Here's how to install Windows on an Android tablet

While there are some Windows 10 tablets you can buy, there are even more Android-based tablets available, and many of them even come with keyboards that let people work on them like they would on a Windows desktop or tablet. But what if you wanted to install Windows on your Android tablet? There’s no way to install Windows on Android tablets due to the difference in hardware and the limited access to the bootloader, but Remote Desktop will get you close to the real experience.

QUICK ANSWER 

You cannot install Windows on an Android tablet, but you can use remote desktop apps like Chrome Remote Desktop if you have a spare Windows PC. Alternatively, you can subscribe to a cloud Windows virtual machine like RemotePC by Drive. Android apps are available for both, letting you essentially use Windows on an Android tablet.

JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS 

Using Chrome Remote Desktop

You’ll need a Windows PC to remotely control from your Android tablet for this method to work, using Chrome Remote Desktop. To begin with, make sure you have Google Chrome installed on your PC.

Open Google Chrome on your Windows PC, and head over to the Chrome Web Store. Search for Chrome Remote Desktop, and click it to open the page.

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

Click the Add to Chrome button. Click Add extension when the confirmation pops up.

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

Next, open Chrome Remote Desktop by clicking on the extension logo from the Chrome extensions list. Click Remote Access in the left navigation pane.

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

Click the Turn on button under Set up remote access. Enter a name for your PC, and click Next.

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

Enter a PIN to secure access to your PC, and click Start. Make sure to remember this PIN. If Windows asks for any administrator permission, allow it.

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

On your Android tablet, download and install the Chrome Remote Desktop app. Make sure you’re using the same Google account on your tablet as on your Windows PC, specifically the one in the Chrome window where you’ve installed the extension.

Open the app on your tablet, and select that particular Google account if asked. On the app’s home screen, you’ll find your PC with remote support listed by the name you gave it earlier.

Click it, and enter the PIN you had set when prompted. Check the box next to Don’t ask for a PIN again… if need be, and click Connect.

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

That’s it. Your Android tablet will connect to your Windows PC, letting you use Windows on your Android tablet. 

Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Since it’s not possible to install Windows on an Android tablet, your best bet is to run a remote instance. While the above method borrows a spare Windows system that you have, the other option you have is to sign up for a Windows cloud virtual machine service and use the official app for the service on your Android tablet to access it. 

These services are paid, and you can get some for low annual prices. You will need to have a fast internet connection, and the experience will feel more or less like a native Windows installation. Our recommendation is RemotePC by iDrive.

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