Activate the installation of Android apps on Windows 11

Away from all the improvements and changes that came with Windows 11, the feature of running Android applications is one of the most powerful and most important additions to the point that the majority of Windows users were more excited about the feature than the new Microsoft system itself.

 However, the company had to delay the feature and roll it out later when all testing is done on it, so we didn't see it in the final version of Windows 11 that was launched earlier this month.

But recently, Microsoft officially announced the first beta version to support running Android applications on Windows 11, as the feature became available to subscribers of the Windows Insider program within the Beta channel, in preparation for its arrival to the final version soon.

 However, if you can't wait for the feature to arrive on your device running the latest stable version of Windows 11. Fortunately, there is a way for everyone to try the beta version of the feature now, let me walk you through the next lines.

Let's agree in principle that getting the feature to run Android apps on Windows 11 currently requires many conditions that Microsoft mentioned in a post on its official blog.

 In order for your device to be eligible, it must be running the latest trial version of Windows 11 after subscribing to the Windows Insider program and joining the Beta channel, not the Dev.

 In addition to activating the virtualization feature from the BIOS settings if the processor already supports it.

Most important of all, you must be based in the United States of America to be able to download the Windows Subsystem for Android package responsible for bringing the Android emulator into Windows 11.

 Also among the conditions is the need to have an Amazon account associated with an address in the United States in order to be able to download applications through the Amazon Store AppStore.

We do not know frankly why Microsoft limited the feature to residents of the United States, it is true that this requirement can be bypassed by running a VPN, but in this topic, we decided to explain how to bypass all these conditions and run Android applications on Windows 11 regardless of your geographical location (without VPN) and the version that you are running.

 You use it, knowing that this explanation we applied to the final version and we did not join the Windows Insider program.

All you really need to run the feature now is to activate the Virtualization feature from the BIOS in case you haven't done it before, and we explained how to activate it step by step.

 Your device must also be running the 8th generation Intel processor or later or an AMD Ryzen 3000 generation processor, and it must have at least 8GB of RAM.

 If these conditions are met, follow the steps below to activate the feature to install Android apps on Windows 11.

Note: You will need to apply these steps only to get the beta version of the feature at the present time, but when the feature reaches the final version one day, you will not need to do anything from what is mentioned here, and certainly then we will have another topic to explain the official method.

To get started, you will need to download the Windows Subsystem for Android package which, as we mentioned earlier, is responsible for providing the environment needed to run Android applications under Windows.

 So go to the Microsoft Store and download it or use this direct link to access the app directly.

 But since your device is not eligible for the feature, whether because you are using the final version of Windows 11 and not the Beta version or because you are not a resident of the United States, you will see a message “This app will not work on your device” and therefore you will not be able to download the package from the Microsoft Store directly.

 The solution is simply to download the package outside the store...

Fortunately, there is a trusted website that allows you to download and install Windows apps manually apart from the Microsoft Store. Just like the popular APKMirror website for downloading Android apps on smartphones.

 The difference is that the site we are referring to here brings download links directly from Microsoft servers and does not upload applications to its own servers, meaning we did not come up with a “trusted” certificate out of thin air!

So instead of using a VPN to make the package available to download directly from the store, we will use this site.

 All you have to do is go to the following link: store.rg-adguard.net and then paste the direct link to the Windows Subsystem for Android package (attached in the previous paragraph) and then select Slow instead of RP from the drop-down list next to the link field, then press the checkmark (✔️).

 Wait for the download to finish then scroll to the bottom of the page to find a direct link to download the package [indicated in the image] Click on it and the download will start immediately, the file is 1.21 GB.

After the download is complete, you will get a .msixbundle file that you can run by double-clicking on the file and then pressing Install to try to install the Windows Subsystem for the Android package but an error message will appear as shown in the image.

 If you can't download and install it via the Microsoft Store, you also won't be able to do so if you downloaded the file externally.

The solution is to forcibly install the package manually using the PowerShell command line. Here's how it's done...

First, go to the folder containing the msixbundle file that you just downloaded, then right-click on the file and select the “Copy as path” option from the drop-down list to copy the file path.

 After that, right-click on the Start icon in the taskbar, or Win+X and select Windows Terminal (Admin) to open the command prompt.

In the PowerShell window, type the command "Add-AppxPackage" and then add a space and press Ctrl + V to paste the file path after the command, the result will be something similar to the image above.

 Then press Enter. Now all you have to do is wait for the installation to finish. It should take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the speed of your device.

 You will have successfully installed the Windows Subsystem for Android package on the computer - in the final version of Windows 11, without the VPN - once the process is completed.

After completion, open the Start menu and you will find it under the "Recommended" section or in the list of applications after clicking on All apps that the Windows Subsystem for Android package is installed and with it also the Amazon AppStore is installed.

 However, in case you find that the package is just installed and the Amazon store doesn't appear, the solution is simple. All you have to do is follow the steps below:

Press Win + R together to open the Run window, in which you type "optional features" and press Enter.

 Then the Windows Features window appears, scroll down and tick (✔️) next to the "Virtual Machine Platform" feature to enable it. Now click OK and restart your computer.

 Once the device unlocks again, run the Windows Subsystem for the Android package and the Amazon App Store will be installed automatically.

Now to start installing Android apps, launch the Amazon Appstore from the start menu and sign in with your Amazon account.

 But since the account is not linked to a US address, you will see a message that the store is not available in your country at the moment. It is likely that the Amazon store will not be limited to residents of the United States for long because this feature is supposed to be available globally to all users of the stable version of Windows 11 later on.

So far, the Amazon store has 50 applications that you can download as many as you want from them, but of course, this number will increase with the arrival of the feature to the final version later.

 So far, most of these apps are well-known Android games like Subway Surfers and Geometry Dash.

 To install either of them, the process is as simple as downloading apps from the Google Play Store on smartphones, just tap on the app or game and then tap Download.

After installing any Android application from the Amazon Appstore, you can access it through the Start menu, where it appears like any application or program that you install on the device, and you can even remove it by right-clicking on the application icon and selecting Uninstall.

 This seamless integration between Android apps and Windows apps you won't get if you install an Android emulator like BlueStacks.

In the end, you can run applications and games after downloading them from the Amazon AppStore and they will work as expected, as you can use the keyboard and mouse to control the application, and any application you run will work in portrait mode, you have the ability to change the size of the application window, but the content will not fill Fullscreen as intended.

Perhaps the best thing about supporting the installation of Android apps on Windows 11 is the ability to download apps outside of the Amazon store, where you can download Android apps in APK format and install them manually away from the store since it has a limited number of apps at the moment.

 Of course, we have another topic explaining how this is done but we wanted to make this article a start to learn how to install the Windows Subsystem for the Android package.

 Until then, you can enjoy running Android apps directly from Windows 11 without installing any third-party emulators.