Question What is the best way to run an Android .apk with WiFi access in Linux?

[Col Brubaker]

Hello Folks,

I bought a cheap drone at some discounter. https://maginon.de/products/quadrokopter-qc-710se-wifi-100827
Now I want to run the app, to fly the drone, on my Kali Linux. https://apkpure.com/maginon-air/com.maginon.maginonair/variant/1.1.1-APK#variants
My phone is a bit shitty. And actually the other is a 20yo Nokia.
At the last attempt I messed up my Linux installation. Now I ask first.
What I don't want - I am paranoid as well/hell - is having Google or some other spyware on it. All need to be freeware without to pay.
Actually I want a big screen resolution. Duno if I can use the Joystick later. Would be cool.

Any suggestions?

 

[Col Brubaker]

47 views, not a single comment!
Meanwhile I am experimenting with open Android and Lineage OS on Gnome Boxes in Kali.
They launch well, but my drone app stalls all the time.
Furthermore I am worried about to use the WiFi from the virtual drive.
Otherwise everything fine. Computer is still running.

 

[Matias Saibene]

I don't know about the subject but I might suggest using Anbox or its successor project Waydroid. I'm afraid I don't know how to use either one.
But they do have installation instructions for Debian, so I guess it should work just fine on Kali.
https://docs.waydro.id/usage/install-on-desktops

 

[Col Brubaker]

Yes, but Anbox is not available anymore. It was on Snapcraft for Debian. But it don't exist anymore.
Waydroid was, what let me fuck-up my OS by the attempt to remove it.
But Kali has Wayland in the Ubuntu Parts. I think I have 11 Desktop-enviroments on Kali.
Some websites say there are over 10 possibilities to run an app. Last I did was to run several Android versions in Gnome-Boxes. But somehow the app stalls all the time.

 

[Matias Saibene]

Yes, but Anbox is not available anymore. It was on Snapcraft for Debian. But it don't exist anymore.
Waydroid was, what let me fuck-up my OS by the attempt to remove it.
But Kali has Wayland in the Ubuntu Parts. I think I have 11 Desktop-enviroments on Kali.
Some websites say there are over 10 possibilities to run an app. Last I did was to run several Android versions in Gnome-Boxes. But somehow the app stalls all the time.

Maybe the app only supports ARM and not x86_64 architecture.

 

[Col Brubaker]

Hmm, I never thought about that. But that's what an emulator is made for?
On the other hand, I can let Android OS, Bliss OS and Lineage OS run in Gnome-Boxes. Why the app should not work in the VM?
On my very old netbook I have a Bliss OS physically in a 8GB partition installed. I used it for car-diagnostic apps. On Intel architecture.
And It worked via bluetooth.

 

[Matias Saibene]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know virtual machines cannot emulate an ARM processor without help from another package. At least I can't with virt-manager just like that. I think to achieve this I have to install a package called qemu-system-arm.

 

[Col Brubaker]

$ sudo apt install qemu-system-arm

qemu-system-arm ist schon die neueste Version (1:7.2+dfsg-7). <-- already installed

So, yes, you are right. But if I wouldn't have it, the Lineage OS wouldn't run either.
I tried a few of this Virtual Machines. But Gnome Boxes is simply the best.

Arch Linux - gnome-boxes 46.0-1 (x86_64)

archlinux.org

 

[Matias Saibene]

Have you tried Android x86?
https://www.android-x86.org/

So far it's the only way I know of to use Android on PC, even though it's not ARM. I have tested it in virtual machine. But I never tried to install an application on it. I'm going to try again.

 

[Col Brubaker]

Android x86 was the first I tried.
Bliss OS is what I have on my old computer. (You can only boot it via Uefi/Bios) https://blissos.org/
And Lineage OS is what I have on my phone. Here the app runs. But it stall in the simulation of drone flight.
Perhaps cause of low RAM (1GB)?
Actually I would prefer to run the app directly in an emulator without to simulate an Android OS in a VM.
And btw. I have AMD

 

[Col Brubaker]

Okay. I installed an Ubuntu distro named Zorin and installed waydroid in wayland gnome.
Android is running in linux, it looks pretty smoth.
But how can I install the drones .apk on it?

 

[Matias Saibene]

Okay. I installed an Ubuntu distro named Zorin and installed waydroid in wayland gnome.
Android is running in linux, it looks pretty smoth.
But how can I install the drones .apk on it?

I haven't tried Waydroid but maybe this page will help you.
https://docs.waydro.id/usage/install-and-run-android-applications

 

[Col Brubaker]

Thank you. I am actually all the time on that page. I could install Waydroid even in Kali now, when I run it on wayland.
But I still can't install an app in my simulated Android there.
As far as I know you can install it in Arch too. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Waydroid

 

[Matias Saibene]

Thank you. I am actually all the time on that page. I could install Waydroid even in Kali now, when I run it on wayland.
But I still can't install an app in my simulated Android there.
As far as I know you can install it in Arch too. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Waydroid

I'm going to need some time because the computer I'm using now (my main machine) has Manjaro and linux-zen doesn't come in the repositories.

-----------EDIT-------------

I installed Waydroid, I tried it, but the apps programmed for ARM didn't work for me. Only those programmed for x86_64.

I tried to install Maginon Air through the command line and it gave me an error, I tried to install it through the PlayStore and it also gave me an error. I tried to install it sideloading from ApkPure and it also failed.

So I found out on the Internet that APK files have inside a folder called lib where the files pertaining to the corresponding architectures are stored and unfortunately Maginon Air is not compatible with x86_64.

 

[Col Brubaker]

Thank you so much. Something like that I thought too. Specially it could caused by AMD x64.
But now we know how to run Apps in Linux, as far as they are programmed for x86_64.
The funny thing is, If I use LDPlayer, I can run the App on windows, but I don't have WiFi access.

I found this btw.: https://www.99images.com/apps/photography/com.maginon.maginonair/download

 

[Matias Saibene]

Thank you so much. Something like that I thought too. Specially it could caused by AMD x64.
But now we know how to run Apps in Linux, as far as they are programmed for x86_64.
The funny thing is, If I use LDPlayer, I can run the App on windows, but I don't have WiFi access.

I found this btw.: https://www.99images.com/apps/photography/com.maginon.maginonair/download

Apparently LDPlayer emulates an ARM processor. I'm going to investigate to see if an ARM processor can be emulated in x86, perhaps with some feature that I don't know about in QEMU.

----------------EDIT------------------

I came up with a possible and strange solution: Install Manjaro ARM, with Sway (which is a Wayland window manager). I chose Manjaro because I can't get installable ARM images from Android. Then I'm going to install Waydroid on Manjaro ARM (within a virtual machine). And then I'm going to try to install the Maginon Air application. I'm going to try this idea, and if it works I'll see how it's done with Kali ARM.

 

[Col Brubaker]

I can run the app in BlueStacks and LDPlayer in Windows.
The problem is, I don't get WiFi.
And the Manjaro-thing I just understood half. There are Linux OS for Phones, Such as Manjaro ARM or Kali Nethunter.
I can run them in a VM like Waydroid. and install the app there?

 

[Matias Saibene]

I can run the app in BlueStacks and LDPlayer in Windows.
The problem is, I don't get WiFi.
And the Manjaro-thing I just understood half. There are Linux OS for Phones, Such as Manjaro ARM or Kali Nethunter.
I can run them in a VM like Waydroid. and install the app there?

Yes, technically it is possible. In fact, I configured an ARM virtual machine but I could not install Manjaro ARM or Kali ARM, the img.xz installation images were not detected as bootable.

 

[Col Brubaker]

ARM Emulation on waydroid x86-64 images · Issue #616 · waydroid/waydroid

One question, Do the android 11 x64 images contain the native bridge for running ARM apps as well?

github.com

Yes.