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How To Download And Install The Google Play Store

The Google Play Store gets frequent updates, which is excellent news. The not-so-great news is that it can take weeks, or sometimes even longer, to get the latest iteration. The basic functionality never changes, so being stuck on an older version isn't all that bad. However, we understand the urge to get the latest version on your device. Are you looking to update Google Play Store on your device? Here's how.

Please note that this is just for downloading and installing the Google Play Store on Google Android devices. For non-Google Android devices, such as the Amazon Fire Tablet, you'll need to install Google Account Manager, Google Services Framework, Google Play Services, and the Play Store in that order. We have a dedicated guide for installing the Google Play Store on Amazon Fire tablets, if you need some help with that.

QUICK ANSWER

Download the Google Play Store by going to a reputable site like APKMirror and get the APK there. Then, install the Play Store either using a file browser or APKMirror's proprietary installer app (available in the Play Store). To update Google Play, head to the Play Store settings and find the update button.

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How to update the Google Play Store

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Here's how to update the Google Play Store to get the latest version if it's already installed on your device:

Open the Google Play Store.

Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.

Select Settings.

Tap the About drop-down menu.

Finally, tap the Update Play Store button.

If your Play Store needs an update, you'll get an update. Otherwise, it'll tell you that your Play Store is up-to-date.

Editor's note: These steps were formulated using a Google Pixel 7 running Android 13. Menus and steps may change depending on your specific device and software version.

This is the easiest and most efficient way to get the latest Google Play Store version. Generally speaking, it should be up to date all the time since it does update in the background. However, this is the easiest method to make sure.

How to download and install the Google Play Store

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

This method only works on devices running Android 8.0 Oreo or later. Please note that you'll also need Google Play Services installed for the Play Store to function properly.

Check your current version (if updating) – Head into the Play Store, tap your profile picture, and enter Settings. Tap the About section, and you can find the Play Store version there.

Download APKMirror Installer – This app helps you install APKs downloaded from APKMirror. Tap here to head to the Play Store and download it.

Download a Google Play Store APK – Your best bet for this is APKMirror since it is a reliable and trustworthy source. You can find Google Play Store APKs here. Use your current version as a reference to find the latest version.

Install the Google Play Store – Open the APKMirror Installer and select the Browse Files option. Find the APK you downloaded and tap it. Tap the Install package option and then select to watch an ad and install.

Deal with permissions – Finally, Android will open up the Install Unknown Apps prompt. Tap APKMirror Installer to give it permission to install the APK. Tap the back button to head back to the app.

Finish installing the Play Store – The installer will then run and install the Google Play Store.

That should be the whole process. There are a lot of versions of the Google Play Store, and some are even for other devices like Android TV or Wear OS. If the installation doesn't work, double-check that you have the correct APK version and that you have the version that supports your device.

Alternate method for pre-Android 8.0 Oreo Pre-Android 8.0 Oreo devices have a different way of performing the above tasks. They are almost the same, but in a different order, and you have to do a couple of things differently. We can't imagine anyone needing this part of the tutorial, but again, we'll keep it here for posterity.

Deal with permissions – Head into your phone Settings, then to Security. From there, tick the box next to the Unknown sources option. This setting allows you to sideload APKs.

Figure out which version you need (if updating) – Open your Google Play Store, go into the Settings, and find your current version.

Download a Google Play Store APK – Use the link above to APKMirror to find yourself a Google Play Store APK. Make sure to double-check with your current version to get the correct one.

Install APKMirror Installer – You can tap here to head to the Play Store and download it.

Install the Google Play Store – Open APKMirror Installer, use the Browse Files option to find your APK download, and install it. Since you already dealt with permissions earlier, it should install immediately.

Didn't work? Try this – Download a file browser (any will do). Open the file browser, proceed to your download folder, and try installing it from there. Newer APK files come in bundles and require some weirdness to install, hence the APKMirror Installer. However, if you're still on very old versions of the Play Store, they may still be original APKs, and you can install those from any file browser.

Much like the previous section, if the installation fails, it's most likely due to an incompatible APK. Double-check your version and try downloading a different APK file.

FAQ My new Play Store installation is acting weird. How do I fix it?

You'll most likely want to go into your phone settings and wipe the Google Play Store cache and data. Sometimes, updates can cause finicky stuff with old cached files. You can follow our Google Play Store troubleshooting guide to figure things out.

I have gone completely off the rails, and now nothing works. Have I broken my phone?

No. While it is frustrating and time-consuming, the easiest way to restore things is to factory reset and then try again from the beginning. We have a dedicated guide for factory resetting your Android phone here.

Why isn't this working on my Amazon Fire tablet or other non-Google Android devices?

The Google Play Store is only half of the equation. You also need to obtain Google Play Services for your device. Almost every Play Store app, including the Google Play Store, uses Google Play Services. Without one, you cannot have the other. Unfortunately, getting everything up and running is an exceptionally difficult process.

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How To Run Google Play Store Android Apps On Windows 11

If you want to test or run Google Play Store Android apps on Windows 11, here is how you can do that on your computer. Although some apps may not run as they do on mobile, you can install almost any app and game available on the Google Play Store.

Let's assume that you are using an iPhone, but you want to try some Android apps. Instead of buying an Android mobile, you can follow this tutorial to install and run Android apps on Windows 11 computer. Whether you want to play Candy Crush or use Facebook Lite, you can do everything on your computer.

For your information, you can use Android apps on Windows 11 using Windows Subsystem for Android. However, if you do not have the WSA, you do not need to install it now. Nonetheless, if you have installed Windows Subsystem for Android on your computer, you need to uninstall it before getting started.

To run Google Play Store Android apps on Windows 11, follow these steps:

Enable Developer Mode in Windows Settings

Download kernel and WsaPackage

Copy kernel file in WsaPackage_xxxx_x64_Release-Nightly folder

Use commands in elevated Windows PowerShell window

Enable Developer mode in Windows Subsystem for Android

Open the Files app

Open Google Play Store from Start Menu

To learn more about these steps, continue reading.

To get started, you need to enable Developer Mode in Windows Settings. It is probably the most crucial step. Without allowing the Developer Mode, you cannot install apps from other sources. To enable Developer Mode in Windows 11, do the following: Press Win+I to open Windows Settings. Go to Privacy & security > For developers. Toggle the Developer Mode button. Restart your computer. After that, you need to download the kernel and WsaPackage files from mediafire.Com. You can visit this page on mediafire.Com to download the kernel file and this page on mediafire.Com to download the WsaPackage file. Once the download is done, extract the content of the WsaPackage_1.7.32815.0_x64_Release-Nightly.Zip file. For that, you can use any app such as 7-Zip, WinRAR, etc. After extracting, copy the kernel file, open the WsaPackage_1.7.32815.0_x64_Release-Nightly folder, double-click on the Tools folder, and paste it there. If it asks you to replace the new kernel file with the existing one, you need to do that. Now, you have to open the elevated Windows PowerShell window in the WsaPackage_1.7.32815.0_x64_Release-Nightly folder. For that, search for windows powershell in the Taskbar search box, and click on the Run as administrator option. Following that, click the Yes option, and enter the following command: cd [WsaPackage-folder-path] To obtain the WSAPackage folder path, you can right-click on the extracted folder and select the Copy as path option. Then, enter this command: Add-AppxPackage -Register .\AppxManifest.Xml Now, you can find some notifications regarding Google Play Store and Google Play Protect on your screen. If so, you have successfully installed Google Play Store on Windows 11. After that, you need to open Windows Subsystem for Android on your computer and toggle the Developer mode button to turn it on. Then, click on the Files option to open the window or app. Once done, you can close the window. Next, you can search for Google Play Store in the Taskbar search box or Start Menu and open it from there. How to fix sign in problem in Google Play Store on Windows 11 After opening the Google Play Store app on Windows 11, you need to sign in to your Google account in order to install the apps. However, you might find some issues signing into your account. To fix sign in problem in Google Play Store on Windows 11, follow these steps: Download SDK Platform Tools from the official website. Open Windows Subsystem for Android and copy the IP address. Extract the downloaded ZIP file. Click on the address bar, type cmd, and hit the Enter button. Enter this command: adb connect [IP-address] Enter this command: adb shell Type the following commands: su and setenforce 0 Restart Windows Subsystem for Android if it is running and sign in to your account. To get started, you need to download the SDK Platform Tools from the official website, android.Com. After that, open, Windows Subsystem for Android and copy the IP address to your clipboard. Then, extract the Platform Tools file you downloaded earlier. Next, open the platform-tools folder on your computer, click on the address bar, type cmd, and hit the Enter button. It will open Command Prompt in that folder. However, if you want to use Windows Terminal, you can right-click on an empty space and select the Open in Windows Terminal option. After that, enter the following commands one after one: adb connect [IP-address] Don't forget to replace the [IP-address] with the original IP address you copied from the Windows Subsystem for Android window. adb shell su setenforce 0 Once done, you can re-open the Google Play Store app and click the Sign in button. Now, you should not get any problem logging in to your account. Can Windows 11 run Google Play apps? Yes, Windows 11 can run Google Play Store apps or Android apps. There is no need to connect any phone or use third-party emulator to run them on your computer. You can download the WSA Package from the official website and install it using PowerShell. Following that, you need to use the Windows System for Linux to run them on your PC. How do I install Google Play apps on Windows 11? For that, you need to enable the Developer Mode in Windows Settings and download the Kernel and WsaPackage. Then, copy the Kernel file in the WsaPackage folder and open an elevated window of PowerShell. Following that, enable the Developer Mode in Windows Subsystem for Android and open the Files app. Next, you can open the Google Play Store from the Start and install the desired app accordingly. That's all! Hope this tutorial helped you install Google Play Store and run Android apps on Windows 11. Read next: How to sideload Android apps using WSA on Windows 11.

Guide: How To Install Google Play Store On Windows 11Guide: How To Install Google Play Store On Windows 111 1

Microsoft recently released Windows Subsystem for Android Preview for all Windows 11 users, effectively allowing you to run Android apps on a computer. Unfortunately, it does not provide access to the Google Play Store. Instead, Microsoft partnered with Amazon to give Windows 11 users Android apps through the Amazon App Store.

If you do not want to use the Amazon App Store to download and install Android apps, here is a detailed guide about installing the Google Play Store on Windows 11.

Important: Microsoft does not support the Google Play Store on Windows 11, which means things can go sideways at any moment. Microsoft might push an update to throw a wrench into the thing and disable the Google Play Store on your computer. Keep in mind that you are responsible for your actions, devices, and potential damages.

We have successfully tested this guide before publishing it, but we cannot guarantee the Google Play Store will work on your computer. Also, you may want to consider minimum hardware requirements for Android apps on Windows 11.

We recommend starting with a "clean" installation with no existing instances of Windows Subsystem for Android. If you already have one, uninstall it.

Press Win + R and enter optionalfeatures. You need this to enable Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Subsystem for Linux. The latter is required to modify the WSA kernel to include Google Services.

Place checkmarks next to Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Click OK and wait for Windows to download the necessary files. Restart your computer once prompted.

Now it is time to download Windows Subsystem for Android. Open the store.Rg-adguard.Net page. It allows downloading files from the Microsoft Store.

Set the first drop-down list to ProductID, then paste 9P3395VX91NR into the search box. Select Slow from the second drop-down, then click the button with a checkmark icon.

The website will generate a list of available files to download. Scroll down and find the largest files that "weighs" approximately 1.2GB. It has the msixbundle extension in its name.

Also, download the Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.6_2.62112.3002.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.Appx file. You may need it in future steps for troubleshooting.

Open the OpenGapps website. There you will download Google Services for your computer. Select the x86_64 platform, Android 11.0, and the pico variant. Click the big red button to download the archive.

Next, install Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store.

Finally, go to a GitHub repository using this link and download the WSAGAScript.

Those are all the files you need to install the Google Play Store on Windows 11. We will now show you how to prepare the files and modify the WSA kernel.

Find that large msixbundle file you have downloaded from the store.Rg-adguard.Net website. Open the file in any app for archives. 7Zip is a solid variant you can download from the official website for free.

You will find lots of msix-files inside the archive. Find the biggest one (approximately 720MB) and open it inside 7Zip.

Launch File Explorer and navigate to drive C. There, create a new folder and rename it to WindowsSubsystemAndroid.

Go back to 7Zip with the open msix-file. Extract all files from the file to the WindowsSubsystemAndroid folder.

Now you need to remove several files and folders. Delete the AppsMetadata directory, AppxBlockMap, AppxSignature, and Content_Types.

Go to drive C and create another folder. This time, rename it to GAppsWSA.

Open the WSAGAScript archive and the only folder inside it. Extract all the files from the folder to GAppsWSA.

Find the archive you have downloaded from the OpenGapps website and copy it to C:\GAppsWSA\#Gapps (assuming your current Windows installation is on drive C).

Now return to WindowsSubsystemAndroid in drive C and copy the product, system, syste_ext, and vendor files to the C:\GAppsWSA\#IMAGES folder.

All files are now locked and loaded, ready for hacking inside WSL.

Launch Ubuntu from the Start menu. If this is the first time you are launching Ubuntu, the OS will show an error and ask you to download the Linux kernel update package. You can get it from the official Microsoft documentation using this link.

Close Ubuntu, launch the downloaded file and proceed with the installation.

Relaunch Ubuntu. This time, it will ask you to give a new user a name and a password. Note that the OS will not display password characters as you type.

Now we need to get to the GAppsWSA directory. Type cd /mnt/c/GAppsWSA/ and hit Enter on your keyboard.

It is now time to execute a bunch of commands inside WSL. Enter apt update and press Enter. Wait for the system to complete the process. Proceed with the following commands one after another, and be sure to press Enter after entering each.

apt upgrade

apt install lzip unzip

apt install dos2unix

dos2unix ./apply.Sh

dos2unix ./extend_and_mount_images.Sh

dos2unix ./extract_gapps_pico.Sh

dos2unix ./unmount_images.Sh

dos2unix ./VARIABLES.Sh

./extract_gapps_pico.Sh

./extend_and_mount_images.Sh

./apply.Sh

./unmount_images.Sh

Your custom WSA kernel with Google Services is now ready. All that is left is to install Windows Subsystem for Android and make sure the Google Play Store is working correctly on your Windows 11 computer.

Go to C:\GAppsWSA\#IMAGES and copy the following files: product, system, system_ext, and vendor. Paste those files into C:\WindowsSubsystemAndroid.

Go to C:\WindowsSubsystemAndroid\Tools and rename the kernel file to kernel_bak.

Open the C:\GAppsWSA\misc folder and find the kernel_x64_64 file. Copy and paste the file in the C:\WindowsSubsystemAndroid\Tools folder.

Rename the file to kernel.

Now it is time to enable Developer Mode on your computer. Open the Settings app and go to Privacy and Security > For Developers. Toggle on the Developer Mode switch, and confirm the action when prompted.

Final stretch. All that is left is to execute a command to install WSA with the Google Play Store on Windows 11. Right-click the Start menu button and select Windows Terminal (Admin).

Paste the following command: Add-AppxPackage -Register C:\WindowsSubsystemAndroid\AppxManifest.Xml. Press Enter.

Terminal may show you the following error: Add-AppxPackage : Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073CF3, Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation. Windows cannot install package. To fix this issue, launch the Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.6_2.62112.3002.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.Appx file you have downloaded earlier. After that, repeat the previous step.

Windows Subsystem for Android is now ready to go. Open the Start menu and find Windows Subsystem for Android. Launch it.

Toggle on the Developer Mode switch, then click Files. That will start WSA (do not share diagnostic data with Microsoft), and you will see notifications from Google Services about installing apps with all the needed components.

In a minute or two, you will see the Google Play Store in the list of all apps. You can launch it, sign in with your Google account, and download all the apps and games you need. Keep in mind that some of them may not work on Windows computers.

All the apps installed from the Google Play Store on Windows 11 will show up as regular programs on your PC in the Start menu. You can uninstall them just as you do with native Windows apps.

That is it. Now you know how to install the Google Play Store on Windows 11.

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