How to Install Android Apps on Windows 11
Microsoft has been working on supporting Android apps on Windows for quite a while now. The effort, known internally as Project Latte, was one of the highlights when the company announced Windows 11 earlier in June 2021. However, the Redmond giant had to delay the feature, which is why we didn't see it in action when Windows 11 launched last year. And now users in the US can run Android apps on Windows 11 in the stable version. And a new version of Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), based on Android 12.1, has been released to all Insider Channels. In this article, we have included steps to install Android apps on Windows 11 in any region and without any restrictions.
Install Android Apps on Windows 11 (Updated July 2022)
Before we move on, make sure you check the requirements section to make sure your Windows 11 PC is eligible to test Android apps right now. We have also mentioned the steps to manually install an Android APK on Windows 11 and possible fixes if you encounter installation errors. With that said, let's get started!
Requirements for installing Android apps on Windows 11
Your Windows 11 PC must support virtualization to install Android apps. You can check out our linked guide to enable virtualization in Windows 11. To check if virtualization is already enabled on your PC, open Task Manager with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Then go to the "Performance" tab and check if it says "Enabled" next to "Virtualization" in the bottom right corner. If it's enabled, you're done. Otherwise, enter the BIOS/UEFI page on your Windows 11 PC and enable it.
- Enable virtual machine platform
After enabling virtualization from BIOS/UEFI, you need to enable the virtual machine platform and some other features in Windows 11. Use the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut "Windows + R" to open the Run prompt. Here, type optionfeatures.exe and press Enter.
In the Windows Features window, enable "Virtual Machine Platform", "Windows Hypervisor Platform", and "Hyper-V". After making changes, restart your computer. Your computer is now ready to install Android apps on Windows 11.
Install Android apps on Windows 11 (US region)
If you are from the US, you do not need to switch to any insider channels. In March 2022, Microsoft released the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), also known as the ability to run Android apps on Windows 11, in the stable channel for Windows 11 users. Your PC must be running Windows 11 Build 22000.526 or later stable version for launch Android applications.
However, the stable build is based on an older build of Android 11. If you want to get the latest WSA update based on Android 12.1, you'll need to go to one of the Insider channels. The WSA update based on Android 12.1 is available on all Insider channels for users in the US region only. I would suggest switching to the Release Preview channel as this will bring new features to Windows 11 22H2 along with Android 12.1 WSA. Now that all doubts have been cleared, here's how to install Android apps on Windows 11 in the US region.
1. Before you start, make sure virtualization is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI settings. After that, the virtual machine platform and other features were enabled. Now download the Windows Subsystem for Android from the Microsoft Store. Use this direct link to access the list of Windows Subsystems for Android.
2. You will now see a green "Install" button if your computer is suitable to run Android apps on Windows 11. Click it and follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA). As always, this basically involves clicking "Next" and "Download" on the final screen.
Note. You will see a "Get" button if you have already installed WSA in the past and then uninstalled it. We did it for this tutorial and are reinstalling it right now.
3. After installing the application, this is how the main screen of the Windows Subsystem for Android looks like:
4. Now that you've installed the Windows Subsystem for Android, it's time to install the Amazon App Store. Use this direct link to download and install the Amazon Appstore on your Windows 11 PC. If your PC meets the requirements, you will see an Install button below the app name.
5. After installing the app, sign in to start downloading Android apps from the Amazon app store on your Windows 11 PC. Please note that you will need an Amazon US account to access the app store.
6. After you sign in, you have access to the Android apps currently available on the Amazon Appstore. It may look a little different on your PC as this is the mobile version of the app.
7. To test apps from the Amazon Appstore, I downloaded a game called Godus. As shown below, it was installed and worked as you would expect. Here's how you can install Android 11 based WSA on your Windows 11 PC. If you want the latest Android 12.1 WSA, go to the Insider channel (Release Preview recommended) and follow the same steps as above.
Install Android apps on Windows 11 in any region (Latest WSA based on Android 12.1 June 2022)
If you want to install Android apps on your Windows 11 PC without any restrictions, be it region, language, or build version, you have come to the right place. I manually installed the latest build of WSA based on Android 12.1 (version 2205.40000.14.0) on my Windows 11 PC running in stable channel and it worked like clockwork. I have compiled here all the steps to run Android apps on any Windows 11 PC without any restrictions. Here are the instructions to follow.
1. First, you need to download the latest MSIX package of Windows Subsystem for Android (Android 12.1) from the link here. Open the link and select "ProductID" from the left drop-down menu. After that, paste 9P3395VX91NR into the text box and leave "RP" as it is. Now click the "Done" button on the right.
2. A long list of announcements will appear. Here, scroll down and download the .msixbundle file, which is about 1.35 GB in size. This is your WSA build based on Android 12.1. If you are uploading using Edge or Chrome, it will result in an error. Click on the three dots icon and select Save -> Save Anyway. If the download doesn't start, copy the link, paste it into a new tab, and press Enter.
3. We also need to download the 64-bit version of Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.6. On some PCs, due to an outdated XAML infrastructure, WSA fails to install and gives an error. So, download the XAML 64-bit Framework .appx package. I have highlighted the package in the screenshot below for better understanding.
4. After the download is complete, double-click the "Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.6" file and click "Install". It probably won't take 10 seconds.
5. Then, to install WSA based on Android 12.1, press the Windows key once and search for "Powershell". In the search results that appear, select "Run as administrator".
6. Now open the file manager and navigate to the larger .msixbundle. Right-click the file and select "Copy as Path" to copy the file path to the clipboard of your Windows 11 PC.
7. Return to the Powershell window and paste the command below. Here, be sure to replace the file path with the path you copied above. Now press Enter.
Add-AppxPackage -Path filepath
8. All you have to do now is wait for the installation process to complete. This should take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on your PC hardware.
9. Once the process is complete, you will successfully install the latest build of WSA for Android 12.1 (version 2205.40000.14.0) on your Windows 11 PC. Open the Start menu and click on Windows Subsystem for Android. You can now try apps from the Amazon Appstore (US account only) or download unpublished Android apps on Windows 11.
Fix "Windows Subsystem for Android" Error in Windows 11
If you're getting an error when you try to open the Windows Subsystem for Android, fixing it is very simple. Just follow these steps:
1. Open the Settings app, go to Apps -> Advanced Features and scroll down until you find the option Windows Advanced Features. Open it.
2. Now enable "Virtual Machine Platform" in Advanced Features and click OK. Some users have reported that enabling "Windows Hypervisor Platform" helps, and you can also enable it if simply enabling "Virtual Machine Platform" does not help. Your Windows Subsystem for Android should now run without errors on your Windows 11 PC.
How to Download Android Apps on Windows 11
The best part of the Windows Subsystem for Android is the ability to download apps, especially since the Amazon Appstore has a limited number of apps right now. You can install popular Google Play Store alternatives like Aurora Store to make the whole APK installation process easier.
We tested downloading several apps from the Aurora Store and APKMirror and the installation process went smoothly. In order to download applications, you must install ADB on your computer, enable developer mode, connect WSA to ADB, and use the adb install command. Check out our dedicated guide to downloading unpublished Android apps on Windows 11 for more information.
Android Apps on Windows 11 (WSA Based on Android 12.1): First Impressions
In my brief use of the latest build of WSA (version 2205.40000.14.0), I found that the Android layer was greatly improved over the old build of WSA based on Android 11. Idle RAM usage was about 300MB and RAM usage was about 1.4 GB when using Android apps on Windows 11.
When I used 3 Android apps on my Windows 11 PC, it consumed about 1.6GB of RAM. By comparison, the earlier version of WSA only took up 2.4 GB with the Android subsystem enabled. In terms of performance is also very good. Android apps open in the blink of an eye, and the smooth transition to Android 12 is a pleasure.
In addition, Microsoft has added several new features to the latest build of WSA based on Android 12.1. For starters, the WSA settings page has been redesigned and you can find all installed Android apps right there.
You can also customize keyboard keys for swipe and slide actions in Android apps. There is also a native screen recording option for the Android subsystem. In addition, you can choose a dedicated GPU to run Android apps. There is also support for VPN and advanced networks to find devices on the same network and manage them using the Android app on Windows 11.
Among other things, notifications, location, and camera usage have also been improved. The taskbar will now also show which Android apps are using the microphone and location permission. You can find all the changelogs for WSA based on Android 12.1 here.
Run your favorite Android apps on Windows 11
Here's how you can install Android apps on your Windows 11 PC. Whether you're in the US or any other region, you can install the latest WSA on your Windows 11 PC without any geographical restrictions. However, this is all from us. If you want to install the Google Play Store on Windows 11, please see our detailed guide. And if you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.