How to install Android app on Windows Phone

What you need to know

• If you have an old Windows Phone lying around, you can now hack it to run (some) Android apps.
• The method involves loading your phone with Project Astoria, Microsoft's abandoned project that was meant to bring Android apps to Windows 10 Mobile.
• The process only works with select Windows Phones, and you'll likely run into compatibility issues with modern versions of apps.

If you're looking for a potentially fun (or frustrating) weekend project and have an old Windows Phone lying around, you can now modify it to run Android apps. Well, sort of. There are a lot of steps involved here, along with some major caveats.

As reported by Windows United, two developers, Fadil Fadz and one who goes by Tourniquet, have released a tool for getting Microsoft's abandoned Project Astoria to run on Windows Phones. Project Astoria was the companion to Project Islandwood, which were meant to give Android and iOS developers a way to easily get their apps up and running on Windows Phones.

There are some major things worth considering with this process, however. First, it only works with a specific set of Windows Phones across two Windows 10 Mobile builds (10166 and 10536). There are several supported phones, however, ranging from the Lumia 640 to the Lumia 1520, along with the HTC One m8 and two Samsung Ativ models.

Second, you'll likely run into some app compatibility issues because Project Astoria was built with Android version 4.4 as a base. Modern Android apps largely no longer support this version of Android, not to mention you'll have to download and sideload the APKs for apps you want to try.

Finally, the process of getting your device into a state where you can start tinkering with Project Astoria is long and convoluted. You'll have to make sure you're on the right OS version, unlock it with Windows Phone Internals, and manually load files via a command line. It's not for the faint of heart.

There's little value in doing this sort of thing now, as Windows 10 Mobile has been dead and buried for some time now. But, if you've got the time and want to expend the effort, you can check out the full list of instructions at Windows United.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

Just a few minutes ago, I installed Snapchat, Slack and Twitter’s Android app on Windows 10 Mobile. As I’ve stated previously, the apps are pretty good on Windows 10 Mobile. So if you’re wondering how to install Android apps on Windows 10 Mobile, here’s how to:

Keep in mind that getting APKs without permission is piracy and you should be aware of local laws.

Before we start, keep in mind that this may damage your device. We wouldn’t recommend trying this, but if you really want to, you can feel free to do so at your own risk. 

Here is the list of supported devices:

• Nokia Lumia 920
• Nokia Lumia 925
• Nokia Lumia 929 (icon)
• Nokia Lumia 830
• Nokia Lumia 930
• Nokia Lumia 1520
• Nokia Lumia 635 (1GB RAM variant)
• Nokia Lumia 730
• Nokia Lumia 820
• Nokia Lumia 435
• Nokia Lumia 928

If you have one of the above devices,  here’s how to install the apps:

• Download wconnect and Android SDK’s ADB tool from here.
• Unzip both of the files on the folder
• Open the folder wconnect, then install  IpOverUsbInstaller.msi and vcredist_x86.exe
• Go to your Windows 10 Mobile’s Settings page, then head over to Update & Security > For Developers  and enable Developers Mode, as well as Device Discovery
• Now go to the extracted wconnect folder, then open an elevated command prompt (Shift+right click > Open command window here)
• After that, you’ll need to connect to the phone — and there’s two way of doing that (USB method is recommended):
  • If you want to connect using USB, type wconnect.exe usb and hit enter
  • And if you want to connect over Wi-Fi, type wconnect.exe 192.168.xxx.xxx (replace the xxx with your network’s IP)
• Then it’ll ask for the pairing code, just type the pairing code and hit enter
• After that, navigate to the extracted adb folder and open an elevated command prompt
• To make sure that your device is connected, type adb devices and hit enter to show the list of devices that are connected
• Lastly, place the APK file that you want to install on the same directory (adb folder) and type in adb install APKNAME.apk (replace APKNAME with the APK file’s name)
• Just wait for it to do its thing and you should be able to install the Android app on your Windows 10 device

If you are a bit confused by the above steps, there’s also a video guide published by the folks at WPXBOX – take a look:

Again, this may damage your device, so we don’t recommend trying this. And if you really want to install Android apps on your Windows 10 Mobile device, do it at your own risk.