How to Install the Play Store on Windows 11

ishanajay2012

You can sideload apps on Windows 11, but you are missing out on some key features by sideloading, like Google Play Services. With this tutorial, you will be able to run the Play Store directly on Windows, and you can install apps without sideloading.

Step 1: Uninstall any existing WSA instances

Below are the following steps:
  • Press Windows Key + I to open the settings menu
  • Click Apps
  • Click Installed Apps
  • Find Windows Subsystem For Android™, and click the three dots
  • Click Uninstall, and confirm the prompt

Step 2: Enable Developer Options

To do this,

  • Open Settings with the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + I
  • Click on Privacy and Security
  • Click For Developers under the Security section
  • Enable Developer Mode, and click on Yes when asked to confirm

Step 3: Allow the Windows Hypervisor Platform to Run

If you have installed WSA previously, or have the Virtual Machine Platform and the Windows Hypervisor Platform enabled already, you can feel free to skip this step. However, it is always best to make sure these necessary features are enabled. If you have no idea what I am talking about or have not installed WSA before, these steps are necessary:

  • Press Windows Key + S to open Search
  • Type “Turn Windows Features on or off” and click Enter
  • Look for Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform and enable them
  • Click OK and restart the machine when asked to.

Step 4: Download a modified WSA Installer

  • First, go to the MagiskOnWSA GitHub repository. Create an account if you don’t already have one or log in to GitHub.

Note:

The current GitHub repsoitory (LPosed/MagiskOnWSA) has been disabled by GitHub due to violations of the terms of service. I will update this if the repository comes back online, but for now, the repository is offline. It is also highly unlikley that the repository will come back online, as it has been down for a couple months now. However, there are still some mirrors and unmodified copies of the original that are still up. Some are listed below:
  • Then, on the GitHub repository, click Fork and wait till you see the Forked From menu. This repository is somewhat large, so give it some time to fork.
  • Once on your newly forked repository, click the Actions tab.
  • Now, if you receive the Workflows aren’t being run on this forked repository prompt, click I understand my workflows, go ahead and enable them.
  • Now, with workflows enabled, look for the workflow Build WSA in the left-hand pane and click it. After that, click Run Workflow.
  • In the flyout menu that shows up, keep all settings set to default but Variants of GApps. Under Variants of GApps, select (or type in) pico. If you are typing, make sure that the text you are typing into the text field is exact.

Note:

You can select other variants if you know what you are doing.
  • Now, click Run Workflow. After that, you should see a message at the top that says Workflow run was successfully requested. Be patient with the workflow, it usually takes a couple minutes to complete.
  • Once the workflow completed, click the workflow name and scroll down to the Artifacts section.
  • You will see two links to download files. Click on the file name corresponding to your CPU version, (arm64 or x64) and download the file. It is quite large, so store it accordingly. The file may take a while to download.
  • Right-click the ZIP file and click Extract, and choose the directory of your choice.

Step 5: Finishing Up

  • In thhe newly created directory, look for the Install.ps1 file and right-click on it.
  • Click Open with PowerShell.
  • Click Open if asked to confirm the action.
  • The script will show the Operation Completed Successfully message on execution.
  • Be patient while the script installs the final bits of WSA (Windows Subsystem for Android) and you will see a few installation notifications, and the script will exit after installing.
  • If prompted, click Allow Access so that Windows lets the Windows Subsytem for Android package on your network.
  • Click the start menu and type Windows Subsystem for Android. Open the application shown in search results.
  • Switch Developer Mode on if it is not already.
  • Click on Manage Developer Settings under the Developer Mode switch. This will restart WSA.
  • Now, when you open the Start Menu, you should see Play Store as one of the options. Open the app.
  • Allow the app through Windows Defender Firewall.
  • Now, you can open the Play Store just like any other app and sign in with your Google account. It will preform it’s usual synchronization, and then you can install Play Store apps on Windows 11.

Note:

If you can’t sign in, click Finish Setup in the system tray notification.

Done!