Now use your Android app to screen to scan the QR code that’s displayed on your PC, to link the devices. On your PC, select the “Pair with QR code” button. Next, sign in to the companion app with the same Microsoft account that you’re signed in to on your PC. To do this, open a web browser on your Android device and then enter the link that’s displayed on your PC. You’ll be asked to sign in to your Microsoft account, and then prompted to install or open the companion app on your Android device. If you start from your Android phone, select this from the list of phone models. If you start from your PC, in the search box on the taskbar, type the words “your phone,” and then click or tap to launch the app.

It’s a bit more of a headache to set up and its performance isn’t as good as Bluestacks, but it does let PC users wirelessly access apps on your nearby smartphone – so long as both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

How to run Android apps on your computer using Your Phone appĪ second way to access Android apps and games on a Windows PC is to launch the Your Phone app, which is already built into Windows 10 (and on many Samsung Galaxy smartphones, there’s a preinstalled Link to Windows app, which can also work). For instance, if you’re used to controlling a racing game by tilting your Android phone, you might opt for a keyboard or gamepad instead.Īpps that leverage your smartphone’s camera, such as Instagram, will require a computer with a webcam, of course.Īlong with support for the Google Play store, BlueStacks 5 includes a Controls Editor (to create and customize unique control options for your favorite games) and Game Center (which lets you browse through games, based on genres, popularity, and other variables). It may take a bit of experimentation to see how some games should be best played on a PC or Mac. To download apps and games from the Google Play Store within BlueStacks, simply log in with your Google ID (Gmail address and password) and have at it. BlueStacks 5 might also require the download of a newer graphics card driver on an aging computer.

Other system specs are equally as modest, such as requiring at least 4GB of RAM (system memory), though 8GB or more is recommended. It only takes up 2GB of storage once installed, not including any apps you may download. The San Jose, California-based company claims more than 2 million Android games and apps are supported on its emulator, thanks to the software’s complex virtualization technology developed by 10 engineers over the years.īecause Android is an open operating system, BlueStacks is completely free and legal for users to download and install. The best solution is to install BlueStacks 5 for Windows PC (or Bluestacks 4 for Mac), which lets you run Android on your personal computer. How to run Android apps on your computer with Bluestacks

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