How to open an APK file on a computer. How to open an APK file on your computer

From this article you will learn what the Android application consists of, how to open an APK file and with what programs.

What is an APK file?

Let's see what's inside
In fact, .apk is a ZIP archive, so you can look at the internal device using any file manager or archiver, for example WinRAR or the X-plore mobile application.

• AndroidManifest.xml is a kind of “passport” of the application from which you can find out all the main points, requirements, version, permissions, etc.
• META-INF this file contains metadata, that is, data about data, checksums, paths to data, paths and checksums of resources, certificates. You can open this file with any text editor, but it is recommended to use Notepad++.
• The res folder contains all the program resources, graphic, such as icons, pictures, text, and graphical interface elements. You can also easily access the folder.
• classes.dex is the direct application program code executed by the Dalvik VM virtual machine; you can see what’s inside this file only by decompiling the .apk, we’ll talk about this in other articles. resources.arsc - compiled XML file, this file contains data about all resources involved in the program.
• lib - a folder with native libraries, the resources of which can only be accessed when using specialized programs. The APK may also contain files and folders such as com, org, udk, but not always.

Now let's look at the internal structure in more detail; for this we need a decompilation program, Java and an APK file. The main tool for disassembling .apk is Apktool, but this program only works from the line, which is not very convenient. For faster and more convenient analysis, you can use APKing, this is still the same Apktool, but with the ability to work from the context menu.
And so we install APKing like any application for Windows and, having selected .apk, click on it with the right mouse button and Shift at the same time, after which we will see the following:

An Android application can be installed in several ways. The easiest option is the usual way through the play market.

Additionally, you can use other alternative android stores. There is a third option, which is self-installation of applications in the form of APK files.

Not everything is on the Play Store. You can find many games and programs online that are available for download from places like XDA.

Moreover, not all applications from the Play Store can be downloaded to specific models of smartphones or tablets.

Sometimes the play market shows that it cannot be installed on our device or is out of stock for your region.

In this case, all that remains is to download the APK file from the Internet or offline sources installed on your phone.

What is an apk file on Android

An APK file is nothing more than an installer (a package containing game or program files). This can be compared to installing EXE files on Windows computers.

You can run the APK file on your phone to trigger the app installation process without Play Store restrictions.

Installed in this way, they do not differ from installation from the store. The benefit of this setup is that you can get your hands on apps that are not available in your country. An example is even the game Pokemon GO, which is in the store, but not available to everyone.

Therefore, you can draw the APK file installation format from the net without any obstacle to install on your phone.

How to download APK files

This is a very important point. When downloading APK files, you should consider the source you are getting them from.

When received from the play market, the risk of installing an infected application is very low. When downloading from the network, you may receive files infected with a virus.

In practice, this is not as bad as it might seem. There are many sites that are trusted by users and provide only verified APK files.

Moreover, there are ways to download them directly from the Play Store - then you will be sure that you will receive the same package that is the official repository.

Downloading APK files from websites

The first way is to get the APK file from a site that provides such installers, such as APKMirror.

It verifies the authenticity of applications by verifying the digital signature of the manufacturer.

After logging into the site, you can simply use the search engine in the top right corner - enter the name of the application you want to download.

Once you have found the title, you can select the specific version and then download using “Download APK”.

The use of alternative sources is XDA Developers - they often contain applications that do not exist in the Play store.

XDA users create their own and make them available online for free.

In this case, it is worth looking through the comments and uploading only those that have already gained popularity. Then you will have confidence that they are safe.

Extracting APK files from the play store

Another way to get the APK file is to do it directly from the Play Store database. You can do this on your computer using APK Downloader.

Simply enter the Play Store app to copy the address from your browser's address bar and then paste it into the APK Downloader.

This way, the APK file will be downloaded directly from Google servers. This file can be installed on our device even if it was shown as incompatible in the store.

Installing APK files on Android

To install applications outside of Google Play using APK, you need to make changes in the Android settings.

To do this, go to the settings, and then to the “Security” tab and check the box next to the line “allow installation of applications from unknown sources.” As a result, you will be able to install downloaded APK packages from the Internet.

Now, just click on the package and install it in our Android device. Installation is very simple and boils down to clicking the “Install” button.

After installing the APK, the file can be deleted if you don't want it to take up space on your smartphone or tablet.

The application will be installed on the device and will appear in the list of applications in the launcher, the same as in the case of applications downloaded from the Play Store.

If you want to uninstall an app, simply go to Settings > Application Manager, find the item in the list, and then select Uninstall.

Why can't a file with the apk extension open on Android?

Are you having trouble opening the apk file on android? Don't know how to run the apk file on Android or it just won't install?

This is not your fault and everything can be solved easily - you will need to give the system permission and a program for installing apk files on Android, which is called a file manager or application manager.

Yes, not everyone knows that mobile device manufacturers install protection from the factory against the installation of unknown software.

The first thing you need to do is to allow installation of applications from unknown sources. By default, all Android phones have this locking feature to protect you from infected and potentially dangerous applications.

For your mobile application, every source other than Google Play is an unknown and dangerous source. To disable this option, go to your phone's security settings.

There, this function may vary slightly depending on the phone model and Android version, but usually, as in my Samsung, it is: Settings> Security.

The next step is to install the application manager. Some phones have it installed by default, while others require installation.

After that, launch your file manager and look for the folder in which the APK files were written.

This will most likely be a folder named "Downloads" (unless you chose something else). When you find the APK file you want, all you need to do is click on it and then select “Install”.

The app will still ask for permission and will be installed on your phone after a while. This is all.

However, I must warn you before installing an unverified and unidentified application.

APK files often contain viruses or spyware. Install only if you are sure that the file is reliable. Good luck.

If you have an Android device, then you have heard about APK files and wondered what they are. If you plan to understand in detail how your smartphone works and install applications not only from the Google Play Store, then you need to know about APK files. Today we will figure out what an APK file is, how to download and install it on an Android device.

What is an APK file?

Most likely, you know that Windows computers use EXE format programs. Similarly, Android uses APK files. APK is a file format used to install software on the Android operating system.

Why do I need to install an APK file?

Android apps are not limited to the Google Play Store. Third-party developers release their own apps in APK files that offer exciting features. Additionally, some apps on the Google Play Store cannot be installed in your country. However, you can download the APK file and install the desired application bypassing the Google Play Store.

If your Android device does not have access to the Google Play Store, APK files are the only option for installing applications.

However, you should be careful because third-party APK files can be malicious. Some APK files allow you to download pirated applications. Of course, such APK files should be avoided.

How to install an APK file from a computer

There are a lot of different APK files on the Internet, but, as we said earlier, some of them can be viral. Thus, it is worth choosing reliable sites that you will trust. One such site is APK Mirror. This is an English-language site that provides secure APK files of popular applications, as well as user reviews and comments. Among Russian sites, it is worth noting w3bsit3-dns.com.

Once you have found a reliable site, you can download the APK file of the application you need. Before installing an APK file on your Android device, you need to make sure that the installation of third-party applications is allowed. Go to Menu > Settings > Security > and check the Unknown sources box. This way, you can install any APK file, not just apps from the Google Play Store.

After you have downloaded the APK file to your computer, connect your smartphone to your PC via a USB cable. When you first connect, the default option is USB charging, but you need to select File transfer. After this, you will see your smartphone folder in the root directory of your computer. Go to My Computer - Folder with the name of your smartphone and copy the APK file to any folder on your Android smartphone. The main thing is to remember where you copy the APK file.

Now you can use any file manager on your Android device, such as ES File Explorer, find the folder where you copied the APK file and then click on Install. Congratulations! You have successfully installed the APK file on your Android device.

How to install an APK file from an Android device

You don't need to have a computer to install an APK file on your Android device. You can go to any browser from your smartphone or tablet, find the APK file and download it. As soon as the APK file is downloaded, a corresponding message will appear in the notification panel. Open your Downloads folder and click on the APK file. The application will be installed on your Android device.

If this is your first time encountering “Android” material that has an unknown extension, then you will immediately be faced with the question of how you can open the apk file. If you run this application using the standard capabilities of the Windows operating system, there will be no result. You can select all sorts of programs, but we immediately want to assure you that the basic build of the specified OS does not have a tool that is designed to work with this type of material. Before solving the issue, apk, you should definitely find out what type of extension the given extension belongs to. It’s not difficult to find out, and now we’ll talk about it.

Important

So, it's worth starting with some advice. If you have incorrect data associations with the APK extension on your computer, then, in general, this can cause a number of other basic problems when running the Windows operating system. Incorrect entries can harm the performance of the PC, as well as produce various system errors from other applications and services, in some cases even freezes are possible.

What's in front of us?

So, apk file - how to open it? If you have not yet decided, then we recommend that you find out more detailed information about this extension. As a rule, the specified materials must contain executable content and if this is the case, then you can associate with the “Active Tutor Project”. But basically, most files of this type have a complete association with “Android Package” and other similar applications. By the way, other material formats may also have this extension.

Automatically

Let's now move directly to solving the question of how to open the apk file. Of course, the fastest and easiest way to reproduce this material is to double-click the left mouse button on the icon, in which case the Windows operating system itself will select the optimal program for this data. But, most likely, a file with this resolution will not be opened on your computer, since you do not have it installed for simple viewing or editing of this format. In some cases, this material may open, but then you will realize that it was played by a completely wrong application, which only means that the operating system made the wrong association.

Application

What to do if you don’t know how to open the apk file, and, most likely, special software is not installed on your computer? In this case, the first thing you need to do is download a special program, which is a material analysis tool with a similar extension. Once the procedure is completed, you can decide which application is best suited to work with this data. Keep in mind that there are a large number of APK applications available. Therefore, your main task is to make the right choice.

If you are not sure what type of your material is, and, accordingly, you also don’t know how to open the apk file, then you need to go to a special service where you can download a program that can give you all the necessary information. After a quick analysis, the system will scan and provide a solution.

In order not to download a special application from the Internet, you can use an online service where you just need to drag the necessary material into a window, and after a few seconds you can get information about it.

We will consider the second option with which you can work with such data. I would like to note right away that you will need any archiver. But in order for the application to work, you will need to change the extension from APK, for example, to RAR or ZIP. After completing the unzipping, you need to open the folder, there you can find many subdirectories and materials that will have different types of extensions. All data that will be placed in this archive is necessary for the operation of the application, which is intended for the Android mobile platform. If you need to make any changes to the contained data, then you will need to download a special editor to work with the APK. If you just need to open the material without any additions or corrections, then the best option would be to use a simulator or a device running Android.

Conclusion

If you still haven’t been able to resolve the issue of how to open material with such an extension, then we recommend that you visit the developer’s specialized website. So, how to open an apk file - we told you. Since there are a large number of programs for this, you can find the one that suits you best. Let us emphasize once again that APK is a format for executable archived Android application files. We really hope that the information provided in this article is clear and will be useful to you.

APK (Android Application) is the only extension for installing applications on the Android operating system. The format was developed by Google to adapt custom software to smartphones. The APK file contains fully compiled and ready-to-install program code.

Where is the apk file found?

Since APK is not a cross-platform extension, it is only supported by Android, regardless of the version and modification of the system. Files with this extension are stored in the official online store Google Play. Also, users can download APK files from third-party resources, and then move them to the phone memory and install them. Installation of the Android APK file is carried out manually by the user.

The APK launches the game or application installation wizard. The file itself has a clear structure and contains the following elements:

• Metadata (META.INF) - manifest files and checksum definitions;
• .LIB - libraries for working with different processors;
• Assets and.RES - program resources;
• .XML - program code (can be encrypted for security purposes);
• .DEX is a set of compiled classes.

The user does not see the file structure, but only the final object that is ready for installation. To view the contents of the APK, open it using any archiver. For example, 7Zip or WinRAR.

Programs for opening apk files

To run APK files you will need any device running Android OS. Users of the system can independently download installation files to the phone and then open them in any Explorer.

Despite the limitations of using the extension, the APK can be opened on Windows, MacOS and other operating systems using an emulator - a program that creates a virtual machine of the Android system on the user's computer. The best examples of emulators are BlueStacks, Droid4X and Genymotion.