How To Run Exe Files On Your Android Smartphone

Have you ever wanted get a mobile version of an app or a game, but it’s only available for PC? Or maybe you just wanted the smartphone version of a utility app but the developers haven’t made an Android version yet. If you fit into any of these two categories of people, then this article is for you.

This article has been written to show us the two safest and easiest ways to run exe files on our Android devices.

Before we jump into the main course of this article, let’s do a sketchy study of EXE and APK files.

What Are EXE Files

An EXE file is simply an executable program for windows. EXE short for “executable,” is the standard file extension used for windows programs. EXE files contains binary data which are read and executed by the processor.

What Are APK Files

An APK file is an installable app for Android phones. APK is short for “Android Package Kit” is the file extension used for Android apps. APK which is a descendant of Java, contains a manifest file, resource files (both compiled and raw), and Java class files (classes.dex).

Now let’s see how we can run those EXE on our Android phones. There are basically two methods, just read and choose the one that best works for you.

Method 1

The first method we will be looking at is how to change the file extension of the desired PC software you want to run on your Android smartphone. Knowing that the “.exe” file format is already a program that has been compiled to be executable on windows only, we cannot do a simple renaming of the file extension to “.apk” and expect it to run on our Android device.

To convert the EXE file to APK format, we are going to need a file converter software that will rewrite the file format on the source code level, so that an Android device can run it. Not to worry, you do not need to be a programmer or have any knowledge on programming to get this done.

Before we start, here is a list of things you need to have before you can convert and run computer software on your Android phone:

1. Computer running on Windows 7, 8 or 10
2. Android version should be 4.4 or higher,
3. The PC software “.exe” file you wish to convert to “.apk”
4. A good internet connection
5. The Exe2Apk file converter tool. You can download that here
6. All files should be on your local disc

Step 1:

After downloading the file containing the converter software, extract it, and click on the file named “setup.exe” to run and install the converter tool. Follow the installation guide like any other software being installed on a PC.

Step 2

Launch the Exe2Apk converter tool. Then select the EXE file you wish to convert. You can select the EXE file you wish to convert by clicking “browse”. Remember that the file should be on your hard disc.

Step 3

If your Windows EXE file is convertible, you should see a “Convertible: Pass” in the file info while waiting for the upload to be completed. Now select the file path to save the APK file. This should also be in any folder on your hard disc.

Step 4

Make some few changes in “ General Options”. In the “Additional task sketch up” tick “silent extension mode (temp folder)”. Toggle “Convert development header and libraries” and “convert object OLE control for WHS” to green. Your setup should look like this.

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Step 5

Click on “*Start Converting” for the process to begin. The time taken to do the conversion is relative, depending on the file size you are converting, and the speed of your PC. When done, you should see a successful pop-up like this.

Step 6

Connect your phone to the computer, then go to the directory where the new “.apk” file was saved. Transfer the file into your smartphone, and then install.

Method 2

The other way to run windows exe files on an Android phone is by downloading apps that can interpret the codes compiled in exe file formats. These apps are Android based, but designed to interpret and run exe files. Though they can also be called windows emulators because of some technicalities that comes with it, they can run exe files of some light weight PC software. Some of these apps are:

• wine-arm
• AfreeBox
• Inno Setup Extractor, etc.

Conclusion

These are the two main ways to get exe files running on your Android smartphone. However, some software available on PC are not convertible or able to run on Android phones because their graphics and processing requirements are far greater than what your Android phone can give. Be sure to watch out for comparability issues.