How to Install APK Using ADB Command

Apart from sideloading APKs on Android devices, you can also install APKs using ADB commands. In this tutorial, we will see how we can sideload APK via ADB easily. Read on to find out more.

Hello friends, how do you install apps on devices running Android OS? Most of my friends answer this question with the most general answer. Like installing from Google Play Store app on Android device or installing app by going to their Play Store on PC and installing Standalone app from SD card by enabling Unknown Sources option in device settings.

Most Android users fall into one of these categories, because that’s the simple way to install apps. But what if your device’s UI (User Interfaces) is broken and you can’t access any apps on the device?

When you play with some (any) apps, your device may crash sometimes because those apps interfere with device UI.

The most likely scenario is that the launcher is unresponsive and inaccessible. As you know without launcher app, you can’t access anything on your device. So, if you need to install a third party launcher app to get into your device, you have to download the APK launcher app on your PC.

If Google Play Services has crashed as well (this usually happens when you try to modify the device), you won’t be able to install apps from the Play Store at all.

In this case, ADB is needed. ADB is an abbreviation for Android Device Bridge which serves as a bridge between PC and Android devices.

You can install android apps via this ADB tool. But not limited to that, the scope of ADB is much wider and even if you know a little about Android development, you will understand how important this program is.

But this topic doesn’t go into too much detail about ADB, we will show you how to install android apps using ADB. So let’s start with this guide.

Preparation

• Proper Device Driver installed on PC for mobile.
• Either setup ADB and Fastboot on a computer, or download ADB and Fastboot Platform SDK-Tools.
• Enable USB Debugging on the phone. If you don’t know how to do it, follow the instructions on Enable USB Debugging on Android Device.

Install APK Using ADB Command

1. Let’s prepare the material, extract the ADB file to a folder on the PC and put the APK file you want to install (We will install Whatsapp) You should have a similar file.
2. Now open command prompt in ADB folder by holding Shift key and Right Click on any empty space in the folder.
3. Connect the device to the PC and type the following command to verify if the device is detected by the PC.

   adb devices

   If detected, you will see output similar to below:

4. If your device does not appear under Device list, check the device drivers on your PC for correct and return.
5. Now type the following command to install the app from PC:

   adb install <app name.apk>

   Where apk name is the exact name of the app you installed. See this screenshot for example:

6. If the apk is successfully installed on the Android device. There are also many options for the ADB installation command:

   adb install -r <app name.apk> [The -r option allows you to reinstall or update existing apps on your device]

   adb install -s <app name.apk> [The -s option allows you to install apps to SD card if app supports move to SD card feature]

7. If you want to delete an app, this is a similar procedure. Type the following command:

   adb uninstall <app name.apk>

8. But if you want to uninstall the app, you need to know the whole package name like  com.adobe.reader.

That’s it, try this little trick on your device.

Let us know the results in the comments section below.