Installation

[!NOTE]

If you have the official Windows Subsystem For Android™ installed, you must completely uninstall it to use MagiskOnWSA.

[!IMPORTANT]

In case you want to preserve your data from the previous installation (official or MagiskOnWSA), you can backup Userdata.vhdx, located at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\userdata.vhdx before uninstallation and restore it after installation. A guide for this process is located further down in this README.

Video Guide:

Special Thanks to kilObit (creator of the video)

Text Guide:

1. Go to the Releases page
2. In the latest release, go to the Assets section and download the Windows Subsystem For Android™ version of your choosing (do not download "Source code")
3. Extract the .7z archive and rename the folder (that you extracted) to WSA
4. Delete the .7z archive
5. Move the newly extracted folder to a suitable location (Documents folder is a good choice), as you will need to keep the folder on your PC to use MagiskOnWSA

[!NOTE]
If you're updating WSA, merge the folders and replace the files for all items when asked

6. Open the Windows Subsystem For Android™ folder: Search for and double-click Run.bat

   • If you previously have a MagiskOnWSA installation, it will automatically uninstall the previous one while preserving all user data and install the new one, so don't worry about your data.

   • If the popup windows disappear without asking administrative permission and Windows Subsystem For Android™ is not installed successfully, you should manually run Install.ps1 as administrator:

     • Press Win+x and select Windows™ Terminal (Admin)

     • Input the command below and press enter, replacing {X:\path\to\your\extracted\folder} including the {} with the path of the extracted folder

       cd "{X:\path\to\your\extracted\folder}"
       

     • Input the command below and press enter

       PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Install.ps1
       

     • The script will run and Windows Subsystem For Android™ will be installed

     • If this workaround does not work, your PC is not supported for WSA

7. Once the installation process completes, Windows Subsystem For Android™ will launch (if this is a first-time install, a window asking for consent to diagnositic information will be shown instead. Sometimes two identical windows will show, this is fine and nothing bad happens if you click OK in both windows)

8. Click on the PowerShell window, then press any key on the keyboard, the PowerShell window should close

9. Close File Explorer

10. Enjoy

--- 

Notice (Applicable for both Windows 10 and 11):

1. You can NOT delete the Windows Subsystem For Android™ installation folder. What Add-AppxPackage -Register .\AppxManifest.xml does is to register an appx package with some existing unpackaged files, so you need to keep them as long as you want to use Windows Subsystem For Android™. Check https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/appx/add-appxpackage?view=windowsserver2022-ps for more details.
2. You need to register your Windows Subsystem For Android™ appx package before you can run Windows Subsystem For Android™. For WSABuilds and MagiskOnWSALocal users, you need to run Run.bat in the extracted dir. If the script fails, you can take the following steps for diagnosis (admin privilege required):

   1. Open a PowerShell window and change working directory to your Windows Subsystem For Android™ directory.

   2. Run the command below in PowerShell. This should fail with an ActivityID, which is a UUID required for the next step.

      Add-AppxPackage -ForceApplicationShutdown -ForceUpdateFromAnyVersion -Register .\AppxManifest.xml
      

   3. Run the command below in PowerShell. This should print the log of the failed operation.

      Get-AppPackageLog -ActivityID <uuid>
      

   4. Check the log for the reason of failure and fix it.

  Updating

How do I update without losing any of my apps and data on Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

[!IMPORTANT] Make sure that WSA has been turned off from the settings and that tools such has WSA-System-Control, WSA-Sideloader, WSAPacman etc are not running.

1. Download the latest build (that you want to update to)

2. Make sure Windows Subsystem For Android is not running (Click on "Turn off" in the WSA Settings and wait for the spinning loader to disappear)

3. Using 7-Zip, WinRAR or any other tool of choice, open the .7z archive

4. Within the .7z archive, open the subfolder

   • Example:

     • WSA_2xxx.xxxxx.xx.x_xx

     or

     • WSA_2xxx.xxxxx.xx.x_xx_Release-Nightly-with-magisk-xxxxxxx-MindTheGapps-xx.x-RemovedAmazon)

5. Select all the files that are within this subfolder and extract them to the current folder where the file for Windows Subsystem For Android (the folder you extracted, and installed WSA from) are located

6. When prompted to replace folders, select "Do this for all current items" and click on "Yes"

7. When prompted to replace files, click on "Replace the files in the destination"

8. Run the Run.bat file

9. Launch Windows Subsystem For Android Settings app and go to the About tab using the sidebar

10. Check if the WSA version matches the latest version/ the version number that you want to update to

Join the Discord if you are having any difficulties

  Uninstallation

[!NOTE]

If you want to preseve your data, make a backup of the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\userdata.vhdx file. After uninstalling, copy the VHDX file back to the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Package\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache folder. For a more comprehensive and detailed guide, take a look at the Backup and Restore section in this README markdown

To remove WSA installed through WSABuild:

• 1.) Make sure that Windows Subsystem For Android™ is not running
  

• 2.) Search for Windows Subsystem For Android™ Settings using the built-in Windows Search, or through Add and Remove Programs and press uninstall

• 3.) Delete the WSA folder that you extracted and Run.bat was run from to install WSA (MagiskOnWSA folder)

• 4.) Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%/Packages/ and check if the folder: MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe is still present:
  • If the folder is still present: Delete it
    • If you get an error that states that the file(s) could not be deleted, make sure that WSA is turned off
  • If the folder does not exist: Skip this step

To remove WSA installed from the Microsoft Store:

• 1.) Search for Windows Subsystem For Android™ Settings using the built-in Windows Search, or through Add and Remove Programs and press uninstall

  Backup and Restore Userdata

Backing Up Your Userdata

In order to make a backup of your WSA data you must copy the Userdata.vhdx (which includes, but is not limited Android Apps and their data, settings etc.), located at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\userdata.vhdx, to a safe location

Restoring Your Backup

Before attempting to restore your backup, you must remove WSA if installed. Then before you run the Run.bat script (to reinstall WSA after removing it), you need to remove these lines from Install.ps1, located in the your extracted WSA folder:

[!TIP] The Lines (as shown below) that you need to remove in Install.ps1 may vary depending on the type of WSA Build that you are trying to install.

Android Settings:

Start-Process "wsa://com.android.settings"

Official Magisk:

Start-Process "wsa://com.topjohnwu.magisk"

Magisk Delta:

Start-Process "wsa://io.github.huskydg.magisk"

Magisk Alpha:

Start-Process "wsa://io.github.vvb2060.magisk"

Google Play Store:

Start-Process "wsa://com.android.vending"

Amazon Appstore:

Start-Process "wsa://com.amazon.venezia"

After removing the lines above, run the script.

When the Powershell window states "Press any key to quit", at that time multiple dialouge boxes will open:

[!IMPORTANT] Ignore these and do not click on anything or close these popups

Go to %localappdata%\Packages and (if these folders/directory do not exist, create them) in MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\ paste the userdata.vhdx

Now close the popups and run WSA and your userdata should hopefully be restored

  FAQ

  Help me, I am having problems with the MagiskOnWSA Builds

• Open an issue in Github or join the Discord and describe the issue with sufficent detail

Help me, I am having problems with installing Windows Subsystem For Android™ on Windows™ 10

• I am not working on the patch, and nor claim to. Open an issue in the Discord or Github, and I will try to assist you with the problem if possible. For full support visit the project homepage and open an issue there: https://github.com/cinit/WSAPatch/issues/

How do I get a logcat?

• There are two ways:

  adb logcat
  

  or

• Location in Windows --->
  %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\diagnostics\logcat

Can I delete the installed folder?

• No.

How can I update Windows Subsystem For Android™ to a new version?

• As Explained Installation instructions. Download the latest Windows Subsystem For Android™ Version and replace the content of your previous installation and rerun Install.ps1. Don't worry, your data will be preserved

How do I update Magisk?

• Do the same as updating Windows Subsystem For Android™. Wait for a new MagiskOnWSA release that includes the newer Magisk version, then follow the Installation instructions to update

Can I pass SafetyNet/Play Integrity?

• No. Virtual machines like Windows Subsystem For Android™ cannot pass these mechanisms on their own due to the lack of signing by Google. Passing requires more exotic (and untested) solutions like: <https: 145#discussioncomment-2170917="" discussions="" github.com="" kdrag0n="" safetynet-fix="">

What is virtualization?

• Virtualization is required to run virtual machines like Windows Subsystem For Android™. Run.bat helps you enable it. After rebooting, re-run Run.bat to install Windows Subsystem For Android™. If it's still not working, you have to enable virtualization in your BIOS/UEFI. Instructions vary by PC vendor, look for help online

Can I remount system partition as read-write?

• No. Windows Subsystem For Android™ is mounted as read-only by Hyper-V. You can, however, modify the system partition by creating a Magisk module, or by directly modifying the system.img file

I cannot adb connect localhost:58526

• Make sure developer mode is enabled. If the issue persists, check the IP address of Windows Subsystem For Android™ on the Settings ---> Developer page and try

  adb connect ip:5555
  

Magisk online module list is empty?

• Magisk actively removes the online module repository. You can install the module locally or by

  Step 1

  adb push module.zip /data/local/tmp
  

  Step 2

  adb shell su -c magisk --install-module /data/local/tmp/module.zip
  

How do I uninstall Magisk?

• Request, using Issues, a Windows Subsystem For Android™ version that doesn't include Magisk from the Releases page. Then follow the Installation instructions

Can I switch between OpenGApps and MindTheGapps?

• No. GApps will no longer function. Do a complete uninstallation before switching

How do I install custom Magisk or GApps?

• To request a build with custom Magisk or GApps, feel free to open an issue in the Issues page You can also achieve this by using the MagiskOnWSALocal Script and following the provided instructions located in the repo. </https:>

  App Compatibility

Updated on 05/03/2024

Legend

This page currently uses Unicode characters from Unicode Emoji (1.0). If you are unable to see these characters, please open an issue.

• ✅ Works
• 🆖 Works, but needs Google Mobile Services
• ⚠️ Works, but with some notable problems
• ❌ Broken

Support table (OS features)

Workarounds

VPN

There is no com.android.vpndialogs in WSA. However, it's possible to manually grant the VPN activation permission with AppOps via adb shell:

appops set [package name] ACTIVATE_VPN allow

Launching Android Apps with URI scheme

Microsoft provides a custom URI scheme for WSA, making it easier to launch apps:

wsa://[App Package Name]

For example, to launch Apple Music in WSA, use:

wsa://com.apple.android.music

Support tables

• Apps
• Games

Apps

Games

  Usage Guides

GPU Guide:

Sideload Guide/Installing an APK:

Moving WSA to another drive or partition:

Installing KernelSU:

Installing BusyBox:

Localhost Loopback Guide:

Remove Non-Existent App Entries:

  Having Issues?

Common Issues:

  Custom Builds Requests

  ❓Want to request a prebuilt custom build❓

If you can't find the build that you are looking for, I will be happy to fufill any custom build requests.

Open an issue in the [Issues page](https://github.com/MustardChef/WSABuilds/issues) with the information below.

[!IMPORTANT]

• State the Device Model (Default: Pixel 5)?
  - Root Solution (Magisk, KernelSU or none)?
  - If you want a WSA build with Magisk, what variant of magisk would you like?
  - Would you like GApps (Google Play Store and Play Services (GMS))?
  - Would you like to keep the Amazon Appstore?

  Credits

Other Projects used as reference or referenced

• WSA-Sideloader: Easily sideload Android apps on Windows Subsystem for Android

• WSAPacman: A GUI package manager and package installer for Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

• APK-Installer: An Android Application Installer for Windows

• StoreLib: API for downloading WSA

• Magisk: The Magic Mask for Android

• KernelSU: A Kernel based root solution for Android

• WSAGAScript: The first GApps integration script for WSA

• MagiskOnWSA: Deprecated Integrate Magisk root and Google Apps into WSA

Is this GitHub Repo affiliated with Microsoft™?

- Microsoft and the Dev team at MSFT are the developers of Windows Subsystem For Android. We do not claim to develop, or have a part in developing this emulator. We also have no real influence on the direction of development of WSA and nor do we claim to.

- What the WSABuild repo does is that it provides prebuilt WSA builds with Root and GMS built using the MagiskOnWSALocal project (and WSAPatch for the Windows 10 patch.) That is that we simply modify the emulator to add extra functionality to it.

- All this is, is an unofficial project not related in any way to Microsoft and the team working on Windows Subsystem For Android.

Is this GitHub Repo affiliated with Google™ or Android™?

This is an unofficial project not related in any way to Google and the team working on Android.

[!IMPORTANT] The repository is provided as a utility. Android is a trademark of Google LLC. Windows™ and Windows Subsystem for Android™ are trademarks of Microsoft LLC.