Getting Android apps without admission to the official Google Play Store can be a fleck of a gamble depending on where you choose to get your apps. While Android will allow y'all install an APK from basically anywhere on the web, you want to be smart nearly choosing your source for those files. And that'due south why there's simply i source we recommend: APK Mirror. In this post, we'll show you lot how to install or "sideload" APKs onto your Android telephone or tablet, and why APK Mirror is the best place to get them. Specifically, nosotros run the site, and we stand up by it — and information technology even offers dissever APK App Bundles for things you normally tin can't get anywhere simply the Play Shop, like Netflix, Disney+, and other pop services.

How to download and install apps from APKMirror

(Disclosure: APK Mirror is owned and operated past Illogical Robot, LLC, which besides owns and operates Android Police)

If y'all're the sort of person that prefers video instructions, we've put together a quick half-dozen-minute walkthrough on the process that you can sentry just below. If text is more your mode, though, read on.

These days, Android has both "normal" APKs, and something chosen separate APKs, or App Bundles. App Bundles save bandwidth and storage infinite, but they make it difficult for people to share apps with one some other outside the Play Store. That's because every phone is technically running its own slightly different version of an app. But APKMirror and the APKMirror Installer app eliminate that problem.

You lot can sideload well-nigh Android apps without the use of another app. Withal, with the rise of "bundling" and split APKs on the Play Store, we wanted this guide to embrace all apps, not merely those that still aren't using bundles, and so our unified instructions that encompass both utilize the APKMirror Installer.

The first matter you lot'll want to do is install the APKMirror Installer. You can get it from the Play Store, or you lot can install it from the APKMirror site — either is fine, but the Play Store is easier.

Installing the APKMirror app from the Play Shop is as piece of cake as borer the widget or link to a higher place and tapping "Install."

Once you've got the app, installing apps from APKMirror is pretty easy, and pretty much the aforementioned, whether you're downloading an App Bundle or not — you don't even need a separate guide for the two processes.

Go to APKMirror.com

Navigate to APKMirror (apkmirror.com), and search for the app you'd like to install. Note that not all apps you tin can become from the Play Store may exist bachelor.

Find the app y'all're looking for

If necessary, you tin browse apps by APK names, app names, and developer names as you hunt for whatsoever it is yous're looking for. When you've constitute the app you want in the version you need, just tap the download icon on the right side of its list.

If you end upward sorting by app or developer, rather than APK, y'all'll and then need to settle on the version of the app you want — if you don't care or don't know, the latest non-beta version is probably fine. Scroll down to "All versions" and detect the one you demand, and so tap the download icon to the correct.

Select the right version of the app

On the App listing, curl down to the "Download" section — also easily accessed by tapping "Meet bachelor APKs and Bundles." Hither you may have more than one pick available. If that's the case, yous'll need to check the FAQ and do a bit of enquiry to determine which version is appropriate for your telephone. Tap the colorful characterization for the variant you'd like to download.

Although the process later should gracefully fail if you download the wrong version, you should however double-cheque that you lot have the correct one. (Generally speaking, y'all can't mess it upwards as well badly, though. If it installs, it was uniform, though yous might encounter some smaller problems with things like DPI.) In general, all modern Android phones are arm64, and a nodpi version should piece of work nearly of the fourth dimension.

Download the app you desire to install

On the next page, curl down to the large colorful "Download APK" or "Download APK Packet" button — whichever it is you become, that will vary based on the app. You might be asked by your browser if you lot'd like to salvage the file, and y'all might get a warning that the file format/extension is potentially dangerous. If y'all're willing to trust APKMirror as a source, you lot tin allow it.

Open the downloaded app in APKMirror Installer

Once you've downloaded the file, you need to find a way to open information technology. You tin tap the download notification at the bottom of the screen if you're using Chrome, for instance, simply you might need to tap a download notification in your condition bar or navigate to where yous downloaded the file with a file manager and open it manually, depending on your browser.

If prompted, open up the file with APKMirror Installer. The APKMirror Installer app will load upwards the APK and get things fix.

Install the app in APKMirror Installer

Divide App Bundles (left) give you lot a more verbose installation screen than normal APKs (right).

APKMirror Installer will feed you a pile of details regarding the app you're installing if it's an APK Bundle — your best bet is to trust the app's judgment, though you can tweak things if yous run into trouble and have to reinstall later. If you're not installing an APK Bundle, you'll get a simpler prompt. Whichever you get, tap "Install app" to continue.

The first time you lot do this, you might run into problem. On recent versions of Android, you'll exist prompted to permit the APKMirror Installer app as a source for app installations equally an easy toggle (visible above). While you shouldn't enable this setting for just any app, information technology's okay to do it for APKMirror. But it is there to protect you lot from apps that might install malware.

On older versions of Android (Pre-Android 8.0 Oreo — consider upgrading for your own security if your phone is this old), you'll have to manually enable a separate toggle to install apps from unknown sources. That's usually in Settings -> Security, or y'all can search in the Settings app for "Install apps" or "Install unknown apps."

Once the permission has been granted, you can become dorsum until you're back in the APKMirror app, which volition continue the installation process, or you can start over, attempting to run/install the app you downloaded from your browser or file manager.

APKMirror will set up the installation, and then your phone volition ask (again) if you lot'd similar to install the app, with the wording varying slightly if it'south an update to an existing app or a new app for your phone entirely. Tap "Install" to continue, and you're basically washed.

One time APKMirror Installer has finished installing the app, you'll be prompted to open it, just yous should exist running the version that you installed.

If y'all see whatever problems during this procedure, APKMirror Installer volition let yous know, spitting a big warning if the app installation fails for any reason. So if you accidentally select an x86 APK when your telephone is arm64 (like 99% of all contempo phones), it probably won't piece of work.

You can even install the Play Store if yous want to

Using your new tricks, you lot can fifty-fifty finagle the Play Store itself onto your device, if you like. All you need are four apps (though y'all might need dissimilar versions depending on how old your telephone is, or what version of Android it is running). It as well may non work on all devices, and particularly quondam or unusual devices might require tracking downward specific versions of the right APKs. This guide is non-exhaustive.

Without opening any of these until you reboot at the end, install the following apps in this order:

  1. Google Account Manager
  2. Google Services Framework — cheque in your phone's Settings app to discover your Android version (Usually Settings -> Almost telephone, or Settings -> Most telephone -> Software information) and download the latest services framework that matches (i.e., Google Services Framework 7.i.2 if you are running Android Nougat 7.ane.2).
  3. Google Play Services
  4. Google Play Store

Once all 4 have been installed (again, without opening them), reboot and y'all should have the ability to use the Play Shop. If you get a notification that Play Services is out of appointment, don't worry. If you tin sign in, everything should eventually automatically update to the latest compatible version.

If you lot run across trouble, most issues can either be stock-still by ane of the following escalating steps:

  • Rebooting the device
  • Clearing app information for the Play Shop and launching it once more
    • go to the "Apps" or "Apps & Notifications" department of Settings, detect Play Store, tap it, select "Forcefulness Cease," and and so go to "Storage," and select "Articulate data" or "Clear storage."
  • Clearing app information for Google Play Services and rebooting
    • go to the "Apps" or "Apps & Notifications" section of Settings, notice Google Play Services, tap it, get to "Storage," and select "Clear information" or "Clear storage."
  • Uninstalling all four apps, rebooting, reinstalling all 4 apps in the order described in a higher place, and rebooting again.
  • Lastly, yous can try resetting your device as a concluding-ditch effort, if you are sure yous're using the right versions of the correct APKs and doing things in the right order.

Not all devices will ultimately work with a sideloaded Play Store, and you may experience subsequent issues or odd behaviors when it comes to some apps or the device as a result, just it is an option.

Why install apps outside the Play Store?

In that location are plenty of reasons to wait for apps outside of Google'due south store. Odds are if you're here, you already take at least one, but there are some reasons you might not be enlightened of.

For one, Google sometimes removes apps from its venue based on content, functionality, or as a matter of censorship to comply with local laws. Sometimes apps are kicked to the adjourn for perfectly legitimate and valid reasons, similar containing malware or violating user privacy, but that isn't e'er the case. For better or worse, Android gives you the freedom (and associated responsibility) to get your apps anywhere y'all like.

Another good reason to download apps from APKMirror is just that they aren't even present on the Play Store to begin with. For example, the pop Lawnchair ii alpha wasn't bachelor on the Play Store before its formal release. Apps on the Play Store can also be geographically restricted/censored, and users in some countries don't have access to them. Other times, apps that are distributed on the Play Store roll out updates progressively, so when it comes to playing with the latest cut-edge features you might read about in our coverage, you may not have access to them yet. We're all beholden to the slow Play Store whorl-out.

Lastly, sometimes updates aren't always for the better, and APKMirror can provide a way to roll back to previous versions of an app in the event you lot run into an issue.

Whatsoever your motivation (and there are plenty), if y'all've resolved to get an app elsewhere, yous can probably get it at APKMirror. And, it'due south also the safest choice.

You lot tin trust APKMirror

In that location are four primary reasons you tin trust APKMirror every bit a source for Android apps:

1. Nosotros run it, and we stand up by it

While Google might be responsible for the ads you lot see at APKMirror, nosotros've done our best to brand a skillful quality, easily navigated repository of Android applications. It might have you a infinitesimal to learn to navigate things like the different APK versions based on hardware platform or "DPI," but information technology's generally straightforward to become what yous need.

two. Apps are signed by developers and prophylactic to use

The apps that you download from APKMirror are unmolested and securely signed by their developers. We make sure that all APK cryptographic signatures are verified to lucifer the originals (either previous updates or versions distributed on the Play Store), and we lucifer new applications to known signatures from developers. In the result we can't verify an app'south signature, APKMirror won't have information technology. Nosotros besides block publicly disclosed examination/dev/debug signing keys, since they tin can't always be trusted.

For the non-technically minded, that all means we're as sure as we tin exist that the apps we're distributing are safe.

3. No pirated or "cracked" apps

Three, in that location is absolutely nada pirated content on APKMirror. While y'all might be able to get effectually geographic restrictions or censorship, APKMirror doesn't provide "cracked" or pirated versions of apps (though nosotros do host some modified apps, like Google apps tweaked to piece of work with more devices).

Android Police and APKMirror are hither to help developers, not make their lives harder or take abroad their ability to earn a living. Connecting with our previous point regarding safety and security, many apps modified to provide paid or premium features for free too have malware or spyware hiding inside them, which y'all don't want.

4. Don't just take our word for information technology

Lastly, even if you lot disagree with these arguments on the premise that nosotros have a vested interest in promoting our ain services, other impartial sources as well trust APKMirror.

For more information, check out the total FAQ which can also reply other questions, like if apps downloaded from APKMirror can still be updated by the Play Store (aye), what different "arm"/DPI builds mean, or how to troubleshoot some simple errors, should you meet them.

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About The Writer

Ryne Hager (2960 Articles Published)

Ostensibly a senior editor, in reality simply some verbose dude who digs on tech, loves Android, and hates anticompetitive practices. His but regret is that he didn't buy a Nokia N9 in 2012. E-mail tips or corrections to ryne at androidpolice dot com.

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