We have seen the massive growth in the smartwatch industry, and Apple has been dominating it for a while. So do the Android smartwatches, and for that, Wear OS is the way to go. Not to mention, WearOS is not as close as the Apple Watch, but since it is Android, it is way more flexible, customizable, and allows us to perform sideloading apk quite identically to how we do it on Android smartphones.
Today, in this article, we will be working on how you can download and install WearOS on your smartwatches. So, without further ado, let’s check it out.
How to Install APKs on WearOS on Smartwatches
There are various ways to perform sideloading an apk on WearOS, and we will be using the universal route through ADB, which allows you to install an APK on your smartphone in the safest way possible. There won’t be any vulnerabilities since there is no third-party extension use. Follow the following steps mentioned down below.
Pre-Requirements
Downland ADB Files for Windows, Mac, and Linux
Setup ADB
- Once you finish download, extract the zip file into your choice of location.
Enable ADB Debugging on Android Smartwatch
Starting with enabling debugging on the Android smartwatch, perform the download and install the APKs on your smartwatch. Let’s check this out.
- Open Watch settings
- Head over to the system.
- Tap on About, and start tapping the Build Number x7 times until it shows the Developer Option Enabled.
- Once the Developer Option is enabled, revert back to the previous settings screen.
- At the bottom of the system, you will find the Developer Option.
- Open the Developer Option section, and then from there, click on ADB Debugging.
- Select the “green check” circular icon to confirm your action. Additionally, enable the Debug Over Wi-Fi option. If your Wi-Fi Debugging is enabled, it will change the string of the character with your IP address. It will display like this, e.g., 192.168.1.325:5555.)
Download and Install APKs using ADB
Now we will be installing APKs to our android watch through PC.
- First you need to download the apk of your choice, which you want to install on your smartwatch.
- Now, Open CMD on Windows, Terminal on Mac/Linux and then type
./adb connect <IP Address> - After that, Your Smartwatch will show a pop-up saying, Allow Debugging tap on OK to confirm you want to proceed with debugging.
- Next, on Windows it will show your watch is connected, and then use the command
./adb push <filename.apk> /sdcard/
to export the APK file you saved to your smart watch. - Once the export is done, and then next enter the following command to install application.
./adb -e install <filename.apk> - Once the installing finish, CMD/Terminal Screen will show a successful message.
- That’s it!
Once the application has been installed into WearOS, you should continue to disable ADB Debugging and Wi-Fi Debugging from the setting itself.App developers are working on their apps to work on WearOS, but it’s still in development and not as polished as the ecosystem for Android Smartwatches isn’t mature.
Meanwhile, sideloading comes in handy, but there might be some issues that you may encounter. It’s still quite handy if your region doesn’t have a Play store, and installing an apk on WearOS is worth it.
Hopefully, this article remains helpful for you and you will successfully install the application on your device. If there is any query, share it with us in the comment section down below. Keep an eye out for future updates on the subject.
