

Depends on your comfort with CLI tools. Here’s the process (assumes Windows):
- Download and extract platform tools
- Add that location to your PATH
- Win + R, type “cmd”, enter
set PATH=%PATH%;C:\your\path\here\
<- Temporary, just for the current sessionsetx /M path "%path%;C:\your\path\here\"
<- Permanent
-
On your device, go to
Settings -> About
and look forBuild Number
it can sometimes be buried inSoftware Information
-
Tap
Build Number
repeatedly until a message appearsYou are now a developer
-
You should now have a new
Developer options
menu item somewhere in your settings. Sometimes it’s top level, sometimes it’s buried underAdditional Settings
orAdvanced Settings
or the like -
Make sure
USB Debugging
is turned on -
Connect the device over USB
-
Back on WIndows type:
adb devices
- You might get a popup on the device asking if you want to allow USB debugging. Select Yes, and run
adb devices
again. You should see your device listed
- Download the APK of the app you want to install (AAB files are a PITA, but can be installed too. Try to get APK files though)
- Install with:
adb install C:/path/to/app.apk
<- ifadb devices
only returns one deviceadb -s <device_id> install C:/path/to/app.apk
<- specific device
You can install updates the same way, just download the updated APK and add the -r
flag
adb install -r C:/path/to/app.apk
That’s why I posted it. So people can decide for themselves. Doesn’t seem that bad to me, but then I’m a dev, so it’s really hard to judge what a non dev would be comfortable with