While starting Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11, if you are unable to start Windows Subsystem for Android, here are some fixes you need to check. If you get this error, you cannot open and use Windows Subsystem for Android on your Windows 11 computer even if it is installed correctly.
The entire error message says:
Unable to start Windows Subsystem for Android
Ensure that Virtual Machine Platform is enabled in optional Windows feature. Entire that your device has virtualization enabled in the bios. If you’re running Windows Subsystem for Android in a VM ensure that you have enabled nested virtualization for the VM on the host. See http://aka.ms/enablevirtualization for more information.
Although the solutions are already mentioned in the error message, you might not be able to fix them at times. Therefore, you may need to follow all the subsequent steps one after one.
Unable to start Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11
If you are unable to start Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11, follow these suggestions:
- Enable Virtual Machine Platform
- Enable Hyper-V
- Enable Windows Hypervisor Platform
- Turn on Virtualization
- Enable Nested virtualization
1] Enable Virtual Machine Platform
It is the first thing you need to check. Even when you try to install the Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11, you must have Virtual Machine Platform enabled on your PC. Otherwise, it might cause some issues. If you disabled it by mistake, you would get the aforementioned error message while opening Windows Subsystem for Android. Therefore, follow these steps to verify or enable Virtual Machine Platform on Windows 11:
- Press Win+S and type turn Windows features on or off.
- Click on the individual search result.
- Ensure that the “Virtual Machine Platform” is selected.
- If not, make a tick and click the OK button.
After that, it might take some time to get installed on your computer. Following that, restart your computer and check if it solves the issue or not.
2] Enable Hyper-V
It is the second thing you need to verify if it is enabled on your computer or not. For that, you need to open the Windows Features panel. To do so, search for Windows features in the Taskbar search box and click on the corresponding search result. After that, check if there is a tick in the Hyper-V checkbox. If not, make a tick and click the OK button.
Next, you need to restart your computer to get the change. Once done, you can try to open the Windows System for Android app.
3] Enable Windows Hypervisor Platform
It is another feature that needs to be activated to open Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11. The best thing is that you can find it in the same place where you got others. Therefore, open the Windows Features window on your computer, and check if the Windows Hypervisor Platform is checked or not. If not, make a tick and click the OK button.
4] Turn on Virtualization
To use Windows Subsystem for Android, you must enable virtualization at the hardware level. To verify if you have enabled it already or not, you can press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and switch to the Performance tab. Then, check if the status of Virtualization is Enabled or Disabled. If it is showing as Disabled, you need to open BIOS and enable virtualization.
5] Enable Nested virtualization
It is probably the last thing you need to check when using Windows Subsystem for Android on a virtual machine. Let’s assume that you installed Windows 11 on the virtual machine. If you try to install Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11, you must enable Nested Virtualization. Otherwise, you cannot use another virtual machine inside of Windows 11 that is installed on VirtualBox or any other virtual machine software.
That’s all! Hope this guide helped.
NOTE: Starting March 5, 2025, the Windows Subsystem for Android and the Amazon Appstore will no longer be available in the Microsoft Store.
How do you fix the Unable to start Windows Subsystem for Android?
To resolve the ‘Unable to start Windows Subsystem for Android’ error on Windows 11, you must enable the Virtual Machine Platform, enable virtualization at the hardware level in the BIOS, and activate nested virtualization. In addition to these, you can enable Hyper-V and the Windows Hypervisor Platform.
How to start Android Subsystem in Windows 11?
To start the Android Subsystem in Windows 11, you must first install the app. Then, open the Start Menu, locate the Windows Subsystem for Android, and click on it. It is always recommended to click the Yes button on the UAC prompt so that you can use all the features included in the Windows Subsystem for Android.
