What You Should Know One way to get Android apps for Windows 11 is through the Amazon Appstore. You can find them in the Microsoft Store. An Android emulator is another method that you can use to install apps and play Android games on a Windows PC. You can also install APK files on your PC if the app isn’t available through any of these methods.
This article explains all your options for adding Android apps to Windows 11. It includes three methods, two of which provide an app store similar to what you see on an Android device.
How to download Android apps using the Amazon Appstore
It sounds a bit confusing at first, but there is an app in the Microsoft Store called Amazon Appstore that gives you access to Amazon’s app library in Windows 11.
Open the Amazon Appstore download page and select Get In Store App.
When prompted, choose Open Microsoft Store.
On the download page, select Install.
At the Windows Subsystem for Android prompt, select Download. It may take a few minutes for the download to complete.
Select Open Amazon Appstore to launch the store.
Choose one of these options, then follow the on-screen instructions to access the App Store: Already an Amazon customer? Sign in or create a new Amazon account.
Select an Android app you want to install in Windows 11 and select Get on the download page.
If the app you want isn’t available in the Amazon Appstore, the Windows Subsystem for Android (which you installed earlier) can be used to install APK files. There is more to this after these instructions.
The app will be installed on your computer. On the download page, select Open to launch the app, or search for it using the Windows search tool.
Use an emulator to get Android apps in Windows 11
Downloading Android apps using an emulator offers greater flexibility than the technique above. This is because emulators allow you to install apps straight from the Google Play Store or an APK file, opening up your computer to the full range of apps that only Android devices normally have access to.
Some emulators mimic an entire phone or tablet, giving you a home screen of app icons similar to a real Android device.
BlueStacks is a popular option, but there are several other free Android emulators that work the same way.
How to install APK files in Windows 11
As you read in the previous section, you can install apps via their APK files using an emulator. Another option is to use the Windows Subsystem for Android (see installation above) and Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
You may prefer this method if you want your Android apps to look and feel like other Microsoft Store apps. They are easily accessible from the start menu and you can create desktop and taskbar shortcuts.
There are two ways to do this. The first and easiest is with a third-party program called WSATools. It offers a graphical user interface to easily install any APK file. Install this program like any other Microsoft Store app, and then follow these steps:
In Windows, search for Windows Subsystem for Android. Once it appears, select it.
See the instructions above for installing Windows Subsystem for Android if you don’t see it when doing a search.
Open the “Developer” tab and select the toggle next to “Developer Mode” to enable it.
Open WSATools and select Install APK.
Select the Android app you want to install, then select Get APK.
Choose Install.
Select Allow in the Allow ADB Debugging? prompt.
You may also need to select Retry in WSATools after confirming the prompt.
You can now open the app from Windows 11’s Start menu, much like you would launch any other app. There is also an “Open App” button in WSATools, but this is only visible right after installation.
Sideload Android apps on Windows
The other method is to sideload Android apps. This only works after you’ve installed ADB, so follow these steps and then do the following when you’re done:
Repeat the first two steps from the WSATools instructions above: Open the Windows subsystem for Android (search Windows for it) and go to the “Developer” tab to turn on developer mode.
Open Windows PowerShell (it’s accessible via Terminal) and enter the following command, replacing the IP address and port number with what you see in the Developer tab (see image below for an example).
adb connect 127.0.0.1:58526
You may get a message that authentication failed. If so, you should also see a prompt to allow ADB debugging. Press Allow and then continue to the next step.
Type this to make sure you’re actually connected:
ADB devices
This is what it looks like on the command line:
The command result should be device after the IP address. If it says “Unauthorized” then you are not yet connected and should try these steps again.
Copy the path to the APK file you want to install. To do this, locate the app where you installed it, right-click it and choose Copy as path.
In PowerShell, type adb install followed by a space and then paste the path (Ctrl+V). Press Enter to run the command.
It will look something like this:
adb install “C:\Users\jonfi\Downloads\reddit.apk”
PowerShell says Performing Streamed Install and then Success to indicate the Android app was installed. Use the Windows search tool to find it.
How to Download Android Apps on Windows 11
There are three ways to install apps and the method you choose may depend on a few things like the simplicity of the technique and whether the method supports the app you want to install.
Amazon Appstore is the easiest way. You browse the apps like you would on a phone, and once installed, they’re easy to find and update. However, the Amazon Appstore is not available worldwide (only in a few dozen countries), and not all apps are available through this catalog. An Android emulator works well for games, as most of them come with helpful keyboard shortcuts and other phone-like features. An emulator is best at copying the look of a real device, making it feel like you’re running Android in Windows. Most apps are available this way. Manual APK file installation works great for apps downloaded from the internet. Maybe it’s an obscure app that’s no longer available through a regular app store, or it’s an older version of the app that you prefer to use. What Android apps can you get on Windows 11?
Short answer: pretty much any app you want. However, this depends on the chosen installation method.
There are over 50,000 Android apps available through the Amazon Appstore, so all of these are available in Windows 11. However, this catalog is different from the Google Play Store. Because of this, you cannot install apps that require Google Mobile Services (GMS), such as Gmail, YouTube, etc., through the Amazon Appstore.
If you want these apps to run in Windows 11, you’d better use the desktop versions. There are desktop equivalent apps for most things, e.g. B. an email client to retrieve your Gmail messages. Of course, you can also use the web version on Gmail.com, YouTube.com, etc.
However, the emulator method works for GMS required apps. BlueStacks, for example, includes the Google Play Store, which means you can install any of its millions of apps and games.
Deleting Android apps in Windows 11
If the app was installed via Amazon Appstore or WSATools, search for the app in the Start menu and then right-click on it to find the Uninstall option. Android apps that come from an emulator must be uninstalled through the emulation software, which can also usually be done by right-clicking the app or through the software’s app library.
FAQ
How do I run Android apps in Windows 10?
While Windows 11 runs Android apps as if they were made to run on a PC, if you’re using Windows 10 you’ll need to use an emulator or a PC. It’s not a do-then-that approach, so we’ve got a whole how-to article Run Android apps on Windows 10 to tell you what to do.
How do I get Android apps on a Windows phone?
Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued operating system with a last update released in January 2020. While you can run some Android apps, you’ll find the process to be technical and fraught with pitfalls, as the way to do it likely excludes (even remotely) all recent apps. We strongly recommend that you update your system to something newer.
Thanks for letting us know!
Get the latest tech news every day
Subscribe to
Tell us why!
Miscellaneous Not enough detail Difficult to understand
