If you are looking for the Install from Unknown Sources option on your Galaxy Watch 4/5 to sideload APKs, then this guide will help you out. The smartwatch from the Silicon Valley giant houses the Android-based wearOS which translates to your ability to welcome a plethora of apps onto your watch. Similar to its device counterpart, you could easily install apps on your watch.
This could be done either from the Play Store app installed on your watch or from your phone as well. However, you might not be able to get hold of all your apps from the Play Store, due to region restrictions and other reasons. If such a case arises on your smartphone, then you could sideload the APK, enable Unknown Sources, and then install the resulting app.
However, a few users have voiced their concern that although they were able to sideload the app onto their Galaxy Watch 4/5, they couldn’t find the option anywhere to enable Install from Unknown Sources. As a result of which they are unable to install the app onto their watch. If you are also in the same boat, then this guide will help you out. Follow along.
Where is Install from Unknown Sources in Galaxy Watch 4/5?
There is no Install from Unknown Sources option in Galaxy Watch 4/5, or for any smartwatch running WearOS for that matter. So how could you then install an app onto your watch? Well, you will have to take the help of the ADB Commands to get this job done. Given below are the shorter steps to do this task, if you are looking for detailed instructions, then do check out this guide instead.
- Download and extract Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. Then transfer the desired APK to this folder.
- Now enable ADB Debugging and Debugging over WiFi on your watch. Also, note down the IP Address.
- Then open CMD inside the platform-tools folder and type in the below command [make sure to replace IP accordingly]
adb connect IP
- Now just execute the below command to install the app [make sure to replace IP and app.apk accordingly]
adb -s IP install app.apk
That’s it. These were the steps to install apps on your watch. As you would have noticed, there’s no Install from Unknown Sources option on your Galaxy Watch 4/5 because there is no need for this feature in the first place. You could easily sideload the APK directly via the ADB Commands itself. With that said, if you still have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.
