If you've ever tried installing apps from unofficial app stores on your Chromebook, you know that you need to enter developer mode, which requires a factory reset. Here's how you can bypass this requirement using the Linux subsystem.
Summary
- Sideloading APKs and developer mode
- Enable the Linux subsystem
- Setting up the Android debugging bridge
- Sideloading an APK
- With great strength
Sideloading APKs and developer
mode
Some
Android apps are not listed on Google Play . There can be many
reasons for this. Google may have blocked the app because it doesn't meet
Google's requirements. On the other hand, it could also be a self-imposed exile
of the programmers. You may have a problem with Google and want to bypass the
usual app delivery mechanisms. And sometimes developers release their stable,
secure builds through Google Play, but make other builds - such as potentially
unstable daily development builds - available elsewhere.
To
install an Android application from an unofficial repository, you need to
download and install an APK. APK stands for both A Android P package K es and A Android P ac K age. It is the
name for a file type that contains an Android app and all necessary files.
Bundling the app and its dependencies into a single file makes distribution and
copying much easier.
If you've ever tried installing apps from unofficial app stores on your
Chromebook, you know that you need to enter developer mode, which requires a
factory reset. Here's how you can bypass this requirement using the Linux
subsystem.
Summary
- Sideloading APKs and developer mode
- Enable the Linux subsystem
- Setting up the Android debugging bridge
- Sideloading an APK
- With great strength
Sideloading APKs and developer mode
Some Android apps are not listed on Google Play . There can be many reasons for this. Google may have blocked the app because it doesn't meet Google's requirements. On the other hand, it could also be a self-imposed exile of the programmers. You may have a problem with Google and want to bypass the usual app delivery mechanisms. And sometimes developers release their stable, secure builds through Google Play, but make other builds - such as potentially unstable daily development builds - available elsewhere.
To install an Android application from an unofficial repository, you need to download and install an APK. APK stands for both A Android P package K es and A Android P ac K age. It is the name for a file type that contains an Android app and all necessary files. Bundling the app and its dependencies into a single file makes distribution and copying much easier.
Introducing an APK on a Chromebook used to mean placing your Chromebook into engineer mode. This required a system reset – or powerwash – which returned your Chromebook to a brand new, clean state. It also displayed a scary warning every time your Chromebook booted up and it also reduced your security.
Your Chromebook's Linux subsystem lets you install Android apps from APK files without setting up developer mode. All you need to do is enable Android debugging mode - and that doesn't require a factory reset.
Of course, you'll need a Chromebook that can run the Linux subsystem and Android apps, but all newer models should be able to do this.
Enable the Linux subsystem
If you have not yet activated the Linux subsystem, you must do so now. It's easy to do, but takes a moment or two to complete. Click the notification area (taskbar) to open the Settings menu and click the gear icon.
On the Settings page, type “linux” in the search bar. The entry for the Linux development environment (beta) appears in the search results.
Click the “Turn On” button. You will see a notification that a download is in progress.
Click the blue “Next” button. You will be approached to give a username. You can leave the disk size setting at the default value. Click the blue “Install” button.
The download and installation process will begin. It might require a couple of moments for this move toward complete.
Finally, you will see the Linux terminal window with a prompt containing the username you chose previously.
Setting up the Android debugging bridge
With Linux introduced, open the framework menu and snap the stuff.. On the Settings page, search for “linux.” This time you will be presented with more options. Select “Develop Android apps” and then click the slider next to “Enable ADB debugging.”
This will enable the Android debugging bridge. It is a tool used by developers to test their Android apps while working on them. We will use the feature to sideload APKs.
You will be approached to affirm that you need to empower ADB. Click the blue "Restart and Proceed" button
Once your Chromebook has restarted, tap the "Everything" button - the one with the magnifying glass icon - and type "Terminal."
Click the terminal icon in the search results. A Linux terminal window opens. Enter this command in the terminal window:
This will install the Android ADB system. After the installation is complete, enter this command to connect the debugging bridge to an IP address and port.
You should affirm that you need to permit USB troubleshooting.
Check the “Always allow from this computer” box and click the “OK” button.
If your terminal window doesn't say "connected to 100.155.92.2:5555," open Settings and navigate to Apps > Google Play Store > Manage Android Preferences > System > About Device. Click on the “Build Number” entry seven times.
This is an “ Easter egg ” that forces your Chromebook to view you as a developer. Reboot and try again.
If it still doesn't work, try this command:
Sideloading an APK
We install the Firefox Browser Nightly Developer Build . This is an unstable, but as state-of-the-art version of the Firefox browser as possible. We'll use it as a good example of an Android app that isn't available on Google Play. Don't use it as your daily browser; This build is for testing and experimentation, not abandonment.
Download the appropriate APK for your Chromebook's architecture. Our test device has an Intel 64-bit processor, so we downloaded the APK “X86_64”. The downloaded file has been placed in the Downloads folder. t said “org.mozilla.fenix_93.0a1-2015827511_minAPI21(x86_64)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk”. That's a pretty terrible filename to work with. Maybe it was written by a inspires certain Welsh village . To improve clarity, we renamed it “firefox.apk”.
The APK must be located where the Linux subsystem can see it. Open your file browser and drag the APK into the “Linux Files” directory.
Enter this command to install the APK on a Chromebook with an Intel or AMD CPU. Supplant "firefox.apk" with the name of your APK:
f your Chromebook uses ARM architecture, use this command instead:
The word “Success” in the terminal window indicates that everything went well. Click the “Everything” button and type Firefox. You will see the Firefox Nightly icon.
Click the symbol to begin the unsteady variant of Firefox.
With great strength
...comes great responsibility. Be careful when sideloading APKs. Some APKs might contain malevolent or horrendous code Do your research before sideloading. Try finding reviews of the app — and the website you're downloading from — to see if it's Bonefide .
As always, it's worth looking before you leap.
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