How to Run Your Favorite Windows Apps on Android with Winlator

Winlator is a solution you’re going to love because it allows you to run your favorite Windows programs directly on your Android smartphone.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, but it’s going to lag like crazy; my phone doesn’t have the power of a PC.”

Well, think again, my friends, because Winlator uses the magical combination of Wine and Box86/Box64 to translate and run Windows code efficiently on Android. But I’ll warn you upfront, don’t go looking for Winlator on the Play Store. Google isn’t a big fan of this kind of technology, so you’ll need to take the “dark side” route and download the APK directly from Winlator’s GitHub. Don’t worry, though, it’s super easy—just follow the tutorial below 👇

System Requirements

• Android 7.0 or higher
• At least 4 GB of RAM
• 64-bit processor (ARM64 or x86_64)
• Root access

Installing Winlator

1. Go to your phone’s settings, then to “Apps” or “Security” (this may vary depending on your model) and allow installation from unknown sources.
2. Download the latest version of the Winlator APK from the project’s GitHub. If your browser warns you with something like “this file may harm your device,” ignore it—it’s nonsense 😉.
3. Open the downloaded APK and follow the instructions to install Winlator. And that’s it! You’ve got Winlator on your phone!

Configuring Winlator

Now that Winlator is installed, you’ll need to tweak the settings a bit to get things running smoothly. Let’s be real, playing on a 6-inch screen might be a little tough without a mouse and keyboard. So, here’s how to optimize everything.

1. Open Winlator and create a new container by clicking the “+” icon in the top right corner.
2. If your phone is a bit old or not too powerful, lower the resolution in the display settings. Something like 800×600 should be more than enough to run an old game or a light app.
3. In the advanced settings, you can adjust the Box86/Box64 presets to optimize performance based on your device. But keep in mind, it’s not a miracle solution.
4. You can also add custom environment variables in the container settings, like MESA_EXTENSION_MAX_YEAR=2003 for older games. But again, this won’t work all the time.
5. Once you’ve configured everything, validate the container creation and you’re ready to install your Windows programs!

Launching Your Windows Apps

Now that everything is set up, it’s time to get down to business and launch your Windows apps on Android.

1. Place the installation files (.exe, .dll, etc.) for your program in the “Downloads” folder on your phone. That’s where Winlator will look for them.
2. Open Winlator, click on the three dots next to your container, and select “Run.” This will open a Windows-like environment with a desktop and a file explorer.
3. In the file explorer, go to the “D:” drive and find the installation files for your program. Double-click the .exe file to start the installation just like you would on a regular PC.
4. Once the installation is complete, you can create a shortcut on the Winlator home screen to launch the app directly. But be careful—the shortcut settings will apply to the entire container, not just that one app.

Alright, so it might not be as smooth and responsive as on a high-end $3,000 gaming rig, but come on, being able to run Winamp, 3D Pinball, or Age of Empires II on your phone is pretty darn cool. Just don’t push it too far—trying to run Photoshop or Crysis might melt your phone. But for small games and old apps, it’s more than enough!

Hats off to all the developers who worked on this amazing project, especially ptitseb (the creator of Box86/Box64) and the whole community around it. Thanks to them, we can finally live out every geek’s dream: having a PC in our pocket to run Doom anywhere. For that alone, they deserve a statue in their honor!