- WSA (Windows Subsystem for Android) can be used to install Android apps on Windows 11.
- The usage of WSA also allows you to install Google Play Store on Windows 11.
- This is a one-time procedure because, after this, you can start using the Play Store to install Android apps on PC.
After hearing the news about Windows 11 support for Android apps, lots of users have started to get in the line to benefit from this OS. But Microsoft only announced the support for Amazon App Store on Windows 11. Such an App Store doesn’t contain all the Android apps that are available on the Google Play Store. So here, I will discuss the procedure required to use the official Android app store on Windows PC.
How Can I Run Google Play Store on Windows 11?
A user has to go under certain criteria to enable Google Play Services on his Windows 11 PC. He needs to ensure that Windows Subsystem for Android is enabled so that he can start to install Google Play Store on PC. To be specific, one has to perform three simple methods to launch Google Play Store, which I have discussed in the following section.
Getting Started
First of all, a user has to enable WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to benefit from the Ubuntu Terminal to execute the required commands without facing any compatibility issues. Because only then, he will be allowed to use the root user to create the nesscary directories.
- Launch Windows 11 Settings from the Start menu or by pressing the Win + I keys from your keyboard simultaneously.
- After launching the Settings Window, select the Apps tab from the left pane.
- Click on the “Optional Features” tab from the right pane.
- Under Related Settings, click on “More Windows Features”
- On the newly appearing popup, select the “Windows Subsystem for Android” box.
- From the same popup, select the “Virtual Machine Platform” box and click on the Ok button.
- Now, you need to wait until the selected features are added to Windows Framework.
- Launch Microsoft Store on Windows 11 from the start menu or search bar.
- Use the Microsoft Store’s search bar to locate the Ubuntu Utility.
- Once you are navigated to the preferred utility page, click on the “Get” button.
- After installing Ubuntu Utility on Windows 11, restart your PC.
Installing Windows Subsystem for Android
Now’s the time to start using Ubuntu Terminal to install WSA (Windows Subsystem for Android) on Windows 11. Before proceeding to such a process, you need to claim some files. Links to those files are listed below:
- Windows Subsystem for Android msixbundle (Link)
ProductId: 9P3395VX91NR, Ring: SLOW
- Google Apps package installer (64-bit | ARM64)
- File Archiver Tool (WinRAR, 7-Zip, etc.)
After downloading the msixbundle from the given link, navigate to the folder destination, where it is saved. Now right-click on that file and go to the “Open With” menu and select the installed file archiver tool.
You need to double-click on the x64 release msix bundle from the available list. After opening the package, press Ctrl + A keys to select all files and press Ctrl + C to copy them.
Navigate to the default driver, where you have installed Windows OS (normally it’s C: driver). Now create a new directory named “Windows Subsystem for Android” and paste all the copied data by pressing Ctrl + V keys into this folder.
Once you have copied the files into the suggested directory, find the following files/folders and delete them:
- AppxBlockMap.xml
- AppxSignature.p7x
- [Content_Types].xml
- AppxMetadata
Launch the ADeltaX repository page on Github using a web browser. Now expand the code menu and click on the “Download Zip” link.
From your download directory, double-click on the WSAGAScript-main.zip file to launch it on your computer.
Press Ctrl + A keys to select all the files present in the directory and copy them by pressing Ctrl + C keys.
Create a GAppsWSA named folder in the C: drive, where Windows OS is installed on your system. And, paste the previously copied files into this folder.
Navigate back to the C:\Windows Subsystem for Android and copy the following files from it:
- vendor.img
- system.img
- system_ext.img
- product.img
Next, go to the C:\GApps\#IMAGES directory and paste the previously selected .img files into it.
Copy the GApps Installer file that you have downloaded from the given link.
Go to the C:\GApps\#GAPPS and paste the copied GApps x86 installer file into the directory.
Now, navigate to the C:\GApps directory and type “bash” within the address bar and press Enter. That’ll finally launch the WSL configuration window of the launched file directory.
On the terminal windows, execute the following command to install the required packages:
apt install lzip unzip
To install DOS2Unix converter in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Android):
apt install dos2unix
If you are getting an error from the WSL terminal, you need to update the app package and then install DOS2Unix using the following commands:
apt-get updateapt-get install dos2unix
To convert some DOS2Unix packages, so they become compatible with the WSL, run the following commands one-by-one:
dos2unix ./apply.shdos2unix ./extend_and_mount_images.sh
dos2unix ./extract_gapps_pico.shdos2unix ./unmount_images.shdos2unix ./VARIABLES.sh
After converting the required files successfully, run the following command to extract the GApps package:
./extract_gapps_pico.sh
To extend and mount image files:
./extend_and_mount_images.sh
To apply the previously made changes:
./apply.sh
To unmount all the mounted image files:
./unmount_images.sh
Go to the C:\GApps\#IMAGES folder path and select all the .img files from it. Now copy the selected files by squeezing Ctrl + A keys from your keyboard.
Navigate to C:\Windows Subsystem for Android directory and paste the copied file by squeezing Ctrl + V keys. A prompt may appear telling you that the files already exist. You need to click on the Replace files button.
Now, go to the C:\GApps\misc folder and copy the “Kernel” file from there.
Navigate to the C:\Windows Subsystem for Android\Tools directory and rename the existing kernel file to “kernel_bak”. Now paste the copied kernel file into the directory.
Click on the search bar and type Windows Terminal. Select the “Run as Administrator” option to launch it with administrative rights.
Confirm your action of launching the Windows Terminal as an administrator.
Select Windows PowerShell from the Terminal tab and execute the following command:
Add-AppxPackage -Register C:\WindowsSubsystemforAndroid\AppxManifest.xml
Wait until the WSA package is installed on your system.
Running Google Play Store on Windows 11
Once the Widows Subsystem for Android is installed on your device, you can launch it from the Start menu.
After launching WSA, enable the Developer Options from its Settings.
From there, hit the “Files” tab, to initiate Android OS.
A popup of optional diagnostic data will start to appear, you need to check the “share my diagnostic data” box and click on the Continue button.
Use the Windows 11 search bar to locate the Play Store App.
After launching the Google Play Store on Windows 11, click on the Sign In button to proceed in accessing Google Play Services on your computer.
That’s all, thanks for your time spent reading How to Install Google Play Store on Windows 11 at it’sDailyTech.
