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How to install Google Play Store on Windows 11
After weeks in beta, Windows 11 finally launched on October 5. Windows 11 is a major version upgrade, and as such, it promises a bunch of new features. One of the most notable features is the native Android emulation, which will let you run Android apps on Windows 11 without needing you to install a third-party app. While this feature didn’t ship in the release build, it’s now in beta via the Windows Insider Program.
The feature will use Amazon App Store for the Android apps, embedded inside the Microsoft Store. While the Amazon App Store is fine, the current selection of apps just contains 50 apps in total. Sideloading is possible, but Google Play Services are missing, which means many apps that rely on them will not work.
The best way then is to install the Google Play Store on Windows 11. Let’s get into it.
How to install Google Play Store on Windows 11
There are quite a lot of steps to install Google Play Store on Windows 11 according to the method above. Many of these steps include getting your system ready for the main components. It will take you some time to download all the necessary files, and get the system ready, and then carry out the final installation process. If you want to install some simple apps, that don’t require Google Play Services, you might just want to sideload APKs to the unmodified Windows Android Subsystem, as detailed in our guide, linked below.
Steps here: How to run Android apps on Windows 11
The method comes courtesy of software tinkerer ADeltaX, who has made a video detailing the process. We’re embedding the video above, in case you would like to follow the screen. A simpler implementation of the method, which includes automation for some of the parts, comes from Yujinchang08 on Github. That is the method we will be following for our steps in this tutorial on how to run the Google Play Store on Windows 11. Remember that you will need to meet the minimum system requirements, as well as be on the latest Windows 11 beta for this to work. Check the guide linked above for steps related to that.
Note: The way this method works is by modifying the Windows Subsystem for Android, and replacing the kernel with a modified one. As such, this method is risky and may result in loss of data, or potentially, even damage to hardware. Consider yourself warned.
1. Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android and enable Developer Mode
- Head over to the Settings app in Windows 11. Click on the Apps tab from the left pane.
- Click on Apps & features. It should be the first tab in the Apps section.
- Scroll down to Windows Subsytem for Android in the apps list.
- Click on the three-dot menu, and click on Uninstall.
Related: The complete Windows 11 installation guide
2. Getting the modified Windows Subsystem for Android from Github
- Head over to Github and sign up for an account. Make sure you verify your email address and are signed in to Github.
- Head over to the LSPosed MagiskOnWSA page on Github.
- Click on the Fork button in the top right corner. The process should take a few seconds and open up the forked copy in your account. If you lose it, you can head over to Your repositories by clicking on your profile icon.
Using Google Play Store on Windows 11
The rest of the usage will be similar to using Play Store on a phone or in an emulator. Just search for the app, and download it. Note that this is still a very early stage method, so you’re likely to run into issues. For example on our test machine, the text in some of the apps appears wobbly.
Also read: The best Android emulators for PC and Mac
However, there’s great potential here. It will take a few months for a stable version to hit Windows 11 systems, but when it happens, it will outperform most emulators, if not the native version, then the developer-modded versions that we’ll see for sure. Stay tuned for more!
