How to Install 3rd Party (Outside Google Play Store) Apps on Android

Downloading apps from Google Play Store (android’s official apps market) is fast and easy, but sometimes it restricts downloading certain apps unnecessarily. Device restrictions, country restrictions, etc. prevent us from downloading and installing app which will smoothly run on our device. For instance, I got tired with the stock firmware on my Sony Xperia P so I flashed CM11 just to find out that Candy Crush, which was running smoothly on the stock firmware is now marked “unsupported” on CM11. But the good thing about android is that it doesn’t restrict on installing apps from 3rd party sources (ousted of google play store). Users can install any apps on their Android device from any sources. In this how to tutorial we’re going to talk about how to install 3rd party apps which are outside of google play store and what are some preferable 3rd party apps store.

Steps For Allowing 3rd Party (Outside Google Play Store) Apps:
For safety, the option to allow installing apps outside of google play on any Android device is disabled by default. So before we can continue any further, we need to enable this option. Enabling this option is easy if you follow the steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Go to Settings
Step 2: Click on Applications (for android version 2.x to 4.1)
Step 3: Click on Security (for android version 4.2 and above)
Step 4: Check Unknown Sources
Step 5: Read the warning message and click ok if you agree.

Installing 3rd Party (Outside Google Play Store) Apps:
You can either use your web browser or any 3rd party apps store app to download and install apps on your device. Search for the apps you want and download. Make sure the app you are planning to download is compatible with you device by reading the description and checking out its minimum hardware and software requirement. Once you’ve download the app’s APK, open your file explore and locate the downloaded app and just tap on the icon. Doing so will open a new window asking you to confirm your action. Click on install and it’s done. You’ve successfully installed 3rd party apps from a 3rd party source.

3rd Party Apps stores:
There are numerous apps store for android besides Google Play. Some of the well known stores are Amazon App Store, AppBrain, GetJar, APKManina, BlackMart Alpha, Mobilegenie, etc. By mentioning these sources, we do not guarantee that the apps on these sites or apps are safe to install and/or legal. This tutorial is for teaching purpose.