Did we aim for an interesting app but we can’t download it on our Android smartphone? Are we not getting any updates for the messaging app we use? Is the app that everyone has is not available in the Play Store of our device?
In all these scenarios we can quickly solve by downloading the APK file of the app from the Internet and then installing it on our Android smartphone or tablet (after temporarily lowering the defenses of the operating system, which does not allow you to install apps outside the TechToDown).
In this guide, we will show you what an APK file is, how to download the APK file from safe sources and how to set up Android to be able to install these applications correctly.
How to install APK on Android
Before continuing, it is good to remember that installing APK lowers the security of our Android system, which therefore becomes more vulnerable to attack by viruses, malware, and trojans. If we have to download and install APKs, make sure we do it only from safe sources and, after changing the Android settings for the installation, we raise the defenses again by blocking the installation from unknown sources.
What is an APK
The APK file is an installation package compatible with Android, containing all the instructions to be able to install and use the application chosen on our device. It is therefore not an executable like EXE files on Windows but is more like a setup file like MSI on Windows.
Normally the APK files are not managed by the Android system by default, since the applications are already available “ready” on the Google Play Store; but no one forbids the developer or manufacturer of the app to release the APKs on their site or other collection sites so that, if a user has difficulty downloading or updating the app on their device, they can use the MOD APK file taken from the Internet after modifying the system to accept apps of unknown origins).
APKs also have limitations and you have to consider them before moving on to downloading files:
- There is no guarantee of operation: if an app from the Play Store is not available on our device (for various reasons), downloading the APK does not give any guarantee of operation, indeed often the installation crashes or the app does not start ( this is because one of the reasons why the app is not available in the Play Store of our device is incompatibility).
- There is no guarantee of updates: if an app not available on our Play Store is installed via APK, we will not receive automatic updates from Google and we will therefore have to manually download all the APKs of subsequent updates.
- We cannot download paid apps: paid apps are not available as APKs, since they only work if linked to the Google Play Store (and the account that manages them). If we find paid apps in APK format we find ourselves in front of crack versions, moderates (to add functions), and often full of viruses or crap.
- Greater security risks: as mentioned in the introduction to the guide we run the risk of infecting our smartphone since an APK file can be modified to show additional advertising windows, install new infected APKs by yourself or modify our chats on WhatsApp or other social networks.
All these flaws are enough to make most people give up: better not take any chances and install only the apps available on the Google Play Store! And if we necessarily want the app in APK format, in the following chapters we will show you where to retrieve APKs from secure sources and how to install them on Android smartphones or tablets.
Where to download the APKs of the apps
APK files should not be downloaded with a simple Google search: most of the sources shown may contain modified APKs or infect the system even before starting the download! For greater security, download the APK files from the PC and only then transfer them to the Android device, following the suggestions proposed in our guide on how to send files between PC and Android (mobile phone or tablet) in wifi without cables.
One of the best sites to download APKs is APKMirror.
On this site we can find practically any app updated to the latest version (often even before it appears on the Google Play Store); to download the app, simply use the search bar at the top right, select the most relevant result among those proposed, press the See Available APKS button and download the version suitable for our system (we recommend that you download the two APKs indicated such as armeabi-v7a and
arm64-v8a, testing both until we find the one that works correctly). Unfortunately, the site does not offer an alternative store to install on the device, so we will inevitably have to visit the site often to download the updated APK of the chosen app.
