Sideloading Android apps on Windows 11

It’s really impressive how easy it is to sideload apps on the WSA (Windows Subsystem for Android).

Install the WSA. You can do that by searching for the Amazon Appstore in the Microsoft Store on a compatible Windows 11 machine.

Enable developer mode in the WSA settings.

Download the Android SDK Platform Tools.

adb connect 127.0.0.1:PORT with the port displayed in the WSA settings.

adb install app.apk with the APK file you want to install.

Using this steps I was able to install WhatsApp (because I knew how to get that APK easily), activate it using a secondary phone number and write with myself. The app showed no signs of bad performance, everything was smooth like warm butter. I didn’t try to play any games, though.

Now I just need to find an app that really has an advantage on my PC because it’s better than the web version… Maybe Deezer to listen to music? (Although that web app isn’t so bad.)

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