Apart from all the improvements and changes that came with Windows 11, the feature of running Android applications is one of the strongest and most important additions to the point that most Windows users were excited about the feature more than the new Microsoft system itself. However, the company had to delay the feature and introduce it later when all the tests that were done on it were over, so we did not see it in the final version of Windows 11, which was launched earlier.
But recently, Microsoft officially announced the first beta version to support running Android apps on Windows 11, as the feature became available to subscribers to the Windows Insider program within the Beta channel, as a prelude to 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 review it for you through the next lines.
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| Enable Android Apps on Windows 11 now |
Let us initially agree that obtaining the advantage of running Android applications on Windows 11 currently requires many conditions that Microsoft mentioned in a post on its official blog. For your device to be eligible, it must be running the latest beta 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.
And most importantly, you must be a resident of the United States of America to be able to download the Windows Subsystem for Android package responsible for bringing the Android emulator under Windows 11. Also among the conditions is the need to have an Amazon account associated with an address in the United States to be able to download applications through the Amazon Store AppStore.
We do not know explicitly why Microsoft restricted the feature to residents of the United States. This requirement can indeed 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 you use. You use it, bearing in mind that we applied this explanation to the final version and did not join the Windows Insider program.
Can Windows 11 run Android apps directly?
All you need to run the feature now is to activate the Virtualization feature from the BIOS if it was not activated before, and we have explained how to activate it step by step. Also, your device must work with an Intel processor of the eighth generation or later, or an AMD processor of the Ryzen 3000 generation, and it must contain at least 8 GB of RAM. If these conditions are met, continue with the following steps to enable the Android app install feature on Windows 11.
Note: You will need to apply these steps only to obtain the beta version of the feature at present, but when the feature reaches the final version one day, you will not need to do anything of the 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 mentioned above, is responsible for providing the necessary environment to run Android applications under Windows. So go to the Microsoft Store and download it or use this direct link to access the application 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 the 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 reliable website that allows you to download and install Windows apps manually away from the Microsoft Store. Just like the popular APKMirror site for downloading Android apps on smartphones. The difference is that the site we are referring to here brings direct download links from Microsoft servers and does not upload applications to its servers, i.e. we did not come up with a "trusted" certificate out of the blue!
So instead of using a VPN to make it possible to download the package directly from the store, we will use this website. All you have to do is go to the following link: store.rg-adguard.net and then paste the direct link for 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 and then scroll to the bottom of the page to find a direct link to download the package, click on it and the download will start immediately, the file size is 1.21 GB.
After the download is finished, 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 Android package but an error message will appear. If you can't download and install it from the Microsoft Store, you won't be able to do that if you downloaded the file externally.
The solution is to forcefully install the package manually using the PowerShell command line. Here's how it's done...
First, go to the folder that contains the msixbundle file that you just downloaded, then right-click on the file and select the "Copy as path" option from the drop-down menu to copy the file path. Then right-click on the Start icon in the taskbar, or Win+X and select from the menu Windows Terminal (Admin) to open the command prompt.
In the PowerShell window, type the command "Add-AppxPackage", then add a space and press Ctrl + V to paste the file path after the command, then press Enter. Then you have to wait for the installation to complete. It should take from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the speed of your device. After the process is complete, you will have successfully installed the Windows Subsystem for Android package on your computer - in the final version of Windows 11, without a VPN.
After completion, open the Start menu and you will find under the "Recommended" section or in the list of applications after clicking on All apps that the Windows Subsystem for Android package has been installed and with it, the Amazon AppStore store has also been installed. However, if you find that only the package is installed and the Amazon Store is not showing up, the solution is simple. All you need to do is follow the steps below:
Press the Win + R keys together to open the Run window, where you type the command “optional features” and press Enter. Then the Windows Features window appears, scroll down and put a checkmark (✔️) next to the "Virtual Machine Platform" feature to enable it. Now press OK and restart your computer. Once the device is unlocked again, run the Windows Subsystem for 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 an American address, you will see a message that the store is not available in your country at present. Most likely, 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.
But to solve this problem now all you need is to open the browser and log in to the Amazon account, go to the "Manage Your Content and Devices" page and then click on "Country/Region Settings" and then press "Change" and in the Country of Residence window that will appear to Enter any random US address. You can search on Google to find many sites that give you real addresses, use whatever you want, then press Update. With this, you have an "American" Amazon account.
You can now restart the Amazon Appstore in Windows 11 and it will open normally without any issues.
So far, the Amazon store contains 50 applications that you can download as you like from them, but of course, this number will increase as the feature reaches the final version later. So far, most of these apps are popular Android games like Subway Surfers and Geometry Dash. To install any of them, the process is as simple as downloading apps from the Google Play Store on smartphones, just click on the app or game and then click Download.
After installing any Android app from the Amazon Appstore, you can access it through the Start menu, where it appears like any app or program you install on the device, and you can even remove it by right-clicking on the app 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 indeed can change the size of the application window, but the content will not fill Screen fully as intended.
Perhaps the best thing about supporting the installation of Android applications on Windows 11 is the ability to download applications outside the Amazon store, where you can download Android applications in APK format and install them manually away from the store, as it contains a limited number of applications at present. Of course, we have another topic explaining how to do this, but we wanted to dedicate this article as a start to learning 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.
