Did you know that you can install an Android app without your phone? You should have a device with Internet access. You can have your mobile 10 kilometers away and download apps as if you had the phone in your hands.
The truth is that the function of installing apps remotely on Android is very easy to use, but not many people know about it. This is a feature that can come in handy also for those times you have a problem with the phone or have a virus, and for whatever reason, you cannot install applications from the Play Store app in a conventional way.
How to install Android apps remotely from another device
Next, we explain two methods to download and install Android apps remotely. The first is to access the web version of the Google Play Store, while for the second, we will use an ADB command with the help of a PC and a USB cable. Stay with the option that best suits your needs.
Downloading apps remotely from the Play Store
One of the advantages of the Play Store is that when you access its web version for browsers with a device that is not Android, the store allows you to choose on which of your Android devices you want to install an app. Pretty convenient, right?
- Open the browser on your desktop or laptop computer and enter the Play Store by doing a Google search or by loading this URL in the address bar:Â https://play.google.com/store
- Log into the Play Store with the same Google account that you use on your Android phone.
- Find the app or game you want to install and click to enter the information sheet of the app.
- Click on the green “Install” button.
- Next, the Play Store will ask you to choose the device to install the application. Open the drop-down that you will see on the screen and select your Android mobile.
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If you do not see your phone in the list, it is most likely that you have logged into the browser’s Play Store with the wrong account. In this case, change the account to be the same, both in the browser’s Play Store and on your remote Android device.
- Enter the password for your Google account to verify your identity and click on “Next.”
- If everything goes well, you will see a message indicating that the app will be installed shortly on your device.
Clever! From here, the app will be installed remotely on your mobile. Just make sure your Android device has internet access so the app can download automatically.
If your Android device has Internet access, the most normal thing is that the download begins in a matter of a minute or less. If you see that the app does not install, you likely have the Play Store configured so that apps are only downloaded when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. You can change this option by entering the Play Store settings on your Android. Go to ” Settings -> Application download preference ” and select ” On any network ” or ” Wi-Fi only ” according to your preferences.
Keep in mind, of course, that if you select “On any network,” the download will be done using your data connection. If you will install a heavy app, leave the ” Wi-Fi only ” option on not to exhaust your monthly data rate.
How to install an app using ADB commands
If the app you want to install is not available in the Play Store, but you already have the installation package in APK format, you can also install the application. Although it is a bit more complicated, you will also need to have a PC on hand.
- First, activate USB debugging on your Android device.
- Connect your mobile to a Windows PC using a USB cable.
- Before starting, make sure you have installed the ADB driver package for Windows.
Now that you have everything ready, open a terminal window from Windows by pressing the Win + R keys and typing the command “cmd.”
Next, launch the following command to know that the PC has recognized your Android device and that the ADB commands are operational:
adb devices
Finally, you will execute the remote installation command. Before launching the command, check that the app’s installation APK package is in the same path on the PC from where you are launching the commands. Otherwise, the command will return an error.
adb install app.apk
Replace ” application.apk ” with the name of the APK package you want to install. For example, to install WhatsApp, the complete command will be ” adb install com.whatsapp.apk. “
In this way, the PC will contact your Android and remotely install the app in APK format that we have just indicated through the ADB command.
