 11?
Since the Amazon App store has a limited number of apps. It is a better idea to sideload APK files to your PC.
Sideloading apps on Android devices is a pretty straightforward job. You download APK files and install them on your phone. But when it comes to Windows, things are not really simple. Instead, there are two ways to sideload Android apps. These methods are:
- WSATools
- Android Developer Bridge
Now let me talk about both the methods one by one below:
1] WSATools
- First, install WSATools from the Microsoft Store. You can get the app by visiting this link and clicking on the Get in Store app.
- Click on the Get button and let the application get downloaded and installed on your PC.
- Once installed, click on the Open button, and you will see a message saying WSA Missing. Click on the Install from Microsoft Store to get the app.
- After installing, WSATools on your PC completely launch it.
- You should now see the Select an APK button, click on it and select the APK file you wish to install.
- Then let WSATools install the APK file for you, and it will take about a minute or so.
- Once installed, you should see the Open App button. Simply click on it, and you are good to go.
2] Android Developer Bridge
Android Developer Bridge is a hard way to sideload apps on your Windows PC. It is a toolset made for the programmers, and you have to use commands to push the APK file into Window’s Android environment. To get started with this, follow the below steps:
- First, you have to set up ADB. For this, download Android SDK Platform Tools’s ZIP file and unzip it in a folder.
- Secondly, download and install Windows Subsystem for Android from the Microsoft store if you don’t have it already.
- Launch Windows Subsystem for Android and enable Developer mode.
- Next, we will need to find the IP Addresses of the Android instances. For this, open Files from the Windows Subsystem for Android. Then click on Refresh for the IP Address. However, do not close the Files app. Also, note down the IP address.
- Next, open ADB, and you can start sideloading Android apps. So launch CMD from the Start Menu and go to the folder where you have unzipped the files.
- Now, we have to connect to the Android instances using the IP Address, so run this command: ADB connect [IP address]
- Next, we will install the APK file. So run this command with the quotes: ADB install “C:\Users\Nayan\Downloads\App_Name.apk”
- Finally, wait for a while, and you should see a success message, and you are all set to use Android apps on Windows 11.
How do I get WSA in Windows 11?
You can download WSA from Microsoft Store. However, to download the app, you have to meet certain requirements, such as Your PC must run on Windows 11 version 22000.120 or higher, 8GB memory, CPU should have support for Windows Subsystem for Android, SSD, and X64 arm64 architecture.
So that was all for your question about how to sideload apps on Windows 11. I hope the above guide did solve your query. So go ahead and try it out by yourself and see if it’s working for you. I would recommend you to use WSATools, as it is simpler to use. But you can try both methods.
