How to install Android in VirtualBox?

Android is one of the most dominating operating systems among smartphones; with it being an open-source OS, many developers try to make it more versatile and unique.

If you are one of those people and want an Android emulator for your PC, or just want to have another Android phone inside your PC, then you just might want to create it with Virtualbox.

Virtualbox is one of the best operating system emulators, which lets you run basically any operating system besides your native operating system. So, without further ado, let’s start with “How to install Android on VirtualBox”?.

Required Files

To install Android in Virtualbox, first, you are required to have the following files:

1. Virtualbox

2. Android ISO file

Setting up Virtualbox for Android

Step 1: Open Virtualbox and click on the “New” icon on top.

Step 2: Now give your operating system a name (e.g., Android 9), and set the Type to “Linux” and Version to “Other Linux (64bit)”.

Step 3: The minimum memory required for Android in Virtualbox is 2GB, but we recommend at least 4GB for smother and better performance and for Android to run all the apps without any performance problem.

Step 4: In the following windows, you can set up a virtual hard disk or storage for your Android, you can create a new virtual hard disk or add an already existing virtual hard disk.

Step 5: Select VDI for Hard disk file type since it’s the most common type in Virtualbox.

Step 6: Create a Dynamically allocated Virtual Hard disk.

Step 7: In the following window, keep the folder path as default and change the virtual hard disk size to 8GB. Although 8GB is the recommended size, you can increase this size if you need more storage for apps and files. Once done, click on “Create” to finish up.

Configuring Virtualbox for Android

Before we start installing Android, we need to make sure the setting of Virtualbox is compatible with Android so it can run smoothly.

Step 1: Select your new virtual disk and click on the “setting” icon.

Step 2: In the “System” setting, open the ‘Processor’ tab and increase the processor to 2 CPUs.

Step 3: In the ‘Acceleration’ tab, set Paravirtualization Interface from “Default” to “KVM.”

Step 4: Select the ‘Display’ setting and increase Video Memory to maximum, and in Graphic Controller, select VBoxSVGA from the drop-down menu.

Step 5: Move on to the ‘Storage’ setting and select “empty” under Android 9.vdi. Next, click on the disk icon beside Optical Drive to choose a disk file.

Step 6: Locate your Android ISO file and click on the “Open” button.

Step 7: If the Android IOS showed up in ‘Setting,’ click on “OK” to close it.

Installing Android in Virtualbox

Now that we have created a separate virtual machine for Android and have configured the settings, it’s time to install Android. We can start the installation by simply clicking on the “Start” button on the top.

Step 1: First, ensure that you have selected the correct ISO file by choosing from the drop-down menu or locating it by clicking on the file icon.

Step 2: Once the installation window showed up, click on the “Advance option…”.

Step 3: Select “Auto Installation – AutoInstall to specified hard disk” and hit enter.

Step 4: Confirm your installation by clicking on ‘Yes.’

Step 5: Once the installation is done, a message window will show up, ensuring you about a successful installation. You can either run the Android or reboot it. Click on run Android to continue.

Android OS Setup Wizard

After installing Android, the Setup Wizard will open, where you have to set up your Android for final use.

Step 1: Click on “Start,” then you will be asked to connect to Wi-Fi. Since you are using this from a Virtualbox, it’s already connected, so you can skip this step.

Step 2: Next, select your Time & Region and click on ‘Next.

Step 3: In the following window, you can disable Google services or leave it as default.

Step 4: In the “Protect your tablet” window, you can set a security Pin/Password/Pattern or avoid it by selecting “Not now.”

Step 5: Now it’s the final step to select a launcher for your Android. Quickstep is the more common option, so we will go with that.

And you’re done. Now you can use your Android. Feel free to download any app or save any kind of data; it’s basically your next phone.