RUN ANDROID APPS ON YOUR COMPUTER
The most exciting new feature in Windows 11, which best highlights its progression from Windows 10, is undoubtedly the ability to run Android apps on your computer. This lets you use favourite apps and play games that were previously limited to your Android phone or tablet on the much larger screen of your PC monitor or laptop – in theory, at least.
In a blog post last June ( www.snipca. com/40104), Microsoft said it was “pumped to announce that we are bringing Android apps to Windows for the first time. Starting later this year, people will be able to discover Android apps in the Microsoft Store and download them through the Amazon Appstore.”
Technically, it kept its promise, because Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel were able to try the new feature from last November, but only if they were in the US and had an Amazon.com account. At the time of writing, Android apps remain unavailable to Windows 11 users in the UK.
While we eagerly await the arrival of the feature, there is a workaround you can try using the free open-source program WSA Pacman ( www.snipca. com/40609). Its name has nothing to do with the dot-munching video game character, but means it’s a ‘packet manager’ for the Windows Subsystem for Android tool that allows Windows 11 to run Android apps. That tool comes bundled with the Amazon Appstore app, which is currently only available to US users (in the UK, you won’t see it in the Microsoft Store).
To beat this restriction, open the Settings app in Windows 11, click ‘Time & language’, then ‘Language & region’ and select United States in the dropdown ‘Country or region’ menu. Open the Microsoft Store and you should now be able to find the Amazon Appstore. Install the app and it will also download Windows Subsystem for Android.
Note that you won’t be able to log into the Amazon Appstore with your Amazon. co.uk account details. Instead, download WSA Pacman from www.snipca. com/40614 (choose the latest ‘installer.exe’ file) – you can safely bypass any security warning. Run the tool, ensure the ‘Associate WSA Packet Manager with the .apk file extension’ box is ticked (see screenshot above), then install and open the program and click ‘Turn on’.
If you see an error message that the program is offline rather than Connected, click the Search button on Windows 11’s taskbar and search for Windows Subsystem for Android. Select that result to open its Settings panel and switch ‘Developer mode’ off and back on again.
Now try downloading the APK file of an Android app from a trusted source such as APK Mirror ( www.apkmirror. com). When you open the APK, WSA Pacman should spring into action in the background and let you install the app (see screenshot above). You’ll then be able to run the Android app in Windows 11.
Once Microsoft makes the Amazon Appstore available in the UK, things will be much easier because you’ll be able to install Android apps from there. If you have any problems running them, ensure that ‘hardware virtualisation’ is enabled in Windows 11. Click the Start button, search for ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ and choose that result. In the window that opens, select Virtual Machine Platform, click OK to install the feature and restart your PC.