How to Sideload Apps on Google Glass

You might know that there are two types of apps for Google Glass. Some apps can be installed directly, while the others have to be sideloaded and the latter requires a more complicated process. But don’t worry, because I will teach you how to sideload apps on Google Glass in this article and I will do my best to make it as easy as possible, explaining every step.

Please follow the below tutorial carefully and you will be ready in just a few minutes. It only seems complicated, but after you follow the steps, you will realize that in just a couple of minutes you will be able to sideload any app you want on your Google Glass.

Prerequisite steps to sideload apps on Google Glass

First of all, you have to enable Debug Mode on your Google Glass. In order to do so, head over to Settings -> Device Info and then tap on Turn on Debug.

Now connect your Google Glass to your computer and make sure no other Android device is connected.

Then you will need the latest Google Glass Android drivers. You can download them if you don’t have them already. After you download the drivers, extract the zip by using Windows’ function or a freeware software like 7-Zip.

The next step requires you to modify the android_winusb.inf file located in the extracted folder. In order to make it easier for you, I’ve edited the file and you can download it . Otherwise I would have to explain you all the changes and it would be a bit harder. Just download the file and replace it with your android_winusb.inf.

The next step requires you to update the Google Glass Android drivers. Open Device Manager on your computer, which can be found in Control Panel. Now expand Android Phone and right click Android Composite ADB Interface. Click Properties, navigate to the Driver tab and click Update Driver. In the next window click Browse my computer for driver software and browse the location where you have extracted the USB drivers, then click Next. Once you are done, you have to restart the computer.

Now you will have to download ADB, which can be found here. Extract the zip file once the download is finished and remember the location where you extract it because you are going to need it later.

The next steps require you to enter some command lines, so you will need to launch Command Prompt with administrator privileges. In order to do so, open Start Menu, type Command Prompt in the search bar, right click on the result and press Run as Administrator.

How to sideload an app on Google Glass

The following steps are also the final ones and should be used every time you want to sideload an app on your Google Glass!

Download the app you want to sideload and place the APK file in the same folder as ADB.exe.

Launch Command Prompt, type cd followed by the location where you have extracted ADB (e.g. C:\Users\your-username\Downloads\adb), then press Enter. Now type adb devices and press Enter.

The command to sideload apps is very simple: adb install your-app-name.apk (e.g. adb install drivesafe.apk).

And that’s all. You should now be able to sideload apps on your Google Glass in less than a minute. Just download the app and run the three commands.