Unpack APK file of an app on your Android phone

An APK file is a package file for an app that you can extract and later use on another device. Unlike Apple's iOS, Android apps are not tied to a specific phone. Scroll down to Step 1 to learn how to unpack an APK file from an app on your Android smartphone.

Part. 1 Download APK Extractor

• To unpack the APK file of an app, you need the app "APK Extractor". To get the app:

1. Open the Google Play Store. Search for the app's icon in the app drawer of your phone. Tap on it and the Google Play Store will open.

2. Search for the app. At the top right, tap the icon with the magnifying glass; this opens a search box.
Type "APK Extractor" and tap on the first app shown.

3. Download the app. Tap the "Install" button on the right. A new window is displayed asking for permission; just tap on "Accept."

4. Open the app. Once the download is complete, the app will be automatically installed. Now the install button is replaced by an "open" button. Open it and see if it has been installed correctly.

Part. 2 Download ASTRO File Manager

• The ASTRO File Manager is necessary so you can see where the unpacked APK is stored on your device's memory card. To download it:

1. Open the Google Play Store.

2. Search for the app. Type "ASTRO File Manager" in the search box. Tap on the first app and the ASTRO File Manager will open.

3. Download the app.

4. Open the app.

Part. 3 Extract APK

1. Open the APK Extractor app. Open your app drawer on the device. Tap on the icon and open the app. It will show you a list of all apps available on your device.

2. Choose the app. Scroll down until you find the app from which you want to extract the APK file.
Tap on the app and a short message will be displayed for a few seconds telling you where the file is stored on your SD card.

Part. 4 Find the extracted APK file

1. Press the Home button on your device.

2. Open ASTRO File Manager. Go to the app Drawer of your phone and tap on the ASTRO File Manager.

• When the app opens, you'll see a list of options similar to the following.
• SD card
• Local network
• dropbox
• box
• Skydrive
• Facebook
• Google Drive

3. Touch the "SD card" option at the top. This opens the SD card inserted in your device and shows all the files and folders that are on your device.

4. Open the APK Extractor folder. Search for the folder "APK Extractor". Tap on it to open it.

• Once you open it, it will have the extracted APK file of the app you selected.

Part. 5 Use the APK on other devices

• If you want to transfer this APK to another device, then go to step 1:

1. Connect your device to a PC via a USB cable.

2. Connect it in mass storage mode.

3. Copy the APK file. Find the folder named "APK Extractor" and copy the APK file from there.

4. Insert. Put it somewhere on your computer hard drive where you can find it again.

5. Connect the other device. Disconnect the phone and connect the other phone to which you want to copy the extracted APK.

6. Transfer. Copy the APK from your drive to the other phone.

What you need

• An Android smartphone