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Microsoft Ending Windows Subsystem for Android Support in Windows 11
Microsoft plans to end support for its Windows subsystem for the Android component in Windows 11.
The end of support for the Windows Subsystem for Android in Windows 11 is scheduled for March 5, 2025, according to the “Important” notice in this Microsoft document. That notice succinctly added that “customers who installed Amazon Appstore or Android applications prior to March 5, 2024 will continue to have access to those applications until the termination date of March 5, 2025.”
Normally, Microsoft is not expected to suggest that users run its unsupported software. However, the succinct note seems to be aimed at the developer community rather than Android app users.
There appears to have been no other public announcement from Microsoft about the end of the Window subsystem for Android. This is described on this GitHub talk page, where a developer complained about spending time working on the Amazon Appstore API. Another person in that thread complained that there are “virtually no apps in the Amazon Appstore.”
In any case, Microsoft seems to be throwing in the towel on this approach to running Android apps on Windows 11. The Windows Subsystem for Android provided a Hyper-V virtual machine that was compatible with the Android Open Source Project framework. Microsoft reviewed the Window subsystem for Android in 2021, when it said only 50 Android apps from the Amazon Appstore were supported.
Users needed the Amazon Appstore, available through the new Microsoft Store, to be able to access Android apps using the Windows Subsystem for Android. The new Microsoft Store can host other app stores, but it doesn’t seem to host the Google Play store for accessing Android apps.
The ability to install the Google Play Store for use with the Windows subsystem for Android probably never officially happened, although this 2024. XDA-Developers.com the article provides steps on how to do this. Many people who tried to install the Google Play Store instead ended up with a malware loader, e.g Bleepingcomputer.com explained in a 2022 article Confusion about the availability of the Google Play Store for the Windows Subsystem for Android was reported on this 2022 Microsoft Community Discussion Page.
Microsoft seems to have been mostly silent about the Windows Subsystem for Android over the years. That silence seems to be in marked contrast to the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which is often promoted as a popular tool for developers working on Windows systems.
about the author
Kurt Mackie is a senior news producer for Converge360’s 1105 Media group.