How to Install Android on Raspberry Pi [Full Guide w/ Images]

Table of Contents

Overview

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to install Android7.1 on your Raspberry Pi board.

The Android operating system is not recommended by the Raspberry Pi company. However, many users are looking to use this operating system on the Raspberry Pi board.

What You Will Learn

What is Android?

Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. It is based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software and is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. In addition, Google has further developed Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Wear OS for wrist watches.

Installing Android on Raspberry Pi

Required Materials

Hardware Components

Raspberry Pi board × 1
Micro SD card (minimum 8GB) × 1
5V adapter (with a recommended current rating of 2.5A or more) × 1
Network cable
PC or laptop

Software Apps

Etcher

How to Install Android on RPi

Follow these steps to install the Android on Raspberry Pi

Step 1: Download Android from here.

Step 2: Connect micro SD card to your PC and format it. (we recommend you to use SDFormatter)

Step 3: Extract the downloaded OP file and copy the contents to the micro SD card using Etcher.

  • choose the OS file.
Note
You can also unzip the file. This software accepts both .zip and .img formats.
  • choose your SD card
  • select the Flash
  • Wait until the following message is displayed.
  • Initial Operating System Test

    To ensure successful installation of the operating system, you follow these steps:

    • Put your SD card into the Raspberry Pi
    • Connect your Raspberry Pi to the monitor using HDMI cable.
    • Connect the mouse to the Raspberry Pi
    • Connect your Raspberry Pi’s power supply
    • After the operating system boots, you should see something similar to the following image on your screen.
    Note
    To connect to the internet connect your Raspberry Pi board to the modem through a network cable.

    What’s Next?

  • Start installing Apps on your Android OS.
  • Further Reading & Resources

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    Comments (16)

    • Andres G Hoffmann Reply

      Can I use Google play and download normal apps or no?

      April 18, 2020 at 4:16 am
      • Amir Mogoeir Reply

        Yes, it should be okay.

        May 30, 2020 at 1:15 pm
        • بهروز Reply

          سلام وقت بخیر
          من زبانم خیلی اوکی نبود که انگلیسی بنویسم.
          ممکنه راهنمایی کنید چجوری اندروید رو دانلود کنم از کجا ؟

          January 9, 2022 at 5:13 am
    • Ravjeet Bomrah Reply

      I followed the procedure as above
      But nothing happens when I put the se card and power up the unit.
      Anything I am doing wrong
      Using pi2
      Noobs works perfect on the same unit

      June 7, 2020 at 4:14 pm
    • ravjeet bomrah Reply

      have followed the above procedure , but once i insert sd in pi and power it up nothing happens . android installation does not start (waited 30 min).
      any thing i am doing wrong . pl suggest
      using 32GB sd

      June 8, 2020 at 5:29 am
      • Patrick Reply

        I have the same problem. I think it is because I have a composite display (not HDMI).
        What kind of screen do you have?

        November 7, 2020 at 2:36 am
        • Mehran Maleki Reply

          No! That probably cannot be the problem! The screen has nothing to do with the installation of Android.

          December 5, 2020 at 11:13 am
      • Mehran Maleki Reply

        There doesn’t seem to be any problem in the steps explained in our article! Also follow the procedure of the following link to see if it makes any difference.
        https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-android-raspberry-pi/

        December 5, 2020 at 11:15 am
    • Toni H Reply

      i tried lineage 17 . It started but i ended it with Power off and then
      i could not use it anymore because it crashes anytime. (PI4).
      Where is the Power-Button for Switch Off? F5?

      Who can send me a Windows – img for installing on RPI4?
      I did buy exagear for RPI1 but now i have RPI4. Who does have a code?
      Toni (at) Singles.ms

      December 13, 2020 at 4:32 pm
      • Mehran Maleki Reply

        So you mean that the installation worked for the first time, right? And the first time you turned off the PI, it didn’t work any more?
        If so, there could be something wrong with the version of android you’re using. Try lineage 16 from the following link and see if it makes any difference. “https://raspberrytips.com/android-raspberry-pi-4/”
        You can follow the same procedure explained in this article to install it.

        December 30, 2020 at 1:50 pm
    • Anonymous Reply

      I just wanted to say that the link for the android image is not working and its displaying an error 404 page. Is it possible for someone to update a fresh workinging link? Thanks.

      June 4, 2021 at 2:50 am
      • Mehran Maleki Reply

        Hi.
        Unfortunately, there seems to be something wrong with the rasbperry-pi website itself and some download links have stopped working. You can use the following download link for a newer version. “https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=8889791610682891697”

        June 4, 2021 at 10:25 am
    • Huaraz Reply

      Hi

      The initial installation worked fine, but my TV on the HDMI interface with 1920x1080p does not match the display i.e. the dispaly is too big and I can’t read all. Is there a way to adjust this in config.txt ?

      Thank you
      Markus

      June 6, 2022 at 12:18 pm
    • znzir Reply

      The link is not working properly. it showing 404 to me

      October 12, 2022 at 10:19 am

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