Articles and Lifehacks

Today we will figure out how to run apk on a tablet.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to install an application from a file, for example, if it is not in the Play Market. Or if it was transferred to you via Bluetooth.

Android operating systems provide this method. The main advantage of this installation is that the Internet is not required.

Launch apk on tablets

• First, open Settings;
• Scroll down and find the “Security” item (depending on the version of Android, it may be called “Applications” and “Application Settings”);
• Opposite “Unknown sources”, check the box and confirm the choice;
• Next, we will need any file manager (if you already have such an application installed, proceed to the next step).

  To install it, go to the “Play Market”, enter “ES Explorer” in the search bar and download the first application from the list;
  

• Go to ES Explorer or any other file manager, select your file and run;
• Your application will be installed and the icon will appear on the desktop.

Using special programs




In addition to the installation method described above, there are others. For example, using programs that scan all apk files on your device and allow you to quickly install them.

The most popular one is “AppsInstaller”, but you can find a lot of others on the Internet.

Errors in launching apk on tablets

If, after starting the installation, you receive the message “Syntax error” or “Could not open the file,” you most likely need to download the file again.

Flaws this method :

1. Files downloaded not from the Play Market may turn out to be malicious because they are not scanned.
2. Programs can be specially modified to send paid SMS or transfer confidential data to attackers.

   This is especially true for older versions of Android as well as devices with ROOT access.

   
   Use antiviruses and special programs access restrictions to prevent theft of your data. Choose reliable sources to download applications.

In most cases, applications on Android are installed through the Google Play app store. But, sometimes it becomes necessary to install an application downloaded from third-party sites. If you are faced with a similar problem and don’t know how, then this article should help you.

Step no. Allow installation of applications from unknown sources.

First, we need to enable the installation of applications from unknown sources. This is done directly on your Android device. Open Settings and find the Security section. In this section you need to find and enable the “Unknown Sources” function.

After enabling this feature, you will be able to install applications not only from Google Play, but also from any other sources.

Step #2: Copy APK file, which you want to install, into the memory of your Android device.

The next step is copying to the device memory. If the APK file is on your computer, then you need to connect your Android device to the computer with via USB cable and copy the APK file to the device memory. When copying, both in the built-in memory and on a microSD memory card.

You can also download the APK file directly to your Android device. In this case, you won't have to copy anything and can skip this step.

Step No. 3. Start installing the APK file on Android.

After you have enabled the installation of applications from unknown sources and copied the APK file to the device memory, you can proceed directly to the installation itself. In order to install an APK file on your Android device, you just need to open it.

To do this, launch any file manager, . After this, a pop-up window will appear on the screen asking you to install this application.

The Android application technology platform has proven to be versatile and developer-friendly. You can develop an Android app and publish it on the Google Play Store with minimal restrictions. This concept has led to the rapid development of popular Android applications, some of which are not available on iOS and other platforms. To run an Android application, you usually need to use a smartphone or tablet with this OS - this is obvious. What to do if you want to try using Android without buying a device?

Fortunately, you have this opportunity; Android can be run even on an old desktop computer. There are several ways to accomplish this task, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Perhaps the easiest way to run Andoid apps on a Windows computer is to use the ARC Welder browser app Google Chrome. The application was developed by Google and can be used not only on Windows computers - this method also works on Chromebooks and Macs. The launch process is practically independent of the platform used. Simply go to the Chrome Web Store and install the ARC Welder app from the catalog.

The ARC Welder application is in beta and is intended primarily for developers. However, the process of downloading the app is quite simple. You need to upload the APK file to ARC Welder. The APK file can be obtained using backup applications on a physical Android device or by downloading from various third-party sites on the Internet. We do not recommend downloading paid applications and games from dubious sites. There are resources that archive free apps, for example APK Mirror.

Once the required APK file is downloaded and ready for download, you can open ARC Welder from the list of extensions in Google Chrome and point to the file. Then you need to choose how to display applications - landscape/portrait mode, smartphone/tablet mode and clipboard access method. Not every Android application will launch this way, and some applications may lose some of their functionality. ARC Welder, unfortunately, on at the moment does not have built-in support for Google Play services (unless you are an application developer and do not have access to the source code), therefore Google apps and some third-party applications will refuse to work.

Applications or games that run in ARC generally run smoothly. You can get full functionality from Evernote, Instagram and even Flappy Bird. You can only have one application installed in ARC Welder at a time; to launch another application you need to return to the installation dialog.

The application deployment process and the limitation of running only one application at a time create barriers to everyday use of the tool. However, the extension is suitable for the needs of developers and testers, or simply to get acquainted with the capabilities of the mobile platform.

The next easiest way to run Android apps on a PC is to use an Android emulator developed by Google as part of its software development kit (SDK). The emulator can be used to create virtual devices with any version of Android on board with different screen resolutions and hardware configurations. The first disadvantage of this method is the rather complicated installation and configuration process.

Neither product is perfect - you need devices supported by the tools, such as the Dell XPS 12 in the case of the Intel version or the Lenovo ThinkPad x61 for Android-x86. You can install these environments on top of Windows, but this is not a good idea. The most reasonable way is to create a separate partition hard drive and installing Android on it.

If your PC configuration is not supported by these products, you can try installing them in VirtualBox or VMware virtualization environments, which are faster than Android emulator. These products may still not be suitable for testing games, but most applications will install and work correctly. You will need to install applications yourself, because... There is no Google Play integration in these products. For help, you can use the instructions on our website - Installing Android in VMware Workstation.

If you're looking for a way to run multiple Android apps and games at once, and it's easy to install and configure, then BlueStacks is your choice. represents one of the most simple ways to launch applications. However, the product uses a highly modified version of Android to run applications. BlueStacks has a built-in Google Play store, and you have access to all purchased paid applications. The program is added to the list of Google Play devices under the name Galaxy Note II.

A separate BlueStacks window contains a list of applications divided into categories: games, social media etc. When searching for an application or clicking on the icon of a specific application, the unexpected happens - the Google Play client in tablet mode is displayed. The user can navigate the interface like regular device Android, which makes BlueStacks more than just an “app player”. In fact, the user can install third-party launchers such as Nova or Apex from the app store and select them as the default launcher. The home screen in BlueStacks with app categories is a variant of the home screen. Thus, by replacing it, you can feel like the owner of a real Android device.

Full access to the Google Play store eliminates problems with application deployment, and BlueStacks itself works stably and quickly. You can play most games, but you may have problems using the mouse. If your computer has touch screen, You will be able to use applications that support multi-touch. BlueStacks can turn a Windows 8 tablet into an Android tablet. The technology used in BlueStacks is called “LayerCake” because Android applications run in a separate layer on top of Windows.

The only drawback of BlueStacks is the use of a modified build of Android. All changes made by the product developer to run Android applications on a PC may cause crashes and failures in the application. This modified environment is of little value to developers - there is no guarantee that applications that display and run correctly on BlueStacks will behave the same on a physical device. The service uses a freemium monetization model - you can either pay $2 for a subscription or install several sponsored applications.

Which way is better?

If you want to test an application before installing it on physical devices, the Android emulator offers best way to pre-test the application on your computer. The product is quite slow, but it is standardized, so the developer can see how the application will behave on a real smartphone or tablet. Porting Android to PC can provide decent performance, but there may be issues and glitches and it requires compatible hardware.

If you need to get several Android applications on your computer at once, the best solution is BlueStacks App Player. The product provides full access to Google Play, works quickly and supports Windows devices with multitouch. Don't forget about ARC Welder as a way to run one application at a time. The extension is free and easy to install.

Usually it does not cause any difficulties even for inexperienced users. Since the installation process here is as simplified as possible, I clicked on the “Install” button and the application was installed.

But when the user is faced with the task of installing an application from an APK file located on the computer, this can already create some difficulties. If you find yourself in such a situation, then this material should help you, here you can find out how to install APK from a computer to Android.

Step No. 1. Allow the installation of applications from unknown sources in the settings of your Android smartphone.

By default, the Android device can only be accessed from the Play Market application store. In order to be able to install APK files from your computer, you need to allow installation of applications from unknown sources. To do this, go to the settings of your Android device and go to the “Security” section.

After that, enable the “Unknown Sources” feature.

After enabling this feature, you will be able to install any APK files.

Step No. 2. Transfer the APK file from your computer to the memory of your Android device.

The next step is to copy the desired APK file from your computer to the memory of your Android device. To do this, you can connect your Android device to your computer using a USB cable. If you wish, you can use other methods to transfer the APK file. For example, you can reset it using Bluetooth.

With this, you can copy the APK file to any folder on your device. The main thing is that you remember where you copied the APK file.

Step No. 3. Launch the APK file on your Android device.

In order to complete the installation of the APK file from your computer to your Android device, you need to run this APK file. To do this, you need to use any file manager. If your device does not have a file manager, then you can install it from the Play Market. There are many free file managers available there.

Launch the file manager, open the folder where you copied the APK file and run it. After launching the APK file, a window will appear on the screen asking you to install the application. To install the APK file, simply click on the “Next” button.

After this, the application will be installed on your Android device. After installation is complete, an icon will appear on the desktop installed application. Also, the new application icon will appear in the list of all applications.

Some smartphone owners are not even aware that games and applications can be downloaded not only from Google Play. Like Windows, operating Android system allows you to download and install the application as a separate file. But if computer programs have the extension .exe, then the installation file with the mobile utility has the extension .apk.

Consequences of installation

By default, almost any smartphone does not allow you to install programs and games from other sources. What is this connected with?

• Firstly, Google receives a certain percentage of the sale of each application. It is simply not profitable for it to give users the opportunity to search for games and programs elsewhere.
• Secondly, the Google Play online store makes it much easier to find any application and also publishes reviews of it. In this regard, the company is trying its best to accustom users to downloading software only from Google Play.
• Thirdly, a virus may well be hiding on third-party resources under the guise of a very useful utility.

Attention: Some sites actually hide viruses under the guise of applications. They usually work by sending SMS to expensive short numbers. This problem has been partly solved in Android 6.0, where you can prevent a particular program from doing any actions you don’t like.

It should be remembered that if you decide to install an APK file on Android, you should not rely on its subsequent update. The fact is that only those applications that were installed through the aforementioned Google Play can be updated on a smartphone.

Installing the APK file

You can download a file with the .apk extension either using a computer or directly to a smartphone using an Internet browser. If you decide to use a computer, then you need to transfer the file to mobile device. The easiest way to do this is by connecting it with a USB cable. Then all you have to do is drop the APK file into the folder Download or any other.

If, when connected to a computer, the device does not want to give you access to file system, then go to “ Settings" and go to the section " For developers».

Here you should check the box next to “ USB Debugging».

Now you can definitely transfer the file to your smartphone. But that's not all! Now you need to run it for the installation process to start. To do this, use any file manager. This could be ES Explorer or a utility under the simplest name File Manager(“Explorer” in the Russian version of the online store). Using such a program you need to go to the folder Download(if the APK file was downloaded there). Then all you have to do is click on the file.

The last step is to confirm the installation of the application. Along the way, the device will tell you exactly what permissions the program requires. On Android 6.0, permissions are granted while the application is being used, as it accesses certain parts of the operating system.

If, when you click on an APK file, a window pops up informing you that installation is impossible, then you should use the following instructions:

1. Exit to the smartphone menu and go to “ Settings».

2. Go to the section " Safety».

3. Activate the checkbox next to “ Unknown sources».

4. Now go back to the file manager to try installing the application again.

That's it. This completes the installation. See shortcut new program you can in the menu - you will have to drag it to the desktop manually, it will not appear there automatically.